Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Online Storage Comparison: Go Big or Go Home

Cloud Computing is all the rage ... so what is it? Well there are two aspects of cloud computing; 1. Running virtual servers in the cloud, such as Amazons Elastic Cloud Computing or RightScale and 2. Storing your files in the "Cloud" for access from anywhere.

This post is about storing your files (which is more applicable to most of the internet denizens out there). There are great reasons to store your files in the cloud, including off-site backup as well as colaboration and sharing. To my great pleasure, there are some great free offerings for online cloud storage (and some great paid offerings as well). Here is a quick summary:
 

Free Online Storage Comparison: (Listed by Gigs of Free Storage Offered). There are other online storage services (such as the popular Carbonite), but I have only include ones I have tried and that offer a free plan.


ADrive.comPro'sCon's
50 Gig Free
(Has Paid Plans)
  • Huge Storage Space
  • FTP and Web Access
  • Includes Backup Utility to sync / backup local directories to online storage
  • Can make files public
  • Paid Plans provide WebDAV access
  • Update: FTP and Backup Utility no longer included with Free Account
  • Longevity may be an issue since this is not backed by a well known company
  • Can only be logged in from one source (web or ftp)
  • Utility is only for Windows
  • Update: Since it Adrive is now only web based, limitation removed



SkydrivePro'sCon's
25 Gig Free
  • Backed by Microsoft (some may consider this a con) so should be a stable offering
  • Can make files public
  • No FTP Access (but does have a drag and drop ActiveX control available for IE
  • No Backup Utility to sync / backup local directories

Mesh.ComPro'sCon's
5 Gig Free
  • Backed by Microsoft (some may consider this a con) so should be a stable offering
  • Can make files public
  • Can be used to sync files between computers (Mac and Windows)
  • Provides remote access to your computers
  • See my Post about Mesh.com.
  • No FTP Access (but does have a drag and drop ActiveX control available for IE
  • Cannot Upload from any computer, must have Mesh client installed.



MozyPro'sCon's
2 Gig Free (has paid plans)
  • Backed by EMC so should be a stable offering
  • Includes Backup Utility to sync / backup local directories
  • Supports Windows and Mac OSx
  • Mozy is intended as a backup solution, not an online file storage solution.
  • Cannot make a file public
  • No FTP access



Box.NetPro'sCon's
1 Gig Free (has paid plans)
  • Includes Backup Utility to sync / backup local directories
  • Integrated into Linked In for easy file collaboration with your network
  • Does not include Backup Utility to sync / backup local directories
  • No FTP access (but does have Java based drag and drop)

Some additional Online Storage Services that I have not tried include:
Check out my Delicious Links related to this post at http://delicious.com/tim.alosi/cloud

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the nice comment. Motivation is appreciated!

Tim

Ruby Badcoe said...

Great list! You've also included its pro's and con's. Thanks for sharing! You should have also included their services and packages. Having an online storage service really makes things easier and better. I do prefer using cloud storage services, because my files are safer there, being less prone to instability and physical damage compared to an HDD.