add One-on-One Large File Sharing (Syncthing over VPN) #159

XMRonly · 2024-10-30T18:46:11+01:00

XMRonly commented

2024-10-30 18:46:11 +01:00

Submitting this for you to review. I referenced all the points you mentioned in #11 and tried to highlight what makes Syncthing unique. Let me know what you think!

XMRonly added 1 commit 2024-10-30 18:46:11 +01:00

add One-on-One Large File Sharing (Syncthing over VPN) 6de3c400b9

nihilist commented

2024-10-31 08:21:25 +01:00

Hello, looks good but only issue is that both larry and sam are on the same machine if i'm not mistaken

let's take the usecase where you have sam on your laptop (on a mobile hopspot), and larry on your computer (home connection) to simulate 2 people that are far apart and not in the same house. correct me if i'm wrong but i am preety sure that they need the VPS with the docker compose you mentionned, to do the file transfer, so:

to be explained:
-the context (where sam is on a laptop w/ mobile hotspot and larry on a desktop somewhere else) with a graph preferably
-why you need a VPS to sync files (larry and sam are not in the same network, and they need to access their devices remotely (clearnet requirement: you need a public IP accessible with an opened port at the very least))

to be showcased:
-how to install syncthing on a VPS
-how to use that VPS syncthing instance to transfer the 10gb files from sam's laptop to larry's desktop (while both are in a different network, right)

Hello, looks good but only issue is that both larry and sam are on the same machine if i'm not mistaken <img width="446" alt="image" src="attachments/cfe9b7b8-1f58-4a1b-9266-0572ce8f6245"> let's take the usecase where you have sam on your laptop (on a mobile hopspot), and larry on your computer (home connection) to simulate 2 people that are far apart and not in the same house. correct me if i'm wrong but i am preety sure that they need the VPS with the docker compose you mentionned, to do the file transfer, so: to be explained: -the context (where sam is on a laptop w/ mobile hotspot and larry on a desktop somewhere else) with a graph preferably -why you need a VPS to sync files (larry and sam are not in the same network, and they need to access their devices remotely (clearnet requirement: you need a public IP accessible with an opened port at the very least)) to be showcased: -how to install syncthing on a VPS -how to use that VPS syncthing instance to transfer the 10gb files from sam's laptop to larry's desktop (while both are in a different network, right)

image.png

38 KiB

XMRonly commented

2024-11-01 03:59:32 +01:00

Yes indeed, they were both on the same network and same machine (in 2 separate virtual machines). This was for practicality because my second device just broke so I didn't have access to a second device/mobile hotspot.

I just want to clarify that the setup and syncing process is exactly the same with no extra steps or VPS needed even if Sam and Larry are not on the same network. I initially wrote this up having Larry on a Windows machine on a completely separate network than Sam on Linux. Larry and Sam each install Syncthing, Larry receives a notification as soon as Sam adds his device ID, and the transfer starts as soon as Larry confirms the connection. There is no VPS required, no port forwarding required, nothing - Syncthing just werks. Under the hood, Syncthing is sending end-to-end encrypted traffic over a global discovery server. Relay servers also help with file transmission. While it is technically possible to self-host these, that is going to get really complicated really fast and is outside the scope of just sharing a 10GB file.

I would advise against using a VPS because in my opinion it will overly complicate things without any added benefit. Having Syncthing on a VPS or home server is helpful if you want to use a star approach to sync a file from a central location to multiple destinations like in this picture (this is actually how I've been using Syncthing for a couple of years). Since the article focuses only on Sam and Larry (only 2 devices) I don't think it is worth the added complexity when both of them can just install Syncthing on their local machines and use it out of the box even if on separate networks geographically far apart.

I can rework the article to revert back to how I originally wrote it having Larry on a Windows machine on a completely separate network than Sam on Linux if you think it will be more clear with updated pictures etc.

I can clarify the explanation that :
-Larry is on Windows on network1, Sam is on Linux somewhere else on network2
-Syncthing doesn't need a VPS to work, though the discovery and relay servers are self-hostable

To be showcased:
-I think the current setup is OK as it is given the above explanation?

Yes indeed, they were both on the same network and same machine (in 2 separate virtual machines). This was for practicality because my second device just broke so I didn't have access to a second device/mobile hotspot. I just want to clarify that the setup and syncing process is _exactly the same_ with no extra steps or VPS needed even if Sam and Larry are not on the same network. I initially wrote this up having Larry on a Windows machine on a completely separate network than Sam on Linux. Larry and Sam each install Syncthing, Larry receives a notification as soon as Sam adds his device ID, and the transfer starts as soon as Larry confirms the connection. There is no VPS required, no port forwarding required, nothing - Syncthing just werks. Under the hood, Syncthing is sending end-to-end encrypted traffic over a global [discovery server](https://docs.syncthing.net/users/stdiscosrv.html). [Relay servers](https://docs.syncthing.net/users/strelaysrv.html) also help with file transmission. While it is technically possible to self-host these, that is going to get really complicated really fast and is outside the scope of just sharing a 10GB file. I would advise against using a VPS because in my opinion it will overly complicate things without any added benefit. Having Syncthing on a VPS or home server is helpful if you want to use a star approach to sync a file from a central location to multiple destinations like in this [picture](https://files.catbox.moe/7frxkq.png) (this is actually how I've been using Syncthing for a couple of years). Since the article focuses only on Sam and Larry (only 2 devices) I don't think it is worth the added complexity when both of them can just install Syncthing on their local machines and use it out of the box even if on separate networks geographically far apart. I can rework the article to revert back to how I originally wrote it having Larry on a Windows machine on a completely separate network than Sam on Linux if you think it will be more clear with updated pictures etc. I can clarify the explanation that : -Larry is on Windows on network1, Sam is on Linux somewhere else on network2 -Syncthing doesn't need a VPS to work, though the discovery and relay servers are self-hostable To be showcased: -I think the current setup is OK as it is given the above explanation?

👍 1

nihilist commented

2024-11-01 12:29:15 +01:00

Under the hood, Syncthing is sending end-to-end encrypted traffic over a global discovery server. Relay servers also help with file transmission.

got it just mention that (and highlght that it is E2EE meaning we don't need to trust the server as the server cant read anything that goes through) and make them use one of these to transmit the files, and we're good

having Larry on a Windows machine

preferably having Larry and Sam both on debian VMs, and yes both of them need to be in 2 different networks, which means they need to use a relay server for the transmission. doesnt really make sense to make larry and sam transact files if they're on the same LAN :)

> Under the hood, Syncthing is sending end-to-end encrypted traffic over a global discovery server. Relay servers also help with file transmission. got it just mention that (and highlght that it is E2EE meaning we don't need to trust the server as the server cant read anything that goes through) and make them use one of these to transmit the files, and we're good > having Larry on a Windows machine preferably having Larry and Sam both on debian VMs, and yes both of them need to be in 2 different networks, which means they need to use a relay server for the transmission. doesnt really make sense to make larry and sam transact files if they're on the same LAN :)

XMRonly added 1 commit 2024-11-01 20:20:15 +01:00

fix E2EE, relay/discovery, IPs, both debian, separate networks d678472f4d

nihilist commented

2024-11-02 15:31:46 +01:00

ok looks OK now, will merge it and send payment

👍 1

nihilist closed this pull request

2024-11-02 17:37:54 +01:00