Cloud Storage: I have had "mixed" satisfaction with cloud storage and am wondering what system (if any) I should try next. I am hoping that there is a system that is easy to use and...

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

I have had "mixed" satisfaction with cloud storage and am wondering what system (if any) I should try next. I am hoping that there is a system that is easy to use and does not automatically delete your images (offers permanent storage)

Any suggestions, advise, recommendations would be most appreciated

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

I have had "mixed" satisfaction with cloud storage and am wondering what system (if any) I should try next. I am hoping that there is a system that is easy to use and does not automatically delete your images (offers permanent storage)

Any suggestions, advise, recommendations would be most appreciated

Amazon S3. You can chose frequent access, infrequent access or Glacier (archive), each with successively lower price/TB, and you can move files, folders or the entire file system between tiers whenever you like. Amazon is as large as the next 3-4 cloud services combined for a reason.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I use Amazon Drive because it is free with unlimited photo storage if you have Amazon Prime, and, if you have Amazon Fire Stick on your TV's, you have a free PHOTO app that automatically displays all your photo's on Amazon Drive on your TV's.

Amazon says they are eliminating Amazon Drive and will just have Amazon Photo at the end of the year. This "shouldn't" have any affect on photos but we'll see.

I use this service to store photo's edited to my big screen TV size (1920x1080). I use personal external drives to back up everything on my PC, and all folders stored on Amazon Drive are also on stored on my PC so if Amazon goes away or whatever, I lose nothing.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

I have had "mixed" satisfaction with cloud storage and am wondering what system (if any) I should try next. I am hoping that there is a system that is easy to use and does not automatically delete your images (offers permanent storage)

Any suggestions, advise, recommendations would be most appreciated

Automatically deletes your images?

What cloud storage company does that? That would defeat the purpose of cloud storage.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

I have had "mixed" satisfaction with cloud storage and am wondering what system (if any) I should try next. I am hoping that there is a system that is easy to use and does not automatically delete your images (offers permanent storage)

Any suggestions, advise, recommendations would be most appreciated

If you're an Apple user, iCloud is an easy choice. It allows you to access all your files from all your Apple devices. Many of Apple's applications work through iCloud to synchronize files on Mac/iPad/iPhone so you can work on one device and almost immediately switch to another without manual file transfers.

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

I have been using Backblaze, which I understand is a "mirror" system (whatever that is ha). The backup is nonstop; however, if your external hard drive is not connected to your computer for a specified amount of time, your files are automatically deleted.

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Thanks for the input. I have been using Backblaze, but (for me) was very complicated.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

My Cloud Storage is only for archival backup of important files, not just photos.
I've not accessed it in over 5 years. I never had to use my local backups either,
but I didn't say that...

I'd never use Cloud Storage as working (active) storage.

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Thanks for the advise. Thinking about purchasing a solid state external drive. Currently I use two (2) external drives for my RAW images (Primary-Backup).

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

Thanks for the advise. Thinking about purchasing a solid state external drive. Currently I use two (2) external drives for my RAW images (Primary-Backup).

If your cloud backup does the internal(s) and the externals are backups of the internal, why backup the external backups to the cloud? Redundant.
?"Primary-Backup"?
Is one a primary for active use? or a primary backup, with a secondary backup.
If one external is primary for active use, keep it connected so it is backed up (checked) regularly and doesn't drop out of the cloud backup for lack of use (not connected).

Once I delete files on my working drive, which is backed up to the cloud, I have 30 days to recover any deleted files. Otherwise they go pouf on the cloud backup. I alternate my local backups on two externals. Those externals are not backed up in the cloud. Only my active (internal) drive is constantly checked by the cloud software to see if something is new or changed that needs to be copied to the cloud.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

Thanks for the input. I have been using Backblaze, but (for me) was very complicated.

If you click "quote reply" under the post you are responding to as I did here, we can tell who that is.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

If you pay for storage rather than backup, the files should be there as long as you keep paying. Before I considered "backup", I chose Smugmug to display my photos. As long as I pay, they are there, but there is no automatic backup.

Some backup services distinguish between backup and synchronize where anything backed-up stays, but synchronize maintains copies of only what is in the original location.

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Perhaps, I made a confusing situation worse. I have two (2) external drives, (Primary-secondary) each containing identical RAW files.

I have been sending the external drive (primary) to Backblaze (the service which I was utilizing).

In effect, I was working on "triple" redundancy; two externals in house, and one cloud

I guess that the question with regard to protecting files is, "am I indulging in "overkill"

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY wrote:

Perhaps, I made a confusing situation worse. I have two (2) external drives, (Primary-secondary) each containing identical RAW files.

I have been sending the external drive (primary) to Backblaze (the service which I was utilizing).

In effect, I was working on "triple" redundancy; two externals in house, and one cloud

I guess that the question with regard to protecting files is, "am I indulging in "overkill"

3 copies is the professional standard:

* primary (working) storage
* local backup
* off site disaster recovery (DR) copy

PMM PHOTOGRAPHY Loc: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Most appreciative of your comments and input