Data Backup Strategies

[Docwatmo]

One of the initial points in the question was backing up with large amounts of multimedia.  Most multimedia is static (Doesn't change) so once it's copied it doesn't need to be recopied with each backup.  I like applications like "Always Sync" because it compares the two directories (Remote and local) and only backs up the changed files.  Makes backing up to USB sticks or external drives or FTP sites etc, SUPER fast.  (After the initial full backup).

But the biggest reasonable USB sticks are in the 64 to 128 gig range (You can pay way more for 256 and up but the price per gig is way off the charts).
Portable hard drives are far cheaper.  1 TB drives are in the $60 range while 256 gig thumb drives are in the $100 to $200 price range.  Not enough storage for my needs. 

Manual swapping of external drives is not difficult by any means.  But anything that automates the process will help to ensure it's not forgotten or skipped.  (Always sync works with USB sticks so you can set it up to auto copy to the mapped stick drive, so the only thing you have to remember to do is rotate the sticks periodically).  But that is still not as nice as a fully automated backup system like mine.  I NEVER have to remember a thing.  I just go out once ever couple of months and test the backups to ensure it has my changed data in it.

[FreeLancer]

I admit,it hurts my arm to plug in a USB cable when it is time to rotate each weak...but I push through the pain and get 'er done.

It's not my arm, it's my brain, that's lame.  I've proven to myself many times that I will get lazy and stop rotating those drives like I should.  A man's gotta know his limitations.

I've got the DS1515+ online now (only took me three tries before I finally figured out how to do the Synology Hybrid RAID equivalent of RAID 6) and using it as a target for my iMac's Time Machine, as well as Synology's Cloud Station app syncing my data and media folders (started last night and still grinding away).  I thought I was going to get rid of my 5 year old DS211j, but now I'm thinking of up-sizing and mirroring the drives and continuing to use it as a secondary Time Machine target, and also backup the new NAS's data to it periodically, at least until it runs out of capacity. 

I do have Carbonite running on my machine as an offsite backup, but I don't fully trust it, as it frequently goes spinning beachball on me and I might not notice it for days to weeks.  I may need to look at Back Blaze when my subscription runs out.  I'm also trying out the new Google Photos free online storage, it's super slow uploading, but freaky good at face recognition and categorizing images, really freaky good!  I might try Amazon Glacier as well, but if it's anything like my foray into S3 a few years ago, it may be too hard for me to figure out.  I'm pretty much at the end of my capabilities just getting a NAS online, but I will say that Synology's latest Disk Station software is much easier to use now compared to when I set up my old one 5 years ago, and there wasn't a Cloud Station app back then either.

This upgrade leaves me with 4 older 2Tb drives that I'll try to keep rotated through a backup scheme similar to what Carl suggests, but I lack faith in myself to keep up the habit.  I purchased a 1 hour fire/water box from Honeywell and will keep it in my gun safe, so hopefully that combination will protect the bare drives, and other media, if the house goes up in smoke.

[r_w]

Anybody do off-site ONSITE?  I have been thinking of putting a device out in the shop or storage shed, somewhere in Wi-Fi range but shouldn't burn in a house fire (forest fire is another problem).  I have pathetic internet speeds so cloud is not a viable option except for manual uploads of uber critical static data--the stuff that is hard to trust to the cloud.

[Carl]

Anybody do off-site ONSITE?  I have been thinking of putting a device out in the shop or storage shed, somewhere in Wi-Fi range but shouldn't burn in a house fire (forest fire is another problem).  I have pathetic internet speeds so cloud is not a viable option except for manual uploads of uber critical static data--the stuff that is hard to trust to the cloud.

Faster to put it on TWO USB drives,in fire boxes,one in the shed...one elsewhere...why use WIFI when you can hand carry the faster loaded,more secure hard drives?As lightening tends to effect wired devices and lightening is your most likely problem...then fire...oh ,do you store gas and lawn mowers in the shop? I would not transfer (transmit) data a distance I could easily walk..Just my thoughts.

[outoforder2day]

Anybody do off-site ONSITE?  I have been thinking of putting a device out in the shop or storage shed, somewhere in Wi-Fi range but shouldn't burn in a house fire (forest fire is another problem).  I have pathetic internet speeds so cloud is not a viable option except for manual uploads of uber critical static data--the stuff that is hard to trust to the cloud.

I've been considering this, too, however it's not the best option. If you need to bug out, or if something happens that affects your entire geography, it will affect your backup. Flooding would be an example concern here. Since you don't have the best bandwidth, then the second hard drive approach is the best bet, but consider leaving it at your in-laws or some place further away.   

A key component of this discussion, as you pointed out, is the change rate of your data. Is most of your content pictures? Movies? or text? How often does it change? How hard is it to replace? Unless you're generating gigs of data a day, most of this stuff would be overkill and two hard drives could suffice. And things like your social security card or mortgage paperwork don't exactly change over time. It all depends.

[Docwatmo]

My primary residence is 18 miles from my work.  I have a VPN and 20 Meg internet service at home and 15 meg internet service at work.  I picked up 2 QNAP NAS devices a couple of years ago on the cheap.  Spent the next year finding cheap hard drives and putting in about 8TB on each unit (Usuable) in a Raid 5 with hot spare on each device.  I run a Secure SSL VPN connection between home and work and the QNAP's have a built in "Sync to other Qnap" option.  So my local stuff is backed up locally and then synced to my work device.  The first time I set this up, I synced them at home on the same Gigabit network.  (about 2.8 TB of data).  They have been running for 2 years and the sync is block level so when I drop a new multi Gig movie from the camcorder or camera on the local side that is the only thing that takes time and generaly over night it has a full copy synced up again.

This was an expensive option.  The Qnaps run about $500 to $900 each.  (I got mine discounted for about half).  And then it took me a year to find and buy 10 x 2TB hard drives to fill them with.   But now it's out of site, out of mind.  Only takes a minute to access data and verify it's backing up correctly. 

Which brings us to the other elephant in the room when discussing backups.  How often do you test your backups?   

I used to do computer work on the side and for a local chiropractor in town, when I first started, they asked me to set up their new server and move their backup drive to the new server.  I went down and they had 2 tapes that they had swapped for several years.  Both tapes were worn so thin you could see through them.  The backups somehow could still be read, but with lots of errors.   I immediately made a full image copy of the system on an external hard drive and then burnt it to a DVD.  Set up the new system and set up a 6 tape (5 daily and 1 monthly archive) backup system for them. 

It's not backed up if you can't get the data out of your backups.  So they MUST be tested periodically.   

[FreeLancer]

In case anybody else is thinking about using Synology's Cloud Station, be extremely careful with what, and how, you sync.  I've learned the hard way that iTunes gets seriously screwed up when Cloud Station accesses the iTunes folder, which cascaded into foul-ups with my entire podcast library and iPhone.  Being able to roll back 3 days, thanks to multiple incremental Time Machine backups (one was broken!) saved me.

[zeugirdor]

This is a great thread.  Something that most people completely overlook in their preps.

I have actually set up a small network of QNAP NAS stations in 3 geographically diverse locations.  I have "cloud" access to my main device and it keeps all of my files synced with two other NASs that I have squirreled away in my parent's, and my sibling's houses.  I also use Amazon Glacier for the family photos and digital videos that obviously never change, they just get added to.

This solution is not the least expensive, but in my experience the reason why people loose data is because they either never do a backup or don't keep up with doing backups... The most likely piece of your computer (or NAS) to fail is the hard drive. I love this solution because you set it once and forget it until you notice that you're not receiving the emailed log reports.  Granted that's not necessarily perfect because things do happen and you could find that you need to go to the backup and it hasn't been synced in 6 months, but it's better than never having had a backup done in the first place.

[d3nni5]

. 

 

[FreeLancer]

I've got the DS1515+ online now (only took me three tries before I finally figured out how to do the Synology Hybrid RAID equivalent of RAID 6) and using it as a target for my iMac's Time Machine, as well as Synology's Cloud Station app syncing my data and media folders (started last night and still grinding away).  I thought I was going to get rid of my 5 year old DS211j, but now I'm thinking of up-sizing and mirroring the drives and continuing to use it as a secondary Time Machine target, and also backup the new NAS's data to it periodically, at least until it runs out of capacity. 

Woke up this morning and noticed my DS1515+ had powered off and won't turn back on.  An online search showed that apparently there was a fatal flaw in the Intel chipset used in several Synology NAS models that would brick a certain number of machines without warning, just as mine did, and it's not fixable.  Synology extended their replacement warranty period on these machines into 2018 and my machine decided to hang on a year past the limit, so I'm out of luck until I can get another Synology box to put these drives into to pull the data off those drives.  And I'd literally just finished upgrading from 4TB to 6GB drives before it crapped out, a long process that took several days to get through, one new drive at a time. 

It just goes to show that having multiple drive redundancy doesn't mean squat if the box that controls them all gives up the ghost.  Meanwhile the ancient DS211j keeps chugging along and refuses to die.

[Greekman]

indeed, offsite is the key.
In a photography forum we have a member whose house burned down. despite him having triple copies of his works, this meant hat his business was burned down too.

[FreeLancer]

Amazon Warehouse sells returned items as used at a decent discount and I was able to pick up a Synology DS1618+ that arrived last night.  This is a 6 bay machine so I put the 5 drives from the 1515+ in the new box and Synology Web Assistant easily migrated all the settings and data over.  The extra slot in the new machine will be set up as a hot spare.  Fairly painless except for the cost of a new machine and it was good practice on what's involved with the recovery process in this type of failure.