> An 8TB HDD doesn't use more power than a 100GB one.
But access to it by third parties does, it changes the usage model and increases your electricity costs. This may not be a lot but it doesn't have to be a lot to make your costs more than those of a datacentre operator, not to mention you also need to be online all the time.
The dream of edge-node storage utilisation has never survived in the face of economic analysis.
It is not a matter of size. It is a matter of availability.
If I only have my data on a disk, I can turn it off anytime. If I am hosting someone else's data and I want to get paid for it, I need to keep the computer running 24/7/365. That costs quite a bit.
But access to it by third parties does, it changes the usage model and increases your electricity costs. This may not be a lot but it doesn't have to be a lot to make your costs more than those of a datacentre operator, not to mention you also need to be online all the time.
The dream of edge-node storage utilisation has never survived in the face of economic analysis.