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Archive 2017 · Cloud backups vs off site backups

  
 
rattlebonez
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


External timed automated backup is better than RAID
Such as OSX time machine
Automated automatic backups (hourly by default)

use SSD for speed along with time machine type backup

I have seen many users with corrupted RAID volumes. Where both drives are unreadable
Driver issues or controller

Single SSD not lcikely to do that. External time machine gives backup
Swap out time machine disks for reduncancy, take some drives offsite

Cloud can work unless you have a huge amount of data




Oct 07, 2017 at 07:00 PM
rdeloe
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


These days there's really no excuse for losing data because there are so many good options. If you don't want to go the cloud route, for a modest investment, and with some good backup discipline, you can put together a good system. As others have mentioned, generations and versions are crucial.

For what it's worth, here's what I do in my Windows environment:

* SyncBackPro is my backup software. It's reliable and very flexible.

* I work off an internal drive (images, Lightroom catalogues)

* A second internal drive is my main backup drive. It mirrors my main drive, but keeps 3 versions of any files that have changed, for 365 days. I trigger backups manually, but I could easily set it up to automatically backup on changes.

* I mirror my main internal backup drive to two bare hard drives that rotate between on-site and off-site locations. They also have versions as above.

* I also mirror my main internal backup drive to a Stardock RAID enclosure (set to RAID 1 mirroring). It's too big to transport so it stays at my home office.

* Finally, I have lots of space on my home server so I mirror to that too.

This setup ticks the "multiple copies, multiple versions" box. It's scalable as the size of what I need to backup grows, and it's economical because I always seem to have bare hard drives lying around as I upgrade systems. The weakness is the off-site backups, which are always going to be a bit out of date (at minimum by a day, and sometimes by a week).

It works for me because photography is my avocation rather than my primary vocation. If I made more of my income from my photography, I'd definitely be using a system like the one dgdg described on page 1 of this thread!

For some context, when I worked with film, I had no backups. If the binder containing my negatives was lost or damaged, or if I damaged a negative, that was the end of that. So this is multiple orders of magnitude more backups than I "grew up with" (photographically speaking).



Oct 07, 2017 at 07:56 PM
Paul Mo
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


Does SyncBackPro run a checksum on files?

Also, how do you automate generational copies as back up?

Thanks.

Edited on Oct 07, 2017 at 09:05 PM · View previous versions



Oct 07, 2017 at 08:10 PM
EB-1
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


rdeloe wrote:
For some context, when I worked with film, I had no backups. If the binder containing my negatives was lost or damaged, or if I damaged a negative, that was the end of that. So this is multiple orders of magnitude more backups than I "grew up with" (photographically speaking).


Been there, done that. I lost many originals to water damage about 20 years ago.

EBH



Oct 07, 2017 at 08:21 PM
rdeloe
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


They use various strategies for making sure files are copied correctly. Here's a link to their explanation: http://support.2brightsparks.com/knowledgebase/articles/215243-verify-files-are-copied-correctly

I'm not quite following what you mean in your second question. Are you asking how they automate generational copies as backups? If that's right, you can choose to have versions or not. The first time you run the profile with versions, it creates the backup. Each other time it looks for changes and deletions. If you delete from source, it tucks a copy away in the backup volume for the length of time you specify. If you change on source, it saves three versions on backup, cyclically (i.e., it always deletes the oldest version first).

Paul Mo wrote:
Does SyncBackPro run a checksum on files?

Also, how do automate generational copies as back up?

Thanks.





Oct 07, 2017 at 08:47 PM
Paul Mo
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


Versions makes sense. Currently I am using SyncBackFree - without that function.

I see Pro does check file integrity whereas Lite, SE and Free do not - and that, file integrity, may be worth the cost.

And as you mention, Versioning. Also the real time function would be very useful.

Thanks.



Oct 07, 2017 at 09:12 PM
rdeloe
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


I used to use the free version too. However, I've been on the Pro version for years now for all the reasons you note, plus you can backup to cloud services. For example, anyone who has a Google account has some default storage space (I think 15 GB). That's enough for a decent sized Lightroom catalogue.


Oct 07, 2017 at 09:46 PM
CorsairVelo
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Cloud backups vs off site backups


I'm late to this post but wanted to chime in. There is a strategy or best practice being mentioned a lot these days called "3-2-1" which I did not see in this thread (unless I missed it) . It says you should, at minimum, keep 3 copies of your data, on two different devices and one offsite. Offsite can be the disk shuttle routine or cloud.

I would only say to the cloud detractors that legitimate cloud backup services like Crashplan and Backblaze are highly, highly secure. I would even hazard to guess that your data is more secure there, than it is in your own house. Crashplan keeps deleted files and prior versions so you can "go back in time". It also has an iOS app and web interface that lets you access backed-up files when on the road, etc.

But the point of 3-2-1 is that having one extra copy of your data is not enough, you should have two extras. In my case, I have an 8TB drive attached to my desktop (which is running macOS TimeMachine) and a Crashplan "Small business" account in the cloud. Crashplan went from $59/yr to $120/yr when they ended the basic service but I had two years in credits so I'll consider a possible change in 2020. But for the offsite portion, I could easily have a drive I shuttle to a safe deposit box or Aunt Wilma's basement. I chose the cloud because it's automatic, out of sight out of mind, and it keeps prior versions of everything (at least Crashplan does). I also don't waste drive time and gas doing the shuttling.

As one poster mentioned, RAID is not backup. It's a form of high availability. So having a raid 1, 5 or 10 drive does not count as two copies of your data in the 3-2-1 schemet.

More on 3-2-1 here
3-2-1 explained



Oct 14, 2017 at 05:31 AM
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