Cloud storage or local SSD hard drive: cost factors

[tenkuky]

As I'm upgrading my desktop computer, I'm taking stock of our storage options and realized we have been paying for the following:
1. Dropbox Individual: was $99 a year, now increased to $119 a year with 2 TB storage.
Pro: good for syncing files across devices and sharing files between family members.
Con: Cost, plus we have only used 200 GB so far, and don't have large files (mainly pics, documents etc)
2. Apple iCloud storage: $0.99 per month for 50 GB storage.
Pro: good for the iPhone pics only
Con: may be redundant, but what is a better way to store the phone pics?
3. New external drive: My ordered desktop has 512 GB SSD hard drive, but I'm thinking of getting another external one for 1 TB for approx. $50 (also SSD).

My questions to board are:
1. What am I missing if I get rid of cloud storage and opt just for computer storage with external drive back up for files?
2. Anything cheaper out there for cloud if I choose to keep cloud (for access from anywhere) and if I need only 500 GB or less?
3. Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[jebmke]

If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can store unlimited amount of photos at no cost (other than your prime account fee).

Keep in mind that cloud storage is not the same as a backup. So, whatever you choose, you should have a legitimate backup solution.

[squirm]

Onedrive is $2 a month for 100gig. or just get the office 365 for $70/yr with a terabyte.

[Dakotah]

A cloud service will be inherently safer from data-loss. If you value your data, it's the way to go.

If you insist on local storage...i would not recommend an external SSD. SSDs need to be powered-on periodically to prevent loss of data. Regular HDD's don't have that limitation (and are cheaper, to boot).

You may also want to look at optical media (BD-R, DVD-R). While less convenient, they are considered to be hardier than SSD/HDD.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2984597 ... -data.html

[RickBoglehead]

Buying an external SSD is a waste of money. Storage does not require SSD speed. An SSD provides fast bootup.

An external drive's speed will be impacted by the interface. If you have a USB 3.0 port, get a USB 3.0 external drive. It is 10x faster than 2.0.

I just bought a 4tb internal hard drive to put in an old desktop with a 500gb SSD. The 4tb internal was $72. It will hold backups.

Backup the backup to a stand alone drive monthly and store off-site.

[jebmke]

Google has several bulk storage plans that can be extremely inexpensive depending on how frequently you generally access the data. As low as .007 per gig per month. I'm sure Amazon has similar offerings.

[phantom cosmonaut]

You want to have both a local and a non-local backup, so the two are not interchangeable. The non-local cloud backup protects you from the possibility that your house burns up. The local backup protects you from the possibility that your cloud backup provider fails in one way or another. Also, having two forms of backup protects your from the possibility that a single backup solution results in corrupted files or other strange problems.

[tenkuky]

Thanks to all the helpful guidance!
I'll keep both cloud and local storage as a result.

I'm looking at Microsoft One Drive and Office 365 and Google as well as Amazon.
Question for Amazon: do you they allow all types of files? The webpage gives impression it's for photos and videos only.

I'll skip the external HD, use the internal and use old school removable discs as another back-up.

[02nz]

It sounds like you use Windows. If so, OneDrive is really well-integrated into Windows 10 and is probably the best choice. There's a nice feature that allows you to select which files/folders to store locally (while also being backed up in the cloud) and which only in the cloud. The smartphone apps are very good and allow you to automatically back up photos from the phone as well. As another posted the price is low, free if you use Office 365.

[PlayingLife]

I bought an external drive for around $99, approximately 5 years ago. It's used to store photos which I also have and typically upload to my macbook. I actually keep it in a fire proof safe and don't use online storage. I do a mass backup of my macbook two or three times a year to capture the latest files. One of my friends says I'm preparing for Fallout haha. I just don't like the idea of being financially tied to online storage for life nor do I trust those companies from keeping my photos 100% safe.

[wageoghe]

RE your iPhone photos, iCloud storage, and Windows ... You can get an iCloud client for your Windows computer that will sync iCloud photos, documents, etc with Windows. You can download it from Apple.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204283

[tenkuky]

RE your iPhone photos, iCloud storage, and Windows ... You can get an iCloud client for your Windows computer that will sync iCloud photos, documents, etc with Windows. You can download it from Apple.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204283

This is great to know!
For sure then, I can get rid of Apple Cloud storage.
Looks like I can move everything to OneDrive.
Then, I'll stop paying Dropbox.
I already have Office 2013 Pro, so wouldn't need the 365.

[TN_Boy]

As I'm upgrading my desktop computer, I'm taking stock of our storage options and realized we have been paying for the following:
1. Dropbox Individual: was $99 a year, now increased to $119 a year with 2 TB storage.
Pro: good for syncing files across devices and sharing files between family members.
Con: Cost, plus we have only used 200 GB so far, and don't have large files (mainly pics, documents etc)
2. Apple iCloud storage: $0.99 per month for 50 GB storage.
Pro: good for the iPhone pics only
Con: may be redundant, but what is a better way to store the phone pics?
3. New external drive: My ordered desktop has 512 GB SSD hard drive, but I'm thinking of getting another external one for 1 TB for approx. $50 (also SSD).

My questions to board are:
1. What am I missing if I get rid of cloud storage and opt just for computer storage with external drive back up for files?
2. Anything cheaper out there for cloud if I choose to keep cloud (for access from anywhere) and if I need only 500 GB or less?
3. Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

You want off-site backups.

The only way to be sure you are up to date on backups if your house burned down, or somebody stole your computer and external drive, is a cloud backup. People talk about doing a manual backup occasionally and storing off site, but there are obvious flaws with that approach.

We back up (encrypted) to local external drive and the cloud.

[sd323232]

A cloud service will be inherently safer from data-loss. If you value your data, it's the way to go.

If you insist on local storage...i would not recommend an external SSD. SSDs need to be powered-on periodically to prevent loss of data. Regular HDD's don't have that limitation (and are cheaper, to boot).

You may also want to look at optical media (BD-R, DVD-R). While less convenient, they are considered to be hardier than SSD/HDD.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2984597 ... -data.html

Never heard that SSD lose data if not powered on periodically. I just dug up one of my ssd drives that i didnt power on for about a year. Everything was still there.

[Dakotah]

A cloud service will be inherently safer from data-loss. If you value your data, it's the way to go.

If you insist on local storage...i would not recommend an external SSD. SSDs need to be powered-on periodically to prevent loss of data. Regular HDD's don't have that limitation (and are cheaper, to boot).

You may also want to look at optical media (BD-R, DVD-R). While less convenient, they are considered to be hardier than SSD/HDD.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2984597 ... -data.html

Never heard that SSD lose data if not powered on periodically. I just dug up one of my ssd drives that i didnt power on for about a year. Everything was still there.

A year isn't out of the expected data-retention range. When we're talking about true, long-term archiving of data...you could go many years without accessing the drives. An SSD isn't the way to go in that case. According to the link I provided...

"External SSDs are rugged and virtually shock-proof, but the NAND they use won’t hold data forever. The cells, which are electron traps, leak over time. The technology is also relatively new, so no one is quite sure how long an SSD will retain data when stored unpowered, but you won’t find companies touting them for long-term backup. Figure 10 years as a best case scenario, but don’t rely on it.

Advice: If you use SSDs, refresh the data on them every year or two and replace them every 10. Better yet, use something else."

[wageoghe]

RE your iPhone photos, iCloud storage, and Windows ... You can get an iCloud client for your Windows computer that will sync iCloud photos, documents, etc with Windows. You can download it from Apple.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204283

This is great to know!
For sure then, I can get rid of Apple Cloud storage.
Looks like I can move everything to OneDrive.
Then, I'll stop paying Dropbox.
I already have Office 2013 Pro, so wouldn't need the 365.

The iCloud client for Windows is a client FOR iCloud storage. It gives access to your iCloud data (photos, files, etc - eg the photos from your iPhone that are automatically synced to iCloud) via your Windows computer. So, no, the iCloud Windows client does not mean that you can drop iCloud storage. If you don’t want iCloud storage, you don’t have to use it. But, if you do use iCloud storage, the iCloud client makes it easy to access that storage from a Windows computer. Hopefully that is not too confusing.

[spae]

Never heard that SSD lose data if not powered on periodically.

This is easy to confirm if you Google for any flash memory or SSD datasheet. Keep in mind that everyone who's tested these has found that claims in datasheets overstate the durability of SSDs.

I just dug up one of my ssd drives that i didnt power on for about a year. Everything was still there.

How do you know? What's your checksumming and scrubbing process?