Off site storage - will WD EX2 work?

[idolezal]

Hello,

Im currently using as storage back up WD My book - automatically back up any new file saved in my PC. In case of disaster, data can be lost as my PC and My book up are at the same location.

Im thinking to buy WD EX2, place it at house of my parents and back there.

Im not expert and therefore not sure from EX2 data sheet, if my expectations are right. Can you help?

Will the system work as I intend - automatically backup at off site location?
When yes, will there be any limitations with size of transffered files?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, idolezal!

Glad to hear you are thinking of backup solutions! This is the best way to protect yourself from the headaches of data loss!
The WD My Cloud EX2 is a NAS storage device which is slightly different than the WD My Book (DAS) that you already own.
The EX2 needs to be connected to your router, instead of your computer and this makes it remotely accessible through all your computers and other media devices using the WD My Cloud app. You'd also be able manage all the people/computers that will have access to the EX2 NAS through the dashboard.
Yes, you'd be able to automatically backup all your computers without having them directly connected to the cloud itself using WD SmartWare Pro. You can also set a particular time and day of the week for the backups.
There are no limitations of the size of the file transfer, this happens only with external/internal HDDs configured with exFAT/FAT32 file system. Network-attached storage devices use a different kind of file systems that shouldn't put any limitations on the size of the transferred files. However, for maximum data transfer performance of the EX2, I'd recommend checking this article from our KB that explains how to configure it, so you'd not experience any decreases: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=U9gRRT

Hope I was helpful. Let me know if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[idolezal]

Hi,

thank you for reply. So if i understand it good, I can connect EX2 in house of my parents to the router and from my PC in another location set automatic back ups to the EX2.

Can you please confirm it will work like this?

Hey there, idolezal!

Glad to hear you are thinking of backup solutions! This is the best way to protect yourself from the headaches of data loss!
The WD My Cloud EX2 is a NAS storage device which is slightly different than the WD My Book (DAS) that you already own.
The EX2 needs to be connected to your router, instead of your computer and this makes it remotely accessible through all your computers and other media devices using the WD My Cloud app. You'd also be able manage all the people/computers that will have access to the EX2 NAS through the dashboard.
Yes, you'd be able to automatically backup all your computers without having them directly connected to the cloud itself using WD SmartWare Pro. You can also set a particular time and day of the week for the backups.
There are no limitations of the size of the file transfer, this happens only with external/internal HDDs configured with exFAT/FAT32 file system. Network-attached storage devices use a different kind of file systems that shouldn't put any limitations on the size of the transferred files. However, for maximum data transfer performance of the EX2, I'd recommend checking this article from our KB that explains how to configure it, so you'd not experience any decreases: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=U9gRRT

Hope I was helpful. Let me know if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hi,

thank you for reply. So if i understand it good, I can connect EX2 in house of my parents to the router and from my PC in another location set automatic back ups to the EX2.

Can you please confirm it will work like this?

Hi again, idolezal!

Yes, I do confirm it works like this once you set it up! 😉
I'd recommend checking the product page of WD My Cloud EX2 and see all the features it incorporates. All backup possibilities are listed here as well: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=zfyxQO
Another think you should take a look at is this article from our KB that explains how to create a remote backup on the WD My Cloud Personal cloud drive: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=oxpt0o

Hope this was helpful! Keep me posted if there's anything else!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[idolezal]

Dear SuperSoph_WD,

I did buy the EX2 and trying to set it up. There is in the guide lot of step by step detailed explannations how to set it up, but not how to set automatic remote storage to EX2. I wrote to WD customer service and the answear is that it is not possible back up PC to EX2. Just EX2 to EX2.
Here is the complete answear:

Dear Ivo Dolezal,

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Support. My name is Sergei and I am one of the WD Support Agents.

First and foremost, we would like to Thank you for taking the time to contact us in regards to your question about WD My Cloud EX2.

If I understand you correctly, you want to perform a remote backup of your PC to My Cloud EX2.

Remote backup function of EX2 allows you to back up My Cloud EX2 data to and from another EX2 or EX4 unit.
For more information on Backups, please read My Cloud EX2 user manual (page 67):
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705119.pdf

I am sorry to inform you, but EX2 currently doesn’t feature a PC remote backup function. It may be possible using third party applications, however this is officially not supported by WD.

I would recommend posting your PC remote backup feature request within the "Ideas" section of our Community Forums at:
http://community.wd.com/t5/Network-Product-Ideas/idb-p/network_ideas
Our development team reviews the forums on a regular basis, to see the most commonly requested features by our customers. In future most popular requests/ideas are realized in firmware updates or new product releases.

You can also ask other My Cloud EX2 users on WD community about a possible solution they have tried and their experience with it.
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud-EX2/bd-p/mycloud_ex2

If you have additional questions or you require further assistance, please reply.

Sincerely,
XXXXX
Western Digital Service and Support
---end of email---

Im confused whats true now. Also links you sent to me seems not describing how to back up PC to EX2.
Can you help/advice what to do?

kind regards,

Ivo

 

[jsmithepa]

Boy that's a real bummer.

Shouldn't be that much of a big deal to back up your PC. It just needs a little more intelligence to find each other. When the EX can't see you, because you are offline whatever, it goes go sleep. Your PC goes online, it sends a wakeup signal to your Ex, and announces, "hey I am here now!" No biggie.

I was going to mention to you, "cloud" storage, everything that goes through the Internet qualifies, one needs to be aware of upload/download speed limitation on both ends of the Internet connection. Documents, pictures here and there, spreadsheets should be fine, any large media files, it maybe prohibitively slow to be practical. Again be aware of the available bandwidth.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Dear SuperSoph_WD,

I did buy the EX2 and trying to set it up. There is in the guide lot of step by step detailed explannations how to set it up, but not how to set automatic remote storage to EX2. I wrote to WD customer service and the answear is that it is not possible back up PC to EX2. Just EX2 to EX2.
Here is the complete answear:

Dear Ivo Dolezal,

Thank you for contacting Western Digital Customer Support. My name is Sergei and I am one of the WD Support Agents.

First and foremost, we would like to Thank you for taking the time to contact us in regards to your question about WD My Cloud EX2.

If I understand you correctly, you want to perform a remote backup of your PC to My Cloud EX2.

Remote backup function of EX2 allows you to back up My Cloud EX2 data to and from another EX2 or EX4 unit.
For more information on Backups, please read My Cloud EX2 user manual (page 67):
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705119.pdf

I am sorry to inform you, but EX2 currently doesn’t feature a PC remote backup function. It may be possible using third party applications, however this is officially not supported by WD.

I would recommend posting your PC remote backup feature request within the "Ideas" section of our Community Forums at:
http://community.wd.com/t5/Network-Product-Ideas/idb-p/network_ideas
Our development team reviews the forums on a regular basis, to see the most commonly requested features by our customers. In future most popular requests/ideas are realized in firmware updates or new product releases.

You can also ask other My Cloud EX2 users on WD community about a possible solution they have tried and their experience with it.
http://community.wd.com/t5/WD-My-Cloud-EX2/bd-p/mycloud_ex2

If you have additional questions or you require further assistance, please reply.

Sincerely,
XXXXX
Western Digital Service and Support
---end of email---

Im confused whats true now. Also links you sent to me seems not describing how to back up PC to EX2.
Can you help/advice what to do?

kind regards,

Ivo

Hi again, Ivo!

I'm sorry about this confusing situation that has occurred in your communication with us. I've totally misunderstood your 'off site storage' issue and clearly we misunderstood each other about your backup needs. I guess my links could be misleading but as you can see the Remote backup KB link I've posted explains that you'd need another NAS in order to be able to perform it.
When confirming the backup you've asked about, I was talking about the automatic backup in your home network, rather than the remote backup option. My guess is this where I misunderstood you, since I just noticed that you have mentioned your parents' house network for which I'm terribly sorry.
Indeed, everything that our WD Support representative has given as information in the e-mail is true as are the links to the KB that I provided you with.

Again, I'm sorry about the confusion! 🙁
Let me know if there's anything I can help you with.
SuperSoph_WD