Idon'tevenknowman... Is this possible? (Network Optical Drive!)

Operating Systems & Open Source Linux
1

My sitch (situation... yeah... whatver):

  1. - An Ubuntu 12.10 server with a blu-ray drive (Ubuntu desktop edition btw, I like GUI and CLI ~together~)
  2. - A Windows 7 desktop with no optical drive
  3. - A Windows 7 laptop with no optical drive
  4. - A small external dvd burner that's fully USB powered and looks quite nice
  5. - A frequent need to use an optical drive (I prefer buying CDs and ripping them)
  6. - An inability to install an optical drive in either main machine without making a severe downgrade in some other area of the PC itself (forgoing a H100 in the case of my prodigy rig, or losing either the SSD or the hard drive in the case of my laptop)

My things-I'm-trying-to-accomplish:

  1. - Have server's drive accessible as a DEVICE, rather than a DIRECTORY from any other machine on my network
  2. - Be able to rip a CD from the server using either client machine
  3. - Be able to watch a blu ray or dvd from the server either client machine
  4. - Be able to burn a disc from either client machine to the server
  5. - Be able to install programs on either client machine, where the installer needs to read from the disc while doing its job (sadly some devs still do this)
  6. - Only ever have to use the USB drive when I'm not at home (it currently lives in my laptop bag anyway)
  7. - Not crying myself to sleep at night over this
  8. - Achieve this all for FREE, without registering anything and getting spam emails

If someone could assist me, that would be grand. If this topic could make it to Inbox.exe or The Tek so that people know how the hell to do it (if/when it ever gets resolved) that would be the grandest. It would be so grand it would make a grand piano blush. I will personally mail whoever solves this problem absolutely and completely a hand-written thank you note on paper made from an extinct plant*. 

*Subject to availabilty

RELEASE THE HOUNDS!

2

how many times have you googled this with various terms, before giving up watching some porn and then going to bed?

3

so many. minus the porn, the mrs is in bed before me ;) onto something with iSCSI target/initiator

4

Everything is possible, you just have to believe!

1 Like
5

yes its possible, just setup the samba shares

6

this doesn't actually do what i'm asking. i want the drive to show up in windows with a letter, and behave as though the drive is installed by a sata cable onto the motherboard. i don't want a network folder with the contents of the disk. basically, i want the drive, not the disk, to be shared.

7

8

netcat sounds like it should work but have never tried it for a block device.

That wont get a drive letter in Windows on its own, but its closer to what you need maybe.

9

Post is from 2013

10

lol, how the hell did I find it

11

I don't know but it tells you before you post