Router with a Master Browser function or set up RaspPi?

[smitbret]

First, the questions....

Is there a router, other than Western Digital MyNet series, that has an option to force the router to be the Master Browser in a network?

If not, where would I find information on setting up a RaspPi to be always on and whose sole function is to control the Master Browser function on my home's SAMBA network?

Background
I've been on a multi-year quest for simpler, easier linking and short-cutting between the Windows and Linux devices in my home. I like being able to pop into "Computer" and being able to just click the PC in the workgroup and have it open up the shared folders on the remote device. More often than not, some devices appear and others are missing. I can still access the shared folders by typing in the PC name in the address bar so file permissions are not an issue at all. The biggest problem is that typing the PC name doesn't work for context menus inside of apps. If I wanna rip a DVD to the shared folder on my server, I have to save it locally and then cut and paste it from explorer. I have been getting by with placing shortcuts to the devices on the desktop but that works with some apps but not others.

I have had varying degrees of success with Registry Tweaks, disabling Browser Service and changing OS levels in the different machines but the only thing that has ever worked consistently is setting my Western Digital MyNet N900 router as the Master Browser. Doing this always works. Unfortunately, this router has a problem maintaining a WAN connection and needs to be rebooted every 24-72 hours when all of the connected devices lose their internet connection.

Right now, I have disabled the WiFi on the MyNet N900 and use a TP-Link Archer C7 as an Access Point. I have used a D-Link DIR-825 and an Asus RT-AC68U as my router to see if that made a difference as far as LAN stability but none of those routers have the option to be the Master Browser, either and I get the same inconsistent results.

I wouldn't mind finding a router (WiFi or not) that is stable and offers the same Master Browser option as the MyNet N900 but it also needs to be wall mountable as I lack shelf/desktop space to place the router. I am considering something like the NetGear Nighthawk series or looking at one of the newer Linksys AC routers but after browsing their manuals online I see no mention of the function I am looking for. Browsing the DD-WRT Wiki seems to suggest it is no better.

My other option, maybe even preferable, would be to dump the MyNet n900 altogether and just use the TP-Link Archer C7 as it is my favored router of the 4 I mentioned and replace the AP with a switch. I have a Raspberry Pi lying around collecting dust. Does anyone know how or where I could find info on setting up the RaspPi to just plug into my network and just act as an always on device that acts as the Master Browser? I have found lots of little forum posts around the web that seem to hint about it but I am a Windows user and Command Line is foreign to me unless I have a step-by-step guide in front of me. All of the mentions of Debian and things like that are right over my head. I am good enough to SSH into my OpenELEC HTPCs and modify those Linux based devices so I not an idiot but I need some pretty basic help for setting the Pi up like this.

 

[azazel1024]

Have you tried mapped network drives....

 

[smitbret]

Have you tried mapped network drives....

Yeah, the mapping works, but has to be done on any device that comes into the network. If I could even map individual devices, that would be useful but you have to map the individual folders and if any changes are made to the folder structure(s), then the maps would have to be updated on each device. Also, if a device is off the network then it doesn't show up at all, versus clicking a mapped drive and having it look for the share and fail. I guess it's just a housekeeping thing.

I currently have shortcuts to individual PCs placed on the desktops and that works for 80% of what I do but context menus don't seem to cooperate in all applications using this method.

Maybe I will just have to map them that and just keep up on the housekeeping.

It just seems like such a "duh?" kind of thing to have the router act as the Master Browser on a network since it tends to be the most 24/7 device and there's no real network without it. I can't figure out why anyone but Western Digital has seen fit to create this feature.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I can't figure out why anyone but Western Digital has seen fit to create this feature.

Because if you have file sharing configured correctly on your Linux boxes, (turn off browser and master options in samba.conf) your Windows box will elect itself Master Browser and everything works fine. Local DNS is also pretty handy.

 

[smitbret]

Because if you have file sharing configured correctly on your Linux boxes, (turn off browser and master options in samba.conf) your Windows box will elect itself Master Browser and everything works fine. Local DNS is also pretty handy.

Except the only Linux boxes I have are my 2 HTPCs running OpenELEC (Chromebox and RaspPi2). They are both 24/7, but they do reboot every few weeks when there is an update to OpenELEC/Kodi so they aren't great candidates. My server is running Windows 7 Pro (had been WHS 2011 but it wouldn't play nice with my PlayOn server). It is the most 24/7 devices and only goes down for Windows or hardware updates (annual HDD expansion). Everything else is on/off all of the time. That's why it would be awesome if I could just set up the SAMBA on the RaspPi and just leave it on all of the time. If I stick it next to the server I can plug it into the UPS and I would be able to measure continuous uptime in years.

Dave, it sounds like you know what I should do, though. What would you recommend that I install on the Pi to make it a SAMBA server? Before I start digging into the Local DNS thing, what would be the advantages of doing that? Is that something I would set up with a router running DD-WRT?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Except the only Linux boxes I have are my 2 HTPCs running OpenELEC (Chromebox and RaspPi2). They are both 24/7, but they do reboot every few weeks when there is an update to OpenELEC/Kodi so they aren't great candidates. My server is running Windows 7 Pro (had been WHS 2011 but it wouldn't play nice with my PlayOn server). It is the most 24/7 devices and only goes down for Windows or hardware updates (annual HDD expansion). Everything else is on/off all of the time. That's why it would be awesome if I could just set up the SAMBA on the RaspPi and just leave it on all of the time. If I stick it next to the server I can plug it into the UPS and I would be able to measure continuous uptime in years.

Dave, it sounds like you know what I should do, though. What would you recommend that I install on the Pi to make it a SAMBA server? Before I start digging into the Local DNS thing, what would be the advantages of doing that? Is that something I would set up with a router running DD-WRT?

On the Pi, you'd just install samba, and tell it to be the master browser.

http://www.faqs.org/docs/securing/chap29sec284.html

You're looking for the "local master" setting - it needs to be set to "yes" for one machine and "no" for everything/everybody else.

A local DNS server would just be another way to get similar functionality. (Assign reserved IPs from the routers DHCP config, set up the DNS names, and then "\\dads-computer" or "\\htpc" would always get you where you wanted to be.)

 

[smitbret]

On the Pi, you'd just install samba, and tell it to be the master browser.

http://www.faqs.org/docs/securing/chap29sec284.html

You're looking for the "local master" setting - it needs to be set to "yes" for one machine and "no" for everything/everybody else.

A local DNS server would just be another way to get similar functionality. (Assign reserved IPs from the routers DHCP config, set up the DNS names, and then "\\dads-computer" or "\\htpc" would always get you where you wanted to be.)

Cool, I could probably just leave OpenELEC on it (it's already installed) and just modify the samba.conf file on the other 2 HTPCs and do a regedit on the Windows boxes then.

If that fails I may have to learn to setup the local DNS. Thanks.

 

[smitbret]

So, finally getting around to setting this up and just wanted to make sure I had this handled well.

My network looks like this:

I am planning on just leaving OpenELEC on the old RaspPi and then just setting the samba.conf file to have it default to Master Browser and increase the OS Level to 50. Then plug it into the switch. That should result in the RaspPi winning the browser elections and holding the Browsing List, right?

 

[yinan]

You do realize that this is a completely antiquated protocol right? NetBIOS really isn't used anymore for many reasons.

 

[smitbret]

You do realize that this is a completely antiquated protocol right? NetBIOS really isn't used anymore for many reasons.

No, I had no idea

What is the solution, then?

 

[yinan]

Use DNS and shared folders. A lot of devices won't even do NetBIOS advertisements anymore.

 

[smitbret]

Use DNS and shared folders. A lot of devices won't even do NetBIOS advertisements anymore.

So, basically what I am already doing.

Everything wired in my system has a DHCP reservation and right now I typically just type the name of the device into the address bar to pull up the shared folders from each device. I have shortcuts to some local PCs setup among the different devices. It works but lacks some functionality I would really, really, really like if NetBIOS would just work the way it is intended.

 

[yinan]

NetBIOS never really worked, which was why everything deprecated it.

 

[smitbret]

SUCCESS!!!!!!!

Well, 2 1/2 months from my original post and about 2 years since I first started my quest I feel that I finally have a solution.

I had removed my Asus RT-AC68U (T-Mobile CellSpot, actually) from the network when I gave up back in June. It had been sitting in the box since then. I had toyed with the idea of just giving it back to T-Mobile but figured since it was free I would hang on to it as a backup for the Archer C7.

Fast Forward to last week. Lately, the Archer C7 has seemed like it was running a little hot and I have noticed that my Ooma Telo was occasionally dropping it's wireless connection. I would have to unplug the wireless adapter and plug it back in to reconnect. Not only that, but my Blackberry Z10 just never played nice with the 2.4GHz band with the Archer C7. Download speeds usually maxed out around 0.4Mbps so I was running it off the 5GHz band instead. That meant I was a little more limited when roaming around outside the house since the 5GHz didn't have the range.

I started investigating some things and discovered that AsusWRT Merlin has an option to force the router to act as the Master Browser, similar to the MyNet N900 that was such a piece of shit. So, I spent a couple of hours Tuesday morning converting the T-Mobile Cell Spot to a stock Asus RT-AC68U and then flashed it with Merlin. I set the Asus as the SAMBA Master Browser and disabled Computer Browser in all of my Windows PCs. I set the C7 up as an AP instead of the router and wired the Asus into the network. Reboot EVERYTHING in the house and bang!!!!!! Master Browser function has been working perfectly since Thursday. Additionally, I enabled the wireless on the Asus (I am still using the C7 as the wireless AP) and can speedtest +35Mbps with my Blackberry on the 2.4GHz band. Stuck the Ooma on the Asus, too and I haven't noticed any drops there so far.

I am just surprised that as common as the Asus routers running alt firmware that this wasn't suggested by someone else.