everything is backed up here at home and I have been using Carbonite as well for over a year, Love Carbonite, have had no issues
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Backblaze vs Mozy vs Carbonite vs Jungle Disk
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+1 for Crashplan. No problems even when I bought a new MBP when they refreshed last.
Backup 1 computer with unlimited data for $5 a month or a whole family of computers - up to 10 - for $12.
Backup 1 computer with unlimited data for $5 a month or a whole family of computers - up to 10 - for $12.
Last edited:
Me too.
After trying BackBlaze and reading about Mozy, I landed on CrashPlan and have been loving it. Multiple backup sets to various destinations, unlimited storage, large individual file size, etc. Very slick.
Ended up with Crashplan
After trying Mozy and reading about Backblaze, I landed on CrashPlan and have been loving it. Multiple backup sets to various destinations, unlimited storage, large individual file size, etc. Very slick.
I went with the 4 year plan and it ends up less than $3/month for unlimited. Can't beat that... unless the company goes under..
After trying Mozy and reading about Backblaze, I landed on CrashPlan and have been loving it. Multiple backup sets to various destinations, unlimited storage, large individual file size, etc. Very slick.
I went with the 4 year plan and it ends up less than $3/month for unlimited. Can't beat that... unless the company goes under..
BackBlaze ++++
Howdy,
I've used Mozy, MozyHome, as well as MozyPro, and had many issues, technical problems, high CPU usage, etc...
The final straw for me was when they eliminated their unlimited plan.
I switched to BackBlaze, and that is what I'm also recommending officially to my clients. The offer unlimited backups, and they've been doing it profitably for a long time already (ie: Mozy's been bought and sold several times, also read up on Carbonite's plans for IPO even though they are not profitable, and indicate they won't be for the foreseeable future...)
BackBlaze is well done, Mac friendly, low CPU usage, no speed bandwidth limits or caps, and oh, committed to UNLIMITED backup size. They also have been very responsive with any requests for information, etc...
It's only $5/mo for unlimited, and less if you sign up for a year or more at a time.
Also, BackBlaze does ext. disks:
- Backblaze will automatically backup any USB or Firewire drive that was attached during install. You may add or remove external hard drives in the settings panel.
BackBlaze can backup 9GB or smaller files (only if they are 'solid', non-banded files that is!!), however, there is no effective limit for iPhoto, Aperture, or anything else that either uses a 'package' (which is just a special kind of directory or folder), or banded/striped bundle disk images. No problems.
So, yes your large Aperture library and iPhoto library will backup just fine.
They just recently now added this feature:
Backblaze can help recover your lost computer or stolen laptop by tracking it.
In answer to one user's post:
Yes, BackBlaze can be easily moved to a new computer, and no, you don't have to re-download or re-upload everything, not at all:
From BackBlaze FAQ's:
- You can transfer a backup state from your old computer or OS to your new one.
- Photos in Aperture, iPhoto, and Lightroom will be backed up
Backblaze will backup all your photos, no matter their size or the size of the Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom libraries. Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom store each photo in a packaged folder which you can see by right clicking (Control clicking) the library and select "Show Package Contents". Backblaze sees into each of these packages and backs up the individual photos. So even if your photo library is bigger then 9GB, Backblaze will still backup all the contents.
- Backblaze allows a user the option to restore to a USB hard drive for an additional fee. This is a great option if you lose a hard drive and need all your data sent to you FedEx overnight.
- Built from the ground up to be lightweight, we designed Backblaze and the FSCAN engine to be kind to your computer.
Read the full FAQ here:
http://www.backblaze.com/help.html
and detailed Mac FAQ's here:
http://www.backblaze.com/help-mac.html
I have yet to try CrashPlan+, as that might be a viable option too, perhaps I'll check that out someday.
Most other options were wayyyy too expensive for any large amounts of data.
The only downside I've seen on BackBlaze so far, is lack of Server backup support (at least their windows client says so), so, for now, MozyPro may still be a viable option for my client's online/off-site server backups. I've got that setup and running for a few businesses, and it's worked well, no real problems, and it's setup to only backup at like 2am each morning, so, no issues with CPU hogging on the server at that hour.
But otherwise, I've gotten rid of all MozyHome personal backups for myself and also for all clients, and would not recommend it.
Again, I'll have to check out with CrashPlan what their options are like for servers, and re-evaluate what options work well for servers, both Macintosh and Windows.
In case I've not made it clear, I'm a big fan of BackBlaze, and very satisfied customer as are my clients.
++
++
Cheers,
Daniel Feldman
=======================
MacMind
Certified Member of the
Apple Consultants Network
Apple Certified (ACHDS)
E-mail: Dan@MacMind.com
Phone: 1-408-454-6649
URL : www.MacMind.com
=======================
Howdy,
I've used Mozy, MozyHome, as well as MozyPro, and had many issues, technical problems, high CPU usage, etc...
The final straw for me was when they eliminated their unlimited plan.
I switched to BackBlaze, and that is what I'm also recommending officially to my clients. The offer unlimited backups, and they've been doing it profitably for a long time already (ie: Mozy's been bought and sold several times, also read up on Carbonite's plans for IPO even though they are not profitable, and indicate they won't be for the foreseeable future...)
BackBlaze is well done, Mac friendly, low CPU usage, no speed bandwidth limits or caps, and oh, committed to UNLIMITED backup size. They also have been very responsive with any requests for information, etc...
It's only $5/mo for unlimited, and less if you sign up for a year or more at a time.
Also, BackBlaze does ext. disks:
- Backblaze will automatically backup any USB or Firewire drive that was attached during install. You may add or remove external hard drives in the settings panel.
BackBlaze can backup 9GB or smaller files (only if they are 'solid', non-banded files that is!!), however, there is no effective limit for iPhoto, Aperture, or anything else that either uses a 'package' (which is just a special kind of directory or folder), or banded/striped bundle disk images. No problems.
So, yes your large Aperture library and iPhoto library will backup just fine.
They just recently now added this feature:
Backblaze can help recover your lost computer or stolen laptop by tracking it.
In answer to one user's post:
Yes, BackBlaze can be easily moved to a new computer, and no, you don't have to re-download or re-upload everything, not at all:
From BackBlaze FAQ's:
- You can transfer a backup state from your old computer or OS to your new one.
- Photos in Aperture, iPhoto, and Lightroom will be backed up
Backblaze will backup all your photos, no matter their size or the size of the Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom libraries. Aperture, iPhoto and Lightroom store each photo in a packaged folder which you can see by right clicking (Control clicking) the library and select "Show Package Contents". Backblaze sees into each of these packages and backs up the individual photos. So even if your photo library is bigger then 9GB, Backblaze will still backup all the contents.
- Backblaze allows a user the option to restore to a USB hard drive for an additional fee. This is a great option if you lose a hard drive and need all your data sent to you FedEx overnight.
- Built from the ground up to be lightweight, we designed Backblaze and the FSCAN engine to be kind to your computer.
Read the full FAQ here:
http://www.backblaze.com/help.html
and detailed Mac FAQ's here:
http://www.backblaze.com/help-mac.html
I have yet to try CrashPlan+, as that might be a viable option too, perhaps I'll check that out someday.
Most other options were wayyyy too expensive for any large amounts of data.
The only downside I've seen on BackBlaze so far, is lack of Server backup support (at least their windows client says so), so, for now, MozyPro may still be a viable option for my client's online/off-site server backups. I've got that setup and running for a few businesses, and it's worked well, no real problems, and it's setup to only backup at like 2am each morning, so, no issues with CPU hogging on the server at that hour.
But otherwise, I've gotten rid of all MozyHome personal backups for myself and also for all clients, and would not recommend it.
Again, I'll have to check out with CrashPlan what their options are like for servers, and re-evaluate what options work well for servers, both Macintosh and Windows.
In case I've not made it clear, I'm a big fan of BackBlaze, and very satisfied customer as are my clients.
++
++Cheers,
Daniel Feldman
=======================
MacMind
Certified Member of the
Apple Consultants Network
Apple Certified (ACHDS)
E-mail: Dan@MacMind.com
Phone: 1-408-454-6649
URL : www.MacMind.com
=======================
I'm pretty sure that CrashPlan+ offers is the same as BlackBlaze - and I have been very happy with CrashPlan.
I can't remember why I went with CrashPlan over BackBlaze, but I tried Mozy and it was sooooo slow.
BackBlaze ++++
Howdy,
One reason I think I didn't try the CrashPlan+ option, was they didn't offer a monthly bill (at like $5-10/mo), but you had to commit to a full 1 year, same as with Carbonite which I also have not yet tried, if I recall correctly.
Cheers,
Daniel Feldman
=======================
MacMind
Certified Member of the
Apple Consultants Network
Apple Certified (ACHDS)
E-mail: Dan@MacMind.com
Phone: 1-408-454-6649
URL : www.MacMind.com
=======================
Howdy,
One reason I think I didn't try the CrashPlan+ option, was they didn't offer a monthly bill (at like $5-10/mo), but you had to commit to a full 1 year, same as with Carbonite which I also have not yet tried, if I recall correctly.
Cheers,
Daniel Feldman
=======================
MacMind
Certified Member of the
Apple Consultants Network
Apple Certified (ACHDS)
E-mail: Dan@MacMind.com
Phone: 1-408-454-6649
URL : www.MacMind.com
=======================
Yes BUT you can stop anytime and they'll give your momey back for the unused months
They also give you a free 30 day trial, which was able to give me confidence that I liked their service.
They do offer a monthly plan at $5/month for unlimited storage
http://www.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl#single-plan
Tried installing Carbonite, the software on the Mac sucked. I ended up going with Mozy, and it is absolutely fantastic, really slick and reliable. Am backing up more now actually.
I would also be hesitant to go wtih Carbonite, because they are offering unlimited, which is not a sustainable business model. Mozy seems to have their business model down pat, and their technology is second to none.
For stuff I am working on that year, like documents and such, I use Dropbox, since I use it anyways for synchronization/ web access. For stuff like photos as well a older documents, I have Mozy. That is in addition to a drive that's in a fireproof safe, and a normal Time Machine drive that's at my laptop's docking spot.
EDIT: Also, Mozy offers a few months free when you pay for two years at a time.
I would also be hesitant to go wtih Carbonite, because they are offering unlimited, which is not a sustainable business model. Mozy seems to have their business model down pat, and their technology is second to none.
For stuff I am working on that year, like documents and such, I use Dropbox, since I use it anyways for synchronization/ web access. For stuff like photos as well a older documents, I have Mozy. That is in addition to a drive that's in a fireproof safe, and a normal Time Machine drive that's at my laptop's docking spot.
EDIT: Also, Mozy offers a few months free when you pay for two years at a time.
carbonite sucks. yes, it has an incredible offer of backing up your entire hard drive. BUT, it only uploads a gigabyte or two a day. so, with 300 or so gigabytes of data, you are looking at nearly 1 YEAR before you have everything backed up. in the meantime, it is useless. i gave it a try for a week or so, and contacted them to ask if there was any way to speed it up, but all i got were form emails. no way.
i use sugarsync. wonderful service. great price. and, incredible features, like streaming music. i backed up 60gb of data in a few days, and in a couple of weeks i don't even think carbonite had made it to 20gb.
i use sugarsync. wonderful service. great price. and, incredible features, like streaming music. i backed up 60gb of data in a few days, and in a couple of weeks i don't even think carbonite had made it to 20gb.
I started using mozy back when there was only the one guy running it. I don't know how much different that is now but since they ditched their unlimited model earlier this year I had to ditch them. Don't assume that unlimited = unsustainable, it doesn't by any means.
Carbonite for me was easy to configure and worked just fine. And there is also crashplan which has unlimited online backups and will also backup to externals at the same time. So you get both options.
Also, dropbox has major security issues. You can read their latest TOS for yourself or listen to a recent episode of Security Now where they cover this in detail.
Better to use spideroak or Waula.
When I used carbonite it worked fine for me. I had 300gb backed up in 2 weeks.
Could be an issue with your ISP throttling. Or you were using your machine a lot during that period and since carbonite is supposed to not slow you down it would have throttled itself.
Unlimited is unsustainable if they are using enterprise grade storage. Backblaze has an interesting model, and an interesting ethos. I like how they offer unlimited, and how they have open-sourced their hardware design. The trade-off here is that your data is not on enterprise-grade gear, like Mozy, who uses EMC2. Backblaze's servers are definitely a kludge. They don't have as good of cooling as enterprise gear, they don't have full redundancy, ECC ram, and they are not on a SAN type of system.
While none of these services offer replication over multiple physical data centers (presumably that would double the cost), I would at least like to have a service that is using enterprise-grade gear, as online backup is a last, last resort. Here's what I would do to recover lost data:
1. Before the drive goes south, replace it based on SMART data.
2. Put it in the freezer to make it work again.
3. Pull it off of my Time Machine 3TB backup drive
4. Pull it off of my other, occasionally backed up drive that is in a fireproof safe
5. Online backup
Of course, there is an argument for Backblaze, in that you can back up a lot more a lot more cheaply.
I'm not worried about Dropbox's security issues. If the token file is compromised, my keyboard probably would be too, so no worries there. I'm much more worried about the integrity of my data not being lost than about preventing a random stranger or the government from copying it. I mean really, I hope they brought a pillow. Heck, they can have it. The lack of encryption also allows Dropbox to not upload data that they already have on their servers from another user, which can speed things up a LOT when saving files that would already be up there. If you fully encrypt, you lose this feature.
Had MAJOR issue with Backblaze on Lion upgrade
Anyone else have Backblaze problems on a Lion upgrade? I couldn't figure out what was going on, so had to pay for someone to come look at it. After about an hour, he found BB snailing along on a 120GB backup on a HDD that was already fully backed up before the Lion conversion. So I turned it off, uninstalled the app and and the whole system woke up. Oddly, it wasn't showing up in the Activity Monitor as a resource hog.
Anyone else have Backblaze problems on a Lion upgrade? I couldn't figure out what was going on, so had to pay for someone to come look at it. After about an hour, he found BB snailing along on a 120GB backup on a HDD that was already fully backed up before the Lion conversion. So I turned it off, uninstalled the app and and the whole system woke up. Oddly, it wasn't showing up in the Activity Monitor as a resource hog.
Had you upgraded Backblaze? They had an update available around the same time I did my Lion upgrade. I haven't noticed anything wrong with my computer.
Just one little comment about all the positive recommendations of these vendors.
Until you've done a complete successful restore of your data, you shouldn't be recommending anyone.
Anyone can throw bits out across the 'net... it's getting them back that's the complicated bit.
Who here has actually tested whether they can restore?
Until you've done a complete successful restore of your data, you shouldn't be recommending anyone.
Anyone can throw bits out across the 'net... it's getting them back that's the complicated bit.
Who here has actually tested whether they can restore?
I've done some limited tests with Backblaze, which I've been using for close to 5 months now. I have roughly 50GB backed up on Backblaze, and I've browsed through the tree online a few times to see if everything looks like it's there (it does look that way), and I've downloaded some limited sets of backed up data to see if random files selected from various places in the tree were actually usable (they all were).
I've never tried a full test, because downloading 50GB would not be fun on my 4G internet connection. But I've done enough spot checking to feel confident in the reliability of the solution, and at any rate, I don't see Backblaze (or any online backup solution) as a full backup plan. I see it as a fallback plan. If local backups have failed, or have somehow been lost or destroyed (incompetence/theft/disaster), then it's nice to know that my data is still safe on the Backblaze servers. Plus, my local (weekly) backups are certainly not as up to date as my Backblaze backup, which does automatic incremental backups every hour, or somewhere in that ballpark. If I do ever actually have to retrieve *everything* from Backblaze, I'll be going with the option of buying an external hard disk from them with my files on it.
No problems when I switched from SL to Lion, either, even when I was running the developer previews.
I did a few times with both Mozy and now Crashplan. Not a complete restore of all my data but enough to believe!!
I've done the same. Limited restores, but enough to feel comfortable about it. I've got almost 1TB up on Backblaze. I'm not doing a full restore of that unless absolutely needed.