Computers, cell phones, and personal electronics are all increasingly tied in to home networks. Billions were spent in 2008 on routers and similar peripherals, reports BITKOM, a German industry association. The next step is accessing the home network via the Internet.
There are various ways to go online and access data stored on computers or network attached storage. One of the easiest is File Transfer Protocol, or ftp for short. With ftp, the computer providing the data for download functions as a server. This type of data transfer is easy on PCs, since a simple program suffices. There are a variety of free programs available for Windows XP, Vista, Mac, and Linux, such as Filezilla. Many network attached storage units also include a ftp server function.
To access an ftp server from another computer, you’ll need client software. All standard browsers already include ftp functionality: simply type the address of the server into the browser’s navigation bar, preceded by “ftp://.”
You normally can’t access your own ftp server over the Internet itself. This is because your Internet Server Provider typically assigns the router and hence the network a new IP address for each session, and at other times too. IP addresses are also difficult to remember.
A fixed hostname can help, such as those available from the cost-free service www.dyndns.org. With dyndns, you create an account and then select a host name for the network, such as myhomenetwork.dyndns.com. The name is then entered into the router’s configuration menu under the “Dynamic DNS” function.
Thereafter the router passes on the current IP address to dyndns.org automatically. From then on the host name functions as the IP address for the home network. The dyndns service forwards requests automatically to the router and through it to the home network.
The downside: ftp is not secure. VPN offers much more…