Backup Solution

[Paradox]

I know plenty of you use DVDs and save on several hard drives etc, but I'd like to point you in the direction of an easier solution. I came across this in a photography magazine I'm subscribed to, and I've been using it a few months now.

Mozy is essentially an online backup. You download a bit of software, in it you select what you want backed up, and then you tell it to do so, and off it goes. Now the free package gives you 2gb of storage which is pretty feeble. But for something like $50 per year you can get unlimited backup - I'm currently backing up an extra 20gb of files. The initial backup obviously takes a while, but from then on you can set it to run at night and it only backs up new files. So you have the assurance that while you're sleeping all of your files are being safely stored elsewhere.

I'm not plugging the product though it might sound like it - I just find it fantastic for ensuring all my photos and other files are safe elsewhere, without the inconvenience of having DVDs coming out of my ears. $50/£34 a year doesn't seem too much to me to keep all your files safe. Just a thought. :)

http://mozy.com/

[K1W1]

Sounds good but I'm going to do some checking before I think about committing.
What happens to your data if they go belly up in 2, 3 or 4 years?
What happens if you forget to renew your subscription?

I like the concept, I have been looking for something like this.

[wirehunt]

Thought about these types of thing's myself. The biggest issue I've noticed is the cost in both uploading and then downloading, which seems to cost even more. A terabyte is only costing $180-200 NZD, now I know other countries will be getting it a lot cheaper.
So why bother?

[timmciglobal]

I use 1 TB hard drives, got 2 of them duplicates in a firesafe.

Galidin

[tim11]

Hard drives are so cheap. 1TB costs only around $180 AUD. And I just bought a 320GB WD passport USB for $129 AUD. Bye bye USB thumb drives.... I will remember you forever though.

[BBPhoto]

I use an internal HD backup plus an external RAID array. Every month or so I back up my main catalog and store it off-site. The online solutions are a nice option but still very expensive compared to physical storage. I would still keep a backup of whatever I upload online just in case too.

[Csae]

I could see this being an awesome idea for someone who travels alot.

Though, i got a 500gig for about 60$Us... And i just backed up 100gigs of photos. I use a filesync to sync my two photo hard-drives for backups.

Now, if i was to factor in canadian bandwidth limits, the relative upload speed, it'd be a pretty big pain.

Factoring in things like Upload speed makes it also pretty painful while travelling, which is where it would really shine. You can carry all the Raids you want, once your backpack gets stolen, the shits gone, so having a backup online would be a lifesaver in those conditions.

[BBPhoto]

Now, if i was to factor in canadian bandwidth limits, the relative upload speed, it'd be a pretty big pain.

?? Bandwidth limits? Relative upload speed? That all depends on what provider, plan and technology you are using. It isn't a Canadian thing per-se. I could see this scenario if you were using Bell ADSL on a base plan or something though. My connection is lightning fast upload and download with no data cap on either.

[Csae]

Well almost All providers in Quebec, have a cap, and even their fastest plans don't pump out a very high upload rate. I've heard from a few canadian friends suffering of the same thing in other provinces, and i know of quite a few states side guys who havent even heard of bandwidth limits t'ill recently.

The only way to find a unl bw plan in the whole province is to find some smaller biz offering it, and hope for the best, i've heard good things and bad experiences with those types.

This also strenghtens my argument, this thing would be amazing while traveling, but you never know what connection the hotel will end up with.

[BBPhoto]

Well almost All providers in Quebec, have a cap, and even their fastest plans don't pump out a very high upload rate. I've heard from a few canadian friends suffering of the same thing in other provinces, and i know of quite a few states side guys who havent even heard of bandwidth limits t'ill recently.

The only way to find a unl bw plan in the whole province is to find some smaller biz offering it, and hope for the best, i've heard good things and bad experiences with those types.

This also strenghtens my argument, this thing would be amazing while traveling, but you never know what connection the hotel will end up with.

What you speak of is not limited to Quebec, Canada or North America. Internet service providers all around the world use caps for different reasons, be it so they can accommodate more customers or to distribute bandwidth evenly across the client community, etc. This being said the most common reason for caps is so that the provider may offer different service level packages at different rates.

The insinuation that Canadian Internet providers are doing something underhanded or dishonest by capping rates is inaccurate. Several government studies of the state of Internet in Canada determined that the marketplace offered so many products, suppliers and technologies that regulation by the CRTC was unnecessary. Simply put, competition is forcing the providers to offer fast, reliable service at competitive rates. If a client isn't happy with his speed or provider then he or she may simply change provider or purchase a faster connection. Of course, this is not to say that technological challenges such as network upgrades, equipment failure and a dynamic customer base do not affect network speed or availability at times and in any free market some are simply better than others.

Now due to the fact that this is a photography forum and we are probably boring the heck out of people I'll make this my last post on this subject. I may not have your vast network of friends to rely on but I do have diplomas from Cegep and University in networking, telecommunications, and MIS. In my nearly two decades of working in telecommunications I have also gained certification in a variety of other data, telecom and routing technologies. If you would like to continue this you may PM me and I would be more than happy to provide you with more information on your Internet provider or technology specifically or Internet in general.

[Csae]

Pm'd

This is one of those times where id be more then happy to be wrong :D

Though my network of friends aren't telecomunications experts, just people who handle networks and computer repairs, a few guys who run webdomains and larger sites...

[James DeRuvo DHQ]

Another good option is Carbonite. About $50 a year.

[fionndruinne]

I've got 25GB, yeah, that's 25,000 MB... for free! Windows Live Spaces, that gimmicky Microsoft version of a social network, plus whatever else it is, offers "Skydrive" now, and as a longtime Hotmail user I got the free 25GB of storage. Come to think of it, I don't know who they're giving it out to, maybe everyone, but it's nice to have. I'm getting all my files off of CDs (sketchy means of storage) and uploading them to Skydrive, I figure even if the service doesn't last forever, it's a more reliable means of storage than I have now.

And that ain't a plug, either. I think Spaces is kind of dumb, and it'll never replace Facebook et al, but this still a cool feature. Take advantage of the software giant, like they take advantage of you :p