Help with Cloud Storage Solution

January 19, 2012 7:35 PM

I would like to be able to access files on my mapped network drive remotely on my ipad. In particular, I would like to access entire folders of files that change somewhat on a weekly basis in places where I may not be able to get internet access or do not want to wait for a download. There does not seem to be a product that offers these features. Suggestions?

DropBox is the obvious answer, but they A) do not allow syncing of entire folders and B) do not offer a robust "offline" solution.

Sugarsync is another great program, but they ostensibly do not allow syncing mapped network drives.

And, my reading of the Box.net and Carbonite websites also seem that they are not a good fit.

Am I misreading these websites, or is there not a simple product that offers the following:

1. Sync entire folders of data automatically
2. On a mapped network drive
3. Accessible from an Ipad
4. Even when offline.

posted by 2legit2quit to computers & internet (3 answers total)

SpiderOak has an offline sync folder system. It'll keep a bunch of machines synced so they all have the same contents in folder X. I routinely use it to back up network shares from my PC, so I know it will handle network shares without a care.

The real question is: does this feature exist on the iPad version of SpiderOak. Not knowing that app, I can't say. But it's free to try.
posted by introp at 7:52 PM on January 19, 2012

First off, whatever the app is, you can't count on it syncing automatically because Apple doesn't let apps run indefinitely in the background. At the very least, you will have to launch the app, and you'll probably have to initiate the sync.

With that in mind, I see a few options.

1) Goodreader can sync folders over WebDAV. Perhaps you could run a WebDAV server on your computer, or directly on your server. There may be other apps that can do the same thing, and some may even support AFP or SMB directly, eliminating the need for the WebDAV server.

2) Goodreader, and other apps, let you have your iPad act as a server, which could be mounted as a mapped drive on your computer, and then you could use some sort of directory sync service to copy files over when it is connected.
posted by Good Brain at 11:16 PM on January 19, 2012

I haven't used it, but Dropbox claims to be able to do this. (Don't know about the iPad client though.)
posted by gjc at 4:44 AM on January 20, 2012