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Netgear Terminating ReadyCLOUD Service
Since Netgear will terminate ReadyCLOUD service by April 1st, how can I access to my NAS device remotely? Is there any solutions/instructions by Netgear or anyone who can using other solutions? Thx...
Yes, there are alternatives, which have already been discussed in other message threads..
A VPN hosted in your router and ZeroTier are the easiest/most secure, IMHO. You can also make provisions for remotely using FTPS or SFTP via port forwarding, but that requires you to either have a fixed IP or use a Dynamic DNS provider. There are even ways to use OwnCloud or NextCloud, setting up the shares you want to access as "external" (to OwnCloud/NextCloud). They also require a fixed IP or DDNS, but are a bit more secure (IMHO) than port forwarding.
As for why, it's very clear that Netgear is leaving the NAS market, though this will also affect a lot of their routers that offer it. ReadyCloud requires that Netgear maintain a server that acts as the "operator" to connect your NAS and app. And, of course, they have to do updates of the app as other OSes change and provide user support. Since they don't charge for it, they rely on new sales to fund it, and those have gone away as far as NAS are concerned.
Many things you can do on a do-it-yourself NAS can also be done on the ReadyNAS. You can even add a do-it-yourself box, even a pretty lame one, and mount the NAS as external storage. I have a Pro2 running OS6 that serves as an OwnCloud server (but it could just as easily be on a Raspberry Pi, other Linux system, or even Windows) that has shares from my main NAS mounted as read-only. For me, it's a bit of extra security to prevent anyone who hacks my OwnCloud unit (not that anyone would have a reason to) from doing anything nasty on my main NAS, but it can just as easily be a main part of a remote access solution if they are mounted as read/write.
Yes, this also takes effort, and many of the same skills as full do-it-yourself, which many users don't have; but not as much as trashing and completely replacing the ReadyNAS. Of course, lesser capable units like the 100 series are going to be more challenging to do that with.
If Netgear doesn't update the Linux core of the ReadyNAS (and I'd be surprised if they do) or turn things over to the users so they can, the time is going to come where that solution gets too long in the tooth. But there is no need to throw away the ReadyNAS at this point. Intermediate steps can be taken to reduce the monetary impact. Now, that may not be palatable for some users, especially businesses, but it's out there.
I and StephenB don't even use ReadyCloud and have remote access, using different solutions. I've never used ReadyCloud because I don't like how it is so divorced from the local interface. Well, I did try it and didn't keep using it. When ReadyNAS Remote went away, I looked for something similar to it and decided on ZeroTier. I'm not sure about StephenB , but I believe the same is true for him except that he chose OpenVPN.
Now, if Netgear cared, I bet they could make changes to ReadyCloud that allow it to be used with just a DDNS service or with a VPN (which most of theior routers offer) and not need their server. But I would be stunned if they did given how this slow and unacknowledged death of the ReadyNAS line has unfolded.
Sandshark wrote:
When ReadyNAS Remote went away, I looked for something similar to it and decided on ZeroTier. I'm not sure about StephenB , but I believe the same is true for him except that he chose OpenVPN.
FWIW, in the early days of ReadyCloud I found the performance hit-or-miss, and the service sometimes went down altogether. I also didn't like the lack of transparency on its security (though to be clear, I'm not saying it is insecure).
So like Sandshark I looked for something else. My router had OpenVPN built in, so it was an obvious thing to try next.
I have played some with ZeroTier - it does have some nice features, especially if you want to limit the VPN network to specific devices. But I'm fine with full remote access to my home network, so I've stuck with OpenVPN.
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