filecloudfile-storagecloudfilesseafile-server

Is Seafile a real cloud storage?


I currently have two file servers to store all my files. One is at my home and the other one is at my parents home. The hard disks on both servers are synced, meaning that if I add/change/delete a file on one server, once a day the servers sync themselves to have the same files on both sides.

The problem is that this solution is a bit configuration heavy. If I want to add another server, I'd have to create a kind of 3-way sync, or something similar.

So I searched for an alternative and found Seafile. It promises private cloud storage and also integrates with the local file managers like Explorer/Finder/Nautilus etc.

The thing I am not quite understanding is what exactly is meant with "cloud storage". My idea is to create a mini-cloud with my two servers. Hence, install Seafile on both and have them sync the files automatically without me interfering too much. I could not find such an option in Seafile though. Hence, my questions are:


Solution

  • It does exactly what you're asking for.

    It's called cloud storage because there are hosted options where they will host your Seafile server and storage, but the local deployment version acts as you want.

    Install it on you devices, run the service and it will keep files between all connected devices synced.

    As for the actual process of this I'm not sure, e.g if there is a service designated as the "master" Seafile server or if they all act as distributed and none has priority over the other.

    There are lots of alternatives (Dropbox,Google Drive) but those are all offsite hosted, not sure what other options you have in terms of self-hosted.