Comments for Can I do my backups over the internet?

Comment from Rahul Mehta on 2008-02-12

2008-02-12T18:20:51Z

I too faced the same problem - same data size. The solution I deviced is as follows:
1. Made a mirror of Primary site on the secondary site.
2. Synched both the sites overnight. Since only changed data is transfered, time taken and bandwidth used is reasonable amount.
3. Run same backup setup on both the sites to create two identical off-site sets.
4. I am using VPN connection between the two sites to ensure data security over Internet.

The key points are Mirror and VPN. Rest is routine.

- Rahul.

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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Comment from Chris Buechler on 2008-02-09

2008-02-10T07:46:25Z

Every good online backup solution will encrypt the data before it's sent, using a key stored on the local machine only. This means if the provider is compromised, the data is useless (assuming your key is strong enough to make cracking impractical - in actuality impossible unless whoever wants the data has access to millions of dollars of computing resources to successfully brute force your key).

This also means your key is critically important, because you can't recover your own data without it. I recommend keeping a copy of it offsite somewhere, like a safe deposit box at your bank. And use something randomly generated and 10+ characters long including upper and lower case letters, numbers and other characters.

For full image backups, I use external hard drives that I rotate from a bank safe deposit box every 2-3 months or so. In the case of a significant disaster like a fire that destroys my data, a 2-3 month or even older full image backup isn't a problem to restore and quickly get back to the previous state of your PC. I use Backup Exec System Recovery because it lets you restore to any hardware, with most imaging solutions you must restore to identical or near-identical hardware otherwise Windows won't work.

Other data is far more critical, like the things people commonly keep in their My Documents folder. That is where online backups are an excellent solution because you aren't exposed to significant data loss. No home or home office user is going to consistently make the effort to get data backed up offsite on a daily basis.

Given my advocating of online backup solutions, it might seem like I have a stake in them, but that's not the case at all. :) I just know it's the only way many home and small office users will ever get backups off-site on a timely basis, and I've seen too many times what happens when a solid backup strategy isn't in place.

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Comment from alex lehaen on 2008-02-09

2008-02-09T15:38:55Z

Hello there,
i'm using image software(acronis) for many years now, and i experienced that this type of back up is not working 100%. in some cases the image file on a second hard drive get's damaged for some reason. I realy would like to know the reasons so a back up gets cocksure.

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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Comment from David Ball on 2008-02-07

2008-02-07T15:11:46Z

Then there are the questions of security, reliability and sustainability.

How secure is your data in the on-line location? Is your hosting solution trustworthy? Will they take the steps necessary to keep the rest of the world from seeing your data? Would it be a problem if the hosting company saw your data? What can you do to secure that information? Placing your data into an encrypted virtual disk, such as TruCrypt, would certainly protect your data, but you wouldn't be able to perform incremental backups. Be cautious of other "secure" solutions, such as encrypted ZIP files, which may be easily decrypted.

Will your hosting solution be consistently available when your system is ready to backup? If you're only sending large packets to an online service once a week, you probably want that service to be available when your packet is ready to send.

Finally, will the backup host be there when you need them most. Choose a solution that will stand the test of time and not quickly disappear (with your data) as so many Internet solutions have.

I'm working on an offsite solution, but won't implement it until I get 15/15 mbps FIOS at the house. Then I'll use TruCrypt to build encrypted volumes that I will then store on my web site hosting solution in a secure FTP folder. I won't store my drive image - just my docs, photos, and music.

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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Comment from Chris Buechler on 2008-02-06

2008-02-07T07:42:25Z

I strongly disagree that online backups don't make sense. I was initially highly skeptical, but you'd be surprised how well over the wire backups can work even over relatively slow connections. I use an enterprise-class data replication package to backup several servers to a remote disaster recovery facility on just a T1. I've seen file servers with hundreds of active users replicate changes in real time using less than 512 Kb. Not heavy usage with lots of huge files, your typical office with MS Office files, PDFs, etc.

First, they're smart about replicating changes. When a file changes, usually not every single bit of that file is changed. Only the changed bits are replicated.

Second, the data is compressed before being sent over the wire. Depending on the type of data, this can make a huge difference. Not with already-compressed formats like mp3, jpg, zip, etc. but significant reduction for MS Office docs, text files, PDFs, and many other file types.

The initial backup takes a long time, though compression will make the numbers better than stated above, possibly significantly better depending on the file types.

Online backup services generally aren't cheap, but they're convenient and they work. There are some pretty low cost options available for single PC backups, though enterprise-class is another story.

For the few who work with a lot of very large files or have a couple hundred GB of data or more, it's probably not a reasonable option for all your data. Even in that circumstance, I wouldn't discount the ability to use online backup for some of your files. Maybe not suitable for your entire MP3 catalog, but very suitable for your My Documents folder.

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2008-02-04

2008-02-05T04:32:26Z

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Most backup programs should support this. I know that
Acronis TrueImage will. It allows you to create a boot disk
that you can boot from and then restore an image to a hard
disk.

Leo

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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Comment from Ken B on 2008-02-04

2008-02-04T21:03:19Z

Are you aware of any Windows backup utilities that include "bare metal" restore capabilities? By that, I mean the ability to recover after a hard drive crash, without first installing Windows.

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A comment on: Can I do my backups over the internet?

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