Disks, Partitions and Shares

[chiknnutz]

So I just installed Amahi 8 and just so it's clear, I am not a Linux user. I am a decent windows power user, but have not dabbled into anything outside of Windows until now. I moved from Windows Home Server to Amahi. What I am trying to understand is how I can assign where data gets stored. I have three hard drives (one is the main one, the other two are intended for storage). I have them all "mounted" I guess using the Disk Wizard, but that's where I am a bit lost. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to tell the system which hard drive to use to store this or that. I am currently not using Greyhole as I just got this thing online and want to figure it out first. After using the Disk Wizard, it appears I am stuck with however the disks got added...no Ctrl-Z here it appears.

I have enabled the "Advanced" features and for example, one of my default shares has the path of: /var/hda/files/pictures
One of my secondary drive partitions has the "mount point" path of: /var/hda/files/drives/sdb1
I don't know quite what the "mount point" means. So what I am trying to figure out is if there is some way for me to specify which hard drive to use for which "shares". There is a thread on lifehacker that indicates this is possible, but I cannot figure it out (http://lifehacker.com/turn-an-old-pc-in ... 1516484110)

Ultimately I would probably like to use Greyhole to allow for drive pooling like WHS offered, but right now I am just trying to learn this thing before I go and add other stuff. I am honestly a bit bummed as I thought this feature was part of the deal straight away, it's not all that clear what apps cost until you start digging in there more.

Thanks for any help offered.

[bigfoot65]

Keep in mind many of your questions are tasks for Advanced Users and may require some Linux experience. There are many tutorials in the Amahi wiki and on the internet that will help.

I am stuck with however the disks got added...no Ctrl-Z here it appears.

Yes there is no CTRL Z as this is not Windows Think of disks being mounted like a shortcut to a drive. That's what a mount point is basically. So /var/hda/files/drives/sdb1 is the location where you can store files.

Now to add this to be used by shares, there are a few options. One is create a share on the drive itself. This of course has to be done via command line primarily. You would then need to point the share to the new path in the Shares tab.

A second option is to create a new share in the dashboard and point it to the path of your new drive. You can then use your client, via Windows Explorer or whatever you want to use to create folders in that share. This is often the simplest way for most users.

I am honestly a bit bummed as I thought this feature was part of the deal straight away, it's not all that clear what apps cost until you start digging in there more.

Yes there are some things that have a convenience fee. We feel this is a small cost to pay for having a FREE home server with may features and apps that do not cost anything.

To determine what apps have a fee, log into amahi.org and search for the app. If there is a fee it will be displayed. Also another way to tell is the app will not appear in your Available Apps in the Apps tab. Keep in mind not all apps are LIVE and available. There are some that are in BETA and ALPHA status and remain in testing/development. You can tell by looking at the app on the web site, right bottom shows the info. Refer to the app release process for details.

Hopefully this helps answer some of your questions.

[chiknnutz]

Is there a way to change the drives, like add'l partitions and/or change names, AFTER the fact w/o having to go to the command line interface? As in, are there GUI apps that allow this? I am not opposed to using the command line, but as I am only wanting to use this as a headless system, is there a way to get to it w/o adding a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.? I hate to have to drag out all the stuff from another PC to do this if I don't have to.

Also, can I use a USB drive w/o using Greyhole?

[bigfoot65]

Is there a way to change the drives, like add'l partitions and/or change names, AFTER the fact w/o having to go to the command line interface?

No. Changing partitions and names must be done via command line. The Disk Wizard was designed to mount existing drives with established partitions or format drives and mount them.

I am not opposed to using the command line, but as I am only wanting to use this as a headless system, is there a way to get to it w/o adding a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.?

Yes you can use Putty (Windows client) and access the HDA via Secure Shell (SSH). As I mentioned in the previous post, there is help in the Amahi Wiki for many things. The SSH piece is one of them. Just search for SSH or Putty and you will find what you need.

Also, can I use a USB drive w/o using Greyhole?

Yes. There is guidance in the wiki about that as well.