Share Folder (SMB) from EC2 Instance on AWS to remote machine

Question

I am trying to migrate an application to Amazon and need client machines to be able to connect in. Realistically it seems as though I'll just need to be able to MAP a folder on the EC2 instance (running Windows Server 2008 R2) to the client machines (running Windows 7) and that will be sufficient.

I've done quite a bit of searching online and came across this entry early on:

https://serverfault.com/questions/228468/unable-to-share-data-between-amazon-ec2-instances-for-windows#comment220635_231318

I have opened the ports on both ends of my test machine and the EC2 server and cannot make a successful connection. The folder is shared, I've checked and rechecked the permissions, the ports, etc, but to no avail. Can anyone help point me in the right direction?

Edit: I've also tried to VPN into the instance, again, to no avail.

Answer 1

I think AWS might be blocking Windows share from the outside world. Did you try setting up two instance in AWS just like the post you mentioned? If you are able to share folders successfully between two AWS instances then it may be the case that AWS is blocking access.

Another options is to create an AWS instance in a VPC group and then require your clients to connect to the VPC (but that may not fly for your specific application)

In the case AWS is blocking access I would open a support ticket with them so they can explain you what's going on.

Alternatively you can try setting up your shared folder in S3 and use their IAM service to control access.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Amazon is not blocking windows shares. As long as you have port 445 open on your security group, you should be able to connect to the windows instance.

Make sure you do not have a client side firewall (either on your local machine or on your local network - it is not unusual for outgoing port 445 to be blocked on corporate networks).

Bear in mind that sharing folders like this is not secure - files are not encrypted over the wire, so someone could see your data.