As of late I have been thinking more and more of making use of NextCloud as my main online file receptacle. I currently use pCloud which is a good service I really like, but the idea of having almost complete control over things is appealing. I do have some roadblocks though.
# The Roadblocks
I do not have the budget to purchase a server outright let alone a NAS or something to back it up. This leads me to think of a hosted provider or VPS. I actually do have Nextcloud running at this time on a VPS using Yunohost, but I do not rely on it at all. I worry about data loss to much and wonder if it should be it's own server/vps and not be shared with other services. This would lead me to a paid provider that specializes in Nextcloud handling most of the backend stuff. Each one has it's pros and cons. I am typing this out to help me think harder on it and hopefully get input from the two people who may actually read this.
Option 1: Selfhosted in house
- A server I trust would be expensive. I'm not sure if a Rasberri Pi is something I want to rely on.
- I need to do my own backups which means I need another device with as much or more storage.
- I'm not an administrative wizard, I can get around in Linux pretty well, but I don't know how I would do if $hit really hit the fan.
- I would have absolute control of my data.
Option 2: A VPS
- A monthly fee is much more manageable than coughing up a bunch of $$$ for a server.
- I have more faith in their infrastructure (in the more well known providers that is)
- I would still have to be the Admin, which means I could fudge things up.
- Most of these options have addon backups, even in other datacenters.
Option3: Hosted
- A bit more expensive on the monthly fee.
- They tend to provide a little more space for the money
- I only have to do the administration of the Nextcloud itself, not the server
- Backups are provided.
- Though, it's mine, it's still letting someone else have control and access to a point.
As far as option 2 and 3 go, for security I know there are things like Cryptomator which would help me secure the most important data.
To be honest, at this time I lean towards hosted. It leaves me with the least amount of worry, and support if I need it. I wonder what everyone else out there does and how much faith you put in it. I do hate the big providers, but at the same time I do have faith in their ability to not lose my data. Please share your ideas and thoughts.