dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I'm not a fan of Cloud storage where I don't own the cloud. I agree that for you, the $500 is steep but I was trying to show you the options. I have the 4tb personal also and it has been good. I just (because of the number of images I have) needed more storage and I was already familiar with the smaller 4tb machine and loved the convenience that it provided. I still use the smaller one as a means of backup while traveling and the larger is my "major" onsite storage. Again, I back everything up to 4tb external USB 3.0 drives for off site backup storage. The others just give me options.

bobwalder

Doesn't that get expensive?

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I figured you were showing the the $500 option as an example of one of the available options. The 4TB WD Personal Cloud has mixed reviews, and I admit I do not understand where the images actually reside - in the device, or in the cloud, or both. Also, how does owning the device make you own the Cloud? At least with the 4TB WD My Book I know where the images are located - on the device!

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Got a few in the cloud, not many. Rest just on externals. Some I have dual copies on different external s.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

I have given way too much thought to the exact question you pose. Let me summarize my conclusions as concisely as my anal obsessive engineer mind will permit. I reinvented and recommend the 3-2-1 rule. Which is at least 3 backups on at least 2 media with at least 1 offsite. Furthermore backups shall not be physically connected to the computer except when being used. (Think lightning or ransomware.) Three are required in case you find one has failed before or during use. Two types are required in case of reader failure or obsolesce. (Think DAT tapes.) And. of course, we need an offsite copy in case of fire or natural disaster.

Here is my system for my particular needs. I use Lightroom to catalog and manage what has turned into ten s of thousands of images. Since many taken with my latest camera that has too many pixels I now have over 1TB of files. Forget about the photo editing. Since I am 75 I need to find “that” photo before a senior moment sets in and I forget what I was doing. The LR database is the only way to go. My work flow is to copy files from the source and catalog them with the import function. (I hate the term Import since LR neither owns, saves, nor modifies the original images. I also set LR to not save metadata changes to the files.) So the files can be archived to backups immediately and once for all. However, I must also save the catalog after any edits and maintain the last version as a zip file in Dropbox. I keep two local backups of the most recent originals on USP drives (WD Passport drives in whatever capacity that costs ~$100) and a third one in a safe deposit box. They are actually smaller than a stack of passports, Thank You. I keep the zip copies of the Catalog in Dropbox and copy the last one to the backups just before they are swapped to the box. I realize they are slightly vulnerable while only on Dropbox. But I digress. When I swap disks to the box, at least quarterly, I also add a the recent changes to an archive in Amazon Glacier which is relatively inexpensive for large amounts of data and secure from ransom ware attacks.

If you still reading this I hope it is helpful.

Jack 13088 Loc: Central NY

BTW you don't nee to backup the previews. LR will recreate them if it needs them and they are very time consuming to backup. Lots and lots of files.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

The images actually reside on the drive. It is your personal cloud. Think of it as a small, dedicated webserver that is for photos, documents or whatever. I "real" webserver uses FTP, and html, this one (probably) uses something similar to ftp but it is transparent to Windows and Apple. I have an Icon on my desktop for the WD Cloud and I can click on it and see a directory tree similar to what I see in my Windows directories. And, the beauty is that when I am away or if (and I can give customers access to a specific directory for a specific time) I want to I can have complete access or give a customer or someone else limited access to any directory or area on the drive(s). And I have an Icon (I also have the IP address so that I or they can reach it from any computer with internet access. Customers or friends can look but not download. I can upload, download, delete, or whatever.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

If I understand correctly, the My Cloud and the Book both hold the images. The Book just stores the images, which can be accessed by the computer to which it is attached. My Cloud stores the images, and remains connected to the computer, but can be accessed over the internet from a different location and a different computer. Does the home computer have to be turned on, or will access be available when it is turned off? (I assume if it can be turned off, then the router is how it gets communication with the device.) Am I understanding correctly?

Also, since the images reside on the xHD, they can be lost if something breaks down in the xHD. That would make it just like the Book xHD except for its ability to transmit images over the internet...

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

"Personal Cloud", "My Cloud": Not the same as The Cloud.

The Cloud is a server (or many) spread around the country, operated by a for-profit company to provide storage to clients.

"My Cloud" or "Personal Cloud" is basically a network drive that you put somewhere in your home on your home network. It might be wired or wireless. But it's operated by you, not someone else. If your house burns down your personal cloud evaporates.

GC likes NIKON Loc: East Greenwich, Rhode Island

There is also another difference between WD Raids My Cloud and My Book. The My Book encrypts the data stored on it and if the enclosure fails the drives cannot be recovered. Even by putting them back into an identical enclosure. There are several reviews on Amazon that mention this: If the enclosure dies, all data dies with it. More details here: https://community.wd.com/t/prevent-data-loss-data-is-lost-forever-if-wd-drive-enclosure-fails-even-if-hard-drives-work-fine/67337

The WD My Cloud does not encrypt the data that you store on it,

tgreenhaw

I started using Amazon Prime Photos recently. If you already have Amazon Prime, its free for stills and will automatically back up folders you choose. It also makes it easy for me to watch a slideshow of images in the Amazon Fire TV I happen to have as well. Finally, there is a mobile app for viewing images, although the speed of image thumbnail download on my phone needs to be faster...

Reinaldokool Loc: San Rafael, CA

I back up to two external drives. So always have three copies. I use Acronis and have it do differential backups every night. I don't like cloud storage. It is too slow and I don't like being that dependent on some startup company that may go away in a month.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Good reason to pick a cloud company that isn't a start-up or likely to go away in a month. Among others, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple fit that description.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

I looked at the link, and have to ask what is the "enclosure"? Is it the case around it, or is it something inside? Why doesn't the same thing happen if a My Cloud falls and breaks?

I am not sure I understand how storage on My Book is different from storage on My Cloud. Isn't any transfer of data to an electronic device a form of encryption? It isn't exactly like photos in, photos stored, photos out! Photos stored is where the issue occurs...

Of course, like most people, I use the devices and don't examine their inner workings in any detail! If one fails I do not see the difference between how it failed as opposed to how the other would fail. It's just gone! That's why we have multiple backups... That said, I DO want to know which is the best to use, has the widest capabilities, lasts the longest, is more reliable, etc.!

DRG777 Loc: Metro Detroit

Same here. My photos have not all fit on my laptop for a couple years.