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Lately I've been trying to get my hands on an open sourced software that allows one to build a private cloud for free and I've not been all out of luck.

I did come across a few softwares (like XEN, Eucalyptus, etc) that serve this purpose well but sadly they either require a Linux operating system to run or are too complicated for amateurs like me.

I want to build a private cloud for my college where students can save and share all their important documents. I'd like to know if there are any software solutions which may help me out with this at minimum possible cost. I know it might be too much to ask but can you guys even review or maybe explain one of these software (which can run on Windows as well) in one of your articles because honestly even though I have read about them in some tech gazettes I think I'm addicted to your style of explaining tech stuff.

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So, to sum it up, if someone could write an article on one such software, it would be just too awesome. But if that's not possible, any assistance on this issue would be much appreciated.

Leszek
2014-09-06 22:56:03
Hi,Also check "Syncthing" available on: http://syncthing.net/I haven't tried it yet but if i get a chance i will check it.
Dinika S
2014-09-09 12:30:02
Syncthing looks promising. I'll dig deeper, just to be sure if it really is the best option I have .Thank you !
Howard B
2014-09-04 23:36:38
Are you trying to build a totally private (as in "in your home, only available on your home LAN") cloud, or something you can buy hosting for, set up, and access from anywhere? If it's a hosted cloud, there's no reason to worry about Linux - you will hardly ever have to worry about the underlying OS, as around two thirds of the web runs on Linux, and only tech geeks have to worry about the Command Line; almost everything is run through a web interface.
Dinika S
2014-09-12 11:00:32
Thanks for all the information. It really helped. I talked to some Professors at my college and we are on our way to building our very own cloud !
Edwin H
2014-09-04 03:58:09
Howard share a good website. Either you can also try Eucalyptus: https://www.eucalyptus.com/cloud-topics/open-source-private-cloud or Rackspace: http://www.rackspace.com/cloud/private/ Also you can check 60 Open source apps: http://www.datamation.com/open-source/60-open-source-apps-you-can-use-in-the-cloud-1.html
Dinika S
2014-09-04 12:02:14
Thanks I'll fish through these links to see if they can be of help. I read about Eucalyptus in one of the tech magazines. It's cool but sadly it requires Linux (I think). Thanks anyways !
Howard B
2014-09-03 18:53:07
OwnCloud - open source and easily extendable.https://owncloud.org/
Dinika S
2014-09-03 22:07:32
Thanks for the help. I am trying to make something of it. The "host OwnCloud" looks like what I might be looking for. I'll dig deeper.