I need some ideas on how I can backup and archive some of my files on my computer, currently I am on a network and I have my important data being backed up using Second Copy to 2 separate computers, also the data is backed up to 2 internal 750gb Western Digital SATA hard drives and to 2 external Western Digital 1Tb My Book firewire hard drives with 1 installed inside my gun safe and with all of the data being mirrored on all of the drives, the problem is I need a way to archive this data and to be able to keep the bulk of it either off site on in my safe for any disaster.
Servers like Photobucket, Snapfish Shutterfly all advertise unlimited free storage but just how much free space is this and how secure these places; will they still be in business in 5 years?

I have thought about backing everything onto DVD's but I will need too many of them and I want to save the files uncompressed so there will be no chance of some software compatibility problem if I change to a MAC in the future.

I currently have:

104,574 Jpeg images @150gb that change probably daily
My Documents = 53.9 GB 12,000 Files 1686 Folders

What do you use to protect your data?
I need some ideas.

Thanks Jim

 

I use an external hard drive unit where I can actually remove the hard rives from the enclosure and store them separately. http://www.galaxymetalgear.com/products/3538_uc.html. I am using the full 2TB set up on a windows 7 machine and so far it has worked flawlessly. If memory serves we got it off of e-bay for a very reasonable price.

 

We use carbonite at our office. Backs up off-site daily and is encrypted. Reasonably priced too.

 

How about an ethernet hard drive in a different room than the computer??

 

I have the predecessor to this unit, add to it some sync software and you can have multiple redundant files:

http://www.homeserverland.com/busine...lt-review.aspx

 

Is this at home or work?

You may want to look at a NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution but the biggest problem would be running cables to it for power and data. I'm not sure how you run the cabling into a gun safe but I'm pretty sure you'll mess with the fire rating to do it.

You could also just build a RAID array in an external box like this one (http://www.mashie.org/casemods/udat1.html) and put a handle on the top of it from one of the many online computer case modding stores. I plan on doing something like this with gigabit ethernet (faster than megabit, which is what most home routers have) and I would recommend you look into gigabit ethernet as well simply due to the sheer volume of data you want to backup.

 

Yes this system is at home,
On the back side of my safe there are 2 small holes about 3/8 ID where the wiring for the lighting enters, the wiring passes through the hole and the has a barrier of 5/8" drywall so it is pretty much sealed from the heat I also don't need a dehumidifier inside.

I have looked at the NAS storage systems and that could work once I get the bulk of the data backed up then it would be only incremental.

I guess I am just a bit paranoid about my documents and pictures, I have had 2 DAT tape drives fail on me and numerous hard drives start knocking or just plain die on me in the past years, (systems run 27/x 365) I know which brands of drives to stay away from.

Also I do not like the fact that most of the newer external hard drives are not fan cooled and the cases get rather hot, the Western Digital My Book? drives are this way, I have a few I have built with external cases and installed my own drive only to have the tiny little Chinese fans die on me so now the first thing I do is to replace it with a good ball bearing fan. Another reason I chose to install the external drive in my safe is if someone ever was able to get through my security system and was able to steal my computers I would have all of my data safely locked away and I could easly rebuild my system or with the other external drives if I ever had to evacuate I could easly grab the drive and leave the rest of the system behind.

I use a program called Second Copy for about the last 4 or 5 years that seems to work good so far.

I have a lot of pictures that are irreplaceable if something should go wrong I could loose 104,574 Jpeg images and about 54gb of files from My Documents.

First thing everybody should do with their Windows computer is move the My Document folder out of Documents and Settings and put it into the C:\ or the root drive or even the external drive, if you ever have to restore your computer My Documents folder will deleted, if it was moved to C:\ it will still be there and you could even install this drive as a slave and recover all of your files.

I would like to be able to back up all of my pictures onto DVD’s and I would feel safer, if my figuring is correct it should take about 32) 4.7gb DVD’s to store 150gb correct?

I take a lot of pictures with my digital cameras and recently I went to take some pictures at an event and I got CF ERROR on my Canon 30-D, something went seriously dodo and I am currently trying to recover 3953 images from this Lexar 4gb memory card, this still makes me sick.

Jim

 

Ahh okay. You're basically describing multiple redundant backups.

The first thing I would recommend is two separate NAS boxes; one for your live data (the stuff you use all the time) and one for your repository in the gun safe. This way it gets off your computer and can be accessed from elsewhere in the house and backups are automatic between devices. It's also a cheaper and more effective alternative to tape.

For the DVD's I would look at having a few extra, probably 40, and having a few more extra around just in case you have a few that decide to become coasters on you, or a spindle of 50. Keep in mind that burning this many DVD's on a regular basis means you'll be putting some serious wear and tear on the burner and you might want to invest in a couple spares, so I see why you want backups on something other than DVD's. This would make a good "once a year" backup, and then tape for monthly backups, and then the 2 separate arrays for daily/weekly backups.

If you really want to do what we call "Grandfather/Father/Son" backups (aka monthly, weekly, daily) then a good tape unit will run you upwards of two thousand dollars, not including everything (hardware, software, and extra tapes) you need to run it. If you're serious about it, LTO is preffered over DAT due to data storage offered (DAT72/DDS4 maxed out at 20GB, LTO can go up to 400GB) and DAT being older technology from the late 90's and early 2000's.

Connection speed should be gigabit by using a NetGear 8 port 10/100/1000 switch for around $60 (NewEgg has a deal making the NetGear GS108 for $45 right now) and you can plug your router/cable modem into it for internet connectivity. I don't recommend you use wireless in this setup because it will kill your bandwidth.

I also recommend you DIY for the NAS because you have specific needs that you require to be met, and most of the offerings for home use are very generic and horribly limited. This is one of the reasons why I posted Mashie's Mods, because it can be done rather easily if you have the time and willingness to do it.



Typing this up, I just realized I'm such a nerd.

 

If your PC has enough space in the front panel you can also install one of those hotswap sata frames and kick the data onto the disk- then remove the disk and store it in a fireproof place. You would need at least 2 disks for rotation.
The main advantage is that you have a backup that is completely disconnected from any possible power surge that can destroy the backup.
I use an almost similar system (lvm array of 5 2TB disks) in a double frontpane case for a customer that needs a daily backup of 9TB.
The LVM is built out of 5 mirrored devices- when ejecting one disk and inserting the other of the backup set each disk is remirrored.
In a disaster recovery scenario we got back to running condition within 10 minutes with a data set 14 hours old, and a rollback from the rsync backup to the time of crash within another 25 minutes. (backup hardware had been stored off site)

HTH

AlpineRAM