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which option would be better for a personal cloud storage system?

N

nix253

Member
hello everyone. i'm looking forward to have a personal cloud storage system for which i have following 2 options:

1.buy an external HDD that uses ethernet connectivity to connect to a modem and provide cloud storage. something like WD's My Book Live 1TB. this really seems nice and is quite affordable for me. but i've heard from a few people (not necessarily all experts) that HDDs that use external AC source for powering up tend to malfunction sooner than the ones which run on usb's power only. also if you think there's a product like this from some other brand better than this one, then please let me know.

2. buy a usb-to-ethernet converter/adapter and use it to plug a conventional external HDD 1TB into the modem and make it personal cloud storage. the doubt about this is whether this is even possible. and if it's then how'd the performance be in comparison to the above option?

thank you in advance.🙂
 
Sign up for something like skydrive / google drive and call it a day? "Personal Cloud" here actually means: "I want access to my files on the net."

You wouldn't connect those devices right to the web typically. Last WD Mybook I used didn't even have passwords on the ethernet connected page so anyone would could upload and download.
 
You do not plug it to a Modem you plug it to a USB port of a Router that has a NAS USB port.

Most modern Router's provides security to these arrangement and it can be used for the LAN and through the Internet

That said depending on your needs and circumstances using the free space given by Microsoft Sky Drive, or and Google Drive provides easier secure service.

Example for a good Wireless Router with USB $46 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162031

P.S. Any simple USB storage device (HD or flash drive) can be used for the USB NAS.



😎
 
a little detail on exactly what you want may be helpful, but if you just want to access personal docs from anywhere using dropbox, google drive, or skydrive is great. dropbox works better for sharing amongst people if you want easy eaccess, skydrive is great if you need to view/edit ms office docs without having office installed as the office web access is pretty decent.
 
actually i'd like to stream media files from around my home on my laptop and iphone and from any other upnp or dlna device i'll have in the future.

@ jackmds but the first option i mentioned is a drive that has ethernet connectivity so that it can be plugged into a modem and can be used as a personal cloud storage. i mean my understanding about it is that only the devices on your home network can access and stream the content present on this drive which is what i want. please advise me further on this.
 
What you want is a home NAS. Syndology / Drobo / Buffalo / etc make many of them. It just depends on the $$$ you want to spend. This is not called a "personal cloud" hence the confusion.
 
http://pogoplug.com/
- i have NOT used this service or their hardware. look for reviews. does not come with storage, just lets you add your own and make it available.

they have a network device you plug in and attach a usb drive to, then you can get to that from everywhere once its on your network.

keep in mind, however, that the streaming speed/performance is limited by your UPSTREAM bandwidth from your home connection. I have 10Mb/1Mb down/up cable at home, and 10 down is fine, but 1 up...well its not bad for internet usage, but if you want to stream large files on that over the internet, it could take a little time.

there is also plex
http://www.plexapp.com/

free media server that can stream locally or over the internet. mobile apps are not free, however, but you just run an existing pc or mac as a media server to stream from.
 
nix253, "cloud" is a nearly meaningless marketing term. See imagoon's response, he's exactly right here. What you want is a SOHO NAS. There are many to choose from, it's pretty much a function of what you want to spend and what you want to get.

smallnetbuilder is a good site for SOHO NAS reviews and performance comparisons.

In general, you do not want any solution that involves USB, as that will be a performance bottleneck. Reliability wise, SOHO NASs are generally okay and I would not worry about that - the reliability of the drive should be your primary focus, because you lose data in that event. You should consider a 2-bay NAS and a RAID mirror.

Some options to consider:

cheap - D-Link DNS-320 ($100ish + drives)
better - Synology DS-212J or QNAP TS-212 ($200ish + drives)
better yet - Synology and QNAP's higher end

Synology and QNAP have much more interesting streaming features than the D-Link unit. Take a look at the software features when considering the price difference - they might well be worth the added cost. They also have good online communities.
 
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thank you guys i get the picture now.... it's NAS network added storage first of all.. not cloud system that they were advertising.

@ cmet
if i get this plus an internal storage then how'd the performance be?
http://www.dlink.co.in/products/?pid=261

and by the way somehow you've recommended brands like buffalo that are totally not available in india where i live. i've to choose a solution from brands like WD, seagate, d-link, belkin, transcend etc.

so the second option that i was considering which had usb in between is something i'll have to drop because it wouldn't perform well during streaming content, especially if it's high-def, right?
 
ok i get even a clearer picture now (i hope😕) after going through several forums and articles on net.

so here's what i've come to understand. please help me. i know this may be a little annoying/irritating that i'm a little too slow to understand what i'm trying to do but i really need some good advises.

so if i buy something like WD my book live 1 TB, the problem is that on failure the data wouldn't be saved to some mirror drive because it doesn't have one.

nix253, "cloud" is a nearly meaningless marketing term. See imagoon's response, he's exactly right here. What you want is a SOHO NAS. There are many to choose from, it's pretty much a function of what you want to spend and what you want to get.

smallnetbuilder is a good site for SOHO NAS reviews and performance comparisons.

In general, you do not want any solution that involves USB, as that will be a performance bottleneck. Reliability wise, SOHO NASs are generally okay and I would not worry about that - the reliability of the drive should be your primary focus, because you lose data in that event. You should consider a 2-bay NAS and a RAID mirror.

Some options to consider:

cheap - D-Link DNS-320 ($100ish + drives)
better - Synology DS-212J or QNAP TS-212 ($200ish + drives)
better yet - Synology and QNAP's higher end

Synology and QNAP have much more interesting streaming features than the D-Link unit. Take a look at the software features when considering the price difference - they might well be worth the added cost. They also have good online communities.
Click to expand...

my budget is around 120 $ with a margin of 30$-40$ i know i'll have to manage because products like these in my region are heavily taxed.

now i'm not exactly able to find out the drive that has all the features like RAID mirror, 2-bay etc. from the brands available in my region, especially the ones that are within my budget.

so now i guess the only way left for me to get my NAS setup running is to have a usb 3.0 external drive and after awhile :

1.buy a router that has usb 3.0 ports and allows file sharing/NAS through them. eg. asus RT-N65U. please suggest me a few more routers like this one or point me to some articles or sites listing the good routers with usb 3.0 NAS support out there.

2. buy a usb 3.0 NAS adapter which i haven't been able to find any because maybe it hasn't been introduced to market yet. i understand it's going to function somewhat like iomega's iconnect which only supports usb 2.0 though. please let me know if there are usb 3.0 NAS adapters available in market.

thanks in advance to those who'd help me for their patience.
 
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