[SOLVED] Wired LAN Not Seen

[JoHubb]

I run a network with three dual boot Linux Mint desktops (Win10) and a dedicated Linux laptop. I wish to add a 4th machine running Kubuntu KDE.

In the Kubuntu machine the LAN does not show under Network in Dolphin. I have disabled the local machines firewalls.

I want many folders and files to be universally shared across these machines. I have done this on the Linux Mint machines by installing ssh on each, then bookmarking the server locations; finally mounting a particular drive on a desktop to access the folder/files. It works reliably and files can be copied/deleted/modified on all three machines from any desktop. I realise this is the opposite of the sort of set up you would want in a business environment.

The ssh method isn't working in the Kubuntu KDE machine (18.04, KDE Plasma 5.12.5). I tried using Samba but it would not run - error 'could not find the program gksu'. I am not too keen to meddle with root administrator privileges at this stage...

I'd be grateful for advice on how to integrate this Kubuntu machine into the LAN.

[JoHubb]

Progress. LAN is still not displayed but I can connect to one of the Mint machines.

This is what worked for me. You need the ip address of the client (destination) machine, and you need to install ssh on the server and client.

sudo apt install ssh

I then used my file manager (caja) to run this on the client (caja is a Gnome program and I think will not run in KDE):

[COLOR=#d3d3d3](caja)[/COLOR] sftp://Machine1-host-name.local

Make sure the firewall is disabled on the client.

Then:

Open Dolphin. On left panel, click on Network, double-click on Add Network Folder.

Select Secure Shell ssh and fill in the boxes - these relate to the client computer. I used my user name for both name and user, under Server put ipaddress, folder - home, not /home. I left everything else unchanged. Save and Connect. If it asks you to choose an icon, choose one.

As I say this worked for me, connecting a Kubuntu KDE machine with a Linux Mint Mate machine. If you aren't running Mate on the other machine, you will have to figure out an alternative to caja.

[oshunluvr]

You seem pretty capable if you're running that many Linux machines. However, I think you've run into a difference between Mint and Kubuntu. With Kubuntu, file sharing is not enabled by default. I assume it is with Mint. File sharing can be done many ways, but the most common is SAMBA if you need to enable Windows access also or NFS is the preferred Linux network file system.

I also have to assume this is what you mean when you state "LAN is not seen". When I read the topic, I deduced you meant your ethernet card was not working. You'll get better responses if your post subject correctly and precisely describes the problem you're having.

Dolphin, of course, has nothing to do with your LAN connection, other than to use it to access shared folders.

Some other comments; AFAIK, any and all Gnome programs will run using KDE if you install the proper GTK libraries. There may be a few Gnome specific things that will not work as expected, but most will. I'm not familiar with Caja, but I'm guessing it is an FTP server. KDE (aka Plasma 5) has several FTP programs available if you would prefer to try to learn and use KDE programs rather than GTK which require all the additional libraries and may not look as you might expect if you were running a Gnome DE.

[JoHubb]

Hello oshunluvr,

Thanks for your reply, for useful information, and for good advice about imprecise requests. Being totally self-taught in all this and in my 8th decade, I sometimes struggle to be precise!

I would prefer to use KDE programs than to tweak Gnome ones for use in a KDE system. After all, I installed Kubuntu so I could learn about KDE/Plasma 5. There is a learning curve though, and I am starting at the bottom!