[Hidden-tech] Off site backups

[Will Loving]

There is a saying I¹ve heard from certain wise people recently that goes
something like this:

³If a computer does not exist in at least three separate locations, then it
doesn¹t really exist at all.²

So, if your business or family history or anything you really care about is
on a computer, you need to have BOTH Local and off-site backup. At
$40-50/year services like Mozy and Carbonite are cheap offsite insurance but
you should also have regular, automated local backups as well such as is
provide by Time Machine on the Mac.

For anyone who needs large amount of storage and backup, I can personally
recommend the Drobo FS unit. After years of struggling with ever-expanding
storage needs we finally got a Drobo, which is a standalone unit (really a
self-contained Linux RAID system) that is easy to setup, easy to expand (hot
swap in a larger drive), and supports Time Machine for Macs. We¹re very
happy with ours and have had no issues. Drobo makes both direct connect USB
units and networked units like the FS. The network units support something
called ³jumbo frames² so if you have full gigabit ethernet in your location,
you can turn this on and significantly increase the speed of file transfers.

Will

Will Loving, President
Dedication Technologies, Inc.


on 12/8/10 10:58 AM, Don Lesser at dlesser at ptraining.com wrote:

> I can¹t second Will¹s comments more strongly. If you do not test your backups,
> regardless of the medium, you are not really backing up. I have had several
> clients who thought they were backing up nightly, but found out otherwise when
> the backups were needed. Test your backups regularly and, as Will says, make
> sure you are familiar with the process. I once mistakenly restored a Palm
> Pilot in the wrong direction and wiped out the only copy of my client¹s
> contact list. That was 10 years ago and I still wince at the memory. Make sure
> you know how to restore, test regularly, and follow Will¹s advice about
> selecting what to back up.
>  
> 
> Don Lesser
> Pioneer Training, Inc.
> 139B Damon Road, Ste 2
> Northampton, MA 01060
> (413) 387-1040
> (413) 586-0545 (fax)
> dlesser at ptraining.com <dlesser at ptraining.com>
> www.ptraining.com <www.ptraining.com>
>  
> 
> From: hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net
> [mailto:hidden-discuss-bounces at lists.hidden-tech.net] On Behalf Of Will Loving
> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 2010 12:59 AM
> To: David Spound; Hidden Tech
> Subject: Re: [Hidden-tech] Off site backups
>  
> I¹ve been using Carbonite for about a year and it works well enough. I have
> over 200GB backed up. The main issue that I am aware of, and this is likely
> true with any Œcloud¹ backup, is that if you suddenly add large files such as
> multiple gig video files, it will take Carbonite a while to catchup and while
> it¹s doing that, it may not be getting current backups of the rest of your
> much smaller but probably more important files. Selectively turning off back
> of certain folder and making sure you have multiple local backups may be
> advisable. 
> 
> I also recently bulked-scanned over 4000 slides and in adding them to Aperture
> or iPhoto, those libraries were suddenly swelled by many gigabytes. This again
> meant a sudden increase in what Carbonite was chewing on and so I think it¹s
> important to occasionally check Carbonite to make sure not hugely behind and
> if it is, why (which can sometimes be difficult to find out since it doesn¹t
> report what it¹s working on). I sometimes let it run overnight for multiple
> days if it needs to catch up.
> 
> Finally, it¹s important to test the Carbonite IS backing up the files you want
> by doing test file Recovery, picking important files and pulling them back
> from Carbonite¹s backup. That way you are familiar with the process if you
> need it and you are also checking to see if it¹s really backing up what you
> want it to back up.
> 
> Will
> 
> Will Loving, President
> Dedication Technologies, Inc.
> 
> 
> 
> on 12/7/10 3:08 PM, David Spound at dspound at mac.com wrote:
> I am considering using an off site back up service such as Mozy, Carbonite,
> CrashPlan, Backblaze, etc. I already use Time Machine for my Mac and
> occasionally I also clone the hard drive with SuperDuper. However, having once
> had a power surge in my home that damaged both my computer¹s internal hard
> drive and the external back up drive, I can easily appreciate the benefits of
> off site data storage. Also, I travel with my Mac and I don¹t carry my backup
> drives with me which means no backing up while traveling.
> 
> Any recommendations for one of these services based on experience? I do need a
> Mac-friendly service.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> David
> 
> ++++++++++
> 
> David Spound, M.Ed.
> Valley Mindfulness
> 
> Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction courses
> for people coping with stress, pain, and illness
> and anyone interested in supporting health and well-being
> 
> (413) 219-0654
> david at valleymindfulness.com
> http://www.valleymindfulness.com
> 
> 
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> 
> -- 
> 
> William M. Loving
> Dedication Technologies, Inc.
> 7 Coach Lane
> Amherst, MA 01002-3304   USA
> will at dedicationtechnologies.com
> Tel: +1 413 253-7223   (GMT ­5)
> Fax: +1 206 202-0476

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