Backup software loves, hates and wants

[mj_1903]

We are in development of some backup software for Mac OS X because nothing that we have found does a "great" job in our opinion.

We were wondering if we could get some feedback on backup software that you might have used, what you liked about it, what you disliked and if you don't use backup software the reasons behind that.

We aim to make the perfect Mac OS X product and hopefully you guys can assist us making it.

Just to get the ball rolling, the reason we don't use much backup software currently is because of the length of time it takes to set up. We have some very interesting ideas on how to fix that which you should see in the initial release.

 

[munkle]

I use SuperDuper. Love it.

Extremely quick (after first clone), easy to use and comprehensive.

Any backup software should have a sync feature in my opinion.

 

[JDar]

Silverkeeper does not make claims to clone the disk but does result in a bootable backup and is very simple to set up. I like the set of exclusions from backup.

Scheduling is a must for unattended backups.

A warning if the operating system version is different (the OS that happens to exist on a prior backup on the destination disk) would be helpful, with option to erase and backup.

 

[jsalzer]

DVD Backup Woes

Whelp - I'm not sure if you're looking to do a "backup to DVD/CD" option. Near as I can tell, there are several good "backup to external HD" products, but DVD backup software is truly lacking.

I have yet to have Apple's Backup successfully get past the first disc without erroring.

Add an option to allow it to run as a super user, as many of us want to back up things that are outside of our User folder (like the Classic System Folder, Applications, and Library).

I use "Impression" right now. Very reliable, but only allows you to add folders additively. You can not yet exclude. For example, if I want to include an entire folder *except* one subfolder, I can't add the folder and put the subfolder on an exclude list - I must, instead, add all the good subfolders one by one. An exclusion list would be great.

Though, as of Tiger, my external DVD burner seems to have stopped working for anything relying on the Finder or iLife burning - and I have an odd feeling it's somehow linked to iPhoto's instability. Some day, I need to unplug it and bring it to work to see if it's the drive or the Pismo.

Documentation that a human can understand would be good, too. I pretty much like DataBackup for backup to an external HD, but I still am not sure if I'm choosing the right options. A clone, a simple clone, and a full backup are different from each other how? I read their documentation and am still not sure which settings to choose - and I'm just looking for a fire-wire-bootable synced backup. (Add confuzzlement icon.)

Hope that helps!

 

[Applespider]

Like munkle, I use SuperDuper! which I find very easy to use and which was very quick to set up (download, read and select options, hit back up) What I particularly like about it is that it explains very clearly what it's about to do before you start depending on what options you have set.

In my view, you'd have to offer something really special to make me try out any new backup software. The area that I feel is ignored slightly in backup software is not the 'clone' HD area but the back up selected areas where there is probably room for another set of options on the market.

 

[pulsewidth947]

The only concern I have with Backup Software is the aparent inability to sync more than 1 folder. For example, I have two Users folders on two seperate hard drives. I need them both backing up each night at about 12midnight when nobody is using the server.

From my brief look at software, aparently this is a difficult task

 

[mj_1903]

Like munkle, I use SuperDuper! which I find very easy to use and which was very quick to set up (download, read and select options, hit back up) What I particularly like about it is that it explains very clearly what it's about to do before you start depending on what options you have set.

In my view, you'd have to offer something really special to make me try out any new backup software. The area that I feel is ignored slightly in backup software is not the 'clone' HD area but the back up selected areas where there is probably room for another set of options on the market.

We are not planning to do a typical "clone" backup system, we are instead doing locations (documents, movies, preferences, etc.) and allowing archiving to CD/DVD, external HD's, network mounts, etc.

We will be releasing server software alongside it to allow simple setup of network backups to servers and RAID devices administered by a single person/computer.

The two keys that we are looking to focus on are simplicity and keyword/rule based creation of backup lists, much as smart folders work in the Finder and iTunes.

 

[ham_man]

We are not planning to do a typical "clone" backup system, we are instead doing locations (documents, movies, preferences, etc.) and allowing archiving to CD/DVD, external HD's, network mounts, etc.

We will be releasing server software alongside it to allow simple setup of network backups to servers and RAID devices administered by a single person/computer.

The two keys that we are looking to focus on are simplicity and keyword/rule based creation of backup lists, much as smart folders work in the Finder and iTunes.

I think the best thing would be to have the backups work flawlessly, then have a nice, intuitive, lean GUI that maps out exactly what you are doing. I for one hate interfaces that are poorly laid out and require a cypher to figure out what they mean...

 

[Lacero]

I use SilverKeeper to do automated backups each weekday at 2AM. Saves a lot of worry, especially when you can target specific work project folders and not your entire home directory, which I backup when needed.

 

[mj_1903]

I think the best thing would be to have the backups work flawlessly, then have a nice, intuitive, lean GUI that maps out exactly what you are doing. I for one hate interfaces that are poorly laid out and require a cypher to figure out what they mean...

If you find our other applications to be clean and intuitive then I think we will succeed in that department.

It seems from the number of people that we have talked to that there is no clear winner in terms of backups, everyone uses some decent but not great solution to a problem that is really quite simple.