AC68U - How to setup USB sharing?

[V23]

Hi everyone,

I own an AC68U router and was wondering if someone could run me through the steps required to setup USB sharing via the ports on the back of the router. I'm looking to share files through my local network but not sure about the correct process. I've read that the USB might need to be formatted to EXT2/3, is that required or will NTFS work fine?

Also, is the USB always powered or does it go into a 'sleep' state when inactive for a while?

I'm running the latest Merlin release and Windows 8.1 if that's important.

Sorry for posting such a basic question but I'm no expert with routers.

Thanks.

 

[sinshiva]

assuming you only want to share files and such, ntfs will work just fine. do this from the USB Apps > server center > samba page

while on the samba page, i'd enable the wins server and set as master browser, then add the router's lan ip to the wins section under the LAN page

if you are sharing a harddrive rather than a flashdrive, in the Tools > Other settings page you'll find options to 'spindown' the hdd after some time.

 

[jayboyyyy]

assuming you only want to share files and such, ntfs will work just fine. do this from the USB Apps > server center > samba page

while on the samba page, i'd enable the wins server and set as master browser, then add the router's lan ip to the wins section under the LAN page

if you are sharing a harddrive rather than a flashdrive, in the Tools > Other settings page you'll find options to 'spindown' the hdd after some time.

i have master browser enabled but not the WINS server. I wasn't sure what either were but I enabled master browser at some point so i kept my settings that way. Can you let me know the purpose and benefits of enabling the WINS server and the master browser. Everything works fine without it so I wasn't sure what the purpose was.

also for the OP, if you don't care who on your LAN can access the content then you will want to "allow guest login"

 

[V23]

Well, I had never heard of SAMBA but I think I've got everything configured correctly now. Is it safe to enable 'guest login' or is it more secure to disable it? Thanks for your help.

 

[jayboyyyy]

Well, I had never heard of SAMBA but I think I've got everything configured correctly now. Is it safe to enable 'guest login' or is it more secure to disable it? Thanks for your help.

it is useful if you want only certain people on your LAN to be able to access the drive. if you are not worried about that then it is not a big deal. that is up to you.