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Online NAS backup for recovery

Tags:
  • NAS / RAID
  • Data Recovery
  • Storage
Last response: in Storage
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April 25, 2011 3:14:38 PM

Hey guys, long time reader, first time poster here. I figured maybe some people here would have a suggestion for me with my dilemma.

Basically this past year I put together a HTPC for all of my media. My library is growing rapidly so I ended up buying a drobo for a home NAS solution. Now I've read good and bad reviews on the drobos, but that's not what I'm here about. I am looking for a second, online file storage solution. Something that I can back up my files to whenever I want with no limit on space (we're talking TBs here, not GBs). Call me paranoid, but 20 years of music/movies/pictures I don't want to lose due to malfunction or fire or theft. I don't want to pay business prices of thousands of dollars per year for backup, so does anyone have a suggestion of where I should turn?

I haven't tried it out yet, but the most viable option seems to be Carbonite at this point.

More about : online nas backup recovery

a c 415 G Storage
April 25, 2011 4:14:15 PM

You're very wise to be thinking about this.

I can't offer any specific suggestions, but there are a couple of points I think you should keep in mind:

1) You don't really need continuous backup for a video library, because most of the content is static. All you really need is another copy on some sort of media. As an example, if you populate your library from DVD or BD discs, those discs themselves could serve as the backup.

2) You should be thinking about offsite storage. If someone breaks into your home they stuff they're most likely to steal is your high-tech equipment. I've been there - insurance will replace the equipment but it can't replace stuff like home videos and photos - those are the losses you'll lament for years.

I don't have a huge media library, but I do use pairs of 2TB hard drives to hold static copies of my most important media and I store one of each pair in a safety deposit box at my bank.
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April 25, 2011 5:47:58 PM

I agree completely - I don't want continuous backup. Basically I just want an offsite location where I can dump files once in a while. The physical dvds/BDs can indeed serve as backups - but not in a fire :) 

Most places I have found that offer online storage solution limit the amount you can upload, which is what I need to get by. I would prefer not to use external HDDs and store them somewhere else, because adding files to those frequently would be a pain.

I did find out from Carbonite that after 300GB of uploading, they transfer speed is limited to 100k/sec....what a joke.
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April 29, 2011 5:14:42 PM

I went with crashplan. I prepaid 4 years of usage, and that was about $250, so on a per month, that is very affordable.

- The storage is unlimited.
- I kind of like the software they provide to manage your backups
- The number of computers is unlimited
- You can even invite your friends to use your account to backup, so you can share it (and maybe the cost?) with them

The big question is of course the upload speed. My ISP allows me to upload at around 1Mbps, and I see the upload to crashplan at around 700-800 Kbps. Not bad, but it still takes a long time to upload 300GB at that speed.

Hope this helps.
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