Copy files from mycloud disk to USB disk

My Cloud OS 3 Personal & Network Attached Storage My Cloud
1

I have two USB disks attached to mycloud. My question is: If I want to copy from the mycloud disk to the USB disk on my computer, does the transfer will go thru my PC via WIFI, or is a smart enough to transfer the files directly between the two disks without going thru the wifi? It will be very slow if it does that.

Is there any suggestion to copy files directly between the two disks?

2

Your question is a little confusing. You say that both USB disks are on the My Cloud. But you then say that you copy from the My Cloud to the USB on your PC.

The fact is if you copy from your My Cloud to a USB on the My Cloud using file explorer on your PC then the data will go from the My Cloud to your PC back to your My Cloud then to the USB disk.

If you want to avoid this use SSH and copy the files that way.

RAC

3

If you have a USB disk connected to your computer then yes the data will flow from the My Cloud, through your computer to the USB disk attached to your computer.

If what you really meant was copying from the My Cloud to one or both of the USB disks attached to the My Cloud then yes, if you use Windows Explorer (and possibly Mac Finder) to copy the files the data will flow from the My Cloud though the computer back to the My Cloud then to the USB disk attached to the My Cloud. Using WiFi makes that copy process even slower.

As rac8006 points out to get the fastest copying speed and not involve having data flowing through the computer is to use SSH and instruct the My Clould OS to copy from the My Cloud to the attached USB disk. One can also use the WD My Cloud Desktop program and the My Cloud mobile apps for iOS and Android to copy the files from the My Cloud to the attached USB disk.

It is also possible to use the MyCloud.com web portal to move/copy files on the My Cloud provided one has enabled Remote Access and has enabled USB Content Availability on the My Cloud Dashboard.

4

Thank you for replies. You guys got it right. I have a usb drive physically connect to the mycloud box. I want to copy the files between the HD inside the mycloud box to the USB drive (that is connect to the mycloud box).

I want to avoid the file copy route thru my PC. I heard using SSH is the way to go.
I am not sure all other methods such as My Cloud desktop program or mobile app will also allow copying files directly. Can someone clarify?

5

Yes those methods will copy the data without the data flowing through the PC or mobile device. It is one way to move/copy files on the My Cloud while accessing the My Cloud remotely.

6

So here are some actual time runs for you…

Copying a 1GB file

Reads
13 secs. From Cloud to my Mac (flash drive) = 78MB/s
13 secs. From Cloud to my PC (flash drive) = 78MB/s

Writes
15 secs. From PC to Cloud (write) = 68 MB/s
13 secs. From Mac to Cloud (write) 78MB/s
29 secs. From Mac to Cloud USB WD 4TB = 35MB/s
30 secs. From PC to Cloud USB WD 4TB = 34MB/s

Copy (meaning read then write)
21 secs From Cloud to USB WD 4TB
38 secs From Mac from Cloud to USB
34 secs from PC from Cloud to USB

You could probably find a FTP program that allows you to log into the Cloud and probably the shared USB at the same time and simply drag and drop the files using the Cloud to handle the transfer, although I don’t know how much Cloud CPU for the FTP that this might entail, you may have to find an FTP program to test it out, but I would find it extremely annoying to use since it is not in our normal windows friendly environment of simply mapping the drives and drag and drop.

I use a program called “beyond compare” that has versions for both PC and Mac. This program compares the files between the Cloud and the USB and tells you which files has changed since the last sync. You can then simply copy the ones that have changed.

I prefer the use of this program for the reason that it doesn’t accidentally sync changes on files that have been deleted in error; it is all user controlled. Although it takes longer of having the PC in between to read the data over to the PC before writing it back out to the USB, I have the advantage of seeing which files that I need to sync in a drag and drop format.

7

there is an app that you can install on your MyCloud called USB Backups It allows you to set up back-up or copy to and from the RAID and USB.

8

Under the current OS5 firmware, yes there is an app one can install called USB Backup. However, back in 2016 when this discussion was started and the last reply prior to yours, OS5 didn’t exist. At that time, and currently, for single bay/single drive My Cloud users who are using the OS3 firmware (first gen v4.x and second gen v2.x) there isn’t an app called USB Backup that one can install to the Dashboard App section. Instead OS3 users use Safepoint (v4.x firmware) or Backup (v2.x firmware) to backup their My Cloud to a USB hard drive attached to their My Cloud.

It should also be noted that the first gen single bay My Cloud is not supported by OS5 so the USB Backup app isn’t an option.