What exactly does it offer?

[dmahon]

I have a ReadyNAS (NVX). It has an IP address. I backup daily to an external device and use ReadyNAS Vault for my most important items so they are backed up almost instantly and have versions available.

What does the Egnyte cloud service offer me that my always connected ReadyNAS doesn't (and why can't my ReadyNAS offer it to me directly)?

[JohnnyEgnyte]

Hi dmahon,

To answer your question, Egnyte is the "Cloud" component of the ReadyNAS.
Here are some of the capabilities that Egnyte provides on top of what's already there on your ReadyNAS:
- Bi-directional file synchronization between multiple ReadyNAS devices
- Offsite file backup and replication (in addition to Vault)
- Remote file access and upload from any computer, web browser or mobile device (even iOS and Android apps)
- File sharing capabilities (direct URL link, email attachments, shared public folders)
- Integrated FTP server directly within your account
- Central Administration (managing user permission levels and audit reports)

Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

~ Johnny

[heppy]

Hi Johnny,

I have the same question, but coming from a different angle. I come from the cloud world and i am trying to understand what benefits there are in having the NAS device as well. Apart from extra piece of mind for backup are there any other benefits?

Users can sync needed files locally to their computers anyway, so the speed issue is negated.

Anything else?

thanks

[JohnnyEgnyte]

Hi heppy,

Although Egnyte can be utilized on its own as a cloud file server, the NAS component provides a central local access point. Most companies like to have an online access point (cloud) as well as a shared local access point (NAS) for extra data redundancy and fast offline file access. But in your case, if personal computer sync is enough (for data redundancy/offline access) and internet connectivity isn't an issue, then there is no need for the NAS.

~ Johnny

[victorhortaliveson]

I have another variation on this question.

I want to be able to use more than 1 PC (Win7 or OSX) to access and modify files on a ReadyNAS share.
Due to the vagaries of Win7 and OSX I can't just deal with mapped folders etc, but a local "cloud" sounds like a possible solution.
Can I use your NAS add-on as just a local service - no need to connect to a remote cloud ? In this way I always have my files on my NAS and will manage local backups etc myself.
I would guess that this is much too simple for your intended product objectives.

[JohnnyEgnyte]

I have another variation on this question.

I want to be able to use more than 1 PC (Win7 or OSX) to access and modify files on a ReadyNAS share.
Due to the vagaries of Win7 and OSX I can't just deal with mapped folders etc, but a local "cloud" sounds like a possible solution.
Can I use your NAS add-on as just a local service - no need to connect to a remote cloud ? In this way I always have my files on my NAS and will manage local backups etc myself.
I would guess that this is much too simple for your intended product objectives.

If mapped drives aren't an option to access files, what would be the most convenient way for your users to access files? (FTP, web browser, desktop sync, etc). It almost sounds like you're looking for SAN type solution?

[victorhortaliveson]

Thanks, but you're assuming too much in the way of users etc.
It's just one user (me) trying to access the same data files from more than one device.

It's possible I don't appreciate the options available to me in OSX, but I have 1 PC and 1 MacBook and may get another MacBook. I want to access the same files with all three instead of having to manually sync data.
Yes, I could opt for a conventional Cloud approach, but I would rather have the data in my location on my devices.

Mapped drives would work if I were only using WIn7 PCs, but the mix of OS is causing me a problem.

[StephenB]

I don't understand your problem. If you are only using one device at a time, and you are storing things on the NAS, then why is there a need to manually sync anything?

[JohnnyEgnyte]

Thanks, but you're assuming too much in the way of users etc.
It's just one user (me) trying to access the same data files from more than one device.

It's possible I don't appreciate the options available to me in OSX, but I have 1 PC and 1 MacBook and may get another MacBook. I want to access the same files with all three instead of having to manually sync data.
Yes, I could opt for a conventional Cloud approach, but I would rather have the data in my location on my devices.

Mapped drives would work if I were only using WIn7 PCs, but the mix of OS is causing me a problem.

Okay, got what you're saying. So what you'll need to install is Personal Local Cloud (downloaded from your Egnyte account), which does automatic file sync so you don't have to manually do it. It's definitely a workaround from using mapped drive. Or you could just go back to the basics and use Egnyte's web-browser client, but that's more of a "manual" process. Either way, you'll need to do a one time initial sync of all the files from the NAS to your Egnyte account to gain access to multiple remote devices.