Cloud photo/video storage

aimeemiller21 · Dec 16, 2020

I am an amateur photographer, mostly just my children. I have thousands of photos/videos. I am quite paranoid about losing them. I have external hard drives and even read some recommendations from the forum on here. But I was wondering what some of you use for cloud storage?? I have iDrive but it is soooo slow. It takes all day to download 3% of my files. I'm afraid I don't trust it quite as well as I would like. I don't want to break the bank either. I do however want an added place to store my photos/videos that does not decrease the quality of my media. Please assist!!

a_c_skinner · Dec 21, 2020

At that level of expertise I'd probably suggest USB connected drives but two not one. You can't have too many backups.

barbara j · Dec 21, 2020

aimeemiller21 said:
so many things to think about...I really appreciate the help everyone. this probably is a stupid question but since some of you don't rely on a web based storage option what is really the difference between a personal at home cloud storage option (like WD My Cloud) and an external hard drive??

My apologies, this was a double post. But the other doesn't have this link. Has good pics

https://www.costco.com/sandisk-extreme-1tb--portable-solid-state-drive.product.100527741.html

--
@luredbylight

barbara j · Dec 21, 2020

aimeemiller21 said:
so many things to think about...I really appreciate the help everyone. this probably is a stupid question but since some of you don't rely on a web based storage option what is really the difference between a personal at home cloud storage option (like WD My Cloud) and an external hard drive??

Well, the Cloud belongs to somebody else, the portable external hard drive belongs to you. Think of the Cloud as renting space on the kid's computer down the street. You can call the kid Google or Amazon, same thing

I have two portable external hard drives. I also use thumb drives for temp storage or maybe giving an image set to someone else. But for my image bank I prefer something less easy to lose.

PhotoFactor · Dec 21, 2020

barbara j said:
aimeemiller21 said:

so many things to think about...I really appreciate the help everyone. this probably is a stupid question but since some of you don't rely on a web based storage option what is really the difference between a personal at home cloud storage option (like WD My Cloud) and an external hard drive??

Click to expand...

Well, the Cloud belongs to somebody else, the portable external hard drive belongs to you. Think of the Cloud as renting space on the kid's computer down the street. You can call the kid Google or Amazon, same thing

I have two portable external hard drives. I also use thumb drives for temp storage or maybe giving an image set to someone else. But for my image bank I prefer something less easy to lose.

You always want one of your backups to be offsite. That could be the cloud or taking a HDD copy to some other location.

a_c_skinner · Dec 21, 2020

Not SSD for me. You can buy two HDDs for the cost and twice the number is much more robust. Two simultaneous failures are rare (three more so of course). I'm not clear if SSD is more or less reliable than HDD. They probably resist maltreatment better but who will mistreat their backups?

If you want an external drive to increase your working capacity then SSD makes more sense I guess, but then we get into the question of is it wise to use your PC as a storage medium.

Kgluong · Dec 22, 2020

a_c_skinner said:
Not SSD for me. You can buy two HDDs for the cost and twice the number is much more robust. Two simultaneous failures are rare (three more so of course). I'm not clear if SSD is more or less reliable than HDD. They probably resist maltreatment better but who will mistreat their backups?

If you want an external drive to increase your working capacity then SSD makes more sense I guess, but then we get into the question of is it wise to use your PC as a storage medium.

a_c_skinner · Dec 22, 2020

Yes, you hear different time lengths for how long the data "lasts". OTOH people do tell you that HDDs left off for long periods don't start up reliably.

Kgluong · Dec 22, 2020

barbara j said:
aimeemiller21 said:

so many things to think about...I really appreciate the help everyone. this probably is a stupid question but since some of you don't rely on a web based storage option what is really the difference between a personal at home cloud storage option (like WD My Cloud) and an external hard drive??

Click to expand...

Well, the Cloud belongs to somebody else, the portable external hard drive belongs to you. Think of the Cloud as renting space on the kid's computer down the street. You can call the kid Google or Amazon, same thing

I have two portable external hard drives. I also use thumb drives for temp storage or maybe giving an image set to someone else. But for my image bank I prefer something less easy to lose.

Kgluong · Dec 22, 2020

a_c_skinner said:
Yes, you hear different time lengths for how long the data "lasts". OTOH people do tell you that HDDs left off for long periods don't start up reliably.

a_c_skinner · Dec 22, 2020

Tape is a complication too far for me, but why better? I do know it is the medium of choice in big commercial setups. My sister in law brings a tape home from work (a small office) every day.

a_c_skinner · Dec 22, 2020

Nor I, it hasn't happened to me, perhaps it was just the general internet FUD someone was peddling.

Kgluong · Dec 22, 2020

a_c_skinner said:
Tape is a complication too far for me, but why better? I do know it is the medium of choice in big commercial setups. My sister in law brings a tape home from work (a small office) every day.

No Mad · Dec 22, 2020

aimeemiller21 said:
... I have external hard drives and even read some recommendations from the forum on here. But I was wondering what some of you use for cloud storage??

Nothing. I regulrly use several Internet services for publishing or distributing finished photographs, but my source archive is backed up on external disks, some of which are located off-site.

Over past several years my archive has grown by 25%. In the same period, the cost per byte of hard drives has dropped to abut one half of what it was at the beginning of that period. On the other hand, the transfer speeds did not improve to any significant measure, various on-line data storage services came and went (or changed the storage quotas or pricing to the extend that makes them something different from what they were). My confidence in their longevity has, if anything, decreased.

I treat all "cloud" servers as a temporary location for relatively low volume data that i need to share with others, but they are neither practical nor cost-effective solution for backing up my own bulk data. If, as I ptedict, Internet access services will move more and more towards "metered use pricing" model (just as electrical power did, after an initial period when "use metering" technology did not exist or was too expensive), backing up large volumes of dataxby sending it to a remote Internet server will become even less of an option.

tkbslc · Dec 22, 2020

aimeemiller21 said:
I think my internet speeds are fairly slow when it comes to transferring my media to cloud storage. we live away from any verizon/comcast hookups and we use consolidated communications. we also have the base option to save money. there are times where I can't stream and use the computer at the same time. so, my internet is definitely a factor.

If you have slow internet, that is why idrive is slow. It can only send and receive pictures as fast as your internet can go. Another service would not help unless you can upgrade your internet upload speed.

A local NAS like synology can give a cloud like experience, but unless you have multiple computers and phones in your house all wanting to access the pictures at once, it's kind of a waste of money just for backups.

What you probably need is just a regular old backup copy on a portable USB hard drive. If you want to be really safe, buy two drives and backup to both and rotate them to a friends or relatives house. Next time you are going to visit, make a fresh backup on the hard drive you have at home, and then swap. That way if your house burns down or floods, you will still have a backup copy that is only a little behind.

barbara j · Dec 23, 2020

PhotoFactor said:
barbara j said:

aimeemiller21 said:

so many things to think about...I really appreciate the help everyone. this probably is a stupid question but since some of you don't rely on a web based storage option what is really the difference between a personal at home cloud storage option (like WD My Cloud) and an external hard drive??

Click to expand...

Well, the Cloud belongs to somebody else, the portable external hard drive belongs to you. Think of the Cloud as renting space on the kid's computer down the street. You can call the kid Google or Amazon, same thing

I have two portable external hard drives. I also use thumb drives for temp storage or maybe giving an image set to someone else. But for my image bank I prefer something less easy to lose.

Click to expand...

You always want one of your backups to be offsite. That could be the cloud or taking a HDD copy to some other location.

I do have an off-site back up, I use Backblaze, comes in handy, especially traveling. But it is a lot to explain to someone first getting the hang of the cloud.

barbara j · Dec 23, 2020

a_c_skinner said:
Not SSD for me. You can buy two HDDs for the cost and twice the number is much more robust. Two simultaneous failures are rare (three more so of course). I'm not clear if SSD is more or less reliable than HDD. They probably resist maltreatment better but who will mistreat their backups?

If you want an external drive to increase your working capacity then SSD makes more sense I guess, but then we get into the question of is it wise to use your PC as a storage medium.

SSD is temporary storage. For long term you are smart to stick with HDD. And, nothing is forever in digital. Disc rot was a nasty surprise for one :d

PhotoFactor · Dec 23, 2020

barbara j said:
a_c_skinner said:

Not SSD for me. You can buy two HDDs for the cost and twice the number is much more robust. Two simultaneous failures are rare (three more so of course). I'm not clear if SSD is more or less reliable than HDD. They probably resist maltreatment better but who will mistreat their backups?

If you want an external drive to increase your working capacity then SSD makes more sense I guess, but then we get into the question of is it wise to use your PC as a storage medium.

Click to expand...

SSD is temporary storage. For long term you are smart to stick with HDD. And, nothing is forever in digital. Disc rot was a nasty surprise for one :d

Yes. SSD stores data as charges. They can weaken over time, more rapidly than magnetic media.

a_c_skinner · Dec 24, 2020

Yes, numerous copies, retired from time to time from front line use after a few years.

Data rot seems uncommon (loss of files on disks that still function). I did find some figures that suggested my volume of data would add up to barely a handful of files in my lifetime, plausibly none. Disks developing unreadable sectors seems commoner, as does disks suddenly not working at all.

So redundant copies kept up to date and off line. Ideally off site. The trouble is it needs a deal of work.

My workflow is to create on or ingest to a PC. When I've finished working on a document/picture/whatever I copy it to my storage location (an NAS in my case) and move the original to a folder that I will only clear when I've backed up the NAS (repeatedly in my case). When I have two copies like this I format the camera card. When the NAS is backed up I don't need the copy on the PC. But it needs work and it needs you to be obsessive.

I've recently got very fast internet, so one of my off site backups is another NAS at another site I have access to.

Carey Brown · Dec 24, 2020

Kgluong said:
a_c_skinner said:

Tape is a complication too far for me, but why better? I do know it is the medium of choice in big commercial setups. My sister in law brings a tape home from work (a small office) every day.

Click to expand...

For cold storage tap have a much longer life span, small form factor for easy long term storage, and easy to fix when there a mechanical failure (you can fix it on site if you have the tools).

Google, apple, etc all use tape backup for long term storage.

https://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/why-the-future-of-data-storage-is-still-magnetic-tape

Yes, but can a tape that is written on one manufacturer's drive be read by a drive made by a different manufacturer? When I was using tape (a long time ago) I upgraded my system which included upgrading my tape system BY THE SAME MANUFACTURER. It wouldn't read my tapes. They no longer sold the old drive. F***.

Razor512 · Dec 24, 2020

If you are looking for data security, and want to minimize costs, there are a few options that does not require cloud storage.

If you are not in a location that is prone to massive natural disasters, then consider doing a RAID 1 or RAID 5 setup in your PC, and then use a NAS (you can build or purchase a NAS (building will be cheaper).

Then if you need offsite backups, consider using some of the syncing functions and see if you can get any other extended family to also set up a NAS, then simply share the storage (you can encrypt the backups if needed).

One issue with paid cloud storage, is when you need to store lots of video and raw files, the monthly fees quickly become a horrible value, this is why I avoid it. For the price of a cloud service, I can literally gradually tile the walls of my house with WD red hard drives.

The issue with cloud services is when you need to backup 15-25+TB of data, cloud storage gets expensive.

Furthermore since most of the cloud services that focus on the consumer market, also have data limits, a large scale backup or restore can take months. Many will wither cut you off or throttle you significantly after a few hundred GB.

While building up local redundant storage has a higher up front cost, in the long run given the lifespan of modern drives, it will easily pay for itself compared to a cloud service within a few years. Furthermore, the local storage route will have more functionality. For example, My NAS build is connected via 2.5GbE, while not as good s internal storage. the mapped network drive to the NAS is fast enough to edit photos and video over the LAN. I can mount a system image and even launch a PC game over the NAS and it runs decently. If there is no DRM, and all modified data is stored in a local folder (such as the app data or saved games folder), them multiple systems can access a single game install from the NAS at the same time.
The flexibility is unmatched compared to cloud storage.

Beyond that, I share the storage with a remote NAS, thus off-site backup with my brother, thus each NAS acts as offsite storage of the other.

Cloud photo/video storage

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