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Simple version of a folder lock utility that would require a password for access

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superboyac:
Incl. downloading the Linux distro, the NextCloud software, creating the VM and installing NextCloud...that should take about an hour on a Linux computer. Finding out what it does, how to implement the features it has by default, what additions you want and configuring, that took me longer.

Think I spent an hour on getting my spare computer ready for Nextcloud. Usually that process is smoother in a VM than bare metal.
A Windows domain should be able to add a Linux computer into its ranks.
-Shades (September 14, 2020, 05:40 PM)
--- End quote ---
Nice link, man!  Excellent.  Very easy to follow.

Deozaan:
Incl. downloading the Linux distro, the NextCloud software, creating the VM and installing NextCloud...that should take about an hour on a Linux computer. Finding out what it does, how to implement the features it has by default, what additions you want and configuring, that took me longer.

Think I spent an hour on getting my spare computer ready for Nextcloud. Usually that process is smoother in a VM than bare metal.
-Shades (September 14, 2020, 05:40 PM)
--- End quote ---

Are you saying you should put a Linux VM on a Linux host? Or are you saying put a Linux VM on a Windows host? In what way(s) does the process go more smoothly in a VM than on bare metal?

Shades:
At work I have a dedicated Linux box for NextCloud. But relatively often need a new Linux based VM's there. And those are pretty quick to setup from scratch.

Even on my old Windows computer at home, it is still pretty fast to setup a Linux VM. Booting and shutting down VMs goes faster than bare metal. Even when those are stored on a spinning rust drive. I have to add that I always create the virtual drive for the VM in full at the beginning, instead of dynamically allocate storage space when the virtual drive needs it. That results in large continuous blocks of data, something the NTFS filesystem from the host computer handles better, making the VM run smoother/nippier. Also, I am comfortable running Linux without a GUI. No overhead from a GUI makes a Linux VM pretty fast to install and afterwards booting the VM takes about 10 to 15 seconds. Within the Ubuntu Server edition installation procedure, you will be asked the purpose for the Linux VM you are about to create. Choose 'LAMPP' (it installs the Apache webserver, PHP and MySQL. And those are the requirements for NextCloud. 

The NextCloud installation works just fine without a GUI and when done, you'll have a web-interface for managing NextCloud. If the VM is needed for longer periods, then I check the DHCP server on the router to see the current network lease of the new VM and add it to the appropriate list of computers (computers are allocated different amounts of bandwidth, depending on the list it is added to). By now, a VM doesn't even have to negotiate network settings anymore during boot, no matter on which LAN computer it resides. Shaves off 0.5 to 1 second of (re)booting and as a bonus its IP address remains the same throughout the whole LAN.

At this point the VM only needs to start, NextCloud will be available through a browser and/or smartphone app (if you installed that on your phone). The people behind NextCloud even made client software for Windows and Mac. But I prefer the simplicity of a small, portable tool (Windows-only) called: CarotDAV. But drag-'n'-drop files on the web-interface works just as well.

You will need to do extra things if you wish the Linux VM to become part of a Windows AD environment, as SuperboyAC is doing. But you can skip that if you just run a standard Windows Work group in your network, then you can use any computer/tablet/phone in your LAN to continue configuring NextCloud using the web-interface. While the included functionality of NextCloud will already be pleasant surprise, you will lose a lot more time configuring and expanding it to your liking than on creating the VM, downloading and installation of Linux and installing NextCloud itself.

Now, I made my instance publicly available, so I can use it for work stuff. But that is not a necessity for home use. A nice to have? Sure, but you'll need a static IP address on your home address or at your host (if your NextCloud instance runs at a cloud provider).

Iirc, you can set the phone app to transfer/sync data from phone to NextCloud only when connected with WiFi, which is what most people do when they bring their phone/tablet into their home. Data synchronization should not be a problem in whatever kind of setup your NextCloud instance runs.


Follow the installation instructions of NextCloud on their website and you are   

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