jrmyeh

Q: Which personal cloud / NAS to buy (WD, Seagate, other)?

Hello....hoping for some thoughts from any of you experienced in these devices.



 

I've got a MBP (El Cap) running behind a Time Capsule router.


 

A long time ago, I started using Dropbox, which works very well, but my perception of its security flaws eventually bothered me enough that I looked around and switched to Tresorit (I also considered Spider Oak, but read multiple posts saying it was very slow). Tresorit doesn't support Mac that well (they use Windows file naming restrictions, and if you have GB worth of small files....well, good luck making that a convenient operation). Also, I've been uncovering multiple bugs with Tresorit, letting their customer service people know, and getting no response. So, it's time to move on.


 

I like the personal cloud ideas of security and I physically own the server. I would like it to work as fluidly as Dropbox did (naturally). For my purposes, the latter includes seamless Finder integration (showing up as a folder or an external drive), whether within my home network, or somewhere in the outside world.


 

I've been doing some research on the the WD My Cloud, and the Seagate Personal Cloud devices.


 

The WD device has just undergone a revision to its "OS 3", so it's difficult to apply older reviews to current implementation (I don't know how much they improved the software). I have seen various posts saying that it does not integrate into Finder when you're outside of your network, but requires a kludgy app. I have also ready more recent reviews saying that there is a folder sync option, which sounds like it could replicate Dropbox functionality.


 

The posts I've read on the Seagate device clearly mention a memory-resident app that makes the drive integrate into Finder, whether inside or outside of your personal network. Some folks didn't like the need for a memory resident app, but if it works well and doesn't hog system resources, I wouldn't mind it. Several people commented on the fact that the device was really simplified for average Joe consumer use, and the NAS settings couldn't be tweaked much at all. This last part may or may not be an issue for me - I just want it to work like Dropbox, and I don't know how really simplified the user settings are.



 

Sorry for the long post, but has anyone here tried to replicate Dropbox functionality with a personal cloud device, and what was your experience like?


 

Thanks!

OS X El Capitan (10.11), CPU 2.6 GHz, 1 TB SSD

Posted on Nov 17, 2015 5:39 AM

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Q: Which personal cloud / NAS to buy (WD, Seagate, other)?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by woodmeister50,

    woodmeister50 woodmeister50 Nov 17, 2015 8:03 AM in response to jrmyeh
    Level 5 (5,542 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 17, 2015 8:03 AM in response to jrmyeh

    Rather than an NAS and vendor software that typically can cause all manor of

    odd issues, you may simply consider adding an external disk drive to your

    Time Capsule and use a sync/backup application on the computer(s).

     

    There are several available that can do "live sync/update on change".

     

    Been considering setting up something similar myself with my MacMini that I am

    using as a server and just trying to decide which app to get.  Chronosync seems

    to have some very good ratings as well as some others.  I would also like to

    get some feedback from others as well on this approach.  Another one that I have

    been currently using is GoodSync for basic backup and a new version is available

    that has the "live sync/update on change". 

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Nov 17, 2015 11:33 AM in response to woodmeister50
    Level 10 (141,137 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 17, 2015 11:33 AM in response to woodmeister50

    Chronosync is a very good, incremental backup app.  Also good and one that I use is Synk Pro.  Once the initial copy is completed only new or modified files will be backed up.  With SP you can have separated backup scripts for different folders and have them not run while you're using the Mac or using a particular app. Once the app is closed the sync begins immediately. 

     

    Chronosync may have something similar.

     

    However, I'm with you on not using a NAS server other than Time Capsule for Time Machine backups.  And definitely not using either for running an iPhoto or Photos library from wirelessly.  That's a sure formal for disaster.

    OTsig.png

  • by jrmyeh,

    jrmyeh jrmyeh Nov 17, 2015 12:26 PM in response to woodmeister50
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 17, 2015 12:26 PM in response to woodmeister50

    @woodmeister50,

     

    My purpose here isn't back up, but to have Dropbox-like functionality. I want to create my own personal cloud, which I can access both from within and without my home network.

     

    Time Capsule, and associated drives, are great for backing up, but do not provide cloud storage functionality.

     

    Thanks,

    J

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Nov 17, 2015 12:54 PM in response to jrmyeh
    Level 10 (141,137 points)
    Mac OS X
    Nov 17, 2015 12:54 PM in response to jrmyeh

    Remember that type of setup will not to be suitable for sharing an iPhoto or Photos library.