When it comes to storing documents and images on our computers, we rarely give it much thought until we experience a hard drive failure, or accidentally delete something we can’t recover. For most businesses, this shouldn’t be a significant issue because odds are they utilize a network attached storage (NAS) device where all work products are maintained. For home users, this might be a different story…
Why consider data storage? If your computer were to fail right now, what kinds of information would you potentially lose? Data storage isn’t just about safeguarding your data, it’s also about flexibility of access to that data. If you have multiple devices in your home, how do you currently share data between them? Do you use a thumb drive to share data between devices? If so, that’s not a very efficient method.
When it comes to data storage for home users, there are a few options. There are various cloud options, such as Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive. Cloud storge has its conveniences, but there are a few things to be aware of when using them. The first area of concern that should be reviewed are the terms and conditions. With most cloud storage providers, they require your consent to them having access to any items stored on their cloud platform. These providers typically offer a limited about of free storage before service fees are required in order to increase storage space. Not so much a concern, but something to keep in mind, should you lose internet connectivity for any reason, you obviously lose access to your online files. Probably the greatest area of concern is with respect to the actual security and reliability of your chosen cloud environment. Recently there was an article about Google Drive user data being lost (Google Drive Lost User Data). There is also the potential for compromise by hackers.
Despite these potential concerns, cloud storage does have its benefits. A key advantage of cloud storage is the ability to have access to your documents from multiple devices from any location. Most of the cloud storage providers make their service easy to use and some offer automatic storage and backup of your files. There is no out-of-pocket expense for most cloud storage services unless you exceed the free storage limit.
If you have concerns about cloud storage, or prefer to store your files locally, you have a couple options. Odds are you are already familiar with external storage devices such as a USB thumb drive. A storage device that connects directly to a computer is referred to as a Device Attached Storage (DAS). These devices are available in a variety of physical sizes and storage capacities. The caveat with any DAS device is that the files are only accessible to the computer it is attached to. If you wish to share files on the DAS with another computer, you have to physically attach the device to the other computer.
Another option is a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. The advantage of NAS devices is that any computer on the same network as the NAS has the ability to store and retrieve files. Like DAS devices, NAS devices come in a variety of sizes and capacities as well. Many NAS devices also offer the ability for cloud access as well. Another feature of NAS devices is the ability to create users and manage access. This expands the benefit of a NAS because you can create multiple folders on the device and then manage which folders users are allowed to access. For instance, you create a folder called ‘photos’ and another called ‘taxes’. Within the photos folder are stored all of your family photos, and it is accessible by everyone in the family. Within the taxes folder are all of your federal and state filed tax forms along with any other supporting tax documents. This folder you restrict access to only you and your spouse.
As you can guess, our preference and suggestion would be to opt for a NAS device. When considering a NAS, you should start by estimating what your current storage usage is. You can do this by using File Explorer (Windows), or Finder (Mac) to view the storage space for each folder where you store data. You will want to do this on every device. Total all the values and you will have an idea of what your current storage usage is. Double that value and that would be the recommended starting size for a NAS device.
You might think doubling the size of your current usage is overkill, but you’d be surprised. Knowing you have more capacity tends to cause people to store more things than they were previously. If you have paper copies of vital documents (birth certificates, SSN cards, Will documents, etc), those can be scanned and then digitally stored. Have you configured your computers to create system backups on a regular basis? If so, where are you storing them?
Depending on your storage needs, you can get a simple single drive 4TB NAS on Amazon for roughly $150. These entry level devices provide all of the features most home users need. However, if you require more storage capacity, are a power user, or have a home business, then you might want to consider a more robust solution. Synology offers a wide range of mid level and enterprise level solutions. We have found Synology to be extremely robust and includes numerous features that other manufacturers charge extra for. If you are a power user or have a home based business, you might find Synology offers features that not only address your data storage needs, but also help simplify managing certain aspects of your business.
One thing to understand, regardless if you decide on cloud, DAS, or NAS, it is not a back up solution. Regardless of which solution you feel will best meets your needs, you will still need to back up that device if you want to ensure your data is protected and recoverable.
Brax