Creating directories in OMV filesystem

Usually you create shared folders from the GUI. It is possible to create nested shared folders.

Once you created a shared folder, added it to the smb service and can access it from Windows, you can also created additional folder using the explorer.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

Also I don't particularly want to create shares for my filesystem.

Why do you use OMV then?

You can also use it with Linux or iOS.

But the core of OMV is using shared folders to make folders accessible to services, like smb, nfs, ftp ....

I would not really know, what to do with OMV without shared folders.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

Is it better to use Windows to create folders rather than going directly to bash.

Also I don't particularly want to create shares for my filesystem.

I think you two are talking past each other. You have to create at least one share on OMV so you can access it from your PC. Once you have created at least one share and made it available using the SMB service, you can access that share and then create your file system inside of it from your pc. Smb will be available to whichever users you give permission to it from OMV. Hope that helps.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

OMV contains a tool to mount a filesystem but no tool to create the directory structure inside it or even to view it.

For that the client is used. E.g. explorer on Windows or nemo on LinuxMint or dolphin on KDE etc.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

Presumably you could create a share from / so that the whole of the OMV filesystem was shared.

By default OMV does not allow to create shared folders on the rootfs. But there is the sharerootfs plugin which allows you to do that. However it is not advised to share the complete root fs.

You could also use FIleZilla to manipulate the filesystem (e.g. using sftp)

Quote from StanleyAccrington

It seems that OMV does create folders via the 'add shared folders'. These are folders as children of /srv/dev-disk-by-label-Data/

They appear in the linux directory hierarchy whether they use SMB or not.

Exactly.

First you create the shared folders. Once created you can add them to the services (like SMB, FTP, nfs etc).

When creating a shared folder the folder on the filesystem is created.

It is also possible to point a shared folder to an existing folder on the filesystem.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

However you advise not to use this plugin which,

Not quite. The intention of the plugin is to be able to create shared folders also on the root filesystem. That is ok.

You could also use it to share the complete root filesystem (at least I think so, have not tested it), and that is not advisable.

However, the proposed concept of OMV is to have the root filesystem and the data on separated drives.

Quote from StanleyAccrington

Doesn't the fact that you can point a shared folder at an existing folder on the filesystem mean you must know what the exiting filesystem is called?

When you create a shared folder, you select the device, which actually is the filesystem label.

You can also login directly on the OMV NAS using SSH and then create folders as you please and where you please using normal Linux commands and tools. Bash. In effect opening up the hood and directly messing with the internals. NOTE: Unprotected access...

I often use mc (Midnight Commander) for this purpose.

Typically you just want to create and rearrange sub folders in existing shared folders, or move files around. It is very easy to mess things up and make OMV unusable and possibly cause data loss. But if you do know what you are doing this is a VERY powerful and fast way to manage your files.

Using mc on a Linux computer it is even possible to open up a remote pane on the OMV NAS over the network using the FISH protocol. Great for quickly copying files or editing scripts and so on.

If you have to ask about this you most likely don't know enough to use it safely. And you are better off managing the shares and the contents from a client over SMB or NFS.