Cloud storage for iPhoto backup?

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

I have a rather extensive iPhoto library of currently 27GB of data.
All pictures in full 8-12MP resolution from various cameras I have owned the past 10 years.

As I recently became a dad security of those pictures are now the top 1 priority on my IT budget!

I want a cloud service that can do the following:

Upload a full copy of my iPhoto library (the whole 27GB file)
Upload it without I have to move it to a special folder
Upload it as soon there have been a change to the file or on a specific time everyday
Top secure and trusted company

So far I have found out in my own research that GoogleDrive, SkyDrive, iCloud and various smaller companies can't do what I want.
Dropbox is a very nice way to do it, but it's expensive and annoying I have to move it to their own folder for uploading.

The two I have found could be a good choice is Amazon Cloud Drive and SugarSync - out of those two Amazon is bigger and cheaper so I think I prefer them so far...

What can you recommend??

hafr · Aug 21, 2012

AT0MAC said:
I have a rather extensive iPhoto library of currently 27GB of data.
All pictures in full 8-12MP resolution from various cameras I have owned the past 10 years.

As I recently became a dad security of those pictures are now the top 1 priority on my IT budget!

I want a cloud service that can do the following:

Upload a full copy of my iPhoto library (the whole 27GB file)

Upload it without I have to move it to a special folder

Upload it as soon there have been a change to the file or on a specific time everyday

Top secure and trusted company

So far I have found out in my own research that GoogleDrive, SkyDrive, iCloud and various smaller companies can't do what I want.
Dropbox is a very nice way to do it, but it's expensive and annoying I have to move it to their own folder for uploading.

The two I have found could be a good choice is Amazon Cloud Drive and SugarSync - out of those two Amazon is bigger and cheaper so I think I prefer them so far...

What can you recommend??

I must say I like iDrive for backups. Don't know how good it is at backing up parts of an iPhoto library rather than the whole thing though.

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

hafr said:
I must say I like iDrive for backups. Don't know how good it is at backing up parts of an iPhoto library rather than the whole thing though.

I do exactly want to back up the whole thing, but is that possible with iDrive? I saw the photoroll feature that only backs up the last 1000 photos, very limited when I have beyond 12.000...

windowpain · Aug 21, 2012

I use Backblaze.
Maybe not entirely what you are after (as it can back up everything) but it will definitely back up the photos to the cloud, on a set-it and forget it basis.

Off the top of my head, you could also check out;
Dolly Drive,
Crashplan,
Mozy.

(not a recommendation..just suggestions ..)

hafr · Aug 21, 2012

AT0MAC said:
I do exactly want to back up the whole thing, but is that possible with iDrive? I saw the photoroll feature that only backs up the last 1000 photos, very limited when I have beyond 12.000...

I understand you want to back up all of the photos, what I'm saying is I don't know whether it will do incremental updates of your iPhoto library or if it will back up the whole library every time there has been a change made. But it seems like it will, so you can forget that comment all together.

Yes, of course you can back up the whole library. I don't even know what you mean with the photoroll feature, can't find anything about it on their webpage.

zhenya · Aug 21, 2012

I have been backing up my nearly 60GB iPhoto library to Crashplan for years as part of my overall cloud backup plan. Works flawlessly - handles the file size no problem, only backs up the changed blocks so no massive uploads for the most part.

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

hafr said:
I understand you want to back up all of the photos, what I'm saying is I don't know whether it will do incremental updates of your iPhoto library or if it will back up the whole library every time there has been a change made. But it seems like it will, so you can forget that comment all together.

Yes, of course you can back up the whole library. I don't even know what you mean with the photoroll feature, can't find anything about it on their webpage.

Sorry, was not home at the time I wrote so by photo roll I meant Photo Stream...
Anyway, after checking the price iCloud is out - $100 for 55GB is just too much when I can get the same amount for $25 at Amazon...

hafr · Aug 21, 2012

AT0MAC said:
Sorry, was not home at the time I wrote so by photo roll I meant Photo Stream...
Anyway, after checking the price iCloud is out - $100 for 55GB is just too much when I can get the same amount for $25 at Amazon...

iDrive and iCloud are not the same thing.

http://www.idrive.com

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

hafr said:
iDrive and iCloud are not the same thing.

http://www.idrive.com

Ah yes, I just focused on the i...

Their app looks like a toy, but their features seems nice.

I am really in doubt about who to choose...

iDrive - don't like the look of their app and for future use it's only win/mac - no mobile.
DollyDrive looks real nice, just wondering what I don't get as it's much cheeper than many of the others (except that they don't support any mobile platforms)?
Amazon seems very nice, but they don't support iPhone (if I ever buy one of those)?
BackBlaze, really nice with unlimited plans and independent serious company, but no mobile apps of any kind if I ever buy an Android/iPhone.
SugarSync seems very nice, can't find any faults there.
Crashplan looks really nice, one of the cheapest I can find that have app support and looks serious (even have Blowfish encryption as standard for subscribers!)

cariocap · Aug 21, 2012

Remote Backup @ BQ Internet

use it for years

hafr · Aug 21, 2012

AT0MAC said:
Ah yes, I just focused on the i...

Their app looks like a toy, but their features seems nice.

I am really in doubt about who to choose...

iDrive - don't like the look of their app and for future use it's only win/mac - no mobile.

It seems like you have looked at iDriveSync instead of iDrive... Here, check this out. I use it to back up my cell phone and the odd catalogues, works like a charm. http://www.idrive.com/index.html

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

BQ Internet looks like someones basement projekt... Not a place I would put my money - no info on their site if they have file size limits, what security they use or any trial of their service.

I was looking at the right iDrive, not the sync version. I still think they look cheesy and not so serious.

Have signed up for a trial at crashplan and am currently waiting the next 19 hours to see how well they perform after the initial full backup.

nep61 · Aug 21, 2012

Alternate storage

I have a 65 GB iPhoto library... I have a BluRay burner and blank disks... I use iCloud but I would never trust any "cloud" service to securely store photos that I treasure that much.... So, I Made 2 copies... Keep one in a separate location from my home.... Just for piece of mind.... I'm just sayin'

cariocap · Aug 21, 2012

AT0MAC said:
BQ Internet looks like someones basement projekt... Not a place I would put my money - no info on their site if they have file size limits, what security they use or any trial of their service.

I was looking at the right iDrive, not the sync version. I still think they look cheesy and not so serious.

Have signed up for a trial at crashplan and am currently waiting the next 19 hours to see how well they perform after the initial full backup.

BQ Internet is a serius company. I use their services since 2006, without one interruption.
There is no info about file size limits because there is no file size limits. The limit is the space you pay. And there is no file type restriction and the transfers are faster.

BQ Internet Features:

Features:
Daily backup using Rsync technology
RAID6 storage
SSH encryption
On-the-fly compression
Get back online instantly with a Samba mount
FTP access
No data transfer limit
No setup fee

AT0MAC · Aug 21, 2012

nep61 said:
I have a 65 GB iPhoto library... I have a BluRay burner and blank disks... I use iCloud but I would never trust any "cloud" service to securely store photos that I treasure that much.... So, I Made 2 copies... Keep one in a separate location from my home.... Just for piece of mind.... I'm just sayin'

I think it's super inconvenient to first up buy a high quality reliable external drive /or burner and discs and then secondly remember from time to time to bring it back and forth from the secret location - and thirdly, if the location is not secret enough the drive might get stolen or lost when someone else finds it...

In my opinion off site storage in the cloud seems much more simple, and by choosing a well known company with superb security I should be able to keep my data safe without looses.

----------

cariocap said:
BQ Internet is a serius company. I use their services since 2006, without one interruption.
There is no info about file size limits because there is no file size limits. The limit is the space you pay. And there is no file type restriction and the transfers are faster.

BQ Internet Features:

Features:
Daily backup using Rsync technology
RAID6 storage
SSH encryption
On-the-fly compression
Get back online instantly with a Samba mount
FTP access
No data transfer limit
No setup fee

One other thing though, they mount as a FTP location or Samba, that means I would have to copy/paste my files onto their service right?
I would like something that can think on it's own, out of mind safety.

digitalhen · Aug 22, 2012

AT0MAC said:
Ah yes, I just focused on the i...

Their app looks like a toy, but their features seems nice.

I am really in doubt about who to choose...

iDrive - don't like the look of their app and for future use it's only win/mac - no mobile.

DollyDrive looks real nice, just wondering what I don't get as it's much cheeper than many of the others (except that they don't support any mobile platforms)?

Amazon seems very nice, but they don't support iPhone (if I ever buy one of those)?

BackBlaze, really nice with unlimited plans and independent serious company, but no mobile apps of any kind if I ever buy an Android/iPhone.

SugarSync seems very nice, can't find any faults there.

Crashplan looks really nice, one of the cheapest I can find that have app support and looks serious (even have Blowfish encryption as standard for subscribers!)

+1 for Backblaze. My family and I have been using them for over a year, with around 5TB backed up in total.

We've saved ourselves from a total hard drive failure once already with them.

hafr · Aug 22, 2012

AT0MAC said:
I was looking at the right iDrive, not the sync version. I still think they look cheesy and not so serious.

You find iDrive cheesy and not so serious, and you find Crashplan serious? Haha, okay

They've been around for 16 years by the way, quite impressive for an online storage solution... And how you missed that they have a smart phone app that supports both accessing the backed up files and backing up the cell phone is quite odd.

AT0MAC said:
I think it's super inconvenient to first up buy a high quality reliable external drive /or burner and discs and then secondly remember from time to time to bring it back and forth from the secret location - and thirdly, if the location is not secret enough the drive might get stolen or lost when someone else finds it...

In my opinion off site storage in the cloud seems much more simple, and by choosing a well known company with superb security I should be able to keep my data safe without looses.

The way I do it is I alternate between two drives. I have one at home and one in a desk at work, I switch every Monday. Encrypted backups means that even if they do get stolen, they won't be able to access any of the data. There is no extra travelling involved, the extra time it takes me per month to do this is counted in minutes on one hand.

Less inconvenient than having an initial backup that takes over 19 hours, and then more than that to restore if needed...

AT0MAC · Aug 22, 2012

Crashplan seems to work well, but I might try out a few other alternatives before I decide. Also considering upgrading my good old Lacie external drive to fit an BD burner so I can make 50GB backups to BD-RE discs. They are easy to hide/travel with and the burner can be used for playing back movies/ripping when Im not burning.

If I do so then the first year will cost me on a monthly basis around $20 and next year only the $5 for CrashPlan per month. That's pretty cheap for double the data protection!

fishcake · Aug 22, 2012

Also look at JungleDisk and Arq

Have a look at JungleDisk and Arq too.

I've used JungleDisk for a few years without problem, I have it set up with Amazon S3 for storage. They support multiple platforms so it's possible to backup from your Mac and access a backed up file from an iOs device, not that I've ever needed to use that feature.

I noticed positive comments about Arq in the forums recently, it's a newer Mac only product that also uses Amazon as the storage destination, but I have no experience with the software.

Unlike some of the other services which offer storage in steps, ie you pay for upto 25Gb or 50Gb etc, using Amazon is limitless. You pay for what you use and as long as they have storage you can have more.

AT0MAC · Aug 22, 2012

fishcake said:
Have a look at JungleDisk and Arq too.

I've used JungleDisk for a few years without problem, I have it set up with Amazon S3 for storage. They support multiple platforms so it's possible to backup from your Mac and access a backed up file from an iOs device, not that I've ever needed to use that feature.

I noticed positive comments about Arq in the forums recently, it's a newer Mac only product that also uses Amazon as the storage destination, but I have no experience with the software.

Unlike some of the other services which offer storage in steps, ie you pay for upto 25Gb or 50Gb etc, using Amazon is limitless. You pay for what you use and as long as they have storage you can have more.

Why had nobody told me about Arq before?

It looks absolute awesome - and another thing - I love that they use S3 data plans were you only pay for what you need. The CrashPlan I am testing now is actually a bit slow, slowed down sometime during the night so I now have 2 days left before the first upload is completed

zhenya · Aug 22, 2012

I can't speak to iDrive's performance or service, but I will note that they cost $15/month for 500GB vs. CrashPlan's $3-$5/month unlimited for a single computer, or $6-$12/month for an unlimited household.

Before I used Crashplan I was on Jungledisk. Everything seemed fine until one day I rearranged my folder structure a bit, (but did not change any files), at which point Jungledisk began to re-upload nearly my entire 500+GB of data. I let it complete before passing judgment, and even talked to technical support, and sure enough, it had duplicated my data. This is bad enough just using the extra bandwidth, but when you are also on a pay per GB plan, suddenly your bill gets more expensive every month if you aren't careful to manually trim your backups. They also had a terrible mobile app at the time.

Crashplan has been great because it is intelligent not to do this in the first place (I have massively re-organized my file structure of nearly 1TB several times with no problems), if it does, you aren't paying anything extra (and this also frees you up to keep an unlimited number of file versions including deletions), and it's also among the least expensive service available. I should note that I have always been able to upload to Crashplan at my full 5Mb limit. Restores have not been as fast as I'd like, however.

Point is, make sure to test any system thoroughly before committing.

----------

AT0MAC said:
Why had nobody told me about Arq before?

It looks absolute awesome - and another thing - I love that they use S3 data plans were you only pay for what you need.

S3 is not actually a good deal for most home users. It's 12.5 cents per GB for storage, and you are charged additionally for put/copy requests and for downloading your own data. See my comments above, but per GB backup costs will grow quickly over time - both as your data needs grow and as your number of backup versions increase - not to mention accidental duplication of data. It's a headache.

Again, a fancy or polished UI is not what's important. Test out a whole bunch of potential use cases before committing.

scarred · Aug 22, 2012

AT0MAC said:
Why had nobody told me about Arq before?

It looks absolute awesome - and another thing - I love that they use S3 data plans were you only pay for what you need. The CrashPlan I am testing now is actually a bit slow, slowed down sometime during the night so I now have 2 days left before the first upload is completed

I just found it as well, and I immediately signed up. I love that is a Mac specific solution. The developer(s) put a lot of consideration into what OS X does differently with files (lots of metadata, permissions). He is still actively developing the software... glacier from amazon was announced yesterday, and he is already considering whether it is applicable for Arq.

S3 is a little bit more expensive if you compare GB per GB, but you pay for what you use, so with that it becomes immediately competitive (for me). I also use the Reduced redundancy storage, making it cheaper. I set Arq to limit my backups to 35GB, which is 3 bucks a month.

Jowl · Aug 22, 2012

First of all, Congrats on becoming a dad - pretty awesome isn't it?

This does not quite fit all the criteria you stated. However, it may have some use if you want to share photo's with family in the future. I am using it as a mobileme galleries replacement

http://www.phanfare.com

it has iPhoto export as well as it's own rather good app. There's mobile versions too of course. I also install the app on my wife's phone, which makes it easy to transfer / share photo's that she has taken - which I have a a (non-published) album for that I can import into iPhoto.

I think if I recommed it to you via an e-mail, we both receive a discount. There is a free trial period first of course. If it's something you'd consider, i'll PM you a referal.

AT0MAC · Aug 22, 2012

Jowl said:
First of all, Congrats on becoming a dad - pretty awesome isn't it?

Yep it is!

Back to the thread... I tried Arq and S3 for a few hours now and first up it looked pretty awesome, but when I think about it it will be pretty expensive in the long run... My photo library is currently 27GB, but what if I one day decide to also upload my video library that is 600GB and rising!
...then a unlimited plan looks more interesting.

Also on another note, yes Amazon supports encryption, but it's their key as a AES256 and the login is saved as an KeyChain that could potentially be copied... Tried out a few mac encryption softwares to see if it was manageable to encrypt before uploading, but didn't really find any good solutions.

CrashPlan is still my favorite - they encrypt in 448bit BlowFish with a key by my own design - and the program requires a login that only I have, in case you want to restore or change settings.

Also the comment about rearranging the data seems pretty reasonable to consider, that with an unlimited plan even if the software gets confused and back up twice, then the price is he same.

So... 2 days to go and my photo library is in the cloud.

MonkeySee.... · Aug 22, 2012

I hate to say it but Picasa and Picasa Web were absolutly ace for backign up photos. Auto synced and everything

Cloud storage for iPhoto backup?

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