External HDD Storage Options

[Phosphonothioic]

Ideally, I'd like to set up a wireless external HDD for my wife and I to back-up our computers to. Obviously, wireless is simply for the convenience of not having to go around with the drive and plug it in every time we want to do a back-up. I think we can get away with a 1TB drive, but paying for 2TB isn't really an issue. We'd be storing system restore images as well as music/movies/documents/etc.

I need some guidance/suggestions/thoughts on the process. Is wireless ok to use? What brands/models are recommended? Are there any set-up points that I need to pay particular attention to?

Thanks!

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey Phosphonothioic. You could take a look at WD My Cloud here: WD My Cloud. It sounds like something that would fit your needs. It's a NAS (network attached storage). You connect it and you can access it from anywhere you want by using phones, tablets or computers.

Take a look at its features and let me know if you have any questions.
Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD

 

[Phosphonothioic]

Hey Phosphonothioic. You could take a look at WD My Cloud here: WD My Cloud. It sounds like something that would fit your needs. It's a NAS (network attached storage). You connect it and you can access it from anywhere you want by using phones, tablets or computers.

Take a look at its features and let me know if you have any questions.
Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD

Boogieman_WD - The WD My Cloud line doesn't seem to be getting very good reviews in terms of connectivity, transfer rates, and interface. Not what I'd expect from a WD product. Makes me hesitant to purchase.

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Well I think it's a nice cloud storage solution that can do the job. But of course, I'd always recommend that you go for a product you feel more comfortable buying. It's important that you get a device which meets your personal preference and requirements.

 

[Paperdoc]

Maybe review your expectations re: speed. Any NAS unit on your home network will be limited by the speed of communication of the network. If you are using cable connections, this is possibly 100 Mb/s or 1000 Mb/s ("Gigabit Ethernet"). That fastest rate is possible IF your network router(s) are running at that speed, IF the NAS unit is (and the WD My Cloud does support that speed), and IF your computer network port is running that fast. Then you can achieve a max of 100 MB/s (that's "B" for Byte) data transfer, which is about 2/3 of the max speed of most HDD units. So right there the max data transfer speed you could achieve across a wired Gigabit Ethernet connection is less that the speed of data movement inside your computer.

Now, look at what wireless network systems do. Most top out around 100 Mb/s data transfer - that is only 1/10th of the max speed of wired Gigabit Ethernet! At 10 MB/s, moving a 10 GB file would take at least 1,000 seconds or 17 minutes even if the average transfer rate could be kept at max throughout the entire operation.

As you have pointed out, wireless networks are very convenient for flexibility and lack of trailing wires. But they are not even close to the speed of a wired Gigabit Ethernet. (At best, however, they are nearly the same as 100 Mb/s Ethernet.)

 

[ArtPog]

Ideally, I'd like to set up a wireless external HDD for my wife and I to back-up our computers to. Obviously, wireless is simply for the convenience of not having to go around with the drive and plug it in every time we want to do a back-up. I think we can get away with a 1TB drive, but paying for 2TB isn't really an issue. We'd be storing system restore images as well as music/movies/documents/etc.

I need some guidance/suggestions/thoughts on the process. Is wireless ok to use? What brands/models are recommended? Are there any set-up points that I need to pay particular attention to?

Thanks!