Online backup?

[luke duke]

Has anyone found an online backup site that will let you backup some of the data on your unRAID server at no extra cost? I want to backup my pictures and my Acronis backups from my c drives to an online site. I have heard that some of them won't let you backup network drives or they charge you extra to do so.

[NAS]

I hear good things about rsync.net but haven't used them personally. I have emailed them some questions and they came back promptly, politely and informatively.

[luke duke]

rsync.net is too expensive for me. It would cost me more than $100/mo

[NAS]

You backing up 100GB of data to an online account?

[prostuff1]

I am current using Mozy Home on my Mac.  It is only 5/month for unlimited storage.  They cap the upload for the home accounts so it takes a long time to get the stuff backed up.  I am currently at the 6 day mark for about 40GB worth of data.

 

I have not tried it with any of the networked drives yet but i will be doing that sometime next week.

[luke duke]

I am current using Mozy Home on my Mac.  It is only 5/month for unlimited storage.  They cap the upload for the home accounts so it takes a long time to get the stuff backed up.  I am currently at the 6 day mark for about 40GB worth of data.

 

I have not tried it with any of the networked drives yet but i will be doing that sometime next week.

 

Please post your results.

 

Yes, I would like to store ~100GB to an online account. I want to store the Acronis backup files of my c: drives and all of my pictures. I am fully aware that it could take a month to get the initial backup done.

[NAS]

Please remember to take into account you are placing all your trust on their security. I wouldn't even consider trusting someone with a drive image as the ramifications if someone stole it are huge. Obviously you have though about encryption but choose a proper peer reviewed open source encryption package.

 

Personally for this amount of data i would setup a rsync server on a friends PC. Last thing you need is 3 days to download your image when you need it most.

 

Have you considered that alot of these backup packages dont diff images very well meaning you may have to upload the whole image every time. Although you have probably considered this and are going to use acronis diff and merging tools (remember encryption can mess up diffs as well).

 

Will be very interested to hear how you get on and your final procedure and choices

[Joe L.]

Even the smallest of bank safe-deposit boxes will hold a disk drive.  You might consider a small USB drive (or two) and swap them on a monthly basis.  Then you have a tiny bit better control over security you don't even need to encrypt unless you are really paranoid.

 

(I've had one bad experience with data being stolen from a shared service provider server.

 

The "bad-guys" were then trying to extort money from the poor e-commerce-shop owner I had ordered from, otherwise, the "bad-guys" were going to publish his customer list and our credit card data on the web.  The shop owner called in the FBI.

 

It was eye-opening... here I was, ordering something, giving my credit card number over the phone, and yet I was still subjected to the lack-of security of a vendor I purchased from because the server holding the orders was on his ISP.  The shop-owner in turn was relying on the security of the ISP vendor he used to host his business.  They were not up to date with the very latest patches... and all it took was one "bad-guy" to make me have to cancel my card and get re-issued a new CC number.  )

 

Joe L.

 

 

[Adrian]

An entire image of your OS is completely unnecessary to backup online. The OS and all the programs that are installed can be re-installed. You should only worry about the stuff that you can't replace. Documents, Pictures, etc... As for these services that claim unlimited storage for a low price, there are countless of online backup providers that are no longer in business. Look at HP, they just got out of this business like a month ago. I've tried several (including Mozy) and the one I ended up with and currently still use is JungleDisk (now owned by RackSpace) which uses Amazon's S3 API. You pay $2 a month for JungleDisk (software is free) and signup for an Amazon S3 account. It looks like it now relies on JungleDisk/Rackspace as they basically got rid of the flat rate for the software and the web interface and block updates are enabled as the default. I currently pay like 17 cents a month to store a bit under 1gig of my important files (I've had it before Rackspace bought them so I currently don't pay them the monthly fee). And the files are stored with Amazon who isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

 

Edited: Updated to reflect current pricing module after Rackspace bought them

[RobJ]

I second the recommendation of Jungle Disk.  It is more flexible, has outstanding tech support and a great group of people behind it, and gives you much more control, with excellent pricing for most but not all situations.  It has Windows, Mac, and some Linux versions.  It is constantly being upgraded too, not just little tweaks, but in substantial ways, with very useful functionality.  This is my favorite for competent users.

 

I still do recommend Mozy, even with all of its irritants, for the less technical.  It's an almost no-configuration tool, sufficiently comprehensive for most people, that just works, in the background, keeping almost all of the most important user files backed up, for a decent price.  This is the one to stick on granny's computer.