Are Personal Cloud Storage Solutions Just Expensive External Hard Drives

[SeitzO]

I'm a little confused. so there are desktop external hdd that are very reasonably priced and then there are these "Personal Cloud Storage/Media Server"... things that look almost the same.

So what is the real world difference between former and latter when i plug them into the back of my router?

 

... i just... don't get it...

 

Thanks!

[jools]

ones virtual and the other real

[Mira Yurizaki]

External hard drives by default are only accessible by the computer hooked up to it. In contrast, "personal cloud drives" is a market name for "network attached storage", meaning anyone on the network can access it. If you're feeling really ballsy, you can set it up such that it's accessible through the internet as well.

 

You can make the external hard drive accessible through the network if the host computer sets up the sharing permissions, but then that computer has to stay on all the time if you want access at any time.

[SeitzO]

so if i just plug a normal external hdd into the router that won't act as a cloud? it has to be one of those other ones?

 

attached is what i'm trying to see the difference...

[Mira Yurizaki]

Oh right, that method. Sure you can plug an external hard drive into a router and it'll do the same thing. Just be weary of issues the router may have. ASUS got pinged for leaving a security hole where anyone could write to the drive.

[jools]

external hd drive= external drive connected to pc

 nas drive =network attached storage connect to router that all pc on network can use(if permissions granted)

cloud storage= cloud storage space on web accessable anywhere

[Captain_WD]

15 hours ago, SeitzO said:

~snip~

Hi there

 

A NAS gives you far more options and takes care of the shares, users, permissions and can perform some serving functions while connecting a simple DAS to your router leaves you with whatever the NAS offers as options. Moreover, not every router has a USB port. 

Basically, every storage device accessible over the network can be considered a NAS (even a flash drive connected to your router or a SD card configured as a shared drive on your PC which can be accessed over the network. 

 

What are you attempting to achieve? 

 

WD My Cloud certainly offer a bit more features compared to WD My Book connected to a router. 

 

Let me know if you need a bit more info on this.

 

Captain_WD. 

[SeitzO]

What i'm trying to achieve is to be able to access my stuff (not a lot, i think 4tb or something like that would be enough) on the go and also have pretty fast access to that drive at home from all devices. sick of cables.

[Captain_WD]

On 5.11.2016 г. at 2:35 AM, SeitzO said:

~snip~

You should be able to do that with the WD My Cloud 4TB. It's very easy and straightforward to setup and manage. 

 

Also, with the proper settings, you should be able to do that with a DAS device such as the WD My Book. 

 

What router are you using at home? 

 

Captain_WD.