I want to always have access to my files, what is the best option for me?

Nebell

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It will be basically every file type, from pictures to music and movies. But it will be mostly pictures.

I've been looking at:

1) Cloud services like OneDrive and Dropbox. These have well-developed apps for Windows and Android (what I use), but choosing the right cloud service seems like a mess and they are usually more expensive in the long run.

2) NAS-server. I like these a lot. But my concern is that the apps these companies use are almost useless. I read that WD app is slow and you can't for example pinch to zoom. And then there are tons of bugs. Also, NAS-servers tend to be slow unless you're ready to shell out some serious cash (which I am not willing to).

3) The third option is setting my own FTP server or something. My computers are always on and online, so this could be a cheaper alternative. But I have not set up FTP server for years and years. I don't know if there are any apps I can use to connect to my FTP server, but maybe someone can shed some light on this?

4) My router has USB 3.0. Connect an external HDD to it? Can it actually make the HDD visible online?

5) ???? Are there any other alternatives?

In case of 2 and 3, raid 1 is not a must in the beginning but eventually, it will be required because mechanical HDDs tend to fail after a while.
 
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I'm using OneDrive right now just for the convenience and ubiquitousness of it all. OneDrive comes with all windows machines (both my home and office) as well as Android apps (again all my phones are android). Plus, if you get the Office365 bundle, it's $99 bucks a year of 1TB of online storage plus free MS office on 5 devices (or something like that). Heck with buying office anymore.

I tried the roll your own router to home server or NAS but if your home connection isn't super fast, then it's gonna suck. Plus, then you'll have additional security concerns to have to worry about too.
 
Nextcloud. Fork from owncloud, but better security and dev team. Just like dropbox, but you run it on your home servers and has desktop/phone apps for syncing.
 
Cloud is your best bet. using your own machine as a cloud, you are dependent on your machine not crashing or your internet/router/switches not having any issues.
 
Get a cheap q-nap. I use qsync on my workstations and they have a file browser for android. Works well for me.
 
You could always carry around a large external password protected HDD or SSD with you... then sync it up at home.

Faster access to your files than cloud.. and cheaper in the long run.
 
Nextcloud. Fork from owncloud, but better security and dev team. Just like dropbox, but you run it on your home servers and has desktop/phone apps for syncing.

Im running nextcloud. Its pretty sweet. And the app is really good. They have a desktop and phone apps. Easy access to any of my documents and if I create a new document on phone or home, its pushed to my local cloud. I only have 5Mb up and I have no issues getting my files. I can even use the web browser to use the other features and addons. Its totally usable once you get it set up right. My page doesn't load as fast as say a google webpage but it is some noticeable lag but not unbearable. For that matter I dont have much problems streaming plex off my home local server. I can easily watch movies and live tv on my phone at work.

All in all I am very happy with nextcloud.
 
QNAP NAS devices like the 231P can be purchased for 150 range on sale and they are not slow. They have online functionality.

Microsoft One Drive works great though too.
 
No one quoted me and I got no alert so I forgot to check this thread XD

Anyway, I bought Synology DS218+ and 2x HGST Desktstar v2 128mb 4TB to run in Raid 1.
A bit expensive (or not, depending who you ask) but it looks rather futureproof to me. There are many companies out there offering NAS, but Synology seems to have the best software.
Still waiting on my stuff to arrive so I'll give it a try next week.
 
No one quoted me and I got no alert so I forgot to check this thread XD

Anyway, I bought Synology DS218+ and 2x HGST Desktstar v2 128mb 4TB to run in Raid 1.
A bit expensive (or not, depending who you ask) but it looks rather futureproof to me. There are many companies out there offering NAS, but Synology seems to have the best software.
Still waiting on my stuff to arrive so I'll give it a try next week.

I went from a DS410j to an 1815+ a few years ago and have been very happy with Synology overall. There are cheaper options or FreeNAS solutions but the hardware packaging and software make the Synology so simple to configure and use for me. There is a lot of potential in mine that I have not needed but I am not sorry with the purchase.
 
I have been trying to set up Synology and while getting it to work was a rather easy and straightforward process and finished within few minutes, the system and the apps are a nightmare. You need like, a few accounts and Synology's own Photo app doesn't work 100% of the time with their NAS system.
I can only imagine how many issues there are with other apps.
 
I have been trying to set up Synology and while getting it to work was a rather easy and straightforward process and finished within few minutes, the system and the apps are a nightmare. You need like, a few accounts and Synology's own Photo app doesn't work 100% of the time with their NAS system.
I can only imagine how many issues there are with other apps.

Hmm, I have not had issues with the Synology apps for their system. Though in the app area you may be able to install apps not designed for your NAS in which case there will be bugs and issues but core apps I have never had issues with and use them regularly for remote access from mobile, TV and browser.

What error's or issues are occurring with the apps?
 
Hmm, I have not had issues with the Synology apps for their system. Though in the app area you may be able to install apps not designed for your NAS in which case there will be bugs and issues but core apps I have never had issues with and use them regularly for remote access from mobile, TV and browser.

What error's or issues are occurring with the apps?

If I upload photos directly to the NAS photo directory, they don't show up in the Photo app. I need to use a 3rd app (Photo Uploader or whatever it's called) to upload photos to my NAS. This design decision confuses my logic.
 
And now when trying to log to Photo Station Uploader, I can't because I'm not permitted, even though 10 seconds earlier I successfully logged in to the NAS. Ridiculous.
Bah, I'll just reset everything and create new accounts.
 
If I upload photos directly to the NAS photo directory, they don't show up in the Photo app. I need to use a 3rd app (Photo Uploader or whatever it's called) to upload photos to my NAS. This design decision confuses my logic.

Check the CPU usage / active thread after you copy the pictures into the Photo directory. Typically the system is parsing the files for the previews and fancy app displays. Depending on the file size and CPU specs this can be somewhat time consuming for larger files or bulk copies.

As far as being permitted what are your log in time out settings and security restrictions? Mine is set for 2 attempts from the same IP that fail in a 2 minute period result in the IP being blocked. I have set exemptions for my LAN so nothing local can be locked. That trumps the user accounts getting locked but by default I think accounts lock first. If the permissions to just the photo app got killed that may have been what was throwing the permission issue if the overall NAS access was still good.
 
Check the CPU usage / active thread after you copy the pictures into the Photo directory. Typically the system is parsing the files for the previews and fancy app displays. Depending on the file size and CPU specs this can be somewhat time consuming for larger files or bulk copies.

As far as being permitted what are your log in time out settings and security restrictions? Mine is set for 2 attempts from the same IP that fail in a 2 minute period result in the IP being blocked. I have set exemptions for my LAN so nothing local can be locked. That trumps the user accounts getting locked but by default I think accounts lock first. If the permissions to just the photo app got killed that may have been what was throwing the permission issue if the overall NAS access was still good.

I have managed to successfully get the photo app working the way I want.
By ditching Photo Uploader. I don't even know why that app exists. You can upload photos by going to File Directory in your NAS or by opening Photo page and upload there. Why is there even a 3rd way to do this?
Seems like Synology could really slim down their apps and ditch about half of them. What's even Assistant desktop app for? To install your NAS which can easily be installed through a browser?

The main reason I need this is to upload my pictures so I can access them from anywhere. So far it works fine. I don't intend to hide them (except the raw images, but I don't think those show up anyway).
And while it's quite complicated, it's far better than 3rd party cloud service.
 
Ah, photo uploader may be a newer thing. When I started using Synology you could only copy paste the files into the root directory. So when it came time to migrate from old to new I did what I'm used to doing on servers, my PC and my old NAS and just move the files lol. I could see it being helpful if you are remote or mobile and want an easy way to upload into the server. Though I just SFTP in and move the files themselves again.
 
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