WD Cloud Idea

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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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I have a WD 3TB Cloud -- aka 3TB USB External HD.


I want to use this for archive storage, but I don't want it "online" unless it's being used to copy data too...

Anyone know how to put one of these on a schedule and/or remotely request to turn it on and/or off?
 

Rain

Active Member
May 13, 2013
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I want to use this for archive storage, but I don't want it "online" unless it's being used to copy data too...
By "online" do you mean connected to your network? Or using power? If power is the issue, I'd assume the device spins down the drive and uses next-to-nothing when it isn't being accessed -- I wouldn't worry about it.

If being connected to your network is the issue, I would ask if it's really worth your time if you don't trust this "silly" device to work out a way to limit its connected time. There are better solutions.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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By "online" do you mean connected to your network? Or using power? If power is the issue, I'd assume the device spins down the drive and uses next-to-nothing when it isn't being accessed -- I wouldn't worry about it.

If being connected to your network is the issue, I would ask if it's really worth your time if you don't trust this "silly" device to work out a way to limit its connected time. There are better solutions.
Powering off 100% would be ideal, but as you mentioned it likely uses very little power anyway.

The goal is so that it's off-line MOST of the time... should any security issue occur that encrypts/deletes (overall negatively affects) the live/in-use data and 'on-line' backups it does not reach this 'archive' backup.

I'm trying to avoid connecting/disconnecting this device manually or requiring a complete system.
 

Blinky 42

Active Member
Aug 6, 2015
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You can always plug the power adapter into a managed, switched PDU. You can then write a quick script to turn on or off the outlet the WD is plugged into and tie that into your archive/backup process, or schedule using the PDU to turn the outlet on/off at specific times.

The APC79xx's let you schedule on/off/restart events one-time, daily or every n weeks as well.