Will this work as fast and solid backup solution?

[gmehje]

Hi all,
Can any of you good folks let me know whether this is a good idea:

Octo 2,93 Mac pro (purchased)
OS/ applications on SSD (purchased and installed)
4TB internal RAID 0 stripe - 2 x RE4 WD (possibly 3 - not purchased)
RAID card (TBC ) (not purchased) possibly RocketRAID eSATA for Mac (http://www.hptmac.com/US/product.php?_index=57)
2 x western digital - My Book Studio Edition II 4TB - connected via eSATA - RAID 0 (not purchased)

The question is can I automatically use Time Machine to backup to both My Book Studio Edition II 4TB as extra backup?

All my data will be on Mac pro so I really really don't want to loose it!

I'll also probably do Blazeback as well - https://www.backblaze.com/internet-backup.html

Any other suggestions I would be delighted to hear for anyone. Many thanks in advance,
G

 

[Transporteur]

All my data will be on Mac pro so I really really don't want to loose it!

You should not calculate on Time Machine then!

SuperDuper and especially Carbon Copy Cloner both are not as 'fancy' as Time Machine, but to my mind, they are better for creating serious backups.

I personally use CCC. Of course the backups can be scheduled and they are bootable, even from Macs without Time Machine.

 

[pprior]

using raid0 for backup drive = fail

 

[UltraNEO*]

using raid0 for backup drive = fail

Yep, Yep!!

Double the hardware, twice the speed but double the moving parts, double the chances of failure!! And if they're from the same batch, there's a higher chance that all drives will fail at the same time I'm not saying it doesn't happen.. it does, just not often.



Sooooo damn strange how people simply don't understand the concept of backup. It's not there to duplicate your data to another work drive, with in the same system. You're suppose to create backups to a safe location, ideally externally and on removable mediums.

If it's really important, store it off-site, preferably in a fire-resistant safe in a top secret location!! But don't be a fool, make sure the backup's do work!!

 

[JesterJJZ]

I bury my backup drives in my yard and rotate them every two weeks...

 

[gmehje]

Thanks for your comments.I'd be most grateful if an alternative suggestion could be offered up.
To clarify. I was suggesting that I back up to two WD hard drives raid o's. Both external. And one would be stored in a safe. I like the suggestion of CCC - I didn't know it could schedule backups ( paid version perhaps).
Any thoughts grately appreciated.
G

 

[Transporteur]

I like the suggestion of CCC - I didn't know it could schedule backups ( paid version perhaps).
Any thoughts grately appreciated.
G

No, even the free version does.
That + scheduling the start of the Pro makes a nice automated backup every day (mine runs every day at 4 am).
Of course the external drives have to wake up when the pc does, but I guess those are FW drives so they should do.

My external drives (Iomega with WD Blacks in it) are set up in a Raid1 which prevents the backup from a drive crash (yes the controller itself can crash, but I've got two of them, which makes swapping pretty easy).
Adressing them directly, without a Raid, an cloning one drive to another would be even safer. I don't really trust these cheap Raid controllers.
But for now the Raid1 is fine. Next time I redo my setup I will erase the Raid and create another CCC schedule that clones the backup drives.

In that way the data is stored on three physical drives.

But that's just my personal backup solution (btw; all my data is also stored on a file server with an Raid5 Array, so the external drives are not the only 'backup')).

 

[nanofrog]

Thanks for your comments.I'd be most grateful if an alternative suggestion could be offered up.
To clarify. I was suggesting that I back up to two WD hard drives raid o's. Both external. And one would be stored in a safe. I like the suggestion of CCC - I didn't know it could schedule backups ( paid version perhaps).
Any thoughts grately appreciated.
G

Keep the RAID0 for the primary work drives. Then use a set of disks that the total capacity added together is large enough to do the job (ideally, the same or larger than the stripe set). But keep these drives separate, and split the files/folders to specific disks. Another way would to use JBOD, if the files, or a folder is too large for a 2TB drive. In either case, if one drive fails, you only lose the data on the failed disk, not all of it.

Now for location of the backup drives, you might want to consider using an eSATA card with an external enclosure. If you want speed for this, get a 4 port card and enclosure that sports 4x eSATA ports (1 per drive). Otherwise, use a 2 port card and PM (Port Multiplier) enclosure. They're actually similar in cost for the enclosures, but the cards will differ (just make sure they'll work in your system). Pay close attention to the '09 models, as they've had problems with 2 port eSATA cards (Silicon Image 3132 chips). Up to you.

Hope this helps.

 

[eclipse525]

I'm upgrading my backup solution and I was thinking of going with a "Drobo" and then using a service like "BackBlaze" or "Carbonite" to back up my Drobo. Does anybody think this is a good idea or is there a better way? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks!


~e

 

[nanofrog]

I'm upgrading my backup solution and I was thinking of going with a "Drobo" and then using a service like "BackBlaze" or "Carbonite" to back up my Drobo. Does anybody think this is a good idea or is there a better way? Any suggestions are welcomed. Thanks!


~e

It would certainly work.

I just hope either the capacity is small enough or your bandwidth (ISP) is large for the off site portion, as it can be rather slow.

 

[eclipse525]

It would certainly work.

I just hope either the capacity is small enough or your bandwidth (ISP) is large for the off site portion, as it can be rather slow.

You're right. I hear that depending on how much data you have, the initial upload to the offsite provider can take weeks but once it's done then it's just incremental sync backups.

My only concern is that for example, "backblaze" says unlimited storage for the $5.00 a month. Is this true? I got close to a 1 terabyte of data and want to make sure unlimited is really unlimited.

 

[nanofrog]

You're right. I hear that depending on how much data you have, the initial upload to the offsite provider can take weeks but once it's done then it's just incremental sync backups.

My only concern is that for example, "backblaze" says unlimited storage for the $5.00 a month. Is this true? I got close to a 1 terabyte of data and want to make sure unlimited is really unlimited.

The intitial is slow, but more importantly (to me at least), if something did go wrong with every other copy of the data (main data drives & primary backup), would be the time needed to restore from the internet. That's where bandwidth would be critical, as it's slow in the US. Even 8Mb/s is slow for that (likely the limit for personal ISP accounts).

I haven't checked into their site, so I've no idea on pricing. It does seem low though, and would cause me to hunt the fine print.

 

[alphaod]

You're right. I hear that depending on how much data you have, the initial upload to the offsite provider can take weeks but once it's done then it's just incremental sync backups.

My only concern is that for example, "backblaze" says unlimited storage for the $5.00 a month. Is this true? I got close to a 1 terabyte of data and want to make sure unlimited is really unlimited.

I don't know about backblaze, but for example my hosting plan on GoDaddy is "unlimited", but the print does say that you're limited by the physical capacity of a drive in the server, so in reality you are limited by physical barriers.

And please don't stripe your backup drive.

And UltraNEO* is absolutely spot on with regard to having failures with drives from the same batch; had a number of those; taught me to buy drives from different retailers.

 

[nanofrog]

Backblaze Terms

I took a look at backblaze's site, and noted a couple of things.

There seems to be no limit on capacity, but check out the following:

You agree to install and use a paid subscription to any of the Backblaze Products on only one device at a time. If you wish to protect multiple devices, each requires a separate paid subscription.

I can't help but think they can nail you with this one, if you're not careful. I'd send off an email to confirm their definition of separate/multiple devices of your system.

It could be as crazy as each drive being backed up on their service, or say the computer + a NAS box (single device) for example.

Any charges incurred by you to access Backblaze are your responsibility.

This would be applicable with any service, depending on your ISP (capacity fees due to exceeding any caps). But I just wanted to make sure you realize this. With the cap limits gaining acceptance by ISP's, this could become more of an issue, and it can add up if you're not carefull (assuming you have them now, or they will be imposed in the future).

Backblaze occasionally will provide automatic upgrades to improve your Backblaze experience, although these upgrades may not be consistent across all platform and devices. You agree to take no action to interfere with such automatic upgrades, scanning, and related services. Backblaze has the right at any time to change, modify, add to or discontinue or retire any aspect or feature of the Backblaze Products including, but not limited to, the software, hours of availability, equipment needed for access or use, the maximum disk space that will be allotted on Backblaze servers on your behalf, or the availability of Backblaze Products on any particular device or communications service. Backblaze has no obligation to provide you with notice of any such changes.

Personally, this makes me a little nervous, especially if the data is particularly sensitive.

Source.

It might be a decent service, but make sure you can live with the details, and get them to better describe the specifics if needed.

Good luck.