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Online backup can you restore LIKE time machine or do they have their own interfaces?

TwoBytes

TwoBytes

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jun 2, 2008
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All the regular names, carbonite/mozy/crashplan... if you need to access an old file, can you view your backup like a time machine drive or does it have it's own interface?

I'm looking for an online backup solution that allows me to access my files like time machine (seeing the starts, going back in time...etc)


Sorry for the strange question but any recommendations for a service that can do this would be great! I have a physical drive but would like an online one in case of fires/theft, etc
 
Thanks miles - that's disappointing :(

Wiz - Even with personal key encryption?
 
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musio said:
Thanks miles - that's disappointing :(

Wiz - Even with personal key encryption?
Click to expand...

I use Crashplan+... and you can go back in time to get older versions... but the UI is NOT slick like TimeMachine. TM is very "Apple-like" and in a class by itself. CP+ is more "calendar like".

Having said that... I recommend a dual backup strategy, where one is to the cloud and a second backup to TM which gives you local "slick UI" for version recovery.

Regarding security... do not get hung up with people who do not trust the cloud for backup. They are in the same category as people who keep their money in a mattress or sewn into the linings of their old suits hanging in their closet (someone just lost their life savings because they inadvertently gave the wrong suit to Goodwill).

Cloud backup, with 448b encryption on your own machine is ~infinitely more secure than keeping data in your own house in a fireproof vault. It is also ~infinitely more reliable than any backup scheme that requires you to manually rotate drives off-site. It is also more secure than the data encryption that protects the world banking system.

/Jim
 
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Thanks for the reply Jim. Crashplan does sound good from reading your experience, but afraid I'd like the use of TM online...

What I was hoping for was some sort of online drive I could literally use Time machine to encrypt backups with for the interface and by the way I work.

Just been reading about amazon s3 - could this work?
 
musio said:
Thanks for the reply Jim. Crashplan does sound good from reading your experience, but afraid I'd like the use of TM online...

What I was hoping for was some sort of online drive I could literally use Time machine to encrypt backups with for the interface and by the way I work.

Just been reading about amazon s3 - could this work?
Click to expand...

The problem with Amazon S3 (from what I remember) is that they charge for volume of data stored, plus bandwidth. It appears to be inexpensive, but when you do the math, you see that it does get expensive really quickly.

A second thing to consider is that you are much safer using two different backup solutions... rather than using one solution to dual locations. Every backup solution has idiosyncrasies, which can either be endemic to the program itself, or because of inadvertent user settings. By using two different programs for backup, one locally and one to the cloud... you are minimizing errors due to those factors.

/Jim
 
I'd recommend external disks, with a combination of Time Machine and Carbon Copy Cloner. You can then take one of the external disks offsite. This is what I do, so that I always have a back up offsite in a safe place.
 
You probably need different strategies depending on the files you have and the work you do.

With some files you definitely need versioning, as in TM. But not for all; for example, music and photos. Those don't change (at least the masters; you might be editing either). So one backup strategy might be to archive those without versioning. S3 can be nice in part because you only pay for what you use.

Clones are great if you need a backup you can boot from, if say you only have one computer. That way you're up and running again. But again, they don't version and are relatively static.

Cloud storage can be the safest and most secure, unless you've got a particularly theft and fireproof storage site.

Dropbox does versioning, and so does SpiderOak. And I believe Sugar Synch might. Rather more expensive, but again you don't have to backup everything with the same type of backup to the same place.

Rob
 
One thing to consider when looking at cloud backup is the duration of versioning of deleted items. This is one of the reasons I switched from Mozy to Crashplan+ a few years ago (before Mozy dropped unlimited).

Mozy keeps versions... but if you delete a file, they delete the backups after 30 days. By contrast, CP+ never deletes files you have deleted... unless you instruct it to.

Generally, it not that important... unless you perform an unintentional deletion. If that happens, it might be months until you notice, and it may be too late. I felt that CP+ with "never delete" deleted items was an important point.

/Jim
 
There's lots of good advice here but just wanted to confirm something.
Can amazon S3 function like an online TM?

I currently use a drobo to backup which has drive redundancy...though transporting it from location to offsite always causes drobos to loose a drive and rebuild which is something that happens to all my 4 drobo's which isn't a very secure feeling..
 
I was going to say dolly drive as well. That is one of the few that I am aware of. Personally I use back blaze for my offsite and have a time capsule for my local backup. This way short of Armageddon occurring randomly, my stuff will always be backed up. Hope this helps!
 
Dolly Drive looks slick... but is seems very expensive.

I am backing up 6 computers with a total aggregate storage of 2.1 TB (and growing).

  • Dolly Drive, the cheapest program would be pre-paying for 2 years at a price of $1728 or $72/month.
  • Crashplan+, the cheapest program would be pre-paying for 4 years at a price of $288 or $6/month.

For us... Dolly Drive would be 12X more expensive.

/Jim
 
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