owncloud

June 11, 2014

The journey to self-hosting….

So, I wanted to do backups, but I also want to integrate with the plethora of devices that we now have, and do something sane with pictures, etc.   Looks like I will wind up with a pogoplug connected to one or two 2 TB (!) USB drives, possibly running OwnCloud to connect to various devices.

I tried the native pogoplug setup, and while it all just worked (what fun is that ?), the business model is same-old-same-old, customer-lock-in, recurring revenue, and maybe some ads along the way.   I could not figure out if or how my files were being stored on the attached USB drive, or how I would recover them when (not if) pogoplug is bought out, goes out of business, etc (having been through the dot bomb era, I’m leery of trusting anything to companies … but then I also live the fiction that my pictures, etc. are worthy of a longer lifespan than, say, snapchat messages).

Anyhow, looks like rooting the pogoplug will be the correct solution.  It’s really quite the little hardware device: 2 USB 3 ports, ethernet, SD, SATA, and a USB 2 port (under the hood) on which one can install Linux.

Next up, dumping all the old media that I have and can still read to the 2 TB (!) dives.  Anybody got a  TU77 or DAT Drive I can borrow?