Backup Options - Two part question

Jeremy Falcon

Option 2 here was mentioned already but it's worth repeating. If you don't want to go the cloud route, you got two options.... 1) Get a cheap web host that offers FTP and unlimited space. Use that space. 2) Pony up the dough for a RAID over a NAS. Now, if you're looking to save money, stay away from SSD. You won't get much size from them, and you don't need speed for this more than you need size. However, it's worth saying that SSDs are a bit more fault tolerant due to no mechanical parts... which is usually what breaks down the most when a HDD goes kaput but since you're in a RAID configuration you at least lesson the chances of both drives crapping out. Pro tip: If you go the RAID route, think about a RAID 6 or 10 (1+0) instead of just a RAID 1. It'll cost a bit more in the fact you need more drives. But they are way more likely to cover your bacon in the event of two drives failing... which can happen.

Jeremy Falcon

Jeremy Falcon

Oh, and just as a point of reference to the cost of Cloud storage... 5TB of blob storage on Azure is about $100 USD a month if you're active with it. Not sure about AWS or Rackspace, but I would imagine it'll be in a similar ballpark. <edit> Ok, forget Azure. I just found out Google drive will offer twice that amount for the same price as Azure. Yay Google. </edit> There are services like Dropbox, but they cap out at 1TB I think.

Jeremy Falcon

Slacker007

For family pics, docs, etc - RAID setup? Overkill, I think. Great suggestion if he has $$$$$$$$$ and likes to setup/config things. but I'm sure he just wants a safe spot for last year's taxes and pics of the family dog. I could be wrong. :sigh:

Jeremy Falcon

Slacker007 wrote:

For family pics, docs, etc - RAID setup? Overkill, I think. Great suggestion if he has $$$$$$$$$ and likes to setup/config things.

Oh you're totally correct. I just couldn't help myself... geeking out... it had to happen. :-O

Jeremy Falcon

Marc Clifton

Kevin Marois wrote:

We used it for backup.

If you used it for backup, you should have the original files on whatever drive you were backing up. So, it doesn't sound like you were using it for backup, but rather external storage. :doh:

Kevin Marois wrote:

What are my options for backup?

Private GitHub repo. ;)

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Glenn Rose Ward

EaseUS Data Recovery

A_Griffin

I just recently ... nearly bought a NAS system, but in the end opted for a much cheaper DIY solution: I bought 3 x 6TB HD's and installed them in my old computer (Win7) and have them as shared drives on my hone network. I can just drag and drop into them, and/or set up my own backup s/w routines. So far so good :) Like you, I don't trust the cloud. Possession is ownership.

Peter Gorod

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Resilio Sync yet. This was formerly called BitTorrent Sync. It's basically Dropbox without the cloud server. Keeps your local devices synced between themselves, but does not keep a cloud copy. So, I use two different PC's which are always on (but it can be used with PC's that you turn on only occasionally, as long as that delay in copying your data is ok with you). I keep the two PC's on different locations, but you can do it at home if you prefer. Both have a 1TB disk dedicated to this task, and Resilio keeps them synced. So that's 1TB of replicated storage for less than $100, one-time payment. Be careful that replication is not exactly the same as backup. You are protected against hard-drive failure, but not against you deleting your files accidentally (it replicates the screw up...). I keep two copies of my directories, one of them static and updated about monthly, just in case I screw up the other.

MikeD 2

To recover files from failed customer disks I have used a data recovery company https://www.mjm.co.uk/[^]. You would obviously need to find someone near you I also advocate multiple external hard disks in rotation with at least one always being kept offsite in case the office burns down If you have another friendly location then you could always set up a remote ftp server and I use winscp to keep backups in step whilst minimising the internet traffic These days local backup disks that are always online are at risk from ransomware attacks so you need to have offline storage for backups

kalberts

The Tao Of Backup[^] Old, but valid as ever. (And funny as ever.)

kalberts

dandy72 wrote:

If your backup drive contains the only copy of a given set of files, you don't have a backup at all. I buy my drives in sets of 3: The live instance my systems access all the time, an offline backup that gets updated regularly, and an off-site backup that gets replaced with the other drive once a month or so.

Word. And don't overlook off-site backup! I have come across too many stories of 'The fire took both my PC and all the backup disks'. Or the flood did. Or the thief. Or the power surge. Or the new puppy who chews up everything... Another schedule for using double backup disks is to do regular backups regularly (say, every Sunday night) and bring the disk with the new backup to the offsite location (typically: your office) Monday morning, and take the previous generation back home Monday evening, to become the backup for the following week. (Note: Do NOT bring the old backup home first! Always keep one copy strictly off-site!) In the worst case, damage to both the PC disk and all on-site backup, you may still loose one week of changes/additions, so you may want to (read: should) back up all changed files daily to an external disk. If you unplug that disk once the copying is done, and store it apart from the PC; that will protect it somewhat from theft, puppies and power surges. Some people don't want that bother every time they leave the PC (or they have a scheduled incremental bakcup every night at 04:00 which requires the incremental-backup disk to be on-line). That of course reduces the protection of the changes made this week, but some people will trade that protection for convenience. Unplugging the backup disk is essential, both the power supply and the network. If you catch a ransomware virus that locks all you files and all of your disks, you may sit with completely useless backups, locked just like the original. (The same goes for malware that doesn't lock your files but erases them or destroys them.) I think it is a good habit to set all file backups as read-only. For incremental backups still available on-line, it gives some (but certainly not full) protection against malware that could overwrite/delete it, but most of all: It keeps me from accidentally overwrite it, say, by overwriting the backup with a destroyed file rather than the other way around.

kalberts

But then: What is the cost of disks nowadays in cents per hour of video? Depending on your quality requirements, MPEG-4 video requires from less than 1 GByte/hour up to 3 GB/h. So a 6 TB disk can hold two to six thousand hours of video, and you can find those diske for 200 USD. That is a low price to pay for protecting your privacy, and for avoiding the time it takes to transfer gigabyte by gigabyte across the network connection. Not everyone has fiber to the home.

Gary Huck

Buy two and remember to put one in your sibling's/friend's/whoever's garage. In the past, I've "traded" drives with someone. They backup and store their drive with me; I do the same with them.

rnbergren

#1 and most important always always always have 2 backups. in 2 locations. #2 and just as important. Verify your backups on a regular basis. Other wise pick anything someone else has offered

To err is human to really mess up you need a computer

Clumpco

Loads of suggestions from others, but first of all try the drive in a different enclosure (or mount it in a PC) - it may just be the USB electronics that are failing. 2) Get a NAS which will connect to the Cloud. All (reputable) NAS's have backup software that will "pull" data from other computers and carry out full/incremential backups which can then be synchronised with a Cloud service (I use Amazon CloudDrive @ 70€/yr, if you have Prime you already get unlimited photo storage and 5GB for other files). Remember if you have a fire, flood or burglary you may lose all your data at home, so off-site storage is a must for anything you value. If you don't trust the Cloud then back up you NAS to a USB drive (which too can be automatic at the press of a button) and keep the drive with friends/family.

Kirk 10389821

I am redoing this for a client because GOOGLE DRIVE speeds suck and they are changing it. But he backs up to an internal hard drive. Then it syncs those files to google drive (soon to be amazon s3). One client had a morning ritual at the office of swapping the backup hard drive with the one from his car. He was too cheap to buy an offsite service. And you do NOT have a backup if you have never restored and confirmed it!

Herbie Mountjoy

There are loads of recovery services out there for when the drive doesn't spin any more. Question is, are your files important enough to warrant the expenditure. Then again, if they were that important the money would have been better spent on cloud backup. Got to be honest, i have lost usb hard drives due to motor failure and usb keys have died suddenly. These days I no longer trust anything and all my serious stuff is in drop box.

We're philosophical about power outages here. A.C. come, A.C. go.

AJC Software

For options for backup you might be interested in my software: AJC Active Backup archives your files every time you save giving you unlimited undo back to any version of the file. The archives created are very compact because it only stores the changes each time. This is very useful for developers even if you have version control because you can get back to any edit you made to a file while you are working on it. The build in diff can show you what changed in a file and you can even restore just one edit rather than the whole file. Very useful also to protect you from mistakes and file corruption. See: AJC Active Backup[^] AJC Sync allows you to sync/backup to different locations, network, drives, FTP, cloud etc. If you are worried about the cloud then you can use the transform facility which lets you add an encrypt step before the file is sent to the cloud so if the cloud is hacked your files are useless to them. You can even encrypt the file/folder names. You can also turn on optional archiving to get back to any version of a file and a built in diff with code syntax highlighting is included. See: AJC Sync[^]

Harrison Pratt

I have had two Seagate NAS drives fail and become unreadable over the course of 2 years. Fortunately my primary storage on my PC was intact and I wasn't relying on the NAS for primary storage. If your time is worth anything at all in $$$ then reliable cloud backup is cheap.

BryanFazekas

My thoughts on backups appear to be wider ranging. 1) What backup software? I use WinZip for backing up files. I schedule jobs to backup different folders at different times and frequencies -- some daily, weekly, or monthly. I use an option that adds the timestamp to the file name so I have numerous copies, limited by disk space. Since I have a second internal HD, I backup to that one, and periodically move the zips to external media. 2) Backup Options? A) Cloud. Cloud backup solutions work, but I will NOT place any sensitive data, such as financial information in the cloud. Expecially recently, it's obvious that any online provider can be hacked. The only way to guarantee no hacking is to not be online. Anyone who believes their cloud storage is 100% safe is deluding themselves. B) Multiple Tested Backups. Others have said it and it bears repeating. If the restore from a backup has not been tested, it's not a backup. An old employer did backups every night, rotating Friday and end-of-month backups. Had years worth of tapes. Never tested the restore. We had to retrieve a file, spent 8 hours working at it, couldn't get it to work. We had gone years without a backup. [Management replaced the backup solution a year later ... :sigh: ] NEVER have a single backup. Three is a good number. Keep at least one offsite to protect against catastropic loss. C) DVD. Burn copies to CD or DVD, or if you have large datasets, invest in a Blu-Ray burner. Why? C1) The media is good for years. It's not completely age proof but good quality disks are good for years. Burn sets of photos and/or video as you go. C2) Disks cannot be screwed by ransomware. Finalize the media and it can't be hurt by electronic means (to the best of my knowledge). Plus the disks are offline, so they can't be touched even if your main copy is. C3) Put copies in a safe deposit box, send to a sibling, a lawyer, etc. Cheap to create, easy to store. D) Flash Drives. WARNING: Flash drives are volatile so never use as a primary backup. That said, flash drives and SD cards are dirt cheap and you can get large ones at a decent price. Like DVDs they are easy to store, just make multiple copies AND have a fairly recent copy on other media. E) Internal HD. I have an extra HD in my PC. I run WinZip jobs daily, weekly, and monthly to zip different directories and store them on the second HD, appending the timestamp so I can have multiple files. Weekly or monthly