Netgear's ReadyNAS Vault taps into cloud storage

(Credit: Netgear)

Having your network storage device automatically back up data onto a remote server is a great idea, and so far I've seen it implemented only by Datto. But given the increasingly popularity of cloud NAS, this won't be for long.

Netgear decided to join this small crowd Monday by introducing its new online backup and disaster recovery service, called ReadyNAS Vault, for consumers and small to medium-size businesses (SMBs).

The ReadyNAS Vault is designed to be a simple, enterprise-class solution for Internet- or "cloud-based" data protection and will be available for all versions of Netgear's family of ReadyNAS products.

ReadyNAS Vault will be built right into all ReadyNAS servers. Consumers then can regularly and securely copy data to a remote storage facility and recover or access data from anywhere in the world via the Internet.

The new solution also allows for managing multiple individual ReadyNAS servers and a centralized online console. Users can do this regardless of where they are, as long as they have access to the Internet.

Other features of the new ReadyNAS Vault solution include:

• Continuous data protection options: ReadyNAS Vault can watch for changes in real time and provide immediate protection for new or modified files. Alternatively, backup jobs can be scheduled to run at specific intervals so that data is moved offsite when it is most convenient for the user. Advanced configuration options for bandwidth consumption and system usage provide complete control.
• Fast data recovery: Consumers and SMBs can browse to the files they need and replace them on the ReadyNAS storage platform with a click.
• Secure: 128-bit SSL transfer connections ensure that data is kept private and secure during transmission and 256-bit AES encryption delivers additional protection while it sits on cloud storage systems.

While this seems like a great solution, it's important to note that the performance of the online backup depends greatly on how fast the connection to the Internet is and might easily bog down the upload bandwidth of even the fastest cable connection.

ReadyNAS Vault will be available soon and comes with a 30-day trial. After that it cost $5.95 per month for individual customers and $19.95 per month for business customers.