Online Backup\Storage Service Recommendations

mrdaviesuk

mrdaviesuk

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Paul
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I'm currently looking for an online storage location for my images.

At present I have most of my images either on my desktop or laptop, which are then sync'd to my server and periodically I archive off older stuff that I don't want "online" do DVD.

However - I've recently experienced a hardware failure on my server and had an old DVD which had failed. Therefore I would prefer to have an additional complimentary online solution.

Anyone have experience of something which isn't prohibitively expensive given that it's not my first and only solution?
 
A couple of things worth noting here, how much storage are you looking for and how much are you willing to pay?

I have looked in to this a few times, and most companies are fine with you uploading JPEGs but they do not like RAW files too much.

Humyo (sp) offer me 25gb of photo storage and 5gb of other items for free. Another thing to remember is that the speed of your upload will determin how fast you get your files form one place to the other. My upload is not that fast 40kb max so uploading does take a while.
 
Dylanlewis2000 said:
A couple of things worth noting here, how much storage are you looking for and how much are you willing to pay?

I have looked in to this a few times, and most companies are fine with you uploading JPEGs but they do not like RAW files too much.

Humyo (sp) offer me 25gb of photo storage and 5gb of other items for free. Another thing to remember is that the speed of your upload will determin how fast you get your files form one place to the other. My upload is not that fast 40kb max so uploading does take a while.
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As this is going to be a long term solution, I would prefer a host who can handle some up to and above 1Tb - however I suspect this is going to be prohibitively expensive.

Currently I have about 200Gb worth of images on my server that I would like to have in the cloud (or at the very least offsite).

I work in IT, so I understand the limitations of the solution (i.e. upload speed) - and the reality may well be that the volume of data makes this type of solution cost prohibitive for me.

I'm considering the options of adding a tape backup solution to my server, and storing the tapes at my parents home - or alternatively using removable HDDs/caddies. However, the online option is appealing is it could be an automated process, simplifying the solutuon a great deal.
 
The other alternative you have is to get some webspace with unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage. You could then put a CMS site up and a custom interface and have it all locked down for you.
 
Be careful with 'unlimited' there's no such thing and you could end up losing your site and its contents over a 'fair usage' disagreement.
NAS with mirrored Raid or a dedicated server/hosting with daily backup but 1TB is going to set you back a bit!
 
One other point to bear in mind is the time it's going to take to both upload and download images.

If you do the costing I think you'll find haveing a couple of Hard drives to store the imagres on is going to be much cheaper and quicker.
 
I run a pc with 2 synced drives solely for image installed internally, not in any form of RAID.

These then back up through software to 3 further external and swapped hard drives. One of which is always kept offsite.

The External drives also carry a weekly backup of my Outlook and a system image of my C drive for ease of repair if needed.

Don't use onlines storage as too slow and not a safe enough option.
 
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If it's got to be remote online storage then consider CrashPlan and use family/friends machines or yours at their place. You could always do the initial full back-up on site and then remote incremental back-ups.
 
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I'd still be very cautious of using cloud based storage, aside from the issues of upload/download speeds that have already been mentioned, there is still the issue of where your data is actually stored and who has access to it.

If the company you use offshores your data, in other words the servers are physically located outside of the uk there are all kinds of issues surrounding copyright and who actually owns the data once you upload it to them.

Then there is the issue of security - once you upload it, who has access to it? Is their access control up to scratch - are their employees and technicians vetted in any way?

I work in data security and the cloud is still very new and extreme care should be taken.

I'd go with a local backup solution involving at least 2 copies of the data and perhaps a portable USB drive that can be kept off-site at a parents for example - which should ideally be encrypted incase it is lost or stolen. :thumbs:
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys.

My intention was not to store the data in the clear on the server, it would always be compressed and secured and also I wouldn't likely need quick acccess to any of the content and it wouldn't be my sole copy of the data.

However, I think this was more of an exercise in confirming what I already new about online storage solutions : for the amount of data I want to store it's just going to cost too much.

My current server solution is already a NAS style box with RAID with all of the machines hanging off a 1500kva UPS, so it not overly concerned about hardware based data loss - it's more "if my house burned down".

So I think either hosting a server on the network at my work and just using that (possibly a perk of being the BOFH ;))- or grabbing some external HDD's and rotating a couple to the parents or the office is going to be the best trade off.
 
CrashPlan addresses the issue of data security by encrypting your data before it's uploaded and the servers you use can be machines of your own or those of your friends/family. It's free for personal use too.
 
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