Local storage for pictures with external access.

[thecomputerguy]

Client wants to drag and drop photos either locally or remotely into a storage system they want physically located in their house.

I said,

Well you pay for 5TB of Dropbox! Why bother just put them in there.
-- No that's in the cloud and I don't trust the cloud

Well you pay for OneDrive through your Business email, why not just put them in there?
-- No that's in the cloud and I don't trust the cloud

Well then why don't you just back them up to an external hard drive!
-- I don't want to carry it around

Client, "Can't I buy one of those WD Cloud Drives and have you set it up here and I'll take it home?"
Me, "Well I guess that's an option but I've never used them before because they are cheap junk. And if I configure it at my location I can't guarantee it will work at your location."

This all coming from someone who uses O365 for his business with Teams/SP. Utilizes Dropbox for other personal stuff, who's primary email is @aol.com, and primary cell phone is still a flip phone.

I'm dealing with an Ogre here.

I think my options are

1.) Synology and quote him REAL high for a 2 bay 8TB RAID1 like .. $1500-$2000
2.) Try a WD Cloud Drive
3.) Tell him I'll look into it and never get back to him

I'm leaning towards 3 but just thought I'd ask.

 

[mmerry]

Synology but make him understand he will pay for it.

 

[Computer Bloke]

No that's in the cloud and I don't trust the cloud

Is he concerned that the cloud will lose all of his photos, or that the cloud can be breached and other people will get to see his stuff?

If it's the former, just have him store all the photos on local storage and then do a one-way sync into OneDrive or Dropbox. There are many ways to automate this and I'm sure we all have our favourites. He won't be able to add, change or remove remotely, but that's exactly the point - neither will his cloud provider or anyone else.

If it's the latter then I'm afraid he's past saving and probably shouldn't be using the Internet at all. Buy him a roll of tin foil, show him how to fold it, and move on.

 

[britechguy]

How is an external hard drive, connected to the computer itself or the access point as NAS (if this is supported), not satisfactory?

I don't get the "carry it around" part for an external HDD or SSD. You can share it across your LAN if desired.

This sounds like the "client from hell" because they either completely trust, or completely distrust, technologies that are part of all ecosystems in today's world.

 

[thecomputerguy]

Is he concerned that the cloud will lose all of his photos, or that the cloud can be breached and other people will get to see his stuff?

If it's the latter then I'm afraid he's past saving and probably shouldn't be using the Internet at all. Buy him a roll of tin foil, show him how to fold it, and move on.

The answer to both of these is Yes. He bought a brand new Galaxy note to run Salesforce authenticator because he uses a flip phone and only checks mail when he is stationary and his laptop is turned on.

 

[thecomputerguy]

How is an external hard drive, connected to the computer itself or the access point as NAS (if this is supported), not satisfactory?

I don't get the "carry it around" part for an external HDD or SSD. You can share it across your LAN if desired.

This sounds like the "client from hell" because they either completely trust, or completely distrust, technologies that are part of all ecosystems in today's world.

Yeah I'm pretty sure I'm going to pull the ol "I'll look into it" and move on.

 

[britechguy]

I will openly admit that I was skeptical, very skeptical, about the safety and reliability of cloud-based storage when it first entered the scene and for a healthy period afterward. But it has long ago proven itself as a far more "safe and secure" storage, particularly when it comes to insurance against data loss, because the data is in professional data centers that employ professional grade backup (and redundancy) strategies and hardware.

I simply cannot envision a scenario that has any realistic chance of happening where cloud-based storage is not safer than any local storage on the whole.

Any professional person who uses multiple technologies in their daily life that are cloud-based that hasn't arrived at that conclusion really is beyond hope. You've had real-world, long term evidence of the safety and stability of cloud-based storage by multiple professional entities that offer same.

 

[thecomputerguy]

I'll also note that this all came about when he finally agreed to transfer to a new laptop... replacing his 11 year old computer running Windows 7.

The local storage for pictures thing came about when he said he hadn't ever got his 9 year old WD Cloud NAS to work so he didn't use it.

He's a dreamer for sure.

 

[timeshifter]

I don’t get what he’s asking for? External access?

 

[Metanis]

It seems the early Internet had an app for this...

Secure FTP - how to secure your server. 8 essential tips.

File transfer systems are a prime target for hackers, so effective security measures are vital. Here's how to minimize the risk of unauthorized access.

www.cerberusftp.com

 

[Markverhyden]

So how big is the store? I've always been a big fan of FreeNAS, which is now known as TrueNAS. Several years ago they started producing the hardware layer as well. Priced very competitively compared to similar systems.

 

[britechguy]

In the final analysis, wrapping oneself into a pretzel to create remotely accessible NAS for a residential client makes no sense anymore.

If they don't trust the cloud, then they don't, but that's the only option I'd be presenting. The world of computing, except for very specific niche needs, has moved on to cloud storage. For things like personal photographs, it's ideal.

Part of our job is not to do what the client wants when what the client wants (functionality wise) is not well supported by the technology the client wishes to use. We are "feature matchers" and if clients don't want to accept the IT equivalent of our clinical judgment then it's best that the client find another practitioner (most of whom will be trying to steer them away from what they want, too).

 

[DRPCNZ]

Yep Option 3 seems like the best one and point out the word "CLOUD" in the title of the WD Cloud Drive

 

[britechguy]

Yep Option 3 seems like the best one and point out the word "CLOUD" in the title of the WD Cloud Drive

Also point out that whatever you can do with your own local storage that allows it to be cloud accessible is almost certain to be far less secure than what professional data centers do to let you get at the cloud storage you have.

 

[alexsmith2709]

Doesnt trust multi-billion dollar companies with encryption & replication to secure data, but will trust a consumer grade NAS (and one of the worst at that!), a flip phone and an aol email address...definitely "forget" to get back to him!

 

[labtech]

Synology NAS is likely the solution. It is the most robust and still well supported solution. Do NOT configure it as RAID0.

WD Cloud NAS is mediocre at best. The managment software is annoying to work with. And when it fails, which they do more than their counterparts, it is even more annoying to work with.

 

[Fred Claus]

Client, "Can't I buy one of those WD Cloud Drives and have you set it up here and I'll take it home?"

I was waiting for you to say "But that's the CLOUD". After all it's right int he name.

 

[sapphirescales]

It's a PITA client. Quote them the PITA price. They'll either accept it or not. Either way you win. Personally I'd charge them between $2,000 and $3,500 for a Synology NAS depending on whether they want to go 2 bay RAID1 or 4 bay SHR2/RAID10 and $1,000 or so extra if they want me to come out and set it up for them and give them some training. With a quote like that they'd be crazy to accept but if they do then I'd be willing to deal with the pain in the butt client.

Be careful though. This sounds like the type of client who will want to buy the Synology and drives themselves and want you to just come out and set it up for them. It's not worth it to deal with this PITA client for $1,000. I hate dealing with crap that clients buy because when something goes wrong they blame you and you don't have the margin (or the responsibility) to fix it for free for them but they won't see it that way. I had a client who rejected my quote on a business class laptop and instead bought some piece of crap from Best Buy for $430. I charged him $500 to transfer his data and upgrade his SSD and RAM.

Well the piece of crap died 3 months later and he expected me to provide free labor. I diagnosed it, told him the motherboard was dead, provided a quote of $400 to replace it. Instead he wanted to send it into Dell under warranty which was understandable but he didn't want to pay me for my diagnostic or my time removing the upgraded SSD and RAM nor did he want to pay me to reinstall them into the computer again after Dell fixed it. He was used to me taking care of everything under warranty because he always bought his computers from me in the past. He expected me to do this labor for free, the diagnostic for free, and take up 2 appointment slots for free. I don't have to charge much but I have to at least charge for my time, which was $180.

Thankfully he came to his senses and just said screw it and bought a business class from me. I waived the $180 and got him into a good computer. You can't cheap out. You either pay now or play later but you will pay. If the guy had just accepted my initial quote of $800 for a business class laptop he would have paid less for the data transfer and initial setup and if the motherboard had failed I would have covered it under warranty. He thought he was being smart buying a piece of crap and having me upgrade it to be closer to the specs of the business class but instead it cost him a bunch of money.