Personal cloud

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A personal cloud is a collection of digital content and services which are accessible from any device. The personal cloud is not a tangible entity. It is a place which gives users the ability to store, synchronize, stream and share content on a relative core, moving from one platform, screen and location to another. Created on connected services and applications, it reflects and sets consumers’ expectations for how next-generation computing services will work. [1] [ citation needed ]

Contents

The four primary types of personal cloud in use today are: Online cloud, NAS device cloud, server device cloud, and home-made clouds.

Online cloud

The online cloud is also sometimes referred to as public cloud. Online cloud is the cloud computing model where online resources like software and data storage are made available over the Internet by a service provider. In an online cloud model, cloud services are provided in a virtualized system, are constructed using pooled, shared physical resources and are accessed by the Internet. [2]

Typically, an individual or organization has little control over the ecosystem in which the online cloud is hosted, and the core infrastructure is shared between many individuals and organizations. The data and applications provided by the service provider are logically segregated so that only those authorized are allowed access. [3]

NAS device cloud

A network-attached storage (NAS) device is a computer connected to a network that provides only file-based data storage services to other devices on the network. Although it may technically be possible to run other software on a NAS device, it is not designed to be a general purpose server. Cloud NAS is remote storage that is accessed over the Internet as if it were local.

A cloud NAS is often used for backups and archiving. One of the benefits of NAS Cloud is that data in the cloud can be accessed at any time from anywhere. The main drawback, however, is that the speed of the transfer rate is only as fast as the network connection the data is accessed over and can therefore be fairly slow. [4]

Server device cloud

In many ways cloud servers work in the same way as physical servers but the functions they perform can be very different. [5] Typically, the cloud server is an on-premises device that is connected to the Internet and gives users the functions available on the online cloud but with the added benefit and security of the files being in their control on their premises.

The server cloud has been historically enterprise-based deployed by businesses needing an in-house cloud. However, there are also in-house options available for individual users.

Home-made clouds

For the more technologically proficient user a common solution for using a personal cloud is to create a home-made cloud system by connecting an external USB hard drive to a Wi-Fi router. This enables both wired and wireless computers to access the USB hard drive and use it for storage or for retrieving files a user needs to share on the network thereby acting like a cloud.

The challenge for the home-made cloud is that in order to set it up a user has to have a certain degree of skills in technology and network setup. This solution is not for novices and average consumers. If this setup is not done by a tech expert the biggest issue will be security and leaving the files accessible to anyone with technical knowledge. [6] Not every router supports this type of access and modification.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Network-attached storage Computer data storage server

Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. NAS is specialized for serving files either by its hardware, software, or configuration. It is often manufactured as a computer appliance – a purpose-built specialized computer. NAS systems are networked appliances that contain one or more storage drives, often arranged into logical, redundant storage containers or RAID. Network-attached storage removes the responsibility of file serving from other servers on the network. They typically provide access to files using network file sharing protocols such as NFS, SMB, or AFP. From the mid-1990s, NAS devices began gaining popularity as a convenient method of sharing files among multiple computers. Potential benefits of dedicated network-attached storage, compared to general-purpose servers also serving files, include faster data access, easier administration, and simple configuration.

Iomega Company previously known as Iomega

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A remote, online, or managed backup service, sometimes marketed as cloud backup or backup-as-a-service, is a service that provides users with a system for the backup, storage, and recovery of computer files. Online backup providers are companies that provide this type of service to end users. Such backup services are considered a form of cloud computing.

Direct-attached storage

Direct-attached storage (DAS) is digital storage directly attached to the computer accessing it, as opposed to storage accessed over a computer network. DAS consists of one or more storage units such as hard drives, solid-state drives, optical disc drives within an external enclosure. The term "DAS" is a retronym to contrast with storage area network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS).

Home network Type of computer network

A home network or home area network (HAN) is a type of computer network that facilitates communication among devices within the close vicinity of a home. Devices capable of participating in this network, for example, smart devices such as network printers and handheld mobile computers, often gain enhanced emergent capabilities through their ability to interact. These additional capabilities can be used to increase the quality of life inside the home in a variety of ways, such as automation of repetitive tasks, increased personal productivity, enhanced home security, and easier access to entertainment.

The NSLU2 is a network-attached storage (NAS) device made by Linksys introduced in 2004 and discontinued in 2008. It makes USB flash memory and hard disks accessible over a network using the SMB protocol. It was superseded mainly by the NAS200 and in another sense by the WRT600N and WRT300N/350N which both combine a Wi-Fi router with a storage link.

Edge computing Distributed computing paradigm

Edge computing is a distributed computing paradigm that brings computation and data storage closer to the sources of data. This is expected to improve response times and save bandwidth. "A common misconception is that edge and IoT are synonymous. Edge computing is a topology- and location-sensitive form of distributed computing, while IoT is a use case instantiation of edge computing." The term refers to an architecture rather than a specific technology.

Western Digital My Book

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Time Machine (macOS) Backup software application developed by Apple and distributed as part of macOS

Time Machine is the backup mechanism of macOS, the desktop operating system developed by Apple. The software is designed to work with both local storage devices and network-attached disks, and is most commonly used with external disk drives connected using either USB or Thunderbolt. It was first introduced in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, which appeared in October 2007 and incrementally refined in subsequent releases of macOS. Time Machine was revamped in macOS 11 Big Sur to support APFS, thereby enabling "faster, more compact, and more reliable backups" than were possible previously.

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A home server is a computing server located in a private computing residence providing services to other devices inside or outside the household through a home network or the Internet. Such services may include file and printer serving, media center serving, home automation control, web serving, web caching, file sharing and synchronization, video surveillance and digital video recorder, calendar and contact sharing and synchronization, account authentication, and backup services.

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In computing, virtualization or virtualisation is the act of creating a virtual version of something, including virtual computer hardware platforms, storage devices, and computer network resources.

This is a comparison of online backup services.

Cloud computing Form of shared Internet-based computing

Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over multiple locations, each location being a data center. Cloud computing relies on sharing of resources to achieve coherence and typically using a "pay-as-you-go" model which can help in reducing capital expenses but may also lead to unexpected operating expenses for unaware users.

Plug computer

A plug computer is an external device, often configured for use in the home or office as a compact computer. The name is derived from the small configuration of such devices; they are often enclosed in an AC power plug or AC adapter.

SheevaPlug

The SheevaPlug is a "plug computer" designed to allow standard computing features in as small a space as possible.

Tonido

Tonido is remote access and home server software for network-attached storage. Once installed on a computer, Tonido software makes that computer's files available remotely via the internet through the web browser or through native mobile apps. This allows access to files stored on the computer, including music and videos, to any computing device connected to the Internet in possession of login credentials. Data is by default transmitted via Tonido's servers, with no port forwarding required, but can be transmitted without using Tonido's servers by setting up port forwarding. Data transfer speed cannot exceed that of the slowest link in the data path, including USB 2.0 for USB-connected storage.

Cloud collaboration is a method of sharing and co-authoring computer files via cloud computing, whereby documents are uploaded to a central "cloud" for storage, where they can then be accessed by other users. Cloud collaboration technologies allow users to upload, comment and collaborate on documents and even amend the document itself, evolving the document. Businesses in the last few years have increasingly been switching to use of cloud collaboration.

References

  1. "Gartner IT Glossary - Personal Cloud". Gartner.com. 2014-02-18. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  2. "Public, private and dynamic hybrid cloud: What's the difference?". Smarter Computing Blog. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2014-05-15.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. "Public Cloud vs Private Cloud vs Hybrid Cloud". Office of Finance. Archived from the original on 2014-05-15. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  4. "What is cloud NAS (cloud network attached storage)? - Definition from WhatIs.com". Searchcloudstorage.techtarget.com. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  5. "What are Cloud Servers | Cloud Server Information". Interoute. Retrieved 2014-05-15.
  6. "Default settings leave external hard drives connected to Asus routers wide open - Good Gear Guide". PC World Australia. 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2014-05-15.