Well I think the simplest way to do it is to use another Mac with the database shared on it and both you and your son can access it from home or from away from your own laptop. It might be the easiest to set up, and control remotely. Since I only run single user I can’t go any further.
The Dropbox solution is really easy and works great until it doesn’t. After struggling with the Dropbox integration for awhile I went the Synology route and I’m glad I did. One really nice thing about DT3 is that it supports multiple sync options in parallel seamlessly, so you can switch to it later if you like. It might be worth hiring a security pro for a few hours to help you configure it so that you can be confident it’s “secure enough.”
DT3 is a great piece of software despite a few rough edges — a time investment well spent understanding its power. Good luck!
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Hi,
I am little late to jump in on this, but I heard of this out of the weekly newsletter only 
Unfortunately, I was not able to read the full thread. Please excuse me, if I duplicate anything!
I can tell you this setup basically works just fine and is ok to work with. Personally, I would not go with Dropbox or iCloud either, as it seems to be too expansive. If you are like me, you will be accumulating quite a bit of data, which serves mostly inactive archive functions.
I would (personally I have) opt for an managed NextCloud instance, that can grow with your needs. You gain control of your data, and save some money.
The syncing quality is the same as with Dropbox or iCloud. You can add users so there is no need to share personal IDs.
It is important not directly share the original files or the DT3 database, as this generates conflicts. This is due to the way DT3 works. For this DT offers to create specialised sync copies.
Works like a charm.
I would prefer a sync service over a NAS approach, as a central server is faster than a NAS stored at one occasion. The sync client sees to it that all changes propagate as fast as possible to each partner. NAS setups usually do not offer this.
I am located in germany, therefore I got my NextCloud Instance from a german hoster, Hetzner. You will probably find something comparable close to you.
I think the sync approach is best suited for working cooperatively with a DT db even with mobile clients or across some locations.
As to the webserver edition. I never worked with it, but I think it serves a different purpose. What I would check is if the data would be secure if published this way…
Regards
Jochen
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Beware of privacy issues. Depending on your line of business and the kind of files you store, you may not wish to use a standardised service. GDPR/DSGVO comes to mind…
Beware of privacy issues. Depending on your line of business and the kind of files you store, you may not wish to use a standardised service. GDPR/DSGVO comes to mind…
Absolutely. Depending on the type of data beeing shared and the location you reside as well as the location of the people you deal with, this is definitely an issue.
As an EU resident, a self or europe based hosted sync service is much better in this regard as Dropbox or iCloud, as US or ex-eu based ventures pose a potential privacy problem. I think I mentioned this as an advantage for self hosted, but if that’s an issue it is well worth to stress it explicitly.
Regard
Jochen
I don’t really understand what you mean with ‘sync service’ vs. ‘NAS approach’.
If the NAS contains the sync store, all clients are automatically notified of a change in the sync store.
Professional provider vs. privately hosted. They gave the example of the German hosting service Hetzner for the first category
With Sync Service I mean something like iCloud, Dropbox or NextCloud. You have a service run on the Internet and an app or system service keeping your local folder in sync with the remote server. All changes are synced to the clients whenever the client is online. The service mirrors a local folder.
A NAS Service ist a local machine. It allows you to mount a remote disk to your desktop. You usually do not copy files to your local machine. Speed is best, when the NAS is on your LAN. Outside of the LAN, speed drops usually massively and special technical means need to be taken to make the NAS available out of the office. A NAS does usually not provide a folder sync service using an app or something like that.
In the use case given by the OT, having the NAS in one location and accessing it remotely in the other, speed will probably be a big issue for the second location, as the NAS access takes place when DT is used, blocking the work. With a Sync service, changes are usually already synced when accessed. Data is copied to local only once which provides best speed after sync took place.
@joker thank you for your advice, I have read the NextCloud website and think it is too complicated for our needs.
Besides, I do want to get away from cloud storage completely, and it is not for security reasons.
In the industry we are about to go in to, the average, successful, person/home business runs NAS systems of 12 bays with 10TB drives in each bay, and that is just the beginning. I think it would be very expensive if they were to back up to the cloud, and that would be an ongoing cost with no assets to show for it.
The Synology NAS DS920+ or DS918+ is expandable by attaching the DX517 5 bay unit. So we can start off fairly inexpensively with a 4 bay NAS and extend it as needed in the future. A final security feature would be for my son to have the same set up in his home and we sync to each others NAS system over the internet. So we end up with exact copies in each others homes.
My first post does explain that I am not a computer/network person, so this might be unworkable, I’m sure you will all let me know 
and we sync to each others NAS system over the internet.
What data and via what mechanism?
Document, receipts, emails and messages. The heavy stuff, like videos and photo’s would be cloned using a HDD dock and taken off site.
I understand it is possible to sync a NAS with another NAS remotely?
Now I get a feeling you are going to throw a spanner into my machine!
So you want to sync several TB of data with DT3???
I understand it is possible to sync a NAS with another NAS remotely?
Basically yes. You normally go the way to sync NAS systems of the same manufacturer, or even better two of the same products.
This is not something every NAS has out of the box… to sync over the Internet has quite some other problems… make sure the NAS you chose does support this and not only local replication (sort of backup).
I don’t think you can just sync the NAS with a DT3 db on it and expect that you can work with it in two locations! You still need the DT3 sync set up. It would be enough to sync this folder between the locations…
I take your point! It would be a gradual sync, as this new venture has yet to begin and no data exists as yet.
They would both be Synology 920+ 4 bay systems. Thank you for pointing out that this facility does not come as standard, I will make sure it is possible with the system I choose.
I am very new to DT and I have much to learn, so we will keep the Dropbox sync for now until we have this backup storage problem sorted out.
Thank you!
Bear in mind, we do not advocate putting DEVONthink databases on an NAS. If it’s a hard-wired Ethernet connected machine, it’s less of a concern but still I’d advise caution.
Also, this seems to be a bit of a strange situation you’re potentially talking about.
The basic tenet of our sync (and DEVONthink in general) is the decentralized data model where each machine has a copy of the data but syncs to a commonly accessible location.
You are referring to having an NAS at each location. This potentially means you’d have two WebDAV services running, one at each location? This would be an odd situation and also consume much more bandwidth between you two. Would you sync to his NAS and he to yours?? See my point?
I bought DEVONthink to keep track of all the data we are expecting in the future. I am the worlds worst at keeping my computer folders and files tidy (my son often say “how do you work with this mess, dad? I can’t find anything”), so after reading up on DEVONthink, I thought “that’s what I need”. I hope I am right.
It will stay on my iMac and hopefully, keep track of what and where everything is. On the NAS or external raid drive too!
If this plan will not work, then so be it.
I don’t know what WebDAV is, YET!
My problem is a simple to understand, but not simple to rectify.
The new business will generate many hundreds of TB’s of data that must be kept for years to come and protected against mechanical failure, fire damage and theft. It does not matter if my son is able to read and write to these files, but he does need to be able to see them and follow our progress (I’m 71 and if I were to die, he needs to know where we are and be able to take over).
A NAS fixes the mechanical failure but not the theft and fire aspect.
So I need to be able to take whatever is on the NAS and remove the copies to another site.
I keep saying NAS, but I am also looking at raid drives connected via thunderbolt 3, which would give me much faster saving times. I do not need remote access or any of the other stuff that comes with these NAS systems for music and film streaming etc.
Cloud storage would be far too expensive and I would feel happier knowing that everything is safe and sound in both locations.
Many thanks!
Are you referring to creating massive files or are you anticipating the accumulation of the files over time will reach into multi-terabyte territory?
Over time. It will take around 12 months or so to fill 10TB, so 50TB after 5 years and 100TB after 10 years. All of this data will need to be kept forever and we must be able to find it so that my son can use it for many years to come, I hope, DEVONthink 8 will be keeping track of it all.
In addition, I must add that the figures above are based on our business plan as it is now. If things take off, it could be much busier from a data point of view.
With all this new information… I think you need a new technology strategy and plan, and perhaps get some paid consultants involved.
I understand that, and maybe later this will be an option, but surely, for the first 10TB I can work something out.
Be advised though, that most of wat was suggested and the advise that was given, probably didn’t take into account this amount of data. I certainly didn’t take into account,
That doesn’t mean most advise and suggestions are useless, but personally speaking I find it difficult to say whether for example the more regular backup strategies are sufficient for your plans. Large amounts of data usually mean large investments in material but also in knowledge about handling it. Whether you can simply obtain that from a forum and books I’m not sure, but I might be mistaken of course.
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