Hi Professor John,
Thanks for the clarification — and you're absolutely right. I overlooked your
preference to avoid managing a VPS, and your concern about U.S.-based storage
like Google Drive. My apologies for missing those points.
I’m not sure if there’s a perfect alternative, but just to share: Google Drive
was more of a placeholder in my suggestion. You might want to explore whether
providers like Alibaba Cloud or Tencent Cloud offer something equivalent to
Drive-style storage — with mountable interfaces or robust APIs — while keeping
data within non-U.S. jurisdictions. I haven't tested them myself for this use
case, but it might be worth a look.
Let me know if you find something promising — I’d be interested to hear what
you come across. And again, thanks for pointing out those constraints clearly.
All the best,
Qingwei
________________________________
From: Nash JC - NCF via linux <linux@linux-ottawa.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2025 6:48 PM
To: linux <linux@linux-ottawa.org>
Subject: Re: [linux] cloud storage with versioning
This seems to
1) require me to manage a VPS (one of the things I want to avoid, or actually
to set something up that my survivors might have to manage)
2) require Google Drive (USA storage), also outside the constraints
Sorry if I did not make those points clear enough.
JN
On 2025-04-22 18:27, Qingwei Zhang via linux wrote:
> Subject: Re: Cloud Storage Backup and Encryption Solution
> Hi Professor John,
> I read your note about the impending loss of your uOttawa VPS and your desire
> to avoid U.S. servers. I had a very
> similar need at the past few years ago, and here’s a simple, low‑cost setup
> that has worked well for me:
>
> 1.
> *Rent a small VPS in Canada*
> *
> I use a 1 TB VPS (~US $30/yr) advertised on lowendtalk.com. They’re
> based in Montreal, Quebec, and the network
> performance has been solid.
> *
> Link (no affiliation or referral):
>
> https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/199994/servarica-black-friday-2024-dedicated-servers-unified-plans-and-
> storage-incredible
> <https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/199994/servarica-black-friday-2024-dedicated-servers-
> unified-plans-and-storage-incredible>
> 2.
> *Subscribe to Google Drive*
> *
> 100 GB of storage for roughly US $20/yr.
> *
> Mount it on the VPS using *rclone* (rclone mount).
> 3.
> *Host your repository on the VPS*
> *
> I run GitLab on my VPS, but you could likewise install Subversion.
> *
> Store your primary repo on the VPS filesystem.
> 4.
> *Automate off‑site backups to Google Drive*
> *
> Create a cron job that runs rclone sync or copy (e.g. once per day or
> twice per week) to push your SVN or Git
> working copy up to Google Drive.
> *
> This ensures you always have a recent copy in two places.
> 5.
> *Optional encryption*
> *
> Rclone supports a “crypt” backend. You can configure an encrypted
> remote so that all files uploaded to Google
> Drive are encrypted client‑side.
> *
> Alternatively, use a tool like git‑crypt for Git or manually
> tar/encrypt your SVN dump before syncing.
>
> In total, you’re looking at about *US $50 per year* for VPS plus Google
> Drive, with automated off‑site backups and the
> option to encrypt. This avoids U.S. jurisdictions entirely, keeps your server
> management minimal, and gives you peace of
> mind against data loss—or unwanted scanning—on the cloud side.
> Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions or want more details
> on the rclone setup or encryption.
> Best regards,
> Qingwei
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Nash JC - NCF via linux <linux@linux-ottawa.org>
> *Sent:* April 22, 2025 10:02 PM
> *To:* Linux-Ottawa <linux@linux-ottawa.org>
> *Subject:* [linux] cloud storage with versioning
> I've been using a VPS that uOttawa lets me have as retired/Adjunct prof.
> However, it's
> likely to disappear soon, as IT has been outsourced (given away!) to
> Micro$oft. I keep
> getting notices that I should use Outlook for my email. When Micro$oft board
> chooses
> to get their carbon and nitrogen for protein from KCN I might do so, but not
> until.
>
> For the last year or so, I've been exploring how I might use cloud storage
> for my needs.
> Of course, I'm aiming to avoid servers in the USA.
>
> Unfortunately, my biggest storage user is my book writing, for which I
> currently use
> Subversion over SSH on the VPS. Essentially I'd like to avoid actually
> managing a
> server. The storage needs are in the 60GB zone due to lots of background
> material.
>
> One possibility is using mounted cloud storage and file:// access for the
> Subversion.
> BUT ...
>
> I discovered that there are glitches with permissions. The idea works nicely
> with
> pCloud, but not with Icedrive. Git gives similar issues. I also tried
> curlftpfs
> with the NCF web space, but got problems with file ownership.
>
> I've not tried Stormweb or Proton or .... And I've not explored what might be
> possible in partnering with someone else.
>
> Has anyone in the group tried using cloud storage in such ways? It would be
> useful
> to compare notes.
>
> I might also like to encrypt some stuff -- I do screen prints of some
> material that
> has factual tid-bits for my work on historical novels, and don't want to get
> into
> arguments over fair dealing. There have been a number of complaints about
> pCloud
> closing accounts (and keeping the money!) because they got a hash positive for
> supposedly copyright material. This also means they are scanning material.
> Sigh.
> That would mean local encryption before upload of the sensitive material,
> which
> is a pain, but not impossible, as the background material isn't accessed
> often.
> In fact, I keep a small svn repo for some personal docs so I can get at them
> when
> travelling.
>
> I've been documenting this investigation, and probably can share the write-up
> at
> some point.
>
> Ideas welcome.
>
> John Nash
>
>
>
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