Not many features, but it’s easy to set up remote access to your files
Written By
Published on 25 January 2014
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Our rating
Reviewed price £114 inc VAT
The Western Digital My Cloud is a NAS with a single 2TB hard disk, and is designed for those who simply want to access files over their network or remotely over the internet.
Setting up the My Cloud is simple. You type its IP address into a web browser, create a user name and password and then access the My Cloud’s clear and logically organised web interface. It’s worth noting that you must be connected to the internet the first time you use it or you won’t be able to set it up.
Once configured, you can use the My Cloud on your local network whether your internet connection is working or not. Impressively, the remote access feature didn’t need any configuration on our part. It just worked; we didn’t have to fiddle with the port forwarding or Dynamic DNS settings on our router.
Unlike other NAS devices, you won’t find lots of extra features on the My Cloud, such as a BitTorrent server, web server or even the option for organising users into groups for easier administration. The features that are present tend to be basic.
We had no problems sharing files and the contents of a USB drive plugged into the My Cloud’s sole USB3 port, or streaming music and high-definition video over our local network. Remotely accessing files proved to be more problematic, as this is dependent on the My Cloud being connected to a broadband connection with a fast upload speed.
Attempting to stream both high and standard definition videos via a home ADSL connection with a 1Mbit/s upload speed resulted in juddering video and long, frequent pauses for buffering. However, you should have no problem remotely accessing less bandwidth intensive files such as documents, MP3s and photos.
Oddly, there’s no remote web interface. Instead you must download an app, which is available for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. The apps work well enough but are basic. You can only view files in list view, none of them have a search feature and only the mobile apps can connect to Dropbox, Google Drive and Skydrive. You can copy files stored on the My Cloud to those services, but not vice versa.
The My Cloud’s performance when copying large files wasn’t bad, but its small file performance was very slow, even for a NAS.
The WD My Cloud isn’t the NAS for you if you need lots of features. If file sharing and remote access as your prime concerns, The My Cloud’s a good choice because it’s simple to set up and use.
Written by
Alan Lu
Alan Lu is currently external communications manager at Vodafone UK and has a background in corporate communications and media writing. An alumnus of The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), he has previously served as reviews editor for IT Pro and Computeractive.
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