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GEN storage is space in our own UK data centres that you reach with the tools you already have: FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV and rsync on every plan, a browser file manager, Synology's own backup applications pointed straight at us, and an off-site partner for your Proxmox Backup Server. Plans run from 100GB to 5TB at a fixed annual price, with the service level included.
Where the standard protocols are not enough, we build to order: NFS, SMB, iSCSI and S3 volumes, drives and tapes imported by hand, and a recovery plan for the day you need all of it back quickly.
FTP dates from the 1970s and is still the most widely supported way to move files between systems. Every operating system has a client, most can mount an FTP area as a drive, and many customers run a separate area for each of their own clients, giving each one access to its own data and a transfer area.
Plain FTP is unencrypted. SFTP and FTPS both encrypt the connection, in different ways, and we support both, recommending SFTP for most uses. For extra protection a GEN VPN double encrypts the connection, or encrypts a plain FTP connection that cannot be changed.
An extension to HTTP that lets files be opened and changed where they sit. It needs a client to work properly: free clients are available for Windows and macOS, and for mobile devices, and Linux supports WebDAV natively.
A browser based file manager for your storage area. Create folders, upload, download and manage files from any browser, with nothing to install.
The Linux synchronisation tool compares both sides and transfers only the changes, which makes it a good fit for mirroring a server's directories offsite. A mirror faithfully copies mistakes as well, so it has its limits as a backup, but it is fast and we support it on every plan.
If you need files synchronised or backed up from your own systems and want help doing it, or need a custom two, three or more way synchronisation, our team will write it and support it.
GEN storage works as a destination for Synology's own backup and synchronisation applications. Hyper Backup and Active Backup for Business can use it as a storage volume, and Cloud Sync and rsync work with it too, so the whole job is set up and monitored from the DSM control panel you already use, with the copy landing in our UK data centres.
We are a Synology partner and support the NAS itself as well as the storage behind it. See Synology support for the rest of that work.
A backup held in the same building as the servers it protects is not a disaster recovery plan. If you run Proxmox Backup Server, we give it an off-site partner in our UK data centres: your PBS synchronises its backups to a PBS datastore we run for you, so an up-to-date copy sits in another building, on another network, under separate administration.
It is PBS working as PBS was designed. Backups are deduplicated, so after the first synchronisation only the changed chunks travel, which keeps the ongoing traffic small. Backups you encrypt on the client stay encrypted with your key, and are stored as they arrived. Verification confirms that what is held can be read back.
When you need it, the off-site copy can come back to your own site, or we can take your PBS backup and build a cloud hosted instance of the VM or container in GEN Cloud, so a service is running again while your own hardware is repaired or replaced. See Proxmox support for the rest of our Proxmox work.
The standard plans cover the file transfer protocols that almost every system already speaks. For everything else we build the storage to order, sized and configured for the job, whether that is a share for an office file server, a block volume for a virtualisation cluster, or an object store for an application.
Some of these protocols were designed for a trusted local network and are not safe to expose to the open internet. Those we provide only over a GEN Managed VPN, so the storage is reachable from your network and from nowhere else.
Uploading a large data set over a business connection can take days. Send us the hard drives instead, in most common formats, or some tapes, and we transfer the data directly into your storage area. If you run TrueNAS or Synology DSM we can also image the drives and mount them as volumes, so you move the data into your own layout as you need it.
Supply a complete volume on one or more physical drives and we make it available to your bare metal or cloud servers as a mountable volume or filesystem. It can even be the boot volume for a cloud virtual machine, running a cloud copy of a physical server, although creating an image with the proper tools is easier and safer. Our technical team will help with either.
Moving from another storage provider? Raise a ticket at the HelpDesk and we will help with the transfer.
The weak point of holding terabytes in the cloud is getting them back. A full restore over the internet can take many hours, or days, depending on the bandwidth at your end, and that is exactly when you can least afford to wait.
RapidRecovery takes the internet out of the critical path. In a disaster we restore your data to wherever gets you working soonest, and because no two environments are the same, we customise it to yours to minimise the time to recover.
These are our fixed plans, priced annually, which you can order directly below. You can upgrade at any time during the service, and if none of them fits we will quote for what you need. Where the Backup column shows Addon, a backup of the storage area itself can be added to that plan.
No transfer fees, ever. Many cloud storage providers charge you to download your own data, usually called egress or data transfer charges, and on a large store they can add a great deal to the bill. We do not charge them on any plan: the price in the table is the price you pay.
| Plan | Storage | Provides | SLA | Transfer | Backup | Annually | |
| FTP100 | 100GB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA4 | Unlimited | No | £79.00 | |
| FTP250 | 250GB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA5 | Unlimited | Addon | £129.00 | |
| FTP500 | 500GB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA6 | Unlimited | Addon | £179.00 | |
| FTP1000 | 1TB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA7 | Unlimited | Addon | £269.00 | |
| FTP2000 | 2TB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA7 | Unlimited | Addon | £399.00 | |
| FTP5000 | 5TB | FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, RSYNC | SLA7 | Unlimited | Addon | £799.00 |
Each plan includes the service level shown in its row, which defines when we respond and when we are committed to having you working again. We provide user support on every plan even without a service level agreement, and other service levels are available if you need a different commitment.
| SLA | Response | Resolution | Included with |
| SLA4 | 4 Hours M-F 08:00-20:00 Europe/London | 1 Day | FTP100 |
| SLA5 | 1 Hour S-S 08:00-20:00 Europe/London | 2 Hour | FTP250 |
| SLA6 | 4 Hour 24/7 | 4 Hours | FTP500 |
| SLA7 | 2 Hour 24/7 | 2 Hours | FTP1000, FTP2000, FTP5000 |
No. There are no transfer fees, sometimes called egress or data transfer charges, on any GEN storage plan. Transfer is unlimited, and the annual price in the plan table is the price you pay.
Every plan provides FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV and rsync, with FileStation for managing files in a browser. NFS, SMB/CIFS, iSCSI and S3 are not in the standard plans but are built to order, and some of them are provided only over a GEN VPN because the protocol is not safe to expose to the open internet.
Both encrypt the connection, in different ways, and GEN support both. For most uses SFTP is the better choice. Where extra protection is needed, the connection can also run inside a GEN VPN, which double encrypts SFTP or FTPS, or encrypts a plain FTP connection that cannot be changed.
Yes. GEN storage works as a destination for Synology Hyper Backup and Active Backup for Business, and with Cloud Sync and rsync, so backup and synchronisation run from the DSM control panel you already use.
Yes. Your Proxmox Backup Server synchronises to a PBS datastore we run for you in our UK data centres, so an up-to-date copy is held in another building under separate administration. Backups are deduplicated, so after the first synchronisation only changed chunks travel, and client-side encrypted backups stay encrypted with your key. The off-site copy can be restored to your own site, or used to build a running VM or container in GEN Cloud.
Yes. GEN take in hard drives in most common formats, and some tapes, and transfer the data directly into your storage area. Drives can also be imaged and mounted as volumes, including for TrueNAS or Synology DSM, or made available to a bare metal or cloud server, even as a boot volume.
RapidRecovery shortens the time it takes to get a large data set back after a disaster. Rather than a restore over the internet that can take hours or days, GEN restore your data to a cloud server, to a bare metal server, or copy it to a portable drive and send it to you by motorbike courier. It is customised to each environment to minimise the time to recover.
Each plan includes the service level shown in its row, from SLA4 on the 100GB plan to SLA7, with a 2 hour response around the clock, on 1TB and above. GEN provide user support even without a service level agreement.
Yes. You can upgrade at any time during the service. If none of the fixed plans fits, ask for a quote for the capacity and protocols you need.
Most requirements fit one of the plans above. The ones that do not, an iSCSI volume for a hybrid cluster, a fleet of Synology units backing up offsite, a drive import, or a recovery plan that has to work on the worst day of the year, are scoped by our own UK engineers.
Tell us what you have, how it needs to be reached, and how quickly you would need it back, and we will propose the storage to match.