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Online/Cloud Storage Options

W

WesM63

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
3,266
I'm not even sure if this is where this belongs. if not, feel free to move it.


I'm in need of a backup/cloud storage mechanism for the gf photography's business.

Before I start, I should mention that all data is stored on the file server in my sig. A FlexRaid system with 30TB of space. The business is currently using around 70GB which is also backed up on a portable HDD.

This leads me to the real question. I need some sort of off site, web accessible backup/storage.

I've looked around at the big cloud providers (amazon, copy, box, dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc) and none of them really seem to foot the bill or even seem to be reasonable.

For all intensive purposes, lets say we need 1TB of space. That just seems unreasonable for cloud providers.

Now, I have found the "backup" sites seem to have better deals but most of them want to backup the entire PC or have limited to no features when it comes to NAS/Mapped drives. (I only need/want to backup one directory that's currently 70GB)

I'm currently using idrive professional with 1TB of storage for $45/yr which is the best price/storage I could find. The only issue is the upload speed which seems to be a common problem with them. I started at 450Kbps and dropped down to 19Kbps. As you can imagine, 12hrs later and i'm only 16% complete. That just won't do. (I've contacted tech support, but from what i've read that doesn't seem to go very far)

So, suggestions, comments are much appreciated!
 
I've been considering setting up mine using Symform.

Cool thing about it is that since it is p2p, you can "pay" for your cloud storage space by sharing space on your storage box.

You get half of the space you share back for free.

It's only half because of the p2p nature of it, and not knowing if a peer is going to drop off at any time, you need higher redundancy than you would with local drives. That, and they give a few gigs free to all accounts, and that has to come from somewhere.

Anyway, since you have big local storage, this may be an alternative, as it won't cost you any cash per month.
 
In a business environment what issues are you running into with Amazon? They are one of the many providers we use for backup storage and I know many others do too.

DropBox offers 1TB for $99/Year, and they also have biz plans and linux software, etc... For another fee they keep more revisions.

Amazon S3
Amazon Glacier
Rackspace Files
CrashPlan
BackBlaze
 
I use Crashplan at home. They had a deal for 2 years @ $90 unlimited storage. Still do backups locally but have about 80GB stored offsite. I do regular restores to be sure and get status reports sent to my email.

In answer to the question about a single folder, yes you can, you can backup a single file if you wanted. You could also use the free version and send your data to a friend or family member.
 
ToddW2 said:
In a business environment what issues are you running into with Amazon? They are one of the many providers we use for backup storage and I know many others do too.

DropBox offers 1TB for $99/Year, and they also have biz plans and linux software, etc... For another fee they keep more revisions.

Amazon S3
Amazon Glacier
Rackspace Files
CrashPlan
BackBlaze
Click to expand...

While it is a "business" environment, we don't have a large budget. Amazon doesn't sound horrible except it's more than we're willing to spend.

$10/mo for 1TB would be the maximum I would want to spend. Dropbox and Google drive were written off due to the fact files need stored in a pre-defined folder to get backed up. I realize there are 3rd pary apps to work around this limitation but simplicity is key.

Crashplan sounds tempting. I may give it a try with a smaller subset of files. idrive is still churning through the initial 70GB.

Synform doesn't really help me and I beleive blackblaze was the provider that doesn't let you specify what files/folders get backed up. (I could be wrong, I've looked at so many)
 
One more Crashplan champion here.
I am finishing my 3rd or 4th year with them and lurking for an offer to extend.
Only problem is, offers are targeted to new subscribers.
Existing ones, have to pay list.
 
I tried crashplan and while it was ok, switched to Backblaze as they offered unlimited for $50/yr. I have a 25/10 connection at home and backed up 300GB in about a week and a bit, backing up continuously, no issues so far.
 
Symform is cool, I use it. I also use BT Sync, and Dropbox, and Drive, and.... haha

Amazon Glacier is great for "offline" backup as well. You can pay less money for less availability to your data and they (afik) keep your data on tape.
 
Crashplan would be fine. You can backup specific folders and even access the backup from web or mobile device app. I have 16.7T backed up to my Crashplan currently heh.
 
MAuVE said:
One more Crashplan champion here.
I am finishing my 3rd or 4th year with them and lurking for an offer to extend.
Only problem is, offers are targeted to new subscribers.
Existing ones, have to pay list.
Click to expand...

So I gather their advertised $5 per month for unlimited is a bait & switch type tactic?

How much is list typically for unlimited storage?

I've been reading up on Crashplan, and I have to admit, I am a little concerned at their use of Blowfish for encryption. Not only is it weaker than AES, but it also lacks hardware acceleration like AES. It is nice that they offer an option to use my own unique key for the encryption though. This means I won't have to do a reverse encfs encryption on my files locally before backing up...
 
It's $4/mo for CrashPlan. Just buy it in the 4 year at a time plan for that rate. No trick. I've been using it for years. It actually used to be $3/mo back when I started.

If you don't want it that long you can always cancel it through their website and it will automatically credit you back the unused months. There is no reason to not buy the 4 year plan.
 
I guess I am doing a comparison of crashplan and symform in my mind now.

I like symforms "pay with extra storage" approach, but it is not fully unlimited, and will place some load on my home system and network, even though I can use PRIQ in pfSense to only give it the very lowest priority.

I'm liking that crashplan is fully unlimited, but some money is more than no money...

I'm not comfortable with either systems encryption approaches, so whichever one I'd use I will have to pre-encrypt my data...

Are you guys usually able to max out your upstream to crashplan? Trying to figure out how long a backup would take.
 
Although I have never used an online backup service before and most likely never will, if I ever had need of such a service the I would go with Backblaze. They offer unlimited backup for only $5 a month. Backblaze is automatic, supports external drives and I have heard nothing but good things about them. My favorite thing about them is their blog where they openly talk about their data center and server specs which is a good read for server/IT people.
 
Chellexelle said:
Although I have never used an online backup service before and most likely never will, if I ever had need of such a service the I would go with Backblaze. They offer unlimited backup for only $5 a month. Backblaze is automatic, supports external drives and I have heard nothing but good things about them. My favorite thing about them is their blog where they openly talk about their data center and server specs which is a good read for server/IT people.
Click to expand...

Lack of a linux client, and the inability to back up network mounted shares (essentially, my NAS, where 100% of my data I want to back up resides) more or less killed Backblaze for me.

Crashplan is only slightly more per month (and can be cheaper if you pre-pay for a few years) has a Linux client and does not exclude NAS backups.

Symform, can cost nothing if I pay with storage, and also has a Linux client and does not preclude NAS backups.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041132826 said:
Lack of a linux client, and the inability to back up network mounted shares (essentially, my NAS, where 100% of my data I want to back up resides) more or less killed Backblaze for me.

Crashplan is only slightly more per month (and can be cheaper if you pre-pay for a few years) has a Linux client and does not exclude NAS backups.

Symform, can cost nothing if I pay with storage, and also has a Linux client and does not preclude NAS backups.
Click to expand...

This. It's lame, but understandable from their perspective. You can see how it can be abused. If they would eliminate the whole "UNLIMITED" I'm sure they could allow it, but paying for usage is not the "thing" yet.
 
Chellexelle said:
Although I have never used an online backup service before and most likely never will, if I ever had need of such a service the I would go with Backblaze.
Click to expand...

I think their software does not allow you to select specific folders to backup. And I do not want to backup the entire HDDs, because my ISP would kill me. This is the reason why I went with Crashplan. (If Backblaze allowed selecting specific folders, I would try Backblaze, because I like their blog.)

Anyway, using Crashplan for about half a year, have about 1Tb backed up, no issues so far.
 
Another downside of Backblaze is that you have to have all your disks/directories connected to the Backblaze backup app at least once a month or they delete that data.

CrashPlan can be set to keep data you deleted locally forever and you don't ever have to reconnect a disk, they will just keep the data.
 
ToddW2 said:
This. It's lame, but understandable from their perspective. You can see how it can be abused. If they would eliminate the whole "UNLIMITED" I'm sure they could allow it, but paying for usage is not the "thing" yet.
Click to expand...

I understand why they do it too, and if they had a slightly higher home use NAS tier I'd pay for that.

It's just that not being able to back up the one drive that contains ALL of my important data means their service is absolutely useless to me.
 
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