NAS vs. Cloud - when is what useful?

NAS vs. Cloud: When purchasing a central storage location, it is often considered whether a NAS system or a cloud application is the means of choice. In this practical tip, you will learn what the differences are and what makes sense for you.

NAS vs. Cloud - that's the difference

• A NAS is a "Network Attached Storage", that is a storage that is connected to your home network and is directly at your home.
• A cloud storage space is actually just rented storage on a third-party server. Put simply, in this case you save your data on another computer.
• You have direct access to the hardware of your NAS, which can be both good and bad. The positive thing is that you yourself know where your data is stored - namely at home. On the other hand, you are also responsible for maintenance and protection, for example for importing software updates. You are also at risk if a hard drive in the NAS fails. Of course, you can reduce the risk of data loss with mirrored hard drives, but the financial damage remains with you if a hard drive arrives.
• All you can do to keep your cloud storage secure is to choose your password securely and keep it secret. Your provider will take care of everything else. Defective hard drives are also no problem for you: The cloud provider should normally have several backup copies of your data and you will not even notice a hard drive failure at your host. However, you are not completely protected against data loss: Most cloud providers give no guarantee that your data will not be lost.
• A NAS is useful if you want to store your data in a central location in the home network. This is useful, for example, if you want to access the same files with multiple devices within the home network. The speed is usually only slowed down by the transmission rate of your home network. You can find out how to test them in another article. Many NAS solution manufacturers also offer access to your files over the Internet. The speed of this depends on the upload speed of your internet connection at home.
• Since your files are stored in the cloud outside of your home network, they are usually saved on your hard drive and synchronized as soon as changes occur. However, this entails higher data consumption. So that means that the cloud is actually just a backup copy of your data. This has the disadvantage that the data also take up space on your hard disk. Another option is to access your files via a website. This is also associated with high data consumption and is usually rather impractical.
• If you need more storage than your NAS system has, you can upgrade it with larger hard drives. Of course, this is costly, so you should consider how much storage space you will need when purchasing your NAS.
• If you don't get along with your cloud storage space, you can simply order a larger storage quota. Of course, this means additional monthly costs, but is otherwise not associated with any effort.

NAS or cloud - that's what matters

• A key difference between NAS and cloud is as follows: A NAS device is a device with hard drives that is attached to your network. Therefore, the data is also stored at your home and therefore does not fall into the wrong hands. Cloud providers, on the other hand, save the data on servers, the exact location of which is sometimes not known.
• The purchase of a NAS system is usually only associated with one-off costs, while a monthly amount has to be paid for storage in the cloud. So the question arises: which is cheaper? The lifespan of NAS systems is difficult to predict, but is usually estimated at three to five years. So calculate the costs for the same capacity in the cloud over a period of around three years and compare them with the acquisition costs of a NAS. With larger amounts of data, the purchase of a NAS usually pays off.
• The right choice of storage solution is also based on your planned use: If you have large amounts of data and want to access it with multiple devices from the same network, you are certainly better advised with a NAS. A NAS is also better suited for streaming films in the home network. However, storage in the cloud has the advantage that you can access your files from anywhere at the same speed and are not limited to your home network.
• If the security of your data is important to you, both alternatives are on the same level. In this case, when purchasing a NAS, you should make sure to buy a device with at least two hard drives that can be mirrored.
• You can find more information about NAS systems and product comparisons in our product tests.

Is your PC's hard drive full? No problem, in the next practical tip you will learn how to free up memory again.