Is there any paid/free cloud storage that will sync with Syncthing?

#1

I am using Syncthing on Win 10 (syncing two PCs at home) and want to simply have a cloud backup also that matches the files on my PCs.

I bought a paid cloud backup account on iDrive but that doesn’t work with Syncthing. Besides, iDrive desktop app only copies files from my PC to the cloud and does not propagate any deletion, renaming or restructuring that happen on my PC. With the result that after 6 months, if I lose my PC data, I would get a whole bunch of deleted files and all kinds of old directories if I downloaded a copy from iDrive.

I also do not want to setup my own cloud using a 3rd PC, just because of the hassle of maintaining it, etc.

Can anyone suggest which cloud services will work with Syncthing running on Win?

Thank you for your help.

(Bt90) #2

You can get a digital ocean droplet with 25GB for $5/mo if that’s enough space for you.

#3

Thank you Bt90 for the suggestion! I checked and they have 250GB for $5/mo. (Space Object Storage for S3). But you say 25GB so it’s probably something else?

How would I setup DigitalOcean S3 and how would Syncthing be setup to use that? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

(Audrius Butkevicius) #4

Not s3, you use an actual virtual machine.

(Vincent Ardern) #5

I use iDrive for my backups and I think you’re selling it a bit short. It includes a restore mechanism that would not restore all of your files, but only those you choose. It does propagate renaming and restructuring, but it also keeps a copy of the pre-renamed/structured files. This is to prevent against file loss due to a mistake that a user may make, which is arguably a very good benefit of a backup solution. It also lets you recover from a ransomware attack that storage synced with Syncthing would not.

Finally, as syncthing is a peer to peer syncing service, not a set it and forget it backup service, you will always need to maintain the other nodes, whether they are on cloud storage or a local device.

(Bt90) #6

It also lets you recover from a ransomware attack that storage synced with Syncthing would not.

Running a versioning policy on two or more nodes would solve this.

#7

Vincent, Thank you for your response as it helps me review my own thinking to see if I was wrong.

Backups guard against data loss of at least these types:

1. SINGLE DRIVE FAILURE: I either use RAID or data sync between two computers (say my laptop and more powerful desktop machine).

2. THEFT, FIRE, ETC: Where both computers present in the same house could be lost, I need an off-site image of the data (say on the cloud) as it existed before the loss even if that is a day or two old.

3. VIRUSES, OWN MISTAKES: If I inadvertently corrupt my own files (say bookkeeping) or they are corrupted by a virus or ransomware, versioning backups would save me.

What you are doing is mixing up #1, #2 and/or #3 where, yes, you might succeed in recovering your files but it will take a lot longer to sort out which ones are the ones you want and which ones are obsolete/renamed/moved/etc, especially after a data loss occurs after a long time (say after 1-2 years or more). After a long time, the number of old/obsolete files, folders, etc. that would have gotten accumulated in a backup such as iDrive would be enormous and it would take a very long time to see which ones are good (even considering file dates)!

I keep all 3 separate, so in the event of data loss, I am back to operational state very quickly, often minutes or within an hour.

For #1, I am now using Syncthing effectively (obviating RAID).

For #2, I wanted a cloud backup even though I could place another old laptop in a friend’s house running all the time which would serve as my “personal” cloud but that’s not without its own headaches.

For #3, I have another solution but won’t discuss that here as that is not the subject of this mail.

Comments welcome.

Cheers.

(xor-gate) #8

I was thinking long time ago about the same question if someone would implement this. The point of syncthing is to have it distributed and peer-to-peer. Indeed for some use cases like sharing a link with a family member “your syncthing folder” with a “simple https gallery” is not hosted. Still the idea to have some “(shared) cloud sync” would be nice for many reasons. Including automatic off-site “backup”.

I like syncthing so much I run it on multiple desktop and servers where I sync between and use ZFS/BTRFS snapshots to go back in time.

Most people who consider Syncthing are aware of the “public cloud” but prefer selfhosted. But running you own VPS/storage instance is not a nice job. I’m also not sure how much animo there would be to have some managed Syncthing cloud storage.

#9

Jerry,

https://holo.host/ team are the folks who want the public to regain control of the Internet and are opposed to corporate power and giant hosting services. (They did an extremely successful crowdfunding campaign recently… $22M raised in maybe a month!)

A day ago, I contacted them but they said that they don’t offer the traditional cloud storage. However, they do offer distributed computing power for distributed apps. and if someone can develop an app for their hosts, that might provide a great alternative cloud storage option for the public.

The app developers can also make money (i.e. don’t have to rely on donations or their own support). Holo Fuel is what they call the cryptocurrency they will give. Their servers should be up and running this year.

Wonder if some of you guys, the developers and contributors of Syncthing could do something.

I am a supporter of publicly owned services so I could pitch in whatever little I’m capable of.

Thanks

(Aki Lempinen) #10

Coming to this weekend i just started to wonder would there be use/interest for service like this.

What kinda data/bandwidth amounts you have in mind ?

I know this kinda service kinda defeats point of Private Cloud. But quess many like idea of Private Cloud just to avoid big companies and might feel more comfortable with small company having their data.

Interested to hear your thoughts.

#11

“…might feel more comfortable with small company having their data.”

Actually, the data on the cloud would not be hosted by small company either but rather distributed among all the people “renting out” their spare computer space. The Holo guys have developed dedicated hardware that people can buy to rent out hosting storage space and computing power, OR people can also install the Holo software on their computers and rent out unused computing power and storage space.

For example, if I wanted to buy 100G of storage, my data might be stored on 25-30 machines anywhere on the net (of course, with redundancy), and I would pay each person in Holo Fuel cryptocurrency in accordance to the amount of space I am using on their machines.

I think there is massive potential in the idea because people are tired of big corporations holding our data and making huge profits. The growth will be slow in the beginning but will skyrocket once a critical mass is reached (just like what happened to Bitcoin). Bandwidth will be fast, even faster than big companies like Google, … more like Bit Torrent because your data would simultaneously arrive from dozens of sources.

I feel this is the way for the future … and I feel excited about the idea.

If you want, I can give you direct contact emails of the developers. Send me a private message so I don’t have to put the email address on the public forum.

Thanks