What is the Cloud?

You hear it all the time… “Upgrade your cloud storage”, “store it on the cloud”, “back up your phone to the cloud”. We’ve heard the term cloud for years now and still, not many of us know what it means.

To understand cloud storage, one has to understand physical computer storage first.

Computer storage is a hard thing to conceptualize because now, even our tiny phones can house millions of bytes (unit of memory size) of information! But before phones and Iclouds and dropbox, we exclusively used what is called a hard drive to store our files. A hard drive is defined as : “a high-capacity, self-contained storage device containing a read-write mechanism plus one or more hard disks, inside a sealed unit. Also called hard disk drive.” Meaning that like a cd with all your favorite jams, a hard drive stores all your data on a disk. That disk is then contained within your physical computer tower (typically).

If you you want to have multiple people accessing that data and or processing power you move into what is called a server. A server is basically a high powered computer or storage drive that is set up to be accessed by many users through the web or on your local network. This set up is usually referred to as a Network Attached System or NAS.

So what is the cloud storage and how do we use it?

Cloud Storage is defined as: “… a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers, and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company.”

Basically, instead of having your own server or NAS that you have to physically keep in your house, business, etc., you are paying to someone else to. The biggest talking points when considering using a cloud based or local storage systems are: sharing, access, security, and cost.

Typically having a cloud storage through iCloud, Dropbox, or google drive is going to require less set up time, less initial cost, and is more easily accessible and shareable. However, when it comes to security and potentially long-term cost, nothing beats a personal Network attached System. A NAS can share files throughout its home network, as well as sending a web address link to other locations.

All in all, cloud storage simply put is, a way to store your data, through the internet. Whether you choose to store that through a separate entity or host, or to store is through your own NAS. Backing up your information can be critical, not just for legal documents but for family pictures or memories that are irreplaceable.