Dropbox the Cloud Hybrid

The buzz is the cloud these days. I think it is ironic that we are getting back to the mainframe days. I know it is a hassle to maintain my own data. I have to make local backups then I make offsite backups and I want different versions of my files in case I mess one up. It just seems easier to maintain those files on someone else’s server that keeps multiple versions and backups for me. They keep the server up 99.99% and deal with the infrastructure. All is warm and fuzzy in the clouds…….

I am actually not going to talk about the cloud. I am going to talk about a product called Dropbox ( www.dropbox.com ). I have been using it for almost two years and I have been very pleased with it. I use Dropbox to keep files replicated between my file server, my laptop and my employee’s laptops. When I travel to my client’s offices I need to have my documentation and the latest files available to me. Because I have Dropbox installed I am then able to update documents on the road. The documents get updated real-time to all of the other computers where I have Dropbox installed.

Here is why I say that Dropbox is a Cloud hybrid product. Dropbox keeps a centralized server that stores 30 days of versioned files. The central server coordinates between all of my computers. From the web I can login to Dropbox and access all of my files that are being replicated. If I make a change to the file from the web it gets replicated down to the other computers. Replication is happening in a hub and spoke method rather than peer to peer. I don’t have to keep my computers on all the time to maintain replication. If a computer has been off for a few days the data gets replicated to the computer when it comes online. This gives me the ability to work offline. Being able to work offline is important to me because I don’t always have internet access available to me.

Dropbox also allows you to share your folders with other Dropbox users. I am able to share specific folders with my employees without giving them full access to all of my files.

Dropbox has a long list of features - https://www.dropbox.com/features . The ones that are most important to me are:

• Works on Windows, Mac and Linux
• Automatically Synchronization
• Access to my files from the internet
• Collaboration
• 30 days of file versions
• All files are encrypted and transferred over SSL

Dropbox is free to use up to 2GB of data. I didn’t write this for the purpose of getting Dropbox referrals but since I did here is my referral URL https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTM3MjI3OTk .

If you need any help setting up Dropbox we would be happy to help.

Sublime Computer Services, We Make Your Technology Work
615-942-0850
www.sublimecomp.com
adam@sublimecomp.com