Back in December, we published the first review of the ASUS Home Server TS Mini, and highlighted the manufacturer’s bundled online storage add-in, ASUS WebStorage.
ASUS WebStorage
ASUS bundle 500GB of free online data storage with the Mini TS for a year, allowing you to easily backup and sync your shared folder data on the home server and connected home computers with the cloud.
The add-in allows you to select specific shared folders to back-up online from the home server with a simple checkbox click. Furthermore, you can also install the ASUS WebStorage application to your home computers, which will create a new folder, called MySyncFolder on that computer. Any file and folder you place in that folder will be backed up online.
Backup to the cloud happens in (almost) real-time – as soon as a new file appears on the home server or in a MySyncFolder , it’ll be backed up to your WebStorage account.
An ASUS WebStorage settings page allows you to configure a Low speed mode for uploads (to ensure your internet connection does not get swamped by file uploads), clean out (delete) all files and folders backed up online, and reports how much online storage you’ve used.
In test, I found an issue with the add-in whereby if there’s no internet connection available for the home server when accessing the WebStorage Tab, the console will crash. Not a great experience.
Whilst our experience was mixed to say the least, what I didn’t realise at the time was that ASUS would be making the add-in, indeed the whole service, available to all Windows Home Server owners. In fact, ASUS WebStorage is available for a wide variety of platforms, including Windows, WHS and Ubuntu.
Here’s the deal: if you’re a non-ASUS owner, you get 1GB of storage for free as a trial. Just sign-up and then download the add-in for Windows Home Server (currently at version 2.2.4, which hopefully sorts out the bug we experienced in our hands-on review). Install the add-in, restart the console, and you’ll see a new ASUS WebStorage Tab. Drop in your username and password, and you’re all set to use your free allowance.
Pricing
ASUS’ storage packages are very reasonable in price. UK/US Pricing as follows:
1 Year Unlimited Storage – £29.29/$39.99
2 Year Unlimited Storage – £51.19/69.99
1 Month Unlimited Storage – £3.69/$4.99
The WebStorage comes with a number of handy features, including a Low Speed Mode to ensure sure your internet connection isn’t hammered by continual file transfers whilst your data is uploading to the server. A Sync folder can also be set up for real-time data syncing between your home server and ASUS’ cloud servers – handy for documents you may need on the move.
As we saw with the Home Server TS Mini, there are a couple of rough edges still to be worked out on the service, mainly around incorrect spelling and use of grammar (the TS Mini’s UI also suffered from poor spelling) – hopefully these will be sorted as soon as ASUS employ a decent QA tester. We did also experience the WHS Console crashing out a couple of times during light testing, so there’s definitely still some work to do on the add-in.
To find out more, check out How to Geek who have a great write-up about the service. Whilst the coding still isn’t 100%, ASUS WebStorage offers a surprisingly cost effective cloud storage solution for all home server owners and is well worth checking out.
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