Backup plan — does iCloud fit into my situation?

[Kierkegaarden]

I currently don’t have a consistent backup plan system, and I’m wondering how iCloud could fit into the picture.

My devices:
Mac desktop
Mac laptop
iPad
iPhone

Backup options I’m considering:
TM + iC
TM + iC + CCC
TM + iC + CCC + Arq
(CCC = carbon copy cloner, Arq = cloud backup management software)

Notes:
1. If iCloud can sync all files across all devices, would I need to just use TM on one Mac?
2. My docs consist of mainly Sketch, Affinity Designer, and iWork files.
3. I’m looking for simplicity and not something overly complex that only government agencies might need.

Am I looking at this the wrong way? Are there other options I should consider?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Gregg2]

That looks like a good strategy. I use TM daily, iC monthly, and a flash drive for frequently edited files each time I edit.

 

[synicalx1]

The rule of thumb for backups is 3-2-1; 3 copies of your data, on at least 2 different storage media, and at least 1 of them off site.

So assuming your Time Machine backup is to an external hard drive or something similar, then once you add iCloud to that you're pretty much set assuming your iCloud is backing up all the same data as Time Machine.

If you're using iCloud to sync all of your working files across your devices, then yes I think it would make sense to just have TM backing up one machine. Desktop would make sense in my mind, since it's easier to just leave a USB HDD hooked up to that 24/7 and let TM do it's thing. If you have the capacity to do so, then a once a month "extra" backup with a tool like CCC would also be a nice fail safe I guess as well.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

The rule of thumb for backups is 3-2-1; 3 copies of your data, on at least 2 different storage media, and at least 1 of them off site.

So assuming your Time Machine backup is to an external hard drive or something similar, then once you add iCloud to that you're pretty much set assuming your iCloud is backing up all the same data as Time Machine.

If you're using iCloud to sync all of your working files across your devices, then yes I think it would make sense to just have TM backing up one machine. Desktop would make sense in my mind, since it's easier to just leave a USB HDD hooked up to that 24/7 and let TM do it's thing. If you have the capacity to do so, then a once a month "extra" backup with a tool like CCC would also be a nice fail safe I guess as well.

Exactly what I was thinking ~ leave the drive hooked to the desktop and have TM run throughout the day.

Arq looks nice, but probably overkill for my needs. I do like CCC. I was thinking of connecting two drives to have TM run redundant backups, so I could possibly have one drive for TM and one drive for CCC.

 

[synicalx1]

If you wanted to be really paranoid, I'd suggest leaving the CCC drive offline and manually taking a backup at a set interval. In my mind at least, the purpose of a CCC backup in your use case is to protect you from anything related to your Mac/iCloud account being compromised - for example if someone gains access to your Mini, or it gets hit with some sort of malware that then gets "backed up" by Time Machine etc.

 

[Kierkegaarden]

If you wanted to be really paranoid, I'd suggest leaving the CCC drive offline and manually taking a backup at a set interval. In my mind at least, the purpose of a CCC backup in your use case is to protect you from anything related to your Mac/iCloud account being compromised - for example if someone gains access to your Mini, or it gets hit with some sort of malware that then gets "backed up" by Time Machine etc.

Great suggestion ~ I will do cloning once per week after a virus/malware scan. Thanks!