With Seafile allows you to set up a server on your own computer and you have a lot less money a lot of storage

Dropbox, OneDrive and associates are all handy cloud storage services. However, some stores soon pay ten euros per month. With Seafile allows you to set up a server on your own computer and you have a lot less money a lot of storage.

Tip 1: Requirements
Before we begin, it is important here to discuss the supplies. With Seafile you put a server on your computer. This server is very light and will have little impact on your PC . However, this means that the computer must remain on when you want to upload or download files. The files remain on your computer and you can also edit them offline. But for mobile access is necessary that the Seafile server is online, otherwise you can not sign up.

Because chances are you're going to download and upload large files, it is an advantage if you have a fast router or are using a wired connection. So those are certainly things to consider. Moreover, it is necessary to have enough free disk space. We carry this server on Windows , but the Seafile server also runs on Linux and on the Raspberry Pi. Steps therefor will largely correspond to the steps we are going to run on Windows.

It is next to Windows also possible to install the Seafile server on Linux and there are special instructions for the Raspberry Pi.
Accessibility outside your local network
The server we going to set up to sync your files accessible only from your local network. To use the server even outdoors, you would simply be able to forward ports on your router to your Seafile server. When you fill out your IP address into the app, you can connect from outside. However, if a home user, you have a dynamic IP address and can be so suddenly that you can not connect more with the server because your ISP has given you a new IP address. To work around this, you can buy a domain name with a dynamic DNS service the DNS records up-to-date. However, this is a profession, and therefore falls outside the field of this article.

Tip 2: Installing Python
Seafile the server is written in the Python programming language, something that standard is not available on Windows. This we must install quick, it does happen. Go to http://python.org , click Downloads > Download Python 2.7.10 . It is important that you take version 2.7, not version 3.5. Run the downloaded .msi file, and then click in the installation at Next . The default Python is good, so click again on Next . Scroll down and click on the red cross to Add to python.exe Path and select Will be installed on the local hard drive . Then click Next and the installation will start. After some time, the installation is finished and you can click on Finish clicks.

Make sure Python is added to the system by clicking on the cross and select Will be installed on the local hard drive.
Tip 3: Install Seafile
We're going to download the Seafile server and install. To do this go to the Seafile website www.seafile.com and click right on Download . At the bottom you will find the server . Under Server for Windows on 4.3.1 at the time of writing the latest version of Seafile. There is now available a tar.gz file, this is a kind of zip file that you can unpack 7Zip for example.

The tar.gz is a tar file, and it is then the actual folder containing all server files. This map should be placed in C: \ SeafileProgram . Do you have the folder, opened it, and then click run.bat to start the Seafile server. A window appears in which you specify where the files you want to store in the cloud should be on the local PC. Choose a disk with sufficient storage space is available and choose Next . Then Seafile is initialized and can Windows Firewall Notifier appearance of Seafile and Python, because there must be turned on a few things.

Select a drive to store all files on Seafile
Tip 4: Configuration
Seafile requires a user account that serves as an admin / manager and has all the rights in the application. This account we must first add. You do this in the notification area of the Windows taskbar, right-clicking the icon and choosing Seafile Add an admin account . A window will appear where you can enter an email address and password. Provide a strong password and click OK . Now we have an admin account, we can just set a name for our Seafile server and set the IP address properly.

Click again, right-click the Seafile icon and choose Open seafile server directory . Windows Explorer appears. Click the folder CCNet and select the file ccnet.conf . Double-click it and choose to open it with Notepad program. Here you can at NAME enter a name for your Seafile server shown in the applications that you later connect with. Also in here SERVICE_URL enter the IP address of your Windows PC. The IP address can be found the easiest way to open the Command Prompt (press Start, type cmd and press Enter), then ipconfig typing. When IPv4 address is your current IP address. Fill it to the SERVICE_URL as follows: is your IP address 192.168.1.5 for example, you fill http://192.168.1.5:8000 in. Save the file and close Notepad. Finally, click again, right-click the system tray icon Seafile and choose Restart Seafile Server.

Tip 5: Firewall
If you want to access the server Seafile on other computers from your network, we must make an adjustment to the Windows Firewall, given these standard blocks all incoming connections. Right-click on Start and then click Control Panel . Go to System and Security > Windows Firewall and left click on Advanced Settings . It opens a new window. Right click on Policies for incoming connections and select New rule . In the wizard that opens now, choose to Rule Type the option Gate . Click Next . Fill in Specific local ports values 8000.8082 and click Next until you come to name . Enter Seafile and click Finish . If you're on another PC type in your IP address of the server Seafile behind it: 8000, the login page appears Seafile. As long as your router has a firewall active, which by default will be the case, you can now only locally at the Seafile server and not remotely. That is sufficiently safe.


Fill in local ports, so Seafile files can synchronize the ports 8000 and 8082.
Tip 6: Static IP address
There is one problem: your router shares default IP addresses that regularly change. That's not really useful in this case, so we're going to set a static IP address for your Seafile server. On the computer on which server you are running the Command Prompt and enter the command ipconfig out. Then you see the active compound the Default Gateway and Subnet Mask . Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center . Under Connections on the value behind it, which may Ethernet or WiFi are. Click on Properties . In the new window is a list of items, scroll it until your Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP / IPv4) see and click the Properties selected by that value. Select the option Use the following IP address .

Fill in IP address, your current IP address that you filled in in tip 4 in the configuration file and Subnet Mask and Default Gateway values that you just saw at the request of the IP data on your server PC. Fill DNS server addresses preferably Server 8.8.8.8 and the alternate server 8.8.4.4 and check the option Settings validate at close to. Click OK . In our case, there was a moment a problem wizard out, but soon simply connect to the Internet.


Ensure that the values ​​you see in ipconfig, match the values ​​entered in the properties of your connection.
Tip 7: Use Seafile
As for the real work is done now and you can explore Seafile now. Just open your favorite browser and go to http: //127.0.01: 8000. The login screen appears Seafile. You can log in using the admin account that you had previously created. After logging a message about libraries. Seafile works with libraries that can be synchronized separately. Click Close . Let's first create a number of libraries. Click New Library . For example, type documents .

You can choose Encrypt ticking, but we do not right now. If you do, then know that the password is not stored on the server and the server admin can not see the files. These are prior to uploading namely encrypted with the password that you give up now. Click Submit to create the new library. It is convenient to create a number of libraries, for example, one for each file type, but you can of course decide for yourself how you want to organize your libraries.

Creating a new library is very simple and provides one neat categorization of your files.
Tip 8: Seafile app
In order to get files in Seafile, we will install the Seafile application. In this app you can add local files, so they are uploaded to the server Seafile. To do this go to www.seafile.com , then click Download and choose to Seafile Client for Windows for the top version, at the time of writing is version 4.4.1 . Download and run the .msi file, click Next > Next > Install . After installation, click on Finish , and the Seafile client opens immediately. First you need to choose a folder where the files downloaded from Seafile and synchronizes. Conveniently, for example, an external hard drive where you have plenty of available space or somewhere in your documents. Seafile Seafile will create a folder in the folder itself. Once you have selected the folder, click Next . Now you need to add the server.

Fill Server link in which we used previously to visit the server into the browser's address in the form of: http: // [server IP address]: 8000. Then enter your email address and password you used to register with the admin account. Optionally you can go to Computer Name enter a name that you recognize your computer, if that is not the case. Then click Login to log in to the server. If all goes well, you pretty quickly see the main Seafile the different libraries. Now if you want to get files from the Seafile cloud, click the Library and choose you to synchronize this library . Want to add a folder or file, you can drag the bottom of the program in the box.

There are also Seafile clients available for iOS and Android . Find this on the App Store Play Store respectively. You set these apps in a similar way as the desktop version. The same applies to OS X and Ubuntu clients.

Adding a server goes again through the IP address with the addition: 8000. Then enter your username and password.