Backblaze. I've had a great experience with both Mac and Windows machines, and you can also sync connected drives (though not NAS).
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Popular Backup Solution CrashPlan Discontinuing Personal Subscriptions
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Fair? Double the price for a crippled version? Well, whatever suits you. No computer to computer, no deal. Then again, raising price that much is also something I won't accept.
So I did a long chat session with them today. I wanted to add a couple things.
Good
1. Later in 2018 annual payments will be possible
2. They claim migration is simple and takes less than 5 min
3. The same general principles of unlimited retention remains. Adding external drives does not add to your machine total.
5. Mobile devices do not count to the total amount of machines
6.
Bad
1. The migration can only do 5TB.Unclear if you have more what your options are.
2. We still have the weak M-F type hours and support (ie no weekend or after hours)
3. When you must start paying the monthly seems to depend on your subscription
4. Client may still be the lousy java based one.
Bottom line-
I suggest every customer do a web chat with them on their site and see what your exact situation is.
Just some thoughts based on my web chat with them
Good
1. Later in 2018 annual payments will be possible
2. They claim migration is simple and takes less than 5 min
3. The same general principles of unlimited retention remains. Adding external drives does not add to your machine total.
5. Mobile devices do not count to the total amount of machines
6.
Bad
1. The migration can only do 5TB.Unclear if you have more what your options are.
2. We still have the weak M-F type hours and support (ie no weekend or after hours)
3. When you must start paying the monthly seems to depend on your subscription
4. Client may still be the lousy java based one.
Bottom line-
I suggest every customer do a web chat with them on their site and see what your exact situation is.
Just some thoughts based on my web chat with them
This is a big blow to me. CrashPlan's family plan was easily the best deal there was and on top of that it had support for Linux, Windows, and macOS. I have my entire family on the family plan. Almost all other services charge per client, which is problematic when you have a bunch of computers but not a lot of data. (In my case, my data is probably larger than all the other machines, six, combined.) 10 clients, unlimited storage, and unlimited versions. I think they're probably transitioning because it's probably too good of a deal.
I haven't found a solution I like, although after looking at BackBlaze B2 + Arq that might work. I have a Mac mini running macOS Server and handling Time Machine for all the clients on my main network. I can simply back that up. The price ends up being cheaper than CrashPlan since it's unlikely I'll exceed 10TB but... that doesn't help my second network and it has a pair of Windows clients.
I haven't found a solution I like, although after looking at BackBlaze B2 + Arq that might work. I have a Mac mini running macOS Server and handling Time Machine for all the clients on my main network. I can simply back that up. The price ends up being cheaper than CrashPlan since it's unlikely I'll exceed 10TB but... that doesn't help my second network and it has a pair of Windows clients.
I hear all of your issues but when I thought about this more and more, everyone will have 2-3+ TB on crashplan. Any migration will be a headache. And then there is those pesky bandwidth caps that almost everyone has which, would make any migration take weeks or even months.
I would bite the bullet for the moment and wait and see what the annual pricing is. To me, the annual was the most cost effective.
Yes, some Backblaze engineers have been on reddit saying that they're expecting to have slowdowns until the initial wave tapers off or they catch up with upgrades. "we did not expect this"
Migration for my 1 machine was dead easy. Client even closed and updated itself to the Pro version. Still Java based, but I never really had an issue with it. Could it be better....sure, but essentially it just sits there and backs up my data.
For when you pay, basically you get free Pro service for the remainder of your current contract. For me that was 9/2018. Then beginning on that date you get the 75% off for the next 12 months. Then after 12 months it goes to regular rate. The migration spells it all out very clearly. So for me I don't pay the new price until 9/2019.
If you have over 5TB you still get the deal, but your backups are erased and you start over.
I'm also using crashplan under a subscription for myself with a NAS, & I have my family backing up using the free p2p because they don't make enough to backup. I'll probably end up going Backblaze, but I need a solution for my family that remains free & uses that P2P option with transfers up to 1TB.
Looking at Resilio Sync as an option. Also, they run Windows, not OS X like me.
Looking at Resilio Sync as an option. Also, they run Windows, not OS X like me.
Sad to see Crashplan go. I have one external drive with photos that I only connect once every couple months or so (I don't take that many photos and when I do, I automatically backup to Google Photos...Crashplan was more of a secondary backup for the original files) - what I liked was that it wouldn't delete your files even if you don't connect your external hard drive for >30 days.
Backblaze seems to have a limitation that forces you to connect that hard drive every 30 days or so (in fact, it seems that they want you to have your external hard drives connected all the time) - which is a little inconvenient.
As far as I can tell, Backblaze is probably the best remaining option for me once my Crashplan runs out (seems like a good UI + easy way to order a hard drive with your backups in case my current external drive fails). Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Backblaze seems to have a limitation that forces you to connect that hard drive every 30 days or so (in fact, it seems that they want you to have your external hard drives connected all the time) - which is a little inconvenient.
As far as I can tell, Backblaze is probably the best remaining option for me once my Crashplan runs out (seems like a good UI + easy way to order a hard drive with your backups in case my current external drive fails). Does anyone have any other suggestions?
I do the same, but I also use an offsite backup. Offsite backups are crucial.I use real hard drives (private/always available) and a fire proof safe. Got Carbon Copy Cloner?
The day I realized I had a problem with on site backups: seeing houses in my neighborhood float away during a flood
My CrashPlan family subscription is good until March 2020. Next year they will switch me to the business plan then I can continue its at a 75% discount until March 2121. Plenty of time to find other options. Currently have 3 computers backing up with total space of 2.5tb.
If one device has more than 5TB backed up, you are screwed for that one device.
I posted a bunch of info on page 3 after my earlier conversation with them. Yes, migration is pretty much instantaneous, BUT then Crashplan starts re-assessing the data again, so my pending backups are taking longer to start uploading again.
I was with them for 4 years. Through the entire time they kept promising a non-Java client. I guess they've given up now ...
I have a large number of (small) files (git repositories). Their client kept hanging, I guess because it was approaching a memory limit set for Java. I constantly had to fiddle with it.
Now I've been using Backblaze for over a year. Literally zero attention needed, it's just chugging along and using virtually no memory. The restore process was much nicer in CrashPlan, though. But it's only my secondary backup, anyway.
I have a large number of (small) files (git repositories). Their client kept hanging, I guess because it was approaching a memory limit set for Java. I constantly had to fiddle with it.
Now I've been using Backblaze for over a year. Literally zero attention needed, it's just chugging along and using virtually no memory. The restore process was much nicer in CrashPlan, though. But it's only my secondary backup, anyway.
Backblaze has a very light footprint on my Mini in Sierra. Once you get that initial backup done, you can throttle the upload way back. Just read the sections on Inherit Backup State vs Inherit Backup License and know that distinction. I've had great support from them.
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And for media, there's M-DISC BluRay, too. I employ redundant backups, but I still use Backblaze because it's offsite, out of state, and cheaper than the "large box" at the bank.
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11TB would be thinner. I wouldn't be comfortable with Apple as my backup service unless they employed Two Factor Verification and a Private Encryption Key that is proven to be stronger than that of Backblaze. For myself, it's important that the hard disk "storage pods" are in the United States. Also, IMDTDP, I don't like putting all of my security in one basket. 'Cause that's how lotion ends up being put in the basket.
CrashPlan suggests moving to Carbonite with a 50% discount which means 1) the same price as CrashPlan... 2) ...with a 250 GB limit. My Macbook has a 512 GB drive and my full backup – I have tons of music I made + tons of photos in RAW format – is about 8 TB. With Carbonite that would amount to approximately 1 kidney a month, since you can buy increments of 100 GB.
Is it different in the US perhaps? Do Carbonite offer an unlimited plan at $5-10 a month?
Is it different in the US perhaps? Do Carbonite offer an unlimited plan at $5-10 a month?
i was trying out backblaze but then i realized their dumb 30 day retention of deleted files. i think they should increase it to 180 days for me to even consider backblaze as a solution. i've had many instances of when i needed to restore a particular file that was deleted longer than 30 days ago.
It might be cheaper –in your case– to rotate a few spinners in a 3.5" to USB 3 drive dock, then repackage the drives, keeping a couple in a safe-deposit box at a bank.
I was concerned I'd hit the 5TB but apparently not. That said one friend had a potentially decent suggestion for those that are only a bit over 5TB and that is to exclude whatever files you can to get you under 5TB, ideally concentrating on the less important stuff or things you have backed up elsewhere. Migrate over and then re-include it in the backup.
Not ideal but if the above works it still saves 5TB worth of uploads and likely a lot of time.
Anyway I'm disapointed with the news but I'll switch to Pro and take the 75% off. I have four devices currently so the $10 a month is roughly equivalent to my family plan anyway. I didn't use local backups.
Prior to the 18 month mark I'll reconsider the options on the market and weigh up the costs of something self managed or see what Backblaze etc are doing. Right now the family plan and discounted rates still makes Crashplan the best option for me based on the volume of data I have and I feel no urgency to jump given pricing and offerings elsewhere will change with time.