Answer: alternative to CyberDuck -> S3 browser
If you, like me, don't really like how CyberDuck operates to access your bucket(s), there is an alternative: S3 Browser and the download link is at https://s3browser.com/download.aspx
To login, access Account -> Add new account and choose S3 compatible storage as the Account Type. The rest speaks for itself.
Features I like on S3 Browser
- it doesn't crash as often as CyberDuck
- much more configuration options
- last but not least, it has a Folder Sync Tool
Open the Folder Sync Tool, a new window will open. Add a job, give the job a name, save it and let it run. It compares your files from a hard drive to the bucket (folder) and you can run it visa versa, in case you need a backup on your local machine. If all files are unique, no suggestions are listed to synchronize. Saved jobs can be easily re-run on later dates.
Give it a try. It's free software.
7 Replies
jdutton
Linode Staff
Hey @PuertoParrot - this is a pretty sweet tip, especially the Folder Sync Tool. I'll definitely give it a shot. Thanks for sharing! :)
Are there specific settings Linode uses with S3Broswer? I am used to using S3 Browser before with BackBlaze v4 and Wasabi v2, but I cannot seem to get it to work for Linode which from my understanding is using v4 signature.
Is there something special that is required for it to work?
@HDiddy no really. Just choose the option S3 compatible storage, enter your credentials and you're good to go. As explained in the Linode help files, S3 is a storage protocol. Amazon made it famous but the protocol is not owned by Amazon.
S3 is a storage protocol. Amazon made it famous but the protocol is not owned by Amazon.
Are you sure? S3 stands for/means "Simple Storage Service" which is the name of Amazon's cloud storage service.
My understanding was S3 was so widely adopted, competing services replicated the protocol to encourage people away from S3 without having to rewrite their applications.
The term S3 is a little bit misleading. Technically it's called Object Storage, which is the denomination on Linode, not S3.
Which leads to Cloud Storage
AT&T started a public service, but was not successful. Amazon changed all that. They called it S3 (Simple Storage Service), which could be seen as a brand name, but as far as I know, it isn't.
What we call S3 is actually an object stored on a (public accessible) cloud.
That's the reason why we don't have to rewrite code (I'm using Laravel), but we can still use the aws-sdk-php package without the Amazon servers. Just change the endpoint. It's the same protocol. Thanks Amazon 🤣
(links to Wikipedia)
The term S3 is a little bit misleading
Yes it is when referring to competing services - "Amazon S3" is the name of Amazon's object storage service.
Linode's object storage service is called "Linode Object Storage".
Digital Ocean's is "Digital Ocean Spaces" - which also uses the same S3 protocol.
In reality, most people just refer to it as the "S3 protocol" but competing services are technically "compatible with the protocol used by Amazon S3."
S3 is a brand name (not sure though, seems an abbreviation that is not trade market protected) that grows so popular it becomes interchangeable. For example, in Europe, when we say pampers, we actually mean baby diapers. It happens when brand names become generally known in every day language. Even in a niche group like us, programmers.
Sometimes it even becomes a noun, for example 'to google' something.