I am curious about the reasons for using MyCloud Home in a business environment

[A.Cintoli]

Hi, everyone! Many apologies for the verbosity of the following message, but that’s my nature and my upbringing, and they cannot really be changed at 62

Like many other users of WD MyCloud products, I have been affected by the recent outage but at least I can access my files because the model I purchased for my company is a professional MyCloud EX2 Ultra NAS that cost us $1,300 when we ordered it a few years ago.

This product allows me by default to access local files either from a dashboard I can open on a web browser within the LAN or via the standard network access (via the Finder, since I use a Mac) and the IP address is static and transparent (I chose it, so I know what it is).

For the record, my company is operated from three remote locations connected in a WAN, the server is in my office and my colleagues can’t obviously access their files via MyCloud website or app at present, but because I can access the disks in the NAS locally, I can send them the files they need via our corporate communication tools whenever they want them.

Like many other WD customers, I am aware this situation is not ideal but one day it will be sorted out, hopefully, unless there is more than meets the eye.

My question here, after seeing several messages relating to the impossibility to access files locally on MyCloud Home and the few hack videos and messages prompting users to disassemble the product and use Linux to try and access the files, is:

Why should a business purchase a product that is obviously offered by WD for home use and make it work in a corporate setting?

I understand that desperate times ask for desperate measures, but the hysteria surrounding this incident is really dumbfounding me and I have opened this post, out of mere curiosity, to learn from other users as to why they should use a HOME product in a BUSINESS network. I do not see any logic in this but perhaps the times have changed and there is something I am missing.

I hope this will not be the ultimate post where people can rant ad libitum and I look forward to hearing your answers about this topic.

To all Christians out there, Happy Easter! To all the others, have a great weekend!

Alessandro

[NAS_user]

Tend to agree.

I have two EX2 Ultras. . . . .while they are just fine for home use; this is hardly Enterprise grade hardware. And yes; there ARE better (although more expensive) options for home use.

In terms of software; OS/3 is frightfully obsolete (and insecure). OS/5 resolved some long standing bugs. . .but the implementation was . . . . .far from ideal even for home use. I found the apps quite limiting even for the single-user case; and eventually put all my WD NAS boxes (3) behind a solid firewall (i.e. a router without internet access) and called it a day.

I have since bought a competitor NAS. . .and found the software implementation to be very, very refreshing. I have not tried to access the new unit across the internet yet. . . .because I like my solid firewall - - → but sooner or later I look forward to playing with it.

[A.Cintoli]

Thank you for your take on the topic, NAS User.

I agree that Ex2 Ultra cannot be considered Enterprise-grade, but would you call it good for small businesses? I think it is, I have been using it for 7 years without a glitch, although I thought that OS5 would bring more problems than solutions, and I was proven right.

But again, I am afraid even you are not answering my question. So I will repeat it more clearly and simply, because I think that perhaps I was too verbose and less to the point:

Why use MyCloud Home in a business environment when it is not for business use?

[NAS_user]

@A.Cintoli

Why use MyCloud Home in a business environment when it is not for business use?

. . . . because it is cheap.

Edit: Also; it takes some decent technology savvy to understand the limitations (and benefits) of the hardware and software. It is quite hard to read through the marketing to truly understand what you are buying. That savvy is surprisingly rare.

[A.Cintoli]

“Because it is cheap” does not send a positive light to those who purchased the product for a business environment and forgot to read the manual, don’t you think?

And I agree with your edit: I am appalled at the huge amount of people (especially younger people) who have no knowledge whatsoever of technical subjects but certainly spend a huge amount of time complaining like the typical entitled individuals who roam our lands nowadays.

But I digress…

Thank you

[A.Cintoli]

Not hypocritical, rhetorical.

[NAS_user]

Well that went poorly.

[XDX]

(post deleted by author)

[A.Cintoli]

Not my fault. Unfortunately, it seems that trolls who do not make their profile public exist in this forum as well.

If people want to use the forum to rant about WD, this never was the reason why I posted my OP.

Now, if you or anyone else want to give a respectful contribution to this thread, it is OK by me. But I will not tolerate any more trolling, thank you.

[David_Bennett]

We have been using the EX2 Ultra for over 7 years now. One in the main office where 5 workers share files and one off site used as a backup. The Office unit “calls” the offsite unit every night to backup the files. It is why I chose the unit.
The only thing we can’t do now is work from home on a file using the web. The Home unit is a nice unit for using at home but it really needs to be set up for local access as well as Cloud which I understand is possible but many did not do. The only reason I can see some used it for a business was it is cheaper, however with no backups it is vulnerable not only to what has happened, but drive failure as well. I have 4 drives of matching data in 2 locations. No chance of losing extremely important files. I do a monthly backup to an external drive for redundancy as being a non-profit certain files HAVE to be retained. Should ransomware lock the other copies I would have the clean monthly back up.

[creese]

Time to look at Synology NAS products!!!

[NAS_user]

Got it.
Understood the intent with the 3rd time you posted this same comment. Spamming this forum with this comment will not change anything.

[NAS_user]

@XDX

The My Cloud Home is bad for business use because it requires an internet connection to function unless so-called “local access” has been enabled, and much confusion remains about this feature. Thus, many users can’t access their files during an outage.

The initial release of the MCH also used a version of Android as the operating system, paired with a KDDFS overlay filesystem, which literally separates the filename metadata from the physical file data, assigns a random string to the file, then stores it in a database with the filename. The underlying filesystem is Linux EXT4.

What many people don’t know is that KDDFS literally means Knowledge Discovery in Databases File System, where KDD is used for data mining.

Interesting.
I was unaware of this KDDFS overlay (frankly; never researched the MCH to any depth. . . . they lost me at “internet required”; and did not research further)

OS/5 for the other product lines was doing some very weird things with the “indexing process”.
This weird stuff manifested as absurdly long indexing times; which would drag the hardware to its needs.

Would not surprise me if it was doing something similar to KDDFS.
Indexing was part of faciliting the operation of the various OS/5 web/phone apps. . . .the most significant of which (a subscription offline cataloguing function) basically failed and did not progress past what could be considered an “open beta”.

[NAS_user]

@XDX

Data mining is big business these days, and I can only speculate, but it makes sense that WD would create a data storage device that mines data remotely and sends the results back for further processing and analysis. Hence, the reason internet access requirement.

Hahaha. THIS.

TBH; I really thought OS/5 was heading down this path; and it was a KEY decision behind my decisions to (1) ROLL BACK from OS/5 to OS/3 and (2) Put the NAS boxes behind non-connected router.

@XDX

Or at least that was the plan… until it all backfired on them.

Like Wil E. Coyote: They were foiled by their own competence.

The OS/5 had consumer experience flaws in it’s implementation.

With OS/5, it became clear early on that WD was fixing logic bugs but not fundamental feature flaws. You know. . .feature flaws like “Why can’t I download an entire folder?” and “Where is the copy button?”. CLEARLY - - - → There was “cost optimization” happening with the software implementation.

And. . . .that’s when the WD fan boys started to move on . . . .

After seeing that go on for a number of months. . . . .I realized that security flaws were likely to get a similar level of attention as we were seeing with feature flaws. (which is another prime reason for my actions). . . . . . and I suspected that events of the last week were going to be an inevitable outcome.

[Hiddynna]

Here’s my take on it: While it’s designed more for personal use, some small biz owners find it handy for basic file sharing and backup. It’s budget-friendly and easy to set up, but it might not handle heavy-duty biz needs like hardcore data crunching or serious security demands. If your biz needs lots of data analysis or ironclad security, you might wanna look into more business-oriented solutions, like ones that offer killer charts and graphs at https://planfix.com/features/charts-and-graphs/. Just my two cents though!