Backup System
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I use dropbox (free for 2GB storage) so everything is always synced, backed up and available from multiple computers: https://www.dropbox.com/
Yes, mostly video. I feel a bit uneasy about external hard drives because of the shocks. It seems I either have to choose between slow-safe (NAS) and fast-unsafe (ext. HD). Right now I'm tending towards a 1TB NAS system with RAID 1. Because I think a head crash is more likely to happen with a sporadically used non-stationary external hard drive than with a stationary 24/7 NAS.
Yes, if you need portability, the NAS is the way to go, since you can just leave it at home...or in a network linked vault
. If you have 1TB data, shouldn't you get a 2TB NAS with RAID 1? RAID 2 would save you some space.Oh no, right now I have 500GB to backup, so the 1TB is already projected. I've never heard of RAID 2. I actually had to look it up. Do you really mean the old RAID 2?
I've settled for a NAS solution. But now I had another idea: I could build 1 NAS with 2 disks (RAID), or 2 NAS with 1 disk each. The idea is that I sync to NAS1 weekly and NAS1 syncs to NAS2 monthly. That way when one NAS fails (power surge, accidental deletion, virus etc.) the other is not immediately affected.
- Aug 28, 2008
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[MENTION=4864]swing[/MENTION] i take it this is for a personal data backup solution?
two questions
and the answer to that will help you with your budget.
The two solutions idea is a good one, however if there are both in the same location, in a worse case scenario: fire/burglary/meteor strike/etc, you might as well have only one nas.
Other solutions to think about, depending on budget backup to your nas then too:
Rdx is probably your best option as its removable and shock resistant and you can get 1tb cartridges now
two questions
- how important is the data
- what is your budget
and the answer to that will help you with your budget.
The two solutions idea is a good one, however if there are both in the same location, in a worse case scenario: fire/burglary/meteor strike/etc, you might as well have only one nas.
Other solutions to think about, depending on budget backup to your nas then too:
- online cloud storage (dropbox/mozy/amazon s3/etc), could get expensive recurring costs, but could do compressed incremental backups via your nas to alleviate some of the costs
- Tape drives, find lto3's or 4 drives and media cheap on ebay, lto1 or lto2 tend to be less reliable
- as a better replacement for external hard drives, try an rdx solution
Rdx is probably your best option as its removable and shock resistant and you can get 1tb cartridges now
[MENTION=1]Deathjam[/MENTION] Thanks for the hints!
Yes, the backup is for private data. Logically my budget should be around $1400, but I defined it at $1000 and I think the NAS setup will probably cost around $700. My main risks are head crash and power surge. Fire, burglary, water damage etc. are highly unlikely. I based these assessments on facts btw.
Tape was actually my favorite, but I didn't think of eBay and just looked at new ones. Since the prices were horrendous I settled for hard disks. The third option was optical discs, but that was too vulnerable for me.
How much does an RDX solution cost? I assume it's somewhere around $3000-5000?
Yes, the backup is for private data. Logically my budget should be around $1400, but I defined it at $1000 and I think the NAS setup will probably cost around $700. My main risks are head crash and power surge. Fire, burglary, water damage etc. are highly unlikely. I based these assessments on facts btw.
Tape was actually my favorite, but I didn't think of eBay and just looked at new ones. Since the prices were horrendous I settled for hard disks. The third option was optical discs, but that was too vulnerable for me.
How much does an RDX solution cost? I assume it's somewhere around $3000-5000?
- Aug 28, 2008
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- Aug 28, 2008
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- MBTI
- ENTP
If you're talking about an external device that backs up your data over the network, I would go with FreeNAS
It is by far the most configurable NAS solution which happens to be free.
Don't spend money on corporate NAS bullshit. Use an old PC with enough bays to fit the hard drives you need, and install FreeNAS on it.
It has a bit of a learning curve to set up, but it's well worth it if you have specific demands of how you want it to work. It's even possible to configure it as an Apple Time Machine.
The actual backup process is up to you. I don't typically use backup software as I don't understand nor actually trust what it's doing. But then again, I don't have much experience with backup software.
Unlike DEATHJAM's solution, you might not have to spend any money.
It is by far the most configurable NAS solution which happens to be free.
Don't spend money on corporate NAS bullshit. Use an old PC with enough bays to fit the hard drives you need, and install FreeNAS on it.
It has a bit of a learning curve to set up, but it's well worth it if you have specific demands of how you want it to work. It's even possible to configure it as an Apple Time Machine.
The actual backup process is up to you. I don't typically use backup software as I don't understand nor actually trust what it's doing. But then again, I don't have much experience with backup software.
Unlike DEATHJAM's solution, you might not have to spend any money.
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I have calculated the costs for different solutions up to 5 years (including device, media and electricity, excluding time and risk). As expected tape is the most expensive, but second is FreeNAS. Third are several ready-made NAS solutions and RDX, and the cheapest is Bluray.
FreeNAS is expensive mainly because of the electricity. The break-even of a selfmade NAS vs. corporate NAS happens after 3 years. Some of those corporate NAS have an idle power consumption of 5W!
Well be sure to calculate how much the electricity will cost over 25 years to see if it's worth it. You know, just in case you feel like rejecting my answer again. You could buy an ARM-based computer, but then you'd have to boost it up to 50 years.