Please help guys. I am not a NAS specialist, just average user. I travel a lot and my idea was to buy EX2 so that I can always use it as backup storage on-the-go - to have it mapped as network drive and have remote access from all over the world and make backups via internet using any third party software. Unfortunately just now I realized that it works this way only when I am at home and my Mac and EX2 are connected to the same router as local network. From any other point access only via WD My Cloud app is available. Is it designed for my purposes? Is it possible to have it permanently mapped in my Finder as if we would share the same local network? If yes what and how shall I set it up? Does it have anything to do with fixed IP address or FTP access or SSH or VPN? At the moment those are just words for me without any knowledge of details. I would really appreciate if somebody can help me explaining how to exactly set it up.
Will your internet connections make it viaable to make backups through the Internet? Will the connection be quick enough? It is possible if you set-up a VPN server on your local area network network and get your computer to connect to it as a VPN client.
I have tried repeatedly to do a remote backup to an Apple Time Capsule to no avail. I would like to hear from people that have been able to do a remote backup to a non Western Digital network hdd.
Can be done, but first you need access to the NAS. If the NAS does not have manufacturer specific software to do this then maybe it could be worth you getting a Raspberry Pi, setting that up as a VPN server on your network and your computer being a client to that server. That way your laptop, anywhere on the Internet, will be on your local area network connected through a secure link.
The problem is that your Internet link to your network may be quite a bit slower so a substantial back-up could take a L-O-N-G time to complete and how would interruptions to the back-up be handled.
Have you downloaded and explored the complete user guide for the EX2 from WD? If not, you ought to go through the user manual.for what the capabilities are of the EX2 and how to use advanced features.
Another way is that you can set up WebDAV access, which along with client programs on your computer perhaps (Windows needs them, not sure about Mac) you can then enable such remote access. The awkward point is if your ISP gives you a dynamic IP address (the address that your router is assigned on the internet, not the internal network addresses etc) then you need to use a dynamic DNS service like NoIP (or many others) to give you a fixed access reference point to connect into.
Of course as the others above have said you still need enough network speed etc, but that’s going to be the case no matter what the solution you use is. I have both set up on my network (WebDAV access and also a Pi running as an OpenVPN server as @Myron describes above) and for general access WebDAV works fine (my WD box is a MyCloud Mirror rather than an EX2, but they seem almost identical twins as far as firmware and functionality are concerned).
@Myron
Thanks for reply Myron. My internet connection at home is around 50-70Mbps. I don’t have experience with such backups yet but I hope if I will have same speed on the other end it will be sufficient to synchronize drives ones a week over the night considering that only the new/changed files will be involved.
Ok, so at least this not a complete hopeless situation. So, the option #1 would be buying the Raspberry Pi, just considering that I have never used that till now I guess I will have troubles to set this one up. Lets say ideally I was still hoping that it is possible somehow to do directly manipulating the EX2 settings without involving extra device setups that will make the story more confusing to me as a non-IT expert.
@DarrenHill
Daren, may be you can tell me more details on how to set up this WebDAV access. So far I found in the EX2 Settings only one switch ON/OFF for WebDAV without any further settings. So I have no idea what has to be done next after I switch it ON. Regarding the ip address - thats exactly one of the reasons I open this topic in WD community. At the moment I have dynamic ip address from ISP but I can order a Static one, that will involve an extra monthly payment. I have tried to get advise from my ISP hotline what are my steps to set a proper remote access to home cloud but it is out of their concern. Thats why I wanna get an advise from you guys who managed already that for themselves to have kind of list with steps of what is required for that. My personal idea that the list will look somehow like that (example):
1 arrange a static IP address from provider
2 set up a static IP address in EX2 settings
3 set up a password (somewhere) in EX2
4 in laptop go to map the network drive, type the IP, type the password and - voila - it is connected
Or was I too naive?
@mike27oct
thanks for the great tip Mike. Sure I did all that, thats what I normally do when I buy a new product. Unfortunately there is no direct description for such option, only for remote internet backup from one EX2 to another which is a different story. The description of extra features seems to be addressed to experienced NAS SysAdmins as all described in two words only contradictory to very user-friendly initial device set up.
Is your Broadband ADSL or SDSL? If ADSL then your upload speed may be far less than 50Mbps and also at your remote location your upload speed may be substantially slower then the download speed.
OK, so firstly I state that my experience is for the MyCloud Mirror. I think the firmware etc between it and the EX2 is almost identical, but I include the statement just in case there are some differences I am not aware of in the specifics.
For terminology, the “public IP” address is the one that your ISP assigns to you, and unless it’s explicitly static it may well change over time (when you reboot your router for example, or when the ISP feels like it). This is the IP address on the internet that someone from outside will need if they want to get access to your router, and from there to your local network. Your ISP can make this address static and unchanging (for a fee) or you can use a DDNS (dynamic DNS) service like NoIP to do it for you (for free with some requirements such as renewing every 30 days or accepting advertising, or again for a fee without them). What that will do is give you a name (e.g. myfancyfixedIP.noip.com) which will always resolve to your dynamic public IP address, no matter if it changes or not. Look up DDNS on Google for more details, and for other providers (there are very many, I only mention NoIP as they are who I use as their service is included with my router).
On the local side, firstly you will need to enable WebDAV on your EX2 as you already found. Then for each share that you want to access, you also need to enable it there (it’s in the properties of the share, under the share menu).
Next you will need to give your EX2 a static IP address on your local network if it doesn’t already have one. This is so that your router will always know where it is. This can either be done on the EX2 itself or on your router (in the DHCP settings). Again look in the manual for details of how to do that.
Lastly you need to forward the WebDAV ports on your router (normally 80 and 443) to the IP address of your EX2 (hence the need for it to have a static IP address on your local network).
What will then happen is when you try to access your files/folders/shares from the wider internet, you use a suitable WebDAV client pointing at your public IP address (or the DDNS name equivalent) and the relevant port. You also need to include in the client settings the username and password, which will correspond to the required username and password on your EX2 to access the share you are trying to reach. The ISP (optionally via the DDNS) will then send the request to your router, which will pass it on to the EX2 due to the port forwarding. If the login credentials are correct it will then pass the file/folder list for the share back to you, and you can access your data.
WebDAV is an extension to the normal hypertext (http) format, hence why there are two ports. One (port 80) is for normal (http) access and the other (port 443) is for secure (https) access. Which you use is entirely up to you. It is also possible to use different port numbers on both the router (you can forward any port coming in to a different port going out of the router in this case to EX2) and the EX2 - in both cases this option is available in the dashboard when you enable the protocol.
Sorry it’s a bit of a long reply, but I’m trying to get over the whole concept. I’m sure there are more “walkthrough” details around on the internet if you do a search, or if you have more specific questions just post here and we can try and give you more answers and help.
@Myron
It is SDSL, so 50Mbps for both directions
@DarrenHill
Thanks Darren again! I really appreciate your help! Now it’s much more clear on how it works and what I have to do next. The last question: did you also manage to use some File synchronizer on the top of WebDAV client. I mean is that possible in Finder (or Explorer for PC) to get the drive mapped as normal network drive and than use it already with some backup / synchronizing software?
@vlamen, Renenber that when you’re out-and-about your remote internet connection may be ADSL. I’m wondering how secure WebDAV will be with Western Digital stuff. NAS’s don’t get security updates as quickly as server and desktop operating systems. It’s why I would opt to use a VPN/PPTP server on the local area network.
Just a thought.
