Online backup options

[travischance]

All of my images are currently stored on a 1TB external hard drive. Additionally, I have that drive is backed up by another 500GB external. I recently received an offer from Carbonite to use their service for $55/year with unlimited storage. While the price is very attractive, there is nothing that states that the automatic backup works with externals. Has anyone used this service (or similar)?

The SmugMug / Amazon joint project would make the most sense, but based upon the number of images I have, its not the most cost effective. Thanks in advance!

[Icebear]

Carbonite should work with any drive that comes up when you click on "My Computer" though it may or may not work with a networked drive.
You might also look into Backblaze. I have a two year subscription to BB for $99.00. They also give you a pretty good trial period to check them out. Don't know about Carbonite's trial.

[Dan7312]

Fairly long thread on the topic of backup here:

http://dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=146355&highlight=backup



All of my images are currently stored on a 1TB external hard drive. Additionally, I have that drive is backed up by another 500GB external. I recently received an offer from Carbonite to use their service for $55/year with unlimited storage. While the price is very attractive, there is nothing that states that the automatic backup works with externals. Has anyone used this service (or similar)?

The SmugMug / Amazon joint project would make the most sense, but based upon the number of images I have, its not the most cost effective. Thanks in advance!

[RobSylvan]

I went with backblaze because they do allow you to back up externals and I believe at the time I looked carbonite did not (though I'm not 100% sure if that is still true). I also liked that backblaze had a few different restore options beyond just re-downloading files.

It did take about a month to upload around 500GB of data, but I am glad for the peace of mind of having an offsite solution.

[Icebear]

Don't forget, the length of time it takes to do your first upload is not dependent on the service you choose, but your internet connection speed. I have a pretty high speed Verizon Fios connection, and backed up about 400 Gigs in just over four days. I like that Backblaze also gives you the option of how much of your "hose" will be dedicated to your back-up traffic and how much left for your web browsing.

[travischance]

I came across Amazon Simple Storage Service as well. Any users?

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#pricing

[Dan7312]

I do. I use http://cloudberrylab.com backup for S3 to manage it. Many, but not all, of the cloud backup solutions out there are based on S3, for example JungelDisk and SmugBack.

I've found that cloudberry gives me the least expensive way to use S3 as a backup solution. I'm also a control freak and want to control every aspect of a process so YMMV.

The backup solutions based on S3 tend to be more expensive than the ones that build their own storage, like Backblaze.com or mozy.com. I find it easier to understand the reliability of S3 based backup solutions than the non-S3 based solutions. Again YMMV.

Dan

I came across Amazon Simple Storage Service as well. Any users?

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#pricing

[Andy]

I came across Amazon Simple Storage Service as well. Any users?

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#pricing

Great if you are a geek. Using Backblaze, or Carbonite is way easier :) (They use S3).

Personally, I use Backblaze, have since they first started, it's just awesome.

[travischance]

Great if you are a geek. Using Backblaze, or Carbonite is way easier :) (They use S3).

Personally, I use Backblaze, have since they first started, it's just awesome.

This seems to be the consensus everywhere I've looked. Pricing for both is essentially the same so that wasn't a real factor. In the end I chose BB as "backing up external hard drives" was clearly outlined on their site. Thanks everyone!

[gecko0]

I came across Amazon Simple Storage Service as well. Any users?

http://aws.amazon.com/s3/#pricing.


I started out with Jungle Disk / S3 a few years ago. I bought the Jungle Disk app before they changed their pricing model, so it's a better deal for me, but the S3 fees are the same as everyone else. It's super easy to use (no geekdom needed...sorry Andy!) w/ Jungle Disk, but it more expensive if you have tons of data/photos. JD also lets you use RackSpace for storage instead of S3, which is cheaper for file transfers. Of course, the geekdom would come in if you wanted to write your own application to use the S3 backend...but that's just crazy talk. lol

I honestly don't use it any longer though, as I have too much data and it would be too expensive. I'm about to pull the trigger on BackBlaze, even though they are definitely not as resilient as something like S3 (but still plenty resilient for my needs).

.02

[denisegoldberg]

This seems to be the consensus everywhere I've looked. Pricing for both is essentially the same so that wasn't a real factor. In the end I chose BB as "backing up external hard drives" was clearly outlined on their site.
make sure to read the section on unplugged external drives on this backblaze page - http://www.backblaze.com/edrive.html#unplugged. If the drives aren't plugged in for 30 days the backup is erased.

My external drive is usually plugged in, but this made me decide against backblaze.

I'm still using S3 & Jungledisk, but it is a pricey option. I'm probably going to switch, but one of my requirements is that the initial load be via hard drive (not uploading all of my files AGAIN!) and that it keeps data always even with the drive disconnected.

--- Denise

[travischance]

make sure to read the section on unplugged external drives on this backblaze page - http://www.backblaze.com/edrive.html#unplugged. If the drives aren't plugged in for 30 days the backup is erased.

My external drive is usually plugged in, but this made me decide against backblaze.

I'm still using S3 & Jungledisk, but it is a pricey option. I'm probably going to switch, but one of my requirements is that the initial load be via hard drive (not uploading all of my files AGAIN!) and that it keeps data always even with the drive disconnected.

--- Denise

Thanks Denise. I saw this the other day when I decided to go with BB. The 30 day window won't be an issue for me as my external is used daily (I'm always shooting). What I don't like so far is having to leave my external on so that the files can be backed up (viruses, hackers etc)...

[bandgeekndb]

I use Mozy (mozy.com), and I'm sure you can do a similar configuration with other services. Just setup a scheduled backup, so you know exactly when your backups will run, and make sure your externals are turned on for the duration of the backup.

HTH,
Nick

[VayCayMom]

Carbonite doesn't do externals unless you have the Pro version or such and it is more than the $55. I have used Carbonite for 18 months.

[BradfordBenn]

After trying a few different options I have decided that Jungledisk was the right solution for me. I looked at Cloudberry, and while very powerful I like the fact that the Jungledisk solution has both a backup and an offsite storage solution. That is something to make sure you are considering. A backup is a copy of what you have on your local drive; storage is not what is on your local drive but is what is stored in another location. I have been spending way too much time thinking about this stuff over the past few weeks. I am almost to the point where once the drive gets full here I am not going to buy another one, I am simply going to keep everything on the cloud.

[timk519]

One issue with off-site backups will be data transfer - getting data off your system and restoring it if your drive crashes. I've found a small network-attached-storage device and Norton Ghost can work very well to keep a few TB available on the same network that can be used to backup multiple machines, and will make for easy restores w/out the restriction of a DSL line.

If you can afford it, a combined NAS / cloud backup solution would be the optimal combination.

[Stella7d]

I back up on two EHD and also use my Cloud service through Mac's MobileMe. I know there are a variety of Cloud services available now. Does anyone else use Mac's Cloud service? I wonder how it compares to Cloudberry or other services? I'm curious what ya'll think about Clouds compared to services such as Carbonite. Thanks in advance!! :)

[ian408]

If you can afford it, a combined NAS / cloud backup solution would be the optimal combination.

This is the best approach to use. Especially if you have a very high rate of change (lots of new files or lots of files that are updated regularly). The advantages of this are that you will always have a current on-site backup from which to restore and the backup itself will take significantly less time than dribble-bit'ing the data to a cloud provider (your flow would be local machine to NAS device and NAS device to cloud provider).

Also be aware that a backup tool that does not correctly handle open files might leave you with corrupted files or possibly no file in your backup. Open file means a file that is opened by an application for read-write.

Lastly, if you are serious about backups, you need to test your solution periodically by recovering files. If you're the type to do a bare-metal backup (one that you can install on a like machine to recover from a machine failure), you'll want to test that too.

Good luck!

[PilotBrad]

I know I am late to the party, but there is also Crashplan (http://b4.crashplan.com/consumer/index.html).

Their software allows you to back up to the their cloud service, an external hdd, or even a friend who is running the software.

[Photog4Christ]

Did you know that SmugMug offers a storage option? - SmugVault (http://www.smugmug.com/price/smugvault.mg)

[travischance]

Did you know that SmugMug offers a storage option? - SmugVault (http://www.smugmug.com/price/smugvault.mg)

Yes - see my note about SMV in the original post.

[Photog4Christ]

Yes - see my note about SMV in the original post.

Sorry, I read right past that. :)

[Cameron]

I know I am late to the party, but there is also Crashplan (http://b4.crashplan.com/consumer/index.html).

Their software allows you to back up the their cloud service, an external hdd, or even a friend who is running the software.

I'll add a vote for Crashplan. It makes it EASY to backup both locally and online. I found the UI and feature set superior to backblaze (which I used for a year) but recommend trying both.

[BradfordBenn]

One word of warning, check early and often that your backup is working and configured like you think. My wife's work lost all of their documents on the server due to a misconfigured Mozy account last week. Not blaming Mozy, blaming the way it was configured because someone did not check backup "Shared Documents".