Local networks within a house or apartment today have become as common as regular electrical wiring. PCs, laptops, smartphones and tablets work together on the same network. If with routers everything has become simple and clear, then with the organization of network storage everything is much more complicated. Most of ordinary users Without the help of a technician, you most likely will not be able to start the NAS. But that was before the advent WD My Cloud, the manufacturer turned the network storage to face the end user.
A year ago, we already tested WD My Live Book, a compact NAS, but its setup still left much to be desired and raised many questions among readers, let alone ordinary users. We have all slowly begun to get used to cloud data storage thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets; it is much more convenient to send a link to a photo or document than to transfer it on a flash drive. But this is good when the amount of data does not exceed ten gigabytes, and fast access to the network is also required. Within the home, it would be more advisable to deploy your own NAS to exchange files between devices, getting rid of dependence and gaining stability.
Before I picked up WD My Cloud, I’ll be honest, I was very skeptical when they said that it was very easy and quick to set up. Everything similar that we tested before required at least knowledge of the basics of networking. Therefore, testing this system was doubly interesting.
WD My Cloud Availability
We have a 2 TB version at our disposal, it will cost 5,000 rubles. The 3 TB version, judging by Yandex.Market, will be 1000 rubles more expensive. There is also a 4 TB option and an “advanced” option with four HDD bays.
Equipment
The NAS comes in a compact blue package. Along with the drive, the buyer receives a short black LAN cable and a power supply.
This model continues the trend of getting rid of excess paper in the form of instructions and advertising brochures, and really, why is all this necessary, especially considering that rarely anyone reads all this.
Appearance
WD My Cloud retains the general features of the previous model; in appearance it resembles a weighty book. Only in this case the color changed, the network drive became snow-white. A kind of white knight who came to sort out the rubble of documents and photographs.
Naturally, regardless of the volume, the dimensions of the model remain unchanged. They measure 49x170x139 mm and weigh 960 grams.
The top, bottom and back edges are pierced big amount ventilation holes to passively remove heat from the hard drive.
On back panel Displayed: hidden reset button, LAN port (gigabit), power connector and USB 3.0. Oh yes, finally manufacturers have begun to actively use the modern standard, flash drives and external drives on the faster format have now become as accessible as their slower counterparts.
Finally, we can note the compact insert on the front panel with the model name and LED indication of work activity.
The system is located vertically, it will be difficult to confuse the top and bottom. This system does not imply replacement of the drive.
Filling
The heart of WD My Cloud is a dual-core Mindspeed Comcerto 2000 processor (M86261G-12) with an operating frequency of 650 MHz. This is an ARM chip based on Cortex-A9. Behind network connection The Broadcom BCM54612E chip is responsible. 256 MB used random access memory DDR3 on a Samsung K4B2G1646E chip and 512MB of Winbound 25X40CL non-volatile memory.In our case, we use the already familiar HDD WD Red 2 TB (WD20EFRX), we already tested it a year ago. A solution that was purposefully created for use in such conditions, they are distinguished by greater reliability, stability and low operating temperatures.
Technologies
- SMB/CIFS support
- AFP support (for Apple Time Machine)
- NFS support
- FTP server
- Backup
- Apple Time Machine support
- UPnP Certified AV/DLNA 1.5 Media Server (Twonky 7)
- iTunes Server
- SmartWare software for Windows
- Differentiation of access rights for users (without groups and without quotas)
- Administration via HTTP (not HTTPS!)
- Notifications by e-mail(built-in SMTP service)
- Remote access via WDMycloud service
- WD Photos Viewer for iOS and Android
- My Cloud Mobile app for iOS, Android and Windows Phone
Software
In the case of Wd My Cloud, you will need to download a special utility from the official website. The user just needs to connect the NAS to a free LAN port on the router and connect the power.
Next, the entire setup process is entrusted to a special utility, which is essentially a shortcut to the web interface. Using a browser is still necessary; advanced users can enter the address manually if desired and as a special effect during setup.
There are several tabs at the top and the main content at the bottom. There is also an internal menu in the windows section.
The main window contains general information, data on firmware version, data on active connections and users. Here you can also view analytics of stored data.
The Users and Folders tabs are not located entirely logically here; it seems to me that it would be more correct to combine them into one. Essentially, they are designed to organize access to folders and data. In particular, important data can either be completely removed for guest access, or made read-only.
For example, you created a folder with a family photo archive, you want to show it to friends, you give access to your home network, and in this case it is advisable to give read-only rights. Now no one will accidentally delete your valuable photos and video files. This can also be used to create personal folders for each home user or device, where you can store data that is open to only one user.
While creating account it is proposed to indicate and Mailbox, an account is simultaneously created in the WD My Cloud.com service. The activation link will come in the form of an email. All this is needed if you need to connect external access.
A separate section contains options for sharing files. There is also a system of access rights and users.
The familiar Safepoint function has been retained. It will be useful for Reserve copy data to storage devices. It can be carried out according to a schedule or forcefully. Finally, you can check the Settings tab. There is a separate menu with distributed tools and options.
The system for organizing external access is conveniently implemented; the user only needs click rights and support for UPnP in the router. Whether you have gone somewhere, or just decided to look at your home archives, or you need to transfer a document from work or from another country during a business trip or vacation - now all this is very simple and accessible.
DLNA is a separate feature that deserves attention. It makes it easier to access and navigate media content. The server can play files itself using WDTV Live. It is very convenient and visual when the data exceeds all imaginable and unimaginable volumes. For owners Apple devices There is an iTunes option.
My Cloud app on Android
A big plus is the availability of specialized software for access from mobile devices. You can download from the store iOS applications, Windows Phone or Android.
After this, all that remains is to log into the network where WD My Cloud is running. Using this application, you can easily upload and download files from storage.
There is an internal player for playing music files. You can use it to conveniently and quickly transfer captured photos and videos to storage.
Testing
| Model | Data |
|---|---|
| Frame | Aerocool Strike-X Air |
| Motherboard | Biostar Hi-Fi Z87X 3D |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-4670K Haswell |
| Video card | MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB |
| CPU cooler | DeepCool Ice Blade Pro v2.0 |
| RAM | Corsair CMX16GX3M2A1600C11 DDR3-1600 16 GB Kit CL11 |
| HDD | ADATA XPG SX900 256 GB |
| Hard drive 2 | |
| power unit | The picture is clickable --
The picture is clickable -- Video review of WD My Cloud
WD My Cloud Summary WD My Cloud really simple and easy to learn. Even an untrained person can master the setup and launch process. Although this is somewhat deceitful if more than one is required a shared folder For everyone, it’s still worth sitting and looking through the settings items. But this is all really with a minimum of unnecessary fields and the absence of scary special terms. The distinctive features are: compactness, stylish design, low energy consumption, high performance, quietness and reliability. A big plus is the support for mobile devices and the availability of specialized applications for three platforms at once. After testing, there were only positive emotions, WD My Cloud really deserves attention, the ease of exchanging files between systems, quick access and backup - all this is no more complex than simply turning on a PC. The result of the test is a well-deserved reward "Gold.. |
Almost the namesake of WD My Cloud's home cloud, Duncan MacLeod, didn't have the luxury of a second head. Because of this, he often had to worry about trifles. Even after walking along the bottom of the sea, sticking your head out was a risky business: after all, they might chop it off, and then that’s it, hello.
WD engineers did not equip My Cloud Home Duo with artificial intelligence with a powerful instinct of self-preservation worthy of Duncan MacLeod, but this is not because they cannot, but because it is not necessary: the “head” of My Cloud is hidden in a reliable self-sufficient case cleaner than Koshchei’s death, and it’s also duplicated to the heap. The data from there will not go anywhere, nothing will be forgotten.
Historical background: My Cloud is descended from a storage facility called My Book. At the time when My Book entered the market, this device looked very strange, like an oversized portable storage device with not very clear functionality. Even today, the public does not very well understand what a NAS is, what a bunch of everyday problems it solves and what kind of money it can save, but in those days the first home or personal storage with specialized software was literally ahead of its time. This is probably why WD employees responsible for communicating with people prefer to call My Cloud devices a home or personal cloud, avoiding the words Network Attached Storage.
Fortunately, our readers know what a NAS is, since devices of this type constantly appear in our reviews and thematic materials. We sincerely believe that today the home cloud is the ultimate the best way data storage, if, of course, it is organized wisely and without excessive cost reduction, which is unacceptable for a single archive.
NAS WD My Cloud Home Duo front and back. Western Digital Press Office Illustration
Many My Cloud models, reviews of which you can find online, look very attractive due to their incredibly low prices. However, they have one problem: they are single-disk. Storing all the data on a single hard drive is still a risky business. Even taking into account all kinds of additional software and backups on external storage. Raid array of the 1st level remains the most in a simple way protect your data from being lost along with the drive, and along the way, RAID 1 also speeds up working with files, allowing you to carry out all sorts of sorting and loading data via gigabit Ethernet or wireless network with a much shorter period of time. In general, please love and favor WD My Cloud Home Duo, a two-disk Network Attached Storage from Western Digital.
My Cloud Home Duo arrived to us in a box made of thin cardboard in white and aquamarine colors (forgive my color blindness, if anything :)). The box is small and easily fits into a regular-sized bag that you take to the grocery store. The weight of the device is noticeable, but not so much as to dry out your hand or tear the plastic handles of the bag, so you don’t need to worry about any special carrying conditions.
The device body is fixed inside the box in “pads” made of shock-absorbing material. In the space between the pads there is free space, and although there is a decent distance from the wall of the box to the wall of the My Cloud case and the cardboard is durable, some particularly active grandmother can pierce the box with an umbrella on the subway. In short, it is not recommended to treat My Cloud Home Duo carelessly on the road.
In the box along with the device there is a power supply with an adapter for an American-type outlet, a meter-long Ethernet cable good quality(the best thing to do is to attach the NAS to wireless router), and documentation. The presence of the cable is good - if the user has not thought through this point, there will be no need to go to the store a second time.
The WD My Cloud Home Duo turns on simply like any floor lamp: directly into the outlet, without any switches on the power cord. Therefore, the installation process looks like this: we connect a de-energized NAS to the router, then plug it into a power outlet, and after you have heard the noise of the fans and seen the light between the two halves of the My Cloud Home Duo case, you can go to the browser and connect to the cloud service mycloud.com. register and connect with WD My Cloud Home. The installation process, or rather initial setup device is so simple that it comes down to melancholy clicking the “Next” button while viewing very obvious help.
After the initial setup and account creation (which takes a couple of minutes), you can start using My Cloud Home Duo. You can connect to your personal cloud in two ways: through the MyCloud cloud service or through network from PC. If there are shared Windows folders 10 detects device in local network; in this case, only the Public folder will be available. Sense in local connection not enough, it will only be needed if there is no access to the Internet.
NAS WD My Cloud Home Duo on top. Western Digital Press Office Illustration
In the usual case, the connection will occur through the cloud service mycloud.com. You can connect using an Android or Windows application, or via a web browser. Last method the most convenient in my opinion.
The web interface looks the same in a mobile browser and in a regular one. Files on the disk are displayed to users in the form of a tree structure or sorted by type. On the left and right there are two menus. On the right are actions with files, on the left is the choice of how data is displayed, the action log, settings and services. The latter significantly expand the functionality of the device.
The most useful service (app within an app) is the Plex cloud media center. There are also support services such as voice control audio player, synchronizing multimedia content from social services with a personal cloud, searching for music by meta tags, synchronizing files with cloud Internet services such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
In the settings you can find management of user records and rights, selection of the type of raid array (Jbod or Raid 1), rebooting or shutting down the device, as well as the function of destroying all data on the disks.
The application for Windows is essentially not much different from Windows Explorer: files and folders are visible on logical drive WD Cloud devices, as well as on portable drives connected to file storage via USB. Interestingly, the Services menu here contains other applications such as Norton antivirus software and Acronis True Image. Since these programs are paid, the benefit of their presence in the application comes down to the fact that Western Digital guarantees their compatibility with My Cloud Home Duo.
The Android application is equipped additional functions due to the specifics of this OS: the inconvenience of file managers, the tendency of users to lose and break smartphones, etc. Even during installation, the application offers to synchronize the smartphone’s multimedia files with the user’s cloud; in the settings you can also enable the use of the cellular network for backup, use smartphone tools such as a fingerprint scanner for additional protection, and reset the cache. Otherwise, the application is not much different from the mycloud.com web interface.
The described functionality is more than enough for a home NAS: access to various data can be organized and limited for large quantity users and devices. Actually, this is all we need: having come, for example, to management company or passport office, send a photocopy of the required document to the secretary by mail, access work documentation anywhere and from any device at any time, securely store a personal collection of media files, and also be able to view any photo or video at any time. Additional features Plex provides for organizing a home media library - the cloud media center goes well with cloud home storage.
About speeds. In real conditions, the speed of exchanging files with cloud storage will mainly be determined by the speed of the local network or Internet connection (for externally connected devices). However, if you use MyCloud with the Plex media center or often upload large amounts of data to it, such as rough videos, it is quite possible that the speed of the drive itself will be important. A situation may also arise when several users simultaneously access the drive over the network, copying large files to it. In general, based on these considerations, we decided to measure the speed of the device; they amounted to about 100 MB/s for reading and about 70 MB/s for writing. This corresponds to 800 Mbit/s and 560 Mbit/s; thus, when reading, the speed will be close to bandwidth Gigabit Ethernet, which means TVs and media players will not have problems receiving content at high speed. As for recording: perhaps it could be faster, but we must remember that My Cloud Home Duo has Red series hard drives, which are optimized primarily for uninterrupted operation 24/7 and thus ensure high reliability of data storage.
Four years ago we were introduced to a dual-disk network drive. This solution was notable for its original appearance and no less original software component, which made it possible, without any special knowledge of network technologies, to organize a file server at home with access to the data stored on it via the Internet. For a long time in model range WD My Cloud devices had only two NAS, which differed in the number of installed hard drives(two or one) and, accordingly, the capabilities of the organization disk space. But last year, this family was replenished with two more new network drives.
The WD My Cloud Home and WD My Cloud Home Duo models also differ from each other only in the number of pre-installed drives (one or two, respectively), but there are much more differences from the previous generation products. The new models have more powerful hardware and, according to the manufacturer, improved software. Looking ahead, we note that the manufacturer has generally revised the ideology of using network storage, greatly simplifying not only the process of connecting and configuring the device, but also its use. Moreover, he names new products personal cloud storage, but at the same time never mentions the generally accepted abbreviation NAS, emphasizing their originality. We will study a new approach to the design of network storage devices using the example of the two-disk WD My Cloud Home Duo model, which we will begin to get acquainted with.
⇡ Contents of delivery
The device comes in a very compact cardboard box that easily fits into a plastic bag - taking it from the store to your home is no problem at all. Inside, in addition to the drive itself, you can find accessories:
- power adapter with two removable plugs of different standards;
- network cable;
- A quick printed guide to getting started.
The package included with the device is the same as most other network drives. The software required for operation can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s website, and hard disks already installed in the appropriate slides. The WD My Cloud Home Duo model comes with a total disk capacity of 4, 6, 8, 12, 16 or even 20 GB for the user to choose from. Our copy was equipped with two WD Red WD20EFRX drives with a capacity of 2 GB each, adapted for working with a NAS.
⇡ Specifications
| WD My Cloud Home Duo | |
| HDD | 2 x 3.5" SATA |
| RAID level | JBOD, RAID 1 |
| Network interfaces | 1 × Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45 |
| Additional Interfaces | 2 × USB Host 3.0 |
| Clients | Windows 7 and later (64-bit only); MacOS/OS X 10.9 and later; iOS 9 and later; Android 4.4 and later |
| Systemcooling | 1 × fan |
| Dimensions, mm | 179 × 160 × 102 |
| Weight, kg | 2,3-2,4 |
| Guarantee, months. | 24 |
| Price*, rub. (for 4/8/12/16 TB) | 22 000 / 26 000 / 36 000 / 45 000 |
* AveragepriceBy"Yandex.Market"onmomentwritingarticles
While all the parameters of previous NAS could be easily found in open access, for WD My Cloud Home Duo, the manufacturer’s website and the user manual provide only the most basic characteristics of the new product. No detailed information Unfortunately, information about the hardware platform or network protocols is not provided. In the instructions you can only find information on the type of RAID array used. WD My Cloud Home Duo hard drives are mirrored by default RAID array 1, but you can also use JBOD mode.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to disassemble the new product without damaging the thin locks of the plastic case. We did not break it, and therefore the hardware component of the device remained unknown. The manufacturer does not provide any data. The only thing we can say with confidence is the presence on board the drive of a gigabit Ethernet network controller and two USB interfaces 3.0 for connection external media data.
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Appearance of WD My Cloud Home Duo |
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The new product is made in the form of a parallelepiped with sharp edges and right angles without roundings. Its modest dimensions allow you to place the device almost anywhere. For example, this could be a desk, bookshelf or window sill. Visually, the plastic case is divided into two halves - white lacquered and silver, with a characteristic waffle structure. On the front panel of the device there is a narrow transparent strip between them, behind which the LED operation indicator is hidden. There are no interfaces on the front panel of the WD My Cloud Home Duo.
The back panel is more interesting. There are two USB 3.0 ports, an RJ-45 network port, a connector for connecting an external power adapter, and a reset button recessed into the body. Between the parts of the case there is a narrow power control button for the drive, and the entire upper half is given over to ventilation holes. Behind them is a cooling system fan that blows air through another radiator grille, located not at the front (like other models of network drives), but at the bottom.
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Hard drive bay |
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Access to the hard drive bay of the WD My Cloud Home Duo is not from the front, like other network drives, but from the top. There, the device has a removable flat panel. It is held on by four dense rubber bushings and can be removed using a screwdriver, wrench, ruler or any other object that can be used to carefully pick it up by the edge. Under the cover there is a compartment for hard drives, which in this case takes up almost the entire internal space of the drive.
The disks in the compartment are placed in plastic slides of the simplest design. The discs are held in them not by screws, but by small metal axles secured in soft rubber bushings. This solution has a positive effect on ease of installation and on reducing vibration during operation. Well, inside the drive housing the slide is secured with a simple plastic lock. However, there is definitely no need to worry about the discs accidentally falling out during operation or moving the drive from one place to another. When placed vertically, you still need to manage to accidentally pull the slide out of the body.
As we already wrote above, unfortunately, we were unable to disassemble the body of the new product. But if it is impossible to determine the hardware component without opening it, then the principles of the internal structure of the device can be understood without disassembling it. Inside, the WD My Cloud Home Duo case has metal carcass, which can be seen through the ventilation grilles, through the disk compartment. The device's motherboard is mounted vertically along one of the walls of the case. Apparently, she is quite small. In general, the WD My Cloud Home Duo model is not very different in design from a regular NAS - except that the compactness of the new product causes admiration and even surprise. Otherwise, this is a quite nice classic network drive.
⇡ Working with the device
Unlike a regular NAS, which can be configured over a local network, you cannot connect the WD My Cloud Home Duo without access to the Internet. The drive does not have its own web interface, so communication with it is possible either through the Internet service MyCloud.com, or using installed special software, which can be downloaded both for a desktop PC running Windows or MacOS / OS X, and for mobile devices with Android or iOS.
When connecting via the web interface, the device should be detected automatically. If this does not happen, the Internet service will ask the user to enter the device code indicated on the case. Note that when testing with one of the Internet providers, no connection problems arose, but with another the device flatly refused to be detected. Moreover, the network equipment and its configuration were the same in both cases. Unfortunately, we were never able to find out what this is connected with.
The drive is configured completely in automatic mode, without user intervention, who is only required to register on the portal by entering a name and password. In the future, when working with the device, the owner of WD My Cloud Home Duo is also free from any network settings- the device operates in fully automatic mode and does not require control. For some, this feature of working with the drive can be a real gift, because not all users like to customize the system to suit their needs. Some people just need to store data in one place and access it via the Internet, without turning their personal cloud storage into a full-fledged server. For everyone else, it’s better to pay attention to other network drives.
Access to data through the MyCloud.com web service, as well as through installed applications My Cloud Home, does not require too much detailed description. These are fairly simple file managers that display the entire file structure of the drive. When installing software for a PC, the drive is detected by the system as a regular, permanently connected network drive.
The mobile version has several differences from the PC version. Thus, this application allows you to automatically backup photos taken from your smartphone camera. Also only mobile version My Cloud Home makes it possible to copy data to the drive from flash drives connected to its USB port. In addition, both applications allow you to synchronize data, and through the web interface it is possible to synchronize data from some popular cloud storage: Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive.
In general, working with the WD My Cloud Home Duo NAS is extremely simple and does not require instructions. Some confusion is introduced by a slight difference in the capabilities of the web service and installed applications, but you can get used to it. In terms of communication with the user, this model can really be called the simplest NAS, if such an abbreviation is generally applicable to this network drive.
⇡ Testing
If you access the WD My Cloud Home Duo only via the Internet, device performance will be entirely dependent on your ISP and router. If you also use the installed My Cloud Home applications, then in this case you can achieve much higher speeds for reading and writing data, since these operations will be carried out over the local network. It was in this use case that we tested the performance of the new product. In this case, standard WD Red WD20EFRX hard drives were used. The test bench for checking performance had the following configuration:
- Intel Core i5-2320 3.0 GHz processor;
- systemic GIGABYTE board GA-P67A-D3-B3 Rev. 2.0;
- RAM 16 GB DDR3-1333;
- video adapter ASUS GeForce 6600 GT 128 MB;
- SSD-drive Intel SSD 520 with a capacity of 240 GB;
- gigabit network adapter Realtek PCIe GBE;
- OS Windows 7 Ultimate.
The test bench's own read and write speeds were about 200 MB/s, so the bench will not limit the performance results of the network drive. During testing, the device's disks operated in RAID level 1. Testing was carried out using ATTO Disk Benchmark and Intel NAS Performance Toolkit.
Test results indicate that the NAS performance when connecting one client is less than the throughput of a gigabit network, but at the same time it is quite sufficient for comfortable work with the device - that is, for transferring large files over the network. For the main scenario of working with the WD Red WD20EFRX, that is, when exchanging data with it via the Internet, the demonstrated level of performance is even excessive. We also tested the device with direct data transfer. Three video files ranging in size from 2.5 to 3.5 GB were used as test data. The average write speed was 71 MB/s, and the read speed was 96 MB/s, which is fully consistent with the data from previous testing.
As for noise, the new product makes noise only when turned on. Then it quiets down, and the sound of the fan is not heard even when active work. In general, active testing of the device did not reveal any shortcomings in the operation of the WD My Cloud Home Duo. The device worked stably, without failures.
⇡ conclusions
Without a doubt, of all the network drives that we tested in our test lab, the WD My Cloud Home Duo model can be called the easiest to use. To organize a personal remote data storage, the user of this device will not need any specific knowledge at all. You don’t even need to configure anything: connect, register, and use it! I was a little puzzled and upset by the failure when connecting to one of the providers, but it is possible that in this case we did not take something into account, especially since technical support We did not contact WD with this issue (perhaps this has something to do with the large number of blocked Amazon IP addresses).
The device cannot be called slow - its speed will certainly be enough for all those who will be satisfied with its capabilities. All this is to say that the WD My Cloud Home Duo has a clearly marked the target audience- these are those users who do not need to make a full-fledged file server from a remote storage with many capabilities and dozens of different functions. This device is intended for those who require constant remote access to your files from any part of the world, as well as a point for backing up data from mobile and other devices. If you don't need anything else, then the WD My Cloud Home Duo is your choice!
WD My Cloud 2TB – personal cloud storage with a capacity of 2000 GB with Gigabit Ethernet interface and software cloud server. My Cloud allows you to get rid of wires by connecting your cloud drive to home network and giving him access to the Internet. This unique device will give you the opportunity to store all your photos, videos, music and other files at home in one place with plenty of storage capacity, without paying for a cloud service subscription. And access the content on the disk both from your home or office local network, and from anywhere where there is Internet.
The stylish Western Digital My Cloud case will fit well into any interior design, except file server, and also decorate your workplace or room. You just need to connect My Cloud to your home router and a reliable centralized storage for your entire family collection of files is ready for use. And thanks to applications for mobile devices and desktop computers not only can you access data stored in My Cloud files and add them there, but also create backup copies of the OS or files. Files can be protected from unauthorized access with a password and the creation of personal user profiles.
The high-speed Gigabit Ethernet interface and dual-core processor of the cloud drive allow you to directly work with files stored in My Cloud, such as processing images in iPhoto or editing videos. The large capacity of the internal hard drive will allow you to expand the built-in memory of your smartphone or tablet and not limit yourself in storing copies of films or a music library. To access all this, you only need the Internet. And by connecting WD My Cloud to popular cloud services like Dropbox, you can easily share files between your personal cloud and cloud services.
WD SmartWare Pro automatic backup software provides reliable backup and storage of important data, system backups and other files. It also supports automatic saving of a second copy of My Cloud content to another device on your home network for complete confidence in the safety of your files. The USB 3.0 port on the cloud drive itself allows you to connect additional external devices and expand your storage capacity or copy files directly, such as photos from your digital camera.
Peculiarities:
- Backup of all files and storage in the cloud
- Stylish design and discreet connection
- Access files from anywhere with Internet access
- Save photos and videos from mobile devices
- Expansion of internal memory for smartphones and tablets
- Streaming via DLNA/UPnP
- Possibility of memory expansion via USB 3.0
- Complete backup software
- Access to cloud storage backup copies
- Fast file transfer over the network and direct operation
- One secure place to store your file collections
Western Digital has been promoting the idea of private, homegrown clouds for some time now, so we won't be at the mercy of whims large corporations. WD My Cloud Home Duo is the company's next step in this direction, and quite successful.
Is WD My Cloud Home Duo a NAS?
Don't call it NAS! Told me from a WD rep who talked about the product. My Cloud Home Duo may be a "private home cloud," but it's not a NAS device. Why is WD so keen on not bundling My Cloud Home with competing products?
The answer to this question lies in ease of maintenance. Whether you use Synology, D-Link, Qnap or some other hardware, setting it up is often a big hassle. Making your Western Digital gadget work is as convenient as using Dropbox, OneDrive, Cloud Mail - without the time-consuming and tedious reading of help files and clicking on configuration panels.
My cloud gadget is so basic that it doesn't even have a visible power button. According to WD, the cloud does not turn off, so this button is not needed here. If you want to turn it off, you can do this using the application or the connection on the back of the equipment.
It's actually simple
What do I need to do to get WD My Cloud Home up and running? Connect it to the power and Ethernet cable, visit a site with a short Internet address, enter the activation code attached to the device, and that’s it.
I don't even know when my My Cloud Home Duo installed latest firmware and configured the services. After all, it was ready to work within a few tens of seconds after entering the activation code.
Design and what's inside
This device from Western Digital looks beautiful. NAS are mostly hidden somewhere in closets or attics because they usually look like simple plastic boxes. Meanwhile, the WD My Cloud Home Duo is a beautiful piece of hardware. Appearance is a matter of taste, but even people with different tastes will admit that a WD gadget at least looks like it doesn't need to be hidden out of sight.
The Western Digital Dual Cloud Home Duo I reviewed came with two 2 TB WD hard drives on board. By default, the hardware operates in RAID 1 mode, but you can double the available capacity while reducing the degree of data protection by easily switching to JBOD mode. You can also use the gadget as a mass data storage, through USB ports 3.0.
WD did everything to make My Cloud Home Duo work like a cloud
The WD My Cloud Home Duo gadget can automatically synchronize specified folders on our computer and create copies in its memory. It can also store data that will not be synchronized with devices, but will be accessible remotely. It can also function as a network drive, treated like a native drive by the desktop system.
A similar situation is also provided for mobile devices. The WD app - if you install it on Android or iOS, will sync your data to permanent basis and send them to “My Cloud”. We will also be able to control the data transferred, for example, we can configure that camera images should be sent not only to Google Photos or OneDrive, but also to our private cloud.
What's interesting is that My Cloud Home Duo can function as a mirror for our public cloud. Upon request, the device will sync with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Facebook or Google Photos, creating mirror copies of what we store in these clouds.
As in cloud services, in WD My Cloud Home Duo, we can easily share files or folders with our friends to work together on the same data.
In fact, the only service here that is more related to NAS than clouds is Plex. It turns the hardware into a popular media server that has client applications for probably every available operating system and for any device. Our videos stored in memory can be conveniently played back on a TV or projector. In case of mobile devices, we will also be able to play movies using the WD app.
One important drawback that needs improvement
WD My Cloud Home Duo usually works quickly and efficiently. Copying many small files doesn't tax the CPU when large ones are sent as fast as our home router allows. Provided we are using a web application or display interface network drive. The equipment also transcodes video quickly, even in 4K, and very quietly. Web applications or mobile applications very light, intuitive, fast, and have an exemplary design. Except one.
To help us, WD has added the WD Discovery app to the device. And it doesn't always work. Its main task is to deeply integrate the device with the system file manager. Thanks to this, My Cloud Home Duo for your operating system is indistinguishable from the local one hard drive. On my main laptop for working with Windows 10, this application simply did not want to be installed. I click install and nothing happens.
Without bothering, I installed it on an older Windows 10 laptop. The app installed itself, but the file copying speed slowed down to an inexplicable and unacceptable level. In addition, after installing the software and during the installation itself, Windows repeatedly asks if I really want to install this program when the Explorer.exe process is restarted many times. Alas, I have not tested its operation on macOS, I hope everything is in order there.
Why do I need Western Digital My Cloud Home Duo when I have a cloud on the network?
This, unfortunately, is a very good question. Moreover, WD cannot provide a practical, meaningful answer either. “Your data belongs to you” is true, but I don't feel any discomfort from my service provider. This is a good argument for people who have very, very personal files that are not readable even by the service provider's automated scripts. But there are other reasons.
“Clouds are capricious in operation and often fail” - this is also true. Very rarely, but it does happen, Dropbox or OneDrive is unavailable for 2-3 hours because the service provider has problems. However, I'm not sure that my ISP's problems don't balance out these occasional outages. In addition, my data is scattered across Internet processing centers, so if one fails, the rest are still fairly safe.
However, I can highlight two advantages
First, if we are on the same local network as My Cloud Home, the data transfer is much faster for obvious reasons, which leads to greater convenience. The second argument is cost.
Western Digital My Cloud Home systems are available in numerous memory configurations. Models with one or two slots come with hard drives from 2 to 8 TB each. The version I tested had two two-terabyte disks - this is a one-time expense of about 25 thousand rubles. For comparison, a terabyte in Cloud Mail costs 7 thousand rubles. in year. Therefore, in two years, 4 TB will cost you at least 4 thousand rubles more.
Bottom line
The WD My Cloud Home Duo is not actually a NAS. It is primitive, although it works seamlessly, immediately, and does not require any technical knowledge to set up. Everything works quietly, quickly and relatively cheaply.
Is it a competitor to Synology or Qnap devices? Not really. However, this is a great deal for anyone considering purchasing a few terabytes of cloud from Microsoft, Google or another service provider. Quick access to data from home is a big advantage, and if we can get it cheaper and have full control, then such a gadget becomes even more interesting.
That's why I highly recommend the WD cloud. No, not a NAS. There is no need to install FTP server or DLNA server here. This is the same cloud, for example, Cloud Mail, OneDrive or Google Drive, only cheaper, faster and with the ability to have full control over our data.