On-Line Backup Service

[TheRoff]

I would like to hear anyone's recommendations or experience with on-line backup services. Every time I hear my current external hard drives click on, I always hope it isn't the last time.


Thanks,


Larry

[Sean Setters]

I guess it depends on how much you want to back up....


Honestly, I use a Flickr Pro account to back up the images I really want to keep. Otherwise, I have a CD storage case that can hold 200 DVDs. I started burning a backup copy of every paid session I did to a DVD. I figured they were safest that way...

[HiFiGuy1]

Ever consider a small RAID NAS? I would. If you get a box with RAID 1 (mirroring), it has redundancy, so you won't lose any data even if a drive dies. RAID 5 is even better, but it requires at least three drives, whereas RAID 1 can be done with only two.

[peety3]

The redundancy of RAID is useless if your house burns down, etc. You're also dependent on how well the NAS reports disk problems, and how well it manages the drive swap when problems happen.


I'm a huge fan of Jungle Disk. $2/month service fee, then $0.15/GB storage pay-as-you-use, and I believe no bandwidth cost if you use Rackspace CF as the storage site. The software is simple yet effective - backups can be as often as 15 minutes, or as infrequent as when you click the button. It can also be a networked storage drive. It offers version control, so it can keep up to perhaps 10 revisions of a particular file (up to 60 days old). I haven't played much with that feature though.


I use it for personal files and key photographic files while "in progress". I keep a second set of storage drives at my parents' house as my off-site safety net.

[bob williams]

I wanted to bump this thread and let you guys know about a new backup service I recently signed up for. I was useing MOZY for several months, but when they changed thier pricing structure and doubled thier cost for me, I dropped them earlier this year. Since then I have been contemplating an NAS raid box of at least 2 TB But, but preferably 4TB but the cost for a decent one is in excess of $300. So I went back to looking for online services and found the reviews of "Just Cloud" solid across the board. Unlimited backup for $9.95 a month---and cheaper if you buy a year or two in advance.

Just cloud's interface is extremely easy and has run flawlessly on my Windows 7---even while I do other backups, manipulate photos and video and surf the web, Nothing seems to bother it---It just keeps on running. It also has an option for a sync folder which will sync all files in it across multiple machines, i.e. desktop, labtop, phone, pad etc.

So, for the moment, I am extremely happy with this service: Just Cloud

My backup scheme currently consists of this:

One onboard backup drive for all of my documents and pictures and other files set to backup daily.
One desktop 2 TB raid box for weekly system backup
Just cloud for offsite daily file backups
and I also have a 1tb mini drive that I backup up my pictures and files on about once a month and I keep this one in a fire-proof safe.

So for the moment, I am confident that I can recover most or all of my files in the event of disaster.

Bob

[Raid]

Unlimited backup for $9.95 a month---and cheaper if you buy a year or two in advance.

Bob

Hi Bob, its morning which means I'm very slow, so forgive me if this is a dumb question.

There is one thing I don't understand... how do you get your data to the cloud provider without your line data charges and speed killing you. Do you have an unlimited data contract? For me to upload my local NAS would take about 6 months, I don't want to work out the cost.

Tony

[StapledPhoto]

I haven't used any backup services online so I can't really reccomend any, but why not just get a second external hard drive with all of the same files on it? Internal and external storage is super cheap. There are also cheap or free software solutions out there that'll sync files for you between folders / different hard drives but I personally just do it manually.


I have all of my photos on my computer's drive and on an external backup and my only concern now is a robbery / fire / flood so I'm thinking of keeping another external with family nearby or at work. This will inevitably not be completely up to date but will be a lot better than losing everything. I'm thinking that I'll take my home external drive which will be up to date and periodically swap it out with the one I keep elsewhere.

[Jordan]

Hmm... yeah I don't use an online storage site either... but could be a good idea. I just keep everything I'm "working on" on my main internal HD of my MacBook Pro (which doesn't do much traveling) and then I make backups onto my main external HD every couple of days. Then once the data is in those two places, I can breath easy. If every decide to remove it from one of those two places (which I often do actually) then I burn in to a DVD first. I have a DVD binder of all my backups labeled well. Also, that second drive (the external...) I make backups of it onto another external here and there too. I'm paranoid about losing data. But I know if I do lose anything, it will be when I least expect it. I've found external hard drives seem to be the most dangerous place for them - so if you only have ONE and you use it a lot, and I would back them up to a second and/or DVD soon!

[crosbyharbison]

I back up my lightroom library onto my ftp server (ixwebhosting.com) in case of natural disaster at home.


I keep jpeg's on flickr with my pro account but find that with my 5DII some pictures exceed the 20 megabyte limit /:


lastly I have a copy of my lightroom library mirrored on a second internal drive in case a single drive fails.

[uberbloke]

I dislike the idea of my personal stuff residing in the cloud and like to have more control over my images... so this is what I do...


2 external hard disks, from different manufactures.


Backup computer to external disk 1 when camera memory cards are full


External disk 2 stored at in-laws house.


Every month or when necessary, backup to disk 2 (means having to talk to in-laws :-).


Replace each external disk every 3 years, staggered by a year.


This works for me, it does require a bit of discipline but I know that every image is always in at least 2 places... replacing the external drives on a rolling basis has so far meant that every time I replace them, they are MUCH bigger than the ones they are replacing and I have yet to have a problem with disk space!


In case fire I have the remote backup.


NOTE


I used to backup to CD (in the old days) but have experienced CDdegradationand been unable toretrievesome images... no experience with DVD, but copying the data has always worked for m