Turn your Android device into a micro-server

With Samba Filesharing, you can access files on your Android device wirelessly from your Windows PC.

One of the key things about Android is the fact that it’s based on the Linux operating system. Along with that comes many of Linux’s benefits, not the least of which is its open nature, made even more so by gaining root access or ‘rooting’ your phone. It’s when you think outside the box that you find Android capable of some wonderfully creative solutions — including turning your Android phone or tablet into a server.

Android devices have really picked up some zip in the last 12 months, with most now featuring a 1GHz chip or better, which is not much slower than you’ll find in many NAS boxes today. Add to that built-in wireless networking, combine it with up to 32GB of microSD flash card storage and you’ve got the makings of a potentially handy makeshift micro-server.

First, you must have a rooted phone with at least Android 2.0.1 and the Superuser app (version 2.3.6.2 or later) installed. You can either download this from the Android Market or if you’re using a CyanogenMod ROM, you should already have it ready to roll.

After that, you just need to download a free app from the Android Market called Samba Filesharing. We’ve talked about the excellent ES File Explorer, which enables your phone to see other client PCs on your local network, but Samba Filesharing goes the other way — it allows Windows client PCs on your local network to see your phone and its storage. What’s more, it talks to Windows File Sharing, so you can map the storage as a network drive within Windows Explorer. It provides username and password access, so it’s not just open slather; however, everyone on your network will be able to see that it exists.

I bang on about this a lot, but you’ve got to think of your Android smartphone not just as a phone, but as a portable wireless computer. As soon as you do that, you take away a lot of the mystery about the device and open up a whole new range of possibilities. No-one’s saying you can make a living out of turning your smartphone into a server, but the fact that it can be done is worth knowing and keeping in your bag of tricks. You never know when it might come in handy.

Configuring Samba Filesharing on Android

Install Samba Filesharing from the Android Market, launch it and allow it to have Superuser access.

Press Menu —> Settings and set the username, password and NetBIOS name for your server. The username and password will be used to log into the server and the NetBIOS name is what you’ll see when you launch Windows Explorer and select Network. In our example, we’re using AndroidServer as the NetBIOS name.

When you’re done, press the Back button and restart Samba Filesharing by either double-tapping the Samba name on the front app page or using the menu.

When you see the screen in step 3, go to your computer, launch Windows Explorer and select Network. If your server doesn’t appear, click on the address bar at the top and type in the IP address or the NetBIOS name you selected in step 2 (\\AndroidServer or something like \\192.168.1.103, in our case). Type in your name and password from step 2 and you should be able to access the storage on your phone.