could i make my own "personal" Cloud on my web space ?

[timmy_toad]

Before iCloud was officially upon us, i asked my Web Host about the possibility of an "App" with which i could make my own personal Cloud using my unlimited webspace in my hosting account, they replied "no" and i can't share my files anyway etc. etc. threw the rule book at me in fact.

But i would like it to be a Personal Cloud, only for me !.

I suppose ultimately, in my dreams, it would be like FTP but with a far more friendly Front End, ideally it would be simply Drag and Drop, i seem to think there is a similar app i saw called WormHole, which was drag and drop, but this was ONLY for Sharing with and Sending to others, and your recipients had to purchase the same App for it to function at all !.

I am dreaming, perhaps this idea isn't realistic enough, now we have our own iCloud, but reading between the lines even this isn't 100% perfect when sending from a OS X computer, iOS5 devices are fine (of course).

Any suggestions anyone, you can be rude if you want.

tim

 

[mrplow]

Not entirely sure what you're getting at to be honest.

But,..... the 'cloud' is not a new idea... just a new name.

You can achieve syncing of documents, files, photos etc with Dropbox. Syncing of contacts, email, calendars with Google docs/mail/calendar.
All of which sync across nearly every popular platform.

These are just a couple of examples. Many similar services exist.

 

[timmy_toad]

Not entirely sure what you're getting at to be honest.

But,..... the 'cloud' is not a new idea... just a new name.

You can achieve syncing of documents, files, photos etc with Dropbox. Syncing of contacts, email, calendars with Google docs/mail/calendar.
All of which sync across nearly every popular platform.

These are just a couple of examples. Many similar services exist.

Cheers friend, DropBox yeah you are spot on, but, i was simply thinking there might be something like DropBox that i could Host on my own web space, thats all.

tim

 

[mrplow]

When you think about it... Dropbox could just be hosted on personal webspace. You'd just need the right hosting package to allow that kind of access.

 

[bobtomay]

Note: Thread moved to appropriate forum. Technical questions are not appropriate to our off-topic forum in Schweb's Lounge.

Thanks for understanding.

 

[timmy_toad]

When you think about it... Dropbox could just be hosted on personal webspace. You'd just need the right hosting package to allow that kind of access.

Hi buddy, thanks for your input, could i please ask you, what exactly would i need to look for in a hosting account that allowed this to allowed ?.

tim

 

[vansmith]

I'm willing to bet that if you have a plain ol' web hosting account, everything you need will be impossible to set up. To set up your own iCloud clone, you'll need to install software and configure things that 99.9% of web hosts won't allow. The best solution: set up your own server. With a regular webhost, there isn't really a way around this.

 

[timmy_toad]

I'm willing to bet that if you have a plain ol' web hosting account, everything you need will be impossible to set up. To set up your own iCloud clone, you'll need to install software and configure things that 99.9% of web hosts won't allow. The best solution: set up your own server. With a regular webhost, there isn't really a way around this.

Hiya friend, i thought i was up against it, trying to my own Hosted Web Space, your suggestion gives a further idea and i thank you most profusely for that.

I do have a Western Digital My Book Live 3TB network drive, i primarily got it for my Time Machine Backups, i think i have seen somewhere in the "instruction book" (the kind that nobody ever reads, LOL) reference to making it a Web Server !!!!. I could pursue that avenue if it isn't too difficult ???.

BTW i NOW have Drop Box installed on my MacBookPro, it is far more powerful than ever imagined, i discovered that i already had an account, with a lot of the 2 gig free space already taken up with my Android phone Back Up !!!.

tim

 

[Lbatson21]

There are several companies that offer NAS systems on the market that have alot of options. I have one myself. Check out products by Synology and QNAP.

 

[timmy_toad]

There are several companies that offer NAS systems on the market that have alot of options. I have one myself. Check out products by Synology and QNAP.

Yeah that's what i already have LOL, a NAS it's magic, but slower than i was hoping it would be, using it wirelessly for Time Machine backups !.

Later:- i have now got my NAS configured to be my Personal Cloud and i have a lot more space than is generally available on the freebie clouds

tim

 

[medfordite]

I can tell you that most web hosts allow through their cPanel disk access called "webdisk". This is similar to drop box in the sense that it allows you to drag/drop your files to your server.

One caveat though that you will run into that I have also run into is that just about any web host is going to prevent you from uploading/sending files to their servers that are not related to web technology or common files such as as photos for products, blogs etc. The fear is they don't want you to stress their already loaded down bandwidth. Most of the web hosting companies are on shared servers which means that with your site, you are sharing the same disk and bandwidth as other users in their own little 'bubble' in the cloud.

To really take advantage of what you are wanting is to purchase/lease a dedicated server which lets you store your files. Only downside to leasing your own server is the cost and the amount of knowledge required to install your server software. Think of those as renting a blank system with the Linux operating system installed, but nothing else. You need to have Shell knowledge to install Apache, Tomcat, Cherokee, Litespeed or whatever server you want. From there, it is a matter of configuring things such as installing MySQL, phpMyAdmin, etc...

By the time you do that, you would be just as well off by purchasing online backup through Dropbox, Mozy or Carbonite. If you use the other two beside Dropbox, don't count on easy retrieval of your data in the event of needing a restore as they split your files up through multiple data centers to facilitate security.

--------

I have caught your vision of a cloud based desktop if you will like Gho.st used to be. EyeOS makes a pretty good Desktop as well as Lucid Desktop if you are looking for a cloud based Desktop where you can work from the web. But again, your limitations on web hosting will be present for file storage.

Pogo Plug makes a good NAS from what I understand when it comes to making your own web server. Also, with the right scripts, you can make just about any personal computer into a NAS. Thinks like FreeNAS or Openfiler come with built in Web Interfaces. Limitation to those though is your home network's upload speed when sending files to you from remote. Most will lock down at 1.5mbs up unless you pay for more. Of course, if you don't mind that, then simply pick up a spare system from Craigslist or your favorite used item site for dirt cheap and convert it into a NAS.

I have two boxes right now under my iMac which serve multiple purposes. 1 Box is my Asterisk Box for my business (I am a webmaster, hosting provider and pc repair tech), which also picks up my email and pushes it to my phone, and then the other box is getting ready to be FreeNAS'd for my external drive I have attached to the iMac.

 

[timmy_toad]

Wowee buddy, thanks for that, and thanks again for going to soooo much trouble to type all that in, but it HAS NOT fell on deaf ears, i will definitely have a go with the cheaper options you spell out, they sound ideal, but i hadn't dreamt that there was so many options available, ta. you're my hero

tim