iDrive e2 is an S3 compatible cloud storage product from privately held IDrive, Inc, which provides related services including online backup, file sharing, and compliance. Additional products offered are IBackup and RemotePC, along with: IDrive cloud storage of which IDrive e2 is an outgrowth.
More than 4 million customers entrust a whopping 500+ petabytes of data to the IDrive enterprise class data centers that contain both physical and biometric data, seismic protection, hardened to be anti-ransomware and HVAC temperature controlled. A number of clients are compatible with IDrive e2, including NovaBackup, QNAP, Cyberduck, and Duplicati.
IDrive e2: plans and prices
The cost of IDrive e2 is based on the amount of storage space per month. There is a generous starting amount of 10 GB that can be stored for free or used as a free trial. After that initial 10GB fee, the cost is $0.004/GB/month, which is a significant value compared to other providers in this space.
There is also an option for an annual subscription, which is currently offered at a significant discount. The entry level is 1TB of data and the normal cost is $40 per year, it can currently be purchased for the downright bargain price of $4 for the year.
There are also no restrictions on the minimum amount of data retention, and the entry and exit are both free.
IDrive e2: Features
IDrive e2 can be used on different platforms, with dedicated software for Windows and Mac, with regular updates that are almost monthly. There are also mobile apps available, for both the iOS and Android platforms. The supported platforms go even further with software for a Linux/Unix server, a Windows Basic Client and a thin client for PCs and Macs. Data can be accessed and backed up from mobile devices.
The goal is to use IDrive e2 as the destination for data from these multiple devices, so that smartphones, PCs, tablets and even hard drives can all be backed up to a single cloud account. Files and folders can then be synced across multiple devices in real time.
In a situation where you need a physical copy of the data, IDrive e2 has that too. IDrive Express can deliver physical media containing your data in less than a week.
All of these uploads can take up quite a bit of bandwidth. IDrive e2 solves this by creating incremental backups. The process is to look for the modified part of the file and then transfer only the modified data so as not to clog the network bandwidth. Then there’s True Archiving, as no data is deleted from the online account until you manually delete it or run the Archive Cleanup command, which then compares the account with what’s on your computer. By the way, with the snapshot feature, IDrive will keep e2 up to 30 previous versions of the files backed up to the account, which is an ideal protection against ransomware attacks.
While IDrive e2 supports the standard Amazon S3 API, it lacks support for hosting static websites.
IDrive e2: Security
IDrive e2 features 256-bit AES encryption which is applied to both transfer and storage. For added privacy, a private key can be created when creating an account, which is a distinguishing feature compared to other cloud accounts such as Google Drive.
Security has also been improved as all eight data centers are located in the US. Each facility features raised floors, temperature control, 24/7 monitored secure access, seismic shelving, video camera surveillance and security alarms. All this contributes to a 99.9% uptime.
IDrive e2: Also consider:
Users should also check out BackBlaze B2 Cloud Storage. In comparison, BackBlaze has a simpler pricing of $5 per TB of storage per month. We also like that BackBlaze can run IaaS apps, which IDrive 2 doesn’t support.
IDrive e2: Final Verdict
iDrive e2 represents an attractive next step for users who want to go beyond more traditional cloud storage solutions. We love the affordable price of data storage, including the first 10 GB at no cost, the multi-platform support with smartphone apps, and the multiple support options.
However, alternatively, we are concerned about the lack of support for IaaS, the phone support hours in Indian standard time, and the lack of support to host a static website. Overall, we think this option is worth a closer look for many users.
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