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Hi
I am looking for an online backup solution for my SFX Library and computer. I am considering IDrive as you can select the folders you want to backup and the retrieval process is easy. But are there any other solutions that I have missed? I have backup drives in 2 locations but I want the piece of mind in having another totally 'offsite' backup. Any advice is welcome! Thanks.
How much data are you talking about? Online backup is slow and can get expensive fast. I don't use online backup for my SFX Library, because it is just too damn big. Instead I back up to hard drives and have 2 offsite backups (at 2 different locations).
I do backup my current work online. I've tried a few services and currently use Dropbox. I found iDisk to be slower and more expensive than Dropbox. Amazon S3 is the cheapest solution, but since there is no cap on the amount of data that you can store there, I wasn't managing my data very well and was getting hit with rather large monthly bills.
With Dropbox I have 200 gigs (I pay annually for that). The assets for my current projects (PT Sessions and audio files, docs, reference material, ect) are kept in my Dropbox folder and are automatically (and constantly) syncing. Since I have a 200 gig cap, I have to manage my data as Dropbox starts to fill up. This means that I need to archive old projects and clean up unused audio from completed PT Sessions.
200 gigs works well for me. I may only run into issues if I have multiple projects running at once, which very rarely happens. I'm usually able to finish a project and archive the stuff to offsite drives before I get too deep into the next one. I could also add more Dropbox storage if I needed too.
One thing to keep in mind, is that if you are syncing large amounts of data, the initial sync will take many days.
For those suggesting Amazon S3 I worked through the initial & monthly costs of it: http://www.musicofsound.co.nz/blog/a-cloud-based-fx-library-possible
Dropbox is a good choice, only 2gb storage. You can pay for more though.
Other than that, if you haven't already buy some webspace and upload all your library via FTP for safe storage. Then upload new files when you have them.
Also if you have a Hotmail account you should have a "Skydrive", basically on-line storage where you get an impressive 250gb limit.
There are also things like backblaze / mozy. Or maybe just setup a remote NAS at a friends house?
Amazon S3? Been wanting to start using it for storage... But haven't yet taken the plunge. I also haven't done the calculations to see how much it would actually cost.
as IT Manager in a leader industry, I can suggest you to buy a reliable RAID 1 external disk. In this way, all data are mirrored on two drives. Do a backup at least once a week and, for more security, once a month do a backup on another drive. Use online solution only for critical files.
I'd vote for Amazon S3 using the Jungledisk front end.
Dropbox is great, but expensive (it uses S3, but marks up the storage cost). It also seems to have a huge CPU overhead when diff-ing large files.
Jungledisk gives you more control of versioning as well as when and how you want to backup.
