How often do you backup?

[dcabler]

Home machines: continually with a cloud based backup.
Work Laptop: Every Monday to an SSD drive with bitlocker enabled. Previous companies provided a "U" drive that is backed up where you could mirror everything from your machine. Current company does that too but doesn't provide enough storage.

Cheers.

[armeliusc]

Every night: All files local to devices (tablet, phones, laptops, desktops) get dumped to a central location on a NAS. If we add a new device into the household, then I need to make sure it does this.

Once a week (not necessarily at the same time):
- On NAS, download a local copy of "everything" on cloud accounts (Google Drive / Docs, Google Photos, Gmail, ... ). This still need some work for some cloud provider / service.
- On NAS, make a weekly back up to a secondary drive. The backup is a collection of changes that can be used to reconstruct data at weekly time point. This is done with "rsnapshot". Changes are kept for 1 year.
- From NAS, push weekly changes to a paid cloud storage account. Again, similar idea as the above. I use Wasabi (storage) and rclone (software) with some scripting around it. These changes are kept for 1 year.

All the above are done automatically via cronjob. So it's almost zero ongoing maintenance except for I noted above.

[lthenderson]

Okay,let's say your computer.has failed or is destroyed. Who here has had that happen and then had to install your backup files to another computer. What problems dId you have? Did you recover everything? I always wondered about that.
(I backup nighty to a WD My Passport external drive on one computer and weekly on a Samsung portable SSD T3 on the other.)
Please don't ask why I use 2 machines. I can't logically answer. It is just me.
Woof

I have never had a computer fail but I have used my backup to transfer all my files to my new computer, twice over the years. Since my backup is through Carbonite, I just log into their website on my new computer, go through the dialog prompts to install all my files onto the new computer and then walk away as it does its thing. Since it doesn't backup actual computer programs, I do have to install them again from disk or download. Everything transferred over just fine both times.

The biggest benefit that I use regularly is that I can access any file on my computer, anywhere in the world at anytime as long as I have internet access. That has come in very handy at times.

[jebmke]

I have never had a computer fail

I've never had one fail either. But what I have had is

file corruption, which propagated to the most recent backup
Self-inflicted wounds (deleted a file I really needed, deletion gone from first layer of backup)
made changes to a file and realized later I needed the prior version. Changes propagated to the most recent backup.

In each case, I was able to bail myself out by recalling not the immediate backup file but a version prior to the most recent backup. None of this could have been done with a simple cloud/NAS copy.

[exigent]

I use Backblaze (no affiliation), which is pretty much set and forget and it does incremental backups on a continuous basis. It also keeps versions. It’s like $50/yr/computer, but it’s well worth it. My experience has been that any system that requires human intervention will ultimately fail. And I’m not willing to lose a day’s worth of work, much less a week or month.

Note that I also store some documents in Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. While that practice has save my bacon at time, those services aren’t true backups.

[jebmke]

One additional point. A good backup system is only as good as your ability to restore the files. You need to periodically do a test restore of something, including extracting file(s) to a different machine. You may find that you flubbed the setup and something you thought was being backed up, isn't, or that you don't really know how to get in and restore the files [for example, perhaps the key to the backup encryption system is stored on the device being backed up!].

Don't rely on the reports from the backup system ("xxx files backed up") or the logs. Many years ago, one of my engineering departments had a backup system running on a VAX cluster. The reports and logs duly noted that the files were backed up to the tapes which were diligently stored offsite. During a routine audit, we requested the back-up tapes and found that they were all blank.

[wfrobinette]

I have been creating a checklist for monthly backup and maintenance on my computer that includes this step:

backup wikis: Sterbal's Sundry Studies, SQL Server, Sterbal Family Recipies, Robert's Wiki

The wiki backup is taking 10-20 minutes. Everything else takes just a few minutes. My goal is to do this every month.

What kind of plans do you have to backup your electronic material? How often do you back things up?

I pay a small annual fee to idrive and it backs up new files or files that have changed on the schedule of my choosing (which is daily). It also keeps history of the changes.

I also replicate files to onedrive since it's free with my office subscription.

[hudson]

Don't rely on the reports from the backup system ("xxx files backed up") or the logs. Many years ago, one of my engineering departments had a backup system running on a VAX cluster. The reports and logs duly noted that the files were backed up to the tapes which were diligently stored offsite. During a routine audit, w

e requested the back-up tapes and found that they were all blank.

I was the site backup person for 14 years.
Emergency plan in case of failed backup tapes like above: an up to date resume
Bottom Line: If you like your job, test your backups.

[GeMoney]

Data weekly using syncing software and image the C: semi-monthly using Acronis. I always keep 3 images just in case one fails.

[Marseille07]

Everything lived in Dropbox and sync immediately, with version history on every document. Costs me $99/year.

One of the benefits is I use 3 different laptops— one at my work office, one at my home office, one around the house — and they are all continuously synced. So long as I close a document when I’m done with it, I can pull it up seamlessly from another machine.

Versioning is important. Without it, cloud copies are simply mirrors, not backups.

Really depends on your backup needs. I don't need versioning; whatever I have now mirrored is fine for my use cases.

[sd323232]

is there benefit to back up to blu ray disk vs hdd?

i read online that hdd can loss data over long term storage while blu ray does not.

also, i read that data is safe in blu ray to 50+ years, probably overkill lol

[michaeljc70]

I backup my core data daily, to multiple locations and keep at least 10 versions. I actually try to keep some older versions too because I have had it when I didn't realize a file was missing/corrupt for months.

I backup other things like media I purchased a couple times a month. Photos taken with my phone are obviously backed up to the cloud automatically so I don't put a lot of extra effort into that except occasionally.

[lthenderson]

also, i read that data is safe in blu ray to 50+ years, probably overkill lol

Since blu ray technology is only 20 years old and the first player that could read it 17 years old, I would guess the jury is still out on if it can last 50+ years.

In my experience, the limiting factor is the file type or program version to play said file and not the medium on which it is stored.

[bertilak]

I have nearly continuous backups with CrashPlan. Every 15 minutes there is a backup to an external SSD drive attached to (and shared by) my router. Crashplan also does an hourly backup to their cloud. CrashPlan keeps a never-deleted history of files so I can always go back and get (for example) a year old version of a file, even if I have deleted that file from my hard drive. This covers my personal files but not system files.

I am also evaluating Acronis True Image. This also does backups to an SSD and to their cloud. I run this once a day.

Acronis does not have as extensive a history as CrashPlan but is does have a recovery process I can boot from a USB thumb drive. That can do a complete restore of a bootable system, including the latest copies of my files (backed up on the same thumb drive).

I also have everything on OneDrive so that gives me additional restore capabilities.

I feel pretty well covered!

[michaeljc70]

also, i read that data is safe in blu ray to 50+ years, probably overkill lol

Since blu ray technology is only 20 years old and the first player that could read it 17 years old, I would guess the jury is still out on if it can last 50+ years.

In my experience, the limiting factor is the file type or program version to play said file and not the medium on which it is stored.

Yeah...I'd be testing that (the bluray) fairly regularly. I cannot tell you how many times in the corporate world I have seen backups fail to restore.

[hnd]

depends on how much cheese i've had! heyhey!

I use Google and our devices are set to backup every night late into the evening. We back up photos from 3 phones, 2 tablets and 2 laptops. everything is automated and works great.

i ran a home NAS prior to this but needed to upgrade drives and decided 100 bucks a year was worth not having to hassle with it anymroe.

[exigent]

I have nearly continuous backups with CrashPlan. Every 15 minutes there is a backup to an external SSD drive attached to (and shared by) my router. Crashplan also does an hourly backup to their cloud. CrashPlan keeps a never-deleted history of files so I can always go back and get (for example) a year old version of a file, even if I have deleted that file from my hard drive. This covers my personal files but not system files.

So you use their small biz plan? We used to use CrashPlan, but when they ditched their consumer plans the pricing no longer made sense for our family, so we jumped ship to Backblaze. Good experiences with both, but the CrashPlan pricing no longer makes sense for us.

[Sheepdog]

Thank you for your response. I appreciate it.

[bertilak]

I have nearly continuous backups with CrashPlan. Every 15 minutes there is a backup to an external SSD drive attached to (and shared by) my router. Crashplan also does an hourly backup to their cloud. CrashPlan keeps a never-deleted history of files so I can always go back and get (for example) a year old version of a file, even if I have deleted that file from my hard drive. This covers my personal files but not system files.

So you use their small biz plan? We used to use CrashPlan, but when they ditched their consumer plans the pricing no longer made sense for our family, so we jumped ship to Backblaze. Good experiences with both, but the CrashPlan pricing no longer makes sense for us.

Yup, small business plan.

Cost is one reason I am evaluating Acronis as a potential replacement.

[RobLyons]

I don't use my laptop much at all, and its mostly used for web surfing, so I depend on Apple/Time machine to notify me that I haven't backed up in 20 - 30 days then I do so, and also back up to an external hd. Photos on my iPhone go to google photos and about once every 2-3 months gets backed up to laptop. Amazon photos backup as well. It's overkill but I lost some photos of my son when he was little and don't want that to ever happen again.

[msi]

Hourly Time Machine backups + daily Arq backup to the cloud.

[Rob5TCP]

Since I frequently have client files on my computer; I backup from 2x a day to once every other day (depending on how much work I've done). If I've only worked an hour; I will just backup the next day.

I keep 6 external drives and rotate which ones I backup on. Plus I have a monthly, quarterly, and yearly flash drive that gets my critical files. Also, critical files are periodically backed up to the cloud as well.

[michaelingp]

Ridiculous overkill here:

Continuous cloud backup (Backblaze): guards against entire house going up in smoke (or very thorough thieves). I some external hard disks that I just duplicate on other disks for redundancy, or back them up to Backblaze in some cases.

Continuous Windows File History to local external drive: Allows quick backup when I make mistakes.

Weekly full disk backups (Macrium Reflect): Allows quick recovery after virus attack or hard disk failure. I can recover files that change since the weekly backup with BackBlaze or File History (although not as easy as it sounds). Backups saved for three months.

iCloud backup for all iPhones and iPads.

I'm thinking of moving to OneDrive if Office 2010 ever stops meeting my needs. In that case, I'd drop Backblaze, which would more than pay for OneDrive and Office 365.

Ironically, I don't really feel that I'm protecting that much. If I lost all my computer files, I'm pretty sure I'd be perfectly happy starting all over from scratch. But it costs very little (money and time) to provide this level of redundancy so why not?

If I were to advise my family or friends, I would just recommend Backblaze and maybe a monthly full backup to external disk for easy recovery after a virus.

[jebmke]

Office 2010 ever stops meeting my needs.

Isn't Office 2010 out of support (or soon to be) - meaning no more security updates.

[cjking]

I keep all documents saved on my OneDrive account, so I guess they are always "backed up." Once every 6 months I save all my OneDrive documents to an external SSD as a secondary backup.

Be cautious though, OneDrive is not a true backup, it is a sync service. A ransomware hits you, and your OneDrive files will be gone as well!

I can't remember the details, but I think Onedrive has some sort of ransomware protection now. (It detects when lots of files are suddenly updated, not sure what it does about it.)

[bertilak]

I keep all documents saved on my OneDrive account, so I guess they are always "backed up." Once every 6 months I save all my OneDrive documents to an external SSD as a secondary backup.

Be cautious though, OneDrive is not a true backup, it is a sync service. A ransomware hits you, and your OneDrive files will be gone as well!

I can't remember the details, but I think Onedrive has some sort of ransomware protection now. (It detects when lots of files are suddenly updated, not sure what it does about it.)

It also has versioning. When restoring, one can select a date to go back to. This could be used to restore to the point just before the ransomware attack. I think the versioned restore needs to be done from the web page and I find the interface a bit confusing. I assume if I ever do need it I will be able to figure it out! But, If I need to do that I will probably use CrashPlan as I am more familiar with its use.

[Freefun]

Apple time machine backs up my macs to multiple external drives. I also keep important docs in the cloud (Dropbox vault and evernote).

[jabberwockOG]

One additional point. A good backup system is only as good as your ability to restore the files. You need to periodically do a test restore of something, including extracting file(s) to a different machine. You may find that you flubbed the setup and something you thought was being backed up, isn't, or that you don't really know how to get in and restore the files [for example, perhaps the key to the backup encryption system is stored on the device being backed up!].

Don't rely on the reports from the backup system ("xxx files backed up") or the logs. Many years ago, one of my engineering departments had a backup system running on a VAX cluster. The reports and logs duly noted that the files were backed up to the tapes which were diligently stored offsite. During a routine audit, we requested the back-up tapes and found that they were all blank.

100% this. Regardless of business size or even personal use, if you haven't periodically tested your ability to rebuild from backup, you most likely don't actually have viable backup. In the IT business for 40 years, the last years in enterprise level IT security for Fortune 100 companies. Some amusing client horror stories, not even remotely amusing at the time.

[Caduceus]

Bottom Line:
The harmless files are copied instantly and automagically.
Sensitive files are done manually when needed.

This is the reason I don't use cloud backup. It's too much of a hassle for me to figure out every time what is harmless and what is sensitive. A lot of my financial documents are not that sensitive, but a large portion of them are - it's just confusing for me to have some of my financial files in the cloud and another half of it on an external drive.

So my solution is just to eschew the cloud altogether, and put everything onto encrypted external hard drives.

I back up roughly every month, but if something particularly important gets created, I will do an additional backup just for that file/folder. At the end of every year, I archive everything onto an M-Disc, so that even if my external drives get fried, I have a safe, non-electronic, no-moving-parts backup that's at most a year old.

[BogleZogle___Mogul]

Bottom Line:
The harmless files are copied instantly and automagically.
Sensitive files are done manually when needed.

This is the reason I don't use cloud backup. It's too much of a hassle for me to figure out every time what is harmless and what is sensitive. A lot of my financial documents are not that sensitive, but a large portion of them are - it's just confusing for me to have some of my financial files in the cloud and another half of it on an external drive.

So my solution is just to eschew the cloud altogether, and put everything onto encrypted external hard drives.

I back up roughly every month, but if something particularly important gets created, I will do an additional backup just for that file/folder. At the end of every year, I archive everything onto an M-Disc, so that even if my external drives get fried, I have a safe, non-electronic, no-moving-parts backup that's at most a year old.

You don’t need to separate the harmless from the sensitive to use cloud backup. This is a waste of time.

If you want to use cloud backup but don’t want your backup service to see your files, the solution is to use a service like Blackblaze which allows you to specify a custom encryption key. This is basically a second password that encrypts your files locally on your computer before they are uploaded.

The benefit to this feature is that your cloud backup server cannot make sense of the backup data you upload. To them it is a bunch of encrypted nonsense.

In all honesty, it is very likely that a cloud backup provider used in such a manner will be much more reliable than the manual scheme you describe above. As time goes on you are almost guaranteed to make one or more mistakes that will have unpredictable consequences, not to mention hardware failures. The odds are not on your side here.

I have at least three copies of my data: 1) computer, 2) automatic encrypted Time Machine backup to an external hard drive, 3) Backblaze cloud backup of all my files, 4) Arq backup to Amazon S3 of a subset of my files. #4 is unnecessary overkill that I set up just because I wanted to play around with Arq and S3.

After one-time setup I spend maybe 10 minutes per year on backups (testing a restore every now and then) and I sleep very well at night.

[rjbraun]

Hourly Time Machine backups + daily Arq backup to the cloud.

I also use Time Machine for backups. I was surprised to not see TM mentioned until now (I think).