au QuaStation - Part 9 - Economics

Okay, so I have proven that you *can* set up the QuaStations as a distributed private cloud storage system - but it is economic?  How does it compare to the alternatives?

Since I built a 10TB array, and all of the data is duplicated at least twice, I can consider it similar to a 5TB array with redundancy.  I will assume other options should also provide the same, and so measure against that benchmark.  Note that all numbers below were translated assuming 100 JPY = 1 USD.  

1. Cloud Storage - Options have gotten cheaper, but are still not necessarily super cheap.

Examples: Dropbox has a single user plan that allows 2TB of storage for $12 per month if you pay for an entire year upfront.  (or $15 per month if you pay by month).  That means roughly $144 per year for 2TB.  I would assume that Dropbox keeps multiple copies of client data to mitigate hard drive failures, so let's assume that if Dropbox had a 5GB plan it would be 2.5 times the cost of their current 2TB plan since it is 2.5x the size.  That would result in a yearly running cost of $360.  Note that dropbox charges $25 per month (0r $20 if you prepay a year of service) for the "family" option (which allows up to 6 users), whereas our costs don't change much with ResilioSync.  (Resilio Sync is either Free, or a one time payment).  Dropbox has business plans too, which do have f.e. 5TB of storage, but they charge per user and have a minimum number of users, so they cost more in the end.  Also note that Dropbox limits the amount of data transfer per month.  If you run your own servers then you are limited only by your ISP.  If you are using on-site servers, then no such limit applies at all.  

Microsoft offers 100GB on OneDrive for $2.40 per month.  That translates to $24.00 for 1TB or $120 per month for 5TB.  Clearly a bit expensive.  The good news is that you can get a 1TB plan for $130 per year that even includes Microsoft office. That means that if they offered 5TB at the same price ratio, it would be $650 a year.  I assume they would offer a discount, but I don't see such a plan on their page.  

Google One offers 2TB of storage (which can be used in Google Drive) for $130 per year.   This works out to $325 per year if you needed 5TB and they offered such a plan.  

Amazon used to offer "Amazon Drive", but now they only offer "Amazon Photos".  If you want to store photos and you are a prime member, then this may be a good option, since the storage is "unlimited".  Note that Google Photos used to be unlimited too, but that was discontinued.  It wouldn't be surprising if Amazon discontinued their unlimited service at some point.  

Apple offers 2TB for $13 per month.  This works out to $290 per year.    

Resilio Sync using au QuaStations.

These consume something like 5 watts or less when idle, 7 watts when loaded, but they will be idle most of the time.  

5 watts x 10 servers = 50 watts

50 watts * 24 hours = 1200 watt hours per day (1.2kwh)

1.2 kwh x 31 days/month = 37.2 kwh per month

The typical rate is a little less than $0.20 per kwh

37.2 x $0.20 = $7.44

$7.44 x 12 months = $89.28

If you are a super heavy user, you will pay around $0.30 per kwh:

37.2 x $0.30 = $11.60

$11.60 x 12 months = $133.92

And, there are ways to reduce this energy consumption.  For example, split the servers into primary vs. backup, and schedule the backup servers to come on only for a few hours per day to sync up.  A less drastic option would be to schedule all or some of the servers to come on during hours when you are awake.  This could easily cut the energy costs in half.