As we have noted in our May issue, cloud
storage is getting more popular. To capitalize on this and to offer users an
alternative to services like Google Drive and Dropbox, Western Digital has its
My Cloud series of personal cloud storage devices. And the latest to join this
series of storage devices is the My Cloud Mirror.
WD’s
My Cloud delivers the best of both worlds. It’s a hard drive that connects to
my home network, so it’s as secure as I can make it. But I can access it from
the Internet — from a PC, smartphone, or tablet — just like a cloud service.
As its name might suggest, the My Cloud
Mirror is offered with two hard drives and is by default configured for RAID 1,
otherwise also known as mirroring. In this mode, one drive is setup to mirror
the contents of the other, ensuring that your data is always duplicated and
protected. Do note that in this mode, the usable storage capacity is the same
as having a single drive. My Cloud Mirror drives are available in 4TB, 6TB and 8TB
capacities. If that is not enough, the My Cloud Mirror also features two USB
3.0 ports that can be used to further expand storage or to further back up the
drives in the device.
But, if redundancy is not what you seek,
the My Cloud Mirror can also be configured in RAID 0 (striping) for additional
performance. However, it must be noted that if one drive fails in a RAID 0
setup, all your data will be lost. It can also be configured in JBOD (Just a
Bunch of Disks), so that the two drives are completely independent of each
other.
WD
plans to offer two- and four-drive units down the road. If the drives in these
models can be configured as RAID 1 (where data is automatically mirrored), it
will add another layer of data security. There is, however, one shortcoming to
both of these solutions: No amount of redundancy will preserve your data if
both your original and your backup(s) are in the same physical location that
location is devastated by fire, flood, earthquake, or some other disaster.
Unlike other external HDDs, the My Cloud
Mirror allows you to replace the hard drives. The process of replacing a drive
is straightforward and easy; undoing the latch on the top panel reveals the
drives.
Western Digital prides it’s My Cloud
devices on their easy setup and the My Cloud Mirror is no different. Simply
download the appropriate installer and it will guide users on setting up the My
Cloud Mirror. Thereafter, simply enable remote access via the My Cloud Mirror’s
control panel and download the respective WD My Cloud app on your mobile device
(iOS and Android) to be able to remotely access content on the drive.
As
with the My Book Live, you can also back up your PC to the My Cloud over your
network. And the drive supports Apple’s Time Machine technology, so you can
back up Mac clients, too. And unlike some NAS manufacturers that limit the
number of free client licenses you get, Western Digital will back up as many
computers as you’d care to connect to it (there are practical limitations, of
course, based on the amount of available storage).
Although quite pricey, the new My Cloud
Mirror is certainly a welcomed addition to the My Cloud line of personal cloud
storage devices and it gives users who are more cautious, peace of mind since
it ensures that data is always safely backed up.
