03/19/24:
I reallllly need to get a proper fileserver going. Desperately.

Meshnet looks to be the best option. Remote file sharing, but I can add any number of external drives… without them really having any huge physical movement or use— maybe this would make them less likely to fail? Cheaper options okay? Ask ChatGPT for info about how drives commonly fail.

05/28/24:
Update to the situation: I have a pretty usable system going in using Meshnet with a four terabyte drive in my server computer. That's useful for storing everything in bulk. There are a few problems.

- The biggest one long term is the fact that there isn’t any external backup.
  - What I really need is Backblaze, but that’s too expensive for me right now.
  - A more realistic option short term is just buying another four-terabyte drive and syncing them somehow.
- Another huge problem is the fact that to download any of these files in bulk, I need to use mesh net to transfer them one by one.
  - Essentially, what I am doing at the moment to transfer somewhat large folders is compressing the entire folder and then transferring that one zip file.
    - I’m actually not sure if I can transfer entire folder structures, which I might be able to do, but what I need to keep in mind is that that will take more time.
      - Whether or not this takes more time than compressing them and uncompressing them is to be seen.
  - A more ideal solution, previously, was using OneDrive to sync my local folders with OneDrive in the cloud.
    - What I finally discovered was that, by doing this, I’m filling up every single Windows device I own with the same files for no reason.
    - I also discovered that I was having to download these files to use them on my mobile devices anyway.
      - Wouldn’t it be more convenient to do what I do with mobile devices everywhere, downloading the files to use them remotely?
    - The other alternative is downloading them to all devices, including my mobile devices, which just isn’t feasible.
    - Another advantage of this system is that I don’t actually have to download them to use them. On my server computer, I have most of the software that I need to process and use files productively, so I can remote into that PC to use them, even on mobile devices.
      - This gives a much more unified working experience.

What I'm finding is that this situation works just fine, and is actually a little more secure than having a fancy fileserver. *That* way, if I wanted access remotely, I would have to have security, I'd have to protect against attack, etc! That's no good! I like it this way. 


06/10/24:
I've given it some thought... this is definitely the best way to do it for me. Like I said before, it's secure, it does the whole job, and it's very easy to keep. I like it!! 

I've set up Jellyfin, I've set up Calibre (for all my ebooks) and a few other things, so it literally just does the job. But also remotely thanks to Meshnet. 

Whenever I want a file I just remote into my pc (from any device) access the file in ordinary Windows File Explorer, and send it to one of my devices on Meshnet! It just works, and does it pretty darn well. Also, I don't actually need to download the file to use it... I can access alllll my files remotely using Parsec (or CRD on computers I don't own,) to remote into my PC where I have all the software I could ever need to access any file out there. 

I have file aquisition set up as well. I can download just about any movie, song, book, map, photo, ROM, etc, remotely and securely from anywhere in the world. Pretty cool!!

anyway, uh hehe byeee