4TB My Cloud - Is LAN & Internet access possible if it's connected to a PC?

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud
1

Hello :smiley:

Short version…
I have a 4TB My Cloud. Instead of plugging it directly into the routers Ethernet port, is it possible to plug it into my PC’s Ethernet and still get LAN & Internet access to the drive?

The PC has LAN & Internet access via 5GHz Wi-Fi to the router.

I imagine it is possible but the correct IP’s, Firewall & Settings would need to be applied.

Considerably longer version!
I have a 4TB My Cloud which is connected to my network via the Gigabit Ethernet Port on my EX6150 range extender. This has the effect of making it appear on my network as though it was connected directly to my router, even though it’s not. It’s actually up in the attic! All works fine with no issues.

My Cloud < Ethernet > Range Extender < 5GHz > Router.

I do not have the My Cloud drive plugged directly into my router because I can hear it spinning when it’s in this room.

I have recently purchased a MINIX NEO Z83-4 Fanless Mini PC, and installed Plex media server on it. Again, all works fine. Plex loads the video files from the My Cloud drive, trans-codes them and forwards them onto my router & TV.

My Cloud < Ethernet > Range Extender < 5GHz > Router < 5GHz > Mini PC…
[TRANSCODE] Mini PC < 5GHz > Router < 5GHz > Smart TV

I want to make the whole setup less complicated and remove the range extender from the equation which, frankly, I do not need. The My Cloud drive would therefore be plugged directly into the Mini PC Ethernet socket:

However, when I try this combination, the Mini PC issues a Windows DHCP address of 169.254.152.242 and subnet of 255.255.0.0. The My Cloud drive is only accessible via the Mini PC and does not have LAN or internet access. Simply assigning a static IP for the drive of, say, 192.168.1.100 and subnet of 255.255.255.0 does not work either.

Put simply, I would like the following while maintaining LAN & Internet access:

My Cloud < Ethernet > Mini PC < 5GHz > Router .

I haven’t found any definitive guide on how I might achieve this, therefore any help would be very much appreciated :slight_smile:

2

Yes you can plug the My Cloud into a computer’s network port. However, unless you configure the computer’s second (or additional) network adapter(s) that has internet access to “bridge” with the network adapter the My Cloud is connected to the My Cloud won’t have internet OR local network access.

You will need to either bridge the network adapters together or if using an earlier version of Windows possibly enable Internet Connection Sharing.

One example of how to bridge network adapters if using Windows 10:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-set-and-manage-network-bridge-connection-windows-10

One thing to keep in mind with setting up the My Cloud in this fashion. You will have to keep that computer on whenever you plan to access the My Cloud, including when attempting to access the My Cloud remotely. Generally its better to connect the My Cloud to the network router rather than a computer.

3

That’s really awesome! Your solution worked first time :smiley:

My drive still has LAN & Internet access, I can Remote Desktop to the Mini PC and map the drive from my main PC.

My Mini PC is switched on 24/7 and has very low power consumption. I understand it being generally better to have the drive plugged straight into the router but even though it is quiet, I can sometimes hear the drive spinning. This can be a bit irritating while watching a film with a quiet scene, for example, and is why I prefere the drive to be in a different room of the house.

Anyway, many thanks for your solution :smiley: