Online storage solutions

[abhiroopb]

I have about a terabyte of music/documents/etc that I want to store online.

Here are my requirements:

1. Easy syncing capability using rsync – over the years I have learnt to use rsync and I love it and I don’t want to use any buggy GUI of another company. Rsync gives me full control which is what I want.
2. Some way to access data from a) other computers and b) ANDROID phone. An app would be ideal but I’d be ok with a mobile enabled website.
3. Like I said I need AT LEAST 1TB of online storage at the most reasonable prices.
4. Something cross-platform is ideal (in case I decide to change my OS).
5. I don’t need “sync” capabilities like dropbox, I just need an off-site backup for my data.

I know there are a lot of options and I already use a couple, but, only with limited space. I am now looking for something that gives you a LOT of space!

[pirateghost]

I have a friend that just signed up with http://www.onlinestoragesolution.com/
seems like a pretty good deal to me.

[abhiroopb]

I have a friend that just signed up with http://www.onlinestoragesolution.com/
seems like a pretty good deal to me.


Wow that seems like a good deal! $20 for unlimited. I have a few questions about it obviously. I’ll post them here, but, if you could put me in touch with your friend or at least find out what his experience has been like I’d appreciate it a lot. I’m sure some of these can be answered on the website but I’ll post them here for now for the sake of completeness.

1. Security. I am not a high powered executive but I do have a couple of sensitive items and I may have more in the future.
2. Stability – will this company go down next year? Everything in cloud storage is relatively unstable (in my opinion) as it really isn’t in your control. But, I have thought it over and the benefits are immense (for example not having to carry around a pen-drive). Nevertheless I would trust some companies more than others and since I haven’t heard of this particular one I’d be a little bit less sure.
3. Actual cost – will they say that after 10GB I’ve reached my “acceptable limit”
4. Upload/Download speeds – I have a 30mbps down/7mbps up connection so it should take me about a month or so to upload 1TB of data but only if the service supports these speeds as well (obviously).
5. Rsync – how good/bad is the support? I’ve heard that amazon S3 makes you upload the ENTIRE file even if there have been minor changes. This is silly if you have something like rsync.
6. Backend – what is there on the server side of this service?
7. Customer support – mainly if things get deleted, etc.
8. Linux support – I will be using rsync mainly, but, what other kind of support is there. Also does it support mac/windows.
9. Android support – is there/will there be an app for this? Is there a good mobile website?
10. Web-interface – easy to access/use web-interface?

I really liked Amazon S3 but the costs are astronomical for me. I’d have to pay $150 per month for 1TB of storage not to mention up/down fees. This is not feasible for me. I’m ok with max $20 per month, so naturally $20 per year is a VERY good deal in my opinion. I’m going to

I know you (or even your friend) may not be able to answer these questions, but, they are here in case anyone else can point me to any other service that has a positive answer to my questions.

[abhiroopb]

Complaint about this service: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/iic-online-storage-solution-c299953.html

[castrojo]

http://rsync.net/ sounds perfect for you

[abhiroopb]

http://rsync.net/ sounds perfect for you

Looks good, but, even with discount it comes to about $400 a month for me. This is more expensive than Amazon S3 (which I would tend to trust as it is a “big” company).

I really can’t afford more than about $20 a month. I know it’s a lot to ask, but, I’m sure there are reliable services out there!

[amac777]

With the amount of storage you are talking about, perhaps you should just setup your own server with its own 1TB harddrive. If you want it to be a remote location for backup purposes, set it up at a relative's house. The cost of a cheap server + harddrive and monthly broadband fees would be cheaper than any remote storage of that amount in my opinion.

[pwnst*r]

Complaint about this service: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/iic-online-storage-solution-c299953.html

Sounds like a connection issue on his end.

[pirateghost]

Complaint about this service: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/iic-online-storage-solution-c299953.html
thank you for that, i will have to forward that on to my friend.

i think the problem is finding an affordable solution that includes rsync, or even just linux support in general, as most of the online backups (the big names) require a client to use in windows or mac...

[abhiroopb]

Absoloutely! It is a difficult balance.

Dropbox is good but it does not offer as much storage as I need.

[abhiroopb]

With the amount of storage you are talking about, perhaps you should just setup your own server with its own 1TB harddrive. If you want it to be a remote location for backup purposes, set it up at a relative's house. The cost of a cheap server + harddrive and monthly broadband fees would be cheaper than any remote storage of that amount in my opinion.

I agree the solution I require is not easy to find, but, for a number of reasons storing at a relative/friend is just not feasible (one of which is to be able to access the data at any time).

Actually I had a thought, is there anything I can plug into my wireless router (like an external hard drive) that would be accessible from anywhere in the world at any time? I know these exist and this seems like a good solution but it would have to be accessible 24/7 (router is on 24/7 so isn’t a problem), would need to have a good web client to access, and again support for my phone.

Just to re-iterate...24/7 web access is the most important thing I am looking for right now.

[pirateghost]

i would like to help support these guys:
http://www.backblaze.com/
because i absolutely love what they are doing with their custom built storage pods.
http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/

unfortunately they do not support linux users, even though their server OS is debian :(

[pirateghost]

Actually I had a thought, is there anything I can plug into my wireless router (like an external hard drive) that would be accessible from anywhere in the world at any time? I know these exist and this seems like a good solution but it would have to be accessible 24/7 (router is on 24/7 so isn’t a problem), would need to have a good web client to access, and again support for my phone.

Just to re-iterate...24/7 web access is the most important thing I am looking for right now.
there are lots of NAS options that you can do exactly this with. i prefer to build my own storage boxes, but there are plenty of consumer products out there designed for this.

you might have a look at FreeNAS if you have some spare parts around and want to make a small low powered NAS yourself. you could certainly save some money by doing it this way.

small atom mini-itx board, smallish case to hold as many harddrives as you want, and set your drives up in RAID. many many options available here

[Thomas Garman]

I use Amazon S3, which is the best and cheapest way to both store large amounts of data/files online AND it is cheap to stream your video/audio files too.

The best thing about it when you are dealing with a 1 TB or more of data is that you can send them your hard drive by mail and they will upload it into their servers and mail your device back, which is actually faster than uploading such a huge amount of data through an internet connection.

There are a number of interface options with S3. You can use Cloudberry, which I use with my vista machine. You can use JetS3t through a java-enabled browser and you can use s3fox with Firefox.

If you have any questions about how to set up and use S3, send me a message. Set up an S3 account and a Cloudfront account.

[abhiroopb]

i would like to help support these guys:
http://www.backblaze.com/
because i absolutely love what they are doing with their custom built storage pods.
http://blog.backblaze.com/2009/09/01/petabytes-on-a-budget-how-to-build-cheap-cloud-storage/

unfortunately they do not support linux users, even though their server OS is debian :(

Looks good, as is the price. Any chance of them supporting Linux in the near future?

[abhiroopb]

I use Amazon S3, which is the best and cheapest way to both store large amounts of data/files online AND it is cheap to stream your video/audio files too.

The best thing about it when you are dealing with a 1 TB or more of data is that you can send them your hard drive by mail and they will upload it into their servers and mail your device back, which is actually faster than uploading such a huge amount of data through an internet connection.

There are a number of interface options with S3. You can use Cloudberry, which I use with my vista machine. You can use JetS3t through a java-enabled browser and you can use s3fox with Firefox.

If you have any questions about how to set up and use S3, send me a message. Set up an S3 account and a Cloudfront account.

How much would it cost for 1TB of storage?

I live in Singapore (if that makes a difference).

Thanks!

[abhiroopb]

there are lots of NAS options that you can do exactly this with. i prefer to build my own storage boxes, but there are plenty of consumer products out there designed for this.

you might have a look at FreeNAS if you have some spare parts around and want to make a small low powered NAS yourself. you could certainly save some money by doing it this way.

small atom mini-itx board, smallish case to hold as many harddrives as you want, and set your drives up in RAID. many many options available here

Any pre-built options? Don't really have the time to build one myself and I'd like to have the security of being able to call someone to troubleshoot issues!

[pirateghost]

Any pre-built options? Don't really have the time to build one myself and I'd like to have the security of being able to call someone to troubleshoot issues!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2050240124&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=124&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

i realize you live in singapore, but you could use that as a guide to direct you to something you would want.

some of the big names are:
qnap
buffalo
synology
thecus
datarobotics

i have no experience with any of these because like i said, i build my own and always have but you should be able to get a good feel, check out some of the manufacturer websites and see what options are available to the different models.

[pwnst*r]

Your last two questions you can easily get answers for yourself.

[abhiroopb]

Your last two questions you can easily get answers for yourself.

In theory you can answer every question without ever posting on this thread, but, that clearly does not always work in practice.

If people are happy to help then they can. If you feel I am troubling you with my questions then you do not have to help.

Sorry for being so blunt, but, I really dislike answers like this. It may be obvious to you and it may be easy enough to search, but, for someone new to it it isn't.

[abhiroopb]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2050240124&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&Subcategory=124&description=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

i realize you live in singapore, but you could use that as a guide to direct you to something you would want.

some of the big names are:
qnap
buffalo
synology
thecus
datarobotics

i have no experience with any of these because like i said, i build my own and always have but you should be able to get a good feel, check out some of the manufacturer websites and see what options are available to the different models.

And these plug into your wifi router? Buffalo/Seagate are of course big brands and I'm likely to get them here.

How are they accessible over the web? Like if I'm at a friends house?

[pirateghost]

And these plug into your wifi router? Buffalo/Seagate are of course big brands and I'm likely to get them here.

How are they accessible over the web? Like if I'm at a friends house?
you would plug into your router with an ethernet cable and they all have web gui configuration pages. some of them offer a 'web server' built into them, some have built in bittorrent clients. to access them you would forward a port on your router so that you could log into it.

for accessible storage from remote location, look for one that has a built in 'webserver' and you should be able to make files accessible via a webpage. please note this DOES increase security vulnerabilities as does any service you allow access to from the web, but with proper planning you can secure it fairly well.


****edit****
just came across this:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1651/top_10_network_attached_storage_devices.html

[amac777]

I know you said you don't have time to "build" your own, but you might want to research it a little bit just to see how easy it would be. Basically, get yourself an old second hand (or free) computer/laptop and install ubuntu server on it including ssh and rsync or whatever you want/need.

You can even keep that computer shut off when you are not using it and use Wake-on-LAN through the internet to turn it on when you need it remotly.

[Thomas Garman]

As for how much Amazon S3 costs... just use the calculator they give on their faq:

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/

If you think that some web service is going to store 1 TB of data for you for $20 a month then you are very likely going to get ripped off somewhere in the transaction because such a large amount of data is going to put a lot of demands on their service and they aren't going to pass the costs along to you? For one thing: you pay $20 a month for 8 or 9 months and then POOF the company disappears or you find that you can only upload and download 10 MB per month or whatever.

For 1 TB of data S3 is the cheapest and most practical solution in my opinion. It is extremely unlikely that you are going to find a reputable business that is going to store and allow to actually access in any practical way such a large amount of data.

It would take forever to upload that much data through the internet, and most sites are going to limit how much you can upload and download because they don't have infinite bandwidth. They are buying it from somewhere too.

[abhiroopb]

As for how much Amazon S3 costs... just use the calculator they give on their faq:

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/faqs/

If you think that some web service is going to store 1 TB of data for you for $20 a month then you are very likely going to get ripped off somewhere in the transaction because such a large amount of data is going to put a lot of demands on their service and they aren't going to pass the costs along to you? For one thing: you pay $20 a month for 8 or 9 months and then POOF the company disappears or you find that you can only upload and download 10 MB per month or whatever.

For 1 TB of data S3 is the cheapest and most practical solution in my opinion. It is extremely unlikely that you are going to find a reputable business that is going to store and allow to actually access in any practical way such a large amount of data.

It would take forever to upload that much data through the internet, and most sites are going to limit how much you can upload and download because they don't have infinite bandwidth. They are buying it from somewhere too.

I completely agree with you. That's why I was a little suspicious of the $20 unlimited plan!

S3 does seem very practical, but, I just can't afford that much.

[abhiroopb]

you would plug into your router with an ethernet cable and they all have web gui configuration pages. some of them offer a 'web server' built into them, some have built in bittorrent clients. to access them you would forward a port on your router so that you could log into it.

for accessible storage from remote location, look for one that has a built in 'webserver' and you should be able to make files accessible via a webpage. please note this DOES increase security vulnerabilities as does any service you allow access to from the web, but with proper planning you can secure it fairly well.


****edit****
just came across this:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1651/top_10_network_attached_storage_devices.html

Thanks for the info. Looking at the prices buying one does seem very expensive!

I already have a 1TB HD but that is my only storage place for a lot of photos and music. That is my main reason for getting another backup solution. If I can't find something suitable (and relatively cheap) I may just get a 2TB HD and be done with it!

NAS seems the simplest solution if I want access to my data over the internet, but, at the prices I am seeing it seems to expensive, in my opinion, for the benefit of accessing data from elsewhere.

[pwnst*r]

In theory you can answer every question without ever posting on this thread, but, that clearly does not always work in practice.

If people are happy to help then they can. If you feel I am troubling you with my questions then you do not have to help.

Sorry for being so blunt, but, I really dislike answers like this. It may be obvious to you and it may be easy enough to search, but, for someone new to it it isn't.

Obvious to me? You asked how much Amazon's S3 was. It should be obvious to head to amazon.com and look for yourself.

[Frak]

Amazon S3 + Jungledisk

[abhiroopb]

Obvious to me? You asked how much Amazon's S3 was. It should be obvious to head to amazon.com and look for yourself.

I realise I wasn't clear in my question what I meant was how much (with discounts, etc.) was it costing him in total. I already noted that for 1TB it would cost me about 150 a month.

The question wasn't even directed at you so I fail to see why you felt the need to answer!

[Thomas Garman]

This question really makes me wonder what sort of music/video/photos you could be wanting to store/make accessible if there are 1 TB of them? That is too many photos, for example, to really be worth making available online all the time. Can't you select, for example, 20 GB of photos and put them in a Windows Live Space account and there you will have them freely accessible on the internet whenever you want? Or why not put 100 GB of video and music in Amazon's S3, which you can stream anywhere?

Why do you really need to have access to all of it all the time?

There is a digital equivalent of being one of those people who piles up old newspapers and magazines around their house because someday they might want to read an article again.

1 TB of storage in the cloud is for a business that needs to keep track of data for transactions and so it would make sense for them to pay $200 for the service. I can't really see an individual needing to store that many photos in the cloud for any reasonable purpose.

[abhiroopb]

This question really makes me wonder what sort of music/video/photos you could be wanting to store/make accessible if there are 1 TB of them? That is too many photos, for example, to really be worth making available online all the time. Can't you select, for example, 20 GB of photos and put them in a Windows Live Space account and there you will have them freely accessible on the internet whenever you want? Or why not put 100 GB of video and music in Amazon's S3, which you can stream anywhere?

Why do you really need to have access to all of it all the time?

There is a digital equivalent of being one of those people who piles up old newspapers and magazines around their house because someday they might want to read an article again.

1 TB of storage in the cloud is for a business that needs to keep track of data for transactions and so it would make sense for them to pay $200 for the service. I can't really see an individual needing to store that many photos in the cloud for any reasonable purpose.

Well it's a combination of home movies, photos, music collection and about 10gb of e-mails, and about 5gb of documents. I've thrown away 100s of CDs after I ripped them into lossless formats. So, it's really important that I don't lose the music. Similar situation for home movies which were originally on DV Tapes.

Maybe it is unnecessary to store everything but I want to anyway.

[abhiroopb]

Would a wireless hard drive be suitable for what I am looking for?