[nfbcs] USB drive on two machines at the same time?
Steve Jacobson
steve.jacobson at visi.com
Sun Apr 10 14:40:20 UTC 2011
Doug,
Our corporate network is not as tight about files that I go out and get as it is about files or connections coming from
another machine, and there is passive FTP as well. You could be right, though, that where SSH doesn't work FTP
probably won't either. There used to be software around that would let you do file transfers from one computer to
another using serial and parallel ports. This was separate from networking and was useful when one needed to move
a lot of files. I wonder if there is any software out there that would let your laptop look like an external drive using USB
instead of the network connection. Frankly, some security sorts are not going to like any direct connection, probably,
even if it is not on the network.
Best regards,
Steve Jacobson
On Sun, 10 Apr 2011 04:56:27 -0400, Doug Lee wrote:
>I do use a cell connection from my Laptop to the Internet, but where
>ssh doesn't work, I doubt ftp does either. :) Unless I'm missing
>exactly what you have in mind, which is possible.
>On Sun, Apr 10, 2011 at 01:02:34AM -0500, Steve Jacobson wrote:
>Doug,
>Have you considered a cellphone connection to the internet from your laptop and then using FTP from the clients
>computer to your laptop?
>I think looking for greater efficiency is always worth it.
>Best regards,
>Steve Jacobson
>On Sat, 9 Apr 2011 09:48:40 -0700, Jim Barbour wrote:
>>Hey Doug,
>>I do not believe such a solution exists using USB.
>>Another way this type of problem gets addressed is with NAS solutions
>>(client/server storage such as CIFS or NFS), I assume this doesn't
>>work for you because your laptop is not allowed directly on your
>>customer's corperate network.
>>I wish you luck,
>>Jim
>>On Sat, Apr 09, 2011 at 12:28:31PM -0400, Doug Lee wrote:
>>> Apologies for the length of this message, but I am writing to address
>>> the question of why I keep trying to make this unusual connection
>>> among machines instead of using the various alternatives suggested in
>>> this discussion, because I keep seeing answers like "Why not do this
>>> instead."
>>>
>>> As I suppose may seem typical with questions I post on lists, there
>>> are a lot of issues surrounding why I have to raise the question in
>>> the first place. In this case, since I develop scripts for a lot of
>>> organizations and share code among projects that is filtered for any
>>> content relevant specifically to an organization unrelated to the
>>> current deployment destination, it is often necessary for me to make
>>> code transfers and adaptations on my laptop which can not reasonably
>>> be made on the target machine, simply because I shouldn't put all past
>>> projects' code up there. The obvious solution to that issue is to
>>> develop on the laptop, but since development necessarily centers
>>> around tests and experiments on the target machine, this is
>>> complicated unless it is quick to deploy such work to that machine.
>>> This is the simplest explanation I can think of for the cause of the
>>> problem I'm trying to solve. I am very actively trying to reduce the
>>> number of occasions when I must do this sort of adaptation, in effect
>>> by creating code snippets that are prescreened for lack of content
>>> specific to any job. But at present, access to past projects remains
>>> useful in many jobs I do, and I actually tell clients that I do this
>>> sort of adaptation to save both them and everyone else time and money.
>>>
>>> A number of alternatives have been suggested in this thread, and from
>>> memory, I'll address them here, at the risk of missing one or two.
>>>
>>> Trevor suggested I make my own subnet by detaching the target machine
>>> from the client's LAN. This is usually impractical because most
>>> client software actively requires that LAN to run. Example: A call
>>> center application can't run without access to the call center's
>>> database servers, and sometimes even the user's telephone via an IP
>>> connection.
>>>
>>> Steve suggested that I move everything to the client system, do my
>>> work, then move it all back. I addressed a lot of that one above.
>>>
>>> Keeping things on the thumb drive and moving it between machines is an
>>> obvious solution, and it does work, but it slows things down,
>>> sometimes considerably, by requiring so many connects and disconnects.
>>>
>>> My most frequent solution is an ssh connection to our central office,
>>> which solves the whole problem nicely. But of course, these
>>> connections are also getting more and more often shut off as well.
>>>
>>> To address the general security concern of my being able to read/write
>>> data to/from the target machine at all, all I can think to say quickly
>>> is that we already have to sign various agreements concerning
>>> behavior, data handling, etc., that legally bind me to do the right
>>> thing with any sensitive information I bump into. My work does go
>>> across security lines in an unusual way for clients' business models,
>>> inasmuch as my work is totally unrelated to clients' business models
>>> but interrelates across most any business model I encounter; that is
>>> to say, accessibility work and data share equally across call
>>> centers, government agencies, banks, etc. but incorporate zero
>>> sensitive information relative to any of those. So the fact that I
>>> try to do odd things within a security domain is easy to explain for
>>> anyone who understands what I do. I'm just preparing for the
>>> inevitability that this will not always grant me passage to do it
>>> anyway. My goal is not to circumvent security policies but to have at
>>> hand as many alternatives as possible that fit within them while still
>>> maximizing the efficiency of what I can do.
>>>
>>> Maybe I go too far, in the minds of some, to try to increase the
>>> efficiency of the things I do. :) I knew I was running up hill a bit
>>> by asking this question in the first place, or the solution, and
>>> corresponding hardware, would surely be more prominently available out
>>> there.
>>>
>>> So I think the overall answer from this thread is that nobody knows of
>>> the type of device I'm looking for. If so, it's ok with me for the
>>> thread to close, even if with an unfortunate end. :)
>>>
>>> On Wed, Apr 06, 2011 at 01:13:33PM -0500, Steve Jacobson wrote:
>>> Doug,
>>>
>>> I wonder if bluetooth would be a solution. Plugging in a bluetooth receiver if the machine doesn't have that
>capability is usually pretty painless. The trouble
>>> is that any continuous connection between your laptop and the computer connected to a network will be viewed
>with suspicion. Even if you can't read
>>> from the network, writing offers the possibility of transmitting a virus or worm into the network, and people worry
>about that almost as much as the information
>>> you might pull out. Some won't like any connection with your laptop whether it is wired, wi-fi, or bluetooth,
because
>unless they watch you, they can't know
>>> if you are opening up a path to the network. Perhaps the best approach is to figure out the most efficient way to
>get what you need for developing
>>> transferred to the target maching and pulling back anything that has changed at the end of your session.
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>> On Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:19:00 -0400, Doug Lee wrote:
>>>
>>> >The problem I'm trying to solve is this: I frequently script at
>>> >company and government locations that will not allow me to connect my
>>> >laptop to the local network. Some sites don't allow write access to
>>> >USB drives either. I develop scripts on my laptop much of the time
>>> >because I have tools there for managing the process, but of course the
>>> >scripts must be installed on the machine at the location where I'm
>>> >working.
>>>
>>> >So the two-USB-connector drive idea would work like this: I would
>>> >write code on my laptop and run an installer from the same drive to
>>> >install on the office machine. The same can of course be achieved
>>> >without the extra USB connector just by moving the drive back and
>>> >forth between machines, but in rapid-turnaround testing situations,
>>> >which are frequent, that becomes much slower than my idea would be.
>>>
>>> >On Wed, Apr 06, 2011 at 12:07:52PM -0500, Steve Jacobson wrote:
>>> >Doug,
>>>
>>> >I think you are right, that just using two connections is going to be unreliable. I would think that your best
>approach would be to share the drive on one
>>> >computer and make it available to the other through a wireless network connection. I assume that the problem
>with networks is that you don't want to be
>>> on
>>> >a larger network and you may not have ethernet connections. I know that Windows has a create wireless
>network wizzard that seems to be for sharing
>>> >resources and devices as opposed to just connecting to a network, but I have never tried this. Good luck.
>>>
>>> >Best regards,
>>>
>>> >Steve Jacobson
>>>
>>>
>>> >On Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:56:38 -0400, Doug Lee wrote:
>>>
>>> >>I think any drive or device allowing simultaneous connections would
>>> >>have to be designed especially for this usage, because something has
>>> >>to arbitrate the simultaneous access, deal with caching issues, etc.
>>> >>You do highlight a curiosity I've long had though, about what would
>>> >>happen if I try two connection types at once as you suggest. The same
>>> >>would apply to any drive with both a USB and a Firewire connector.
>>>
>>> >>On Wed, Apr 06, 2011 at 11:15:38AM -0500, Bryan Schulz wrote:
>>> >>hi,
>>>
>>> >>i suspect you would overload the drive with double the voltage but...
>>> >>if you have the drive to experiment with destroying,
>>> >>get a usb/esata external enclosure as newer laptops have the new esata
>>> >>port then one computer could connect by regular usb and the other
>>> >>computer could connect thru the esata cable.
>>>
>>> >>Bryan Schulz
>>>
>>> >>----- Original Message ----- From: "Doug Lee" <dgl at dlee.org>
>>> >>To: "NFB in Computer Science Mailing List" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>> >>Sent: Wednesday, April 06, 2011 10:02 AM
>>> >>Subject: [nfbcs] USB drive on two machines at the same time?
>>>
>>>
>>> >>>I'm not sure where best to ask this question, so besides actual
>>> >>>answers, I welcome pointers on where to send this one. My excuse for
>>> >>>posting this here in the first place is that I need the device I'm
>>> >>>about to describe for scripting projects. :)
>>> >>>
>>> >>>I am looking for a USB drive, or better yet, a USB device that allows
>>> >>>a drive to be connected to it, that then allows the drive to be
>>> >>>plugged into the USB ports of two computers at the same time. To each
>>> >>>computer, it would be a USB drive pretty much like any other. I know
>>> >>>this issue is normally solved with a Network Appliance, but that is
>>> >>>not possible in my situation for security reasons.
>>> >>>
>>> >>>A specific example: I want to plug this device into, say, a desktop
>>> >>>computer's USB port and a laptop's USB port at the same time, write
>>> >>>files to the drive from the laptop, and read them off the drive with
>>> >>>the desktop. I'm even ok if the drive is mounted read/write by the
>>> >>>laptop but as read-only by the desktop. (This would cover most
>>> >>>security issues I've encountered in my work, since most sites will let
>>> >>>you bring data into a machine but not write it back out of it.) The
>>> >>>device must use USB connections, not Ethernet (Cat 5) connections. As
>>> >>>a last resort if the two-USB idea doesn't exist, I could probably work
>>> >>>with something that allowed one USB connection and a simultaneous WiFi
>>> >>>connection, as long as the WiFi connection supports WPA2.
>>> >>>
>>> >>>I notice one technical detail that may present a problem: The OS on
>>> >>>the desktop, in my above example, would somehow need to know not to
>>> >>>cache the drive data aggressively, even if it mounts the drive as a
>>> >>>read-only device, because the laptop could change the data at any
>>> >>>moment.
>>> >>>
>>> >>>Does such a device exist anywhere?
>>> >>>
>>> >>>--
>>> >>>Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>>> >>>SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com
>>> >>>http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>>> >>>"The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit
>>> >>>of it. You have to catch up with it yourself." --Benjamin Franklin
>>> >>>
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>>>
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>>> >>--
>>> >>Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>>> >>SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>>> >>"Believe, when you are most unhappy, that there is something for you
>>> >>to do in the world. So long as you can sweeten another's pain, life is
>>> >>not in vain." --Helen Keller
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> >--
>>> >Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>>> >SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>>> >"Innovation is hard to schedule." -- Dan Fylstra
>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>> --
>>> Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>>> SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>>> "I forgot, because I wanted to forget, except I don't remember
>>> forgetting." --Sarah Alawami
>>>
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>_______________________________________________
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>--
>Doug Lee dgl at dlee.org http://www.dlee.org
>SSB BART Group doug.lee at ssbbartgroup.com http://www.ssbbartgroup.com
>"Is your cucumber bitter? Throw it away. Are there briars in your
>path? Turn aside. That is enough. Do not go on to say, `Why were
>things of this sort ever brought into the world?'"
>--Marcus Aurelius
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