It's Time To Back Up My Data Properly.... Now what do I do?

[Skipple]

Hi guys. 

I am looking for a long term solution to back up the bulk of my data securely locally. 

 

What I am looking for: 

• Server Drives easily accessible over LAN. 
• RAID backups over multiple drives.
• 4+ tb of space

 

Things I am not worried about: 

• Size and noise. This will be located in my basement. Server rack enclosure capability would be a plus though. 
• Totally open to buying used enterprise hardware off ebay or something if it is reliable. 

I am sort of a novice at this sort of thing so I am not sure where to start, but I like to think I am fairly technically inclined. Hit me with those ideas.

Thanks!

[ToastyBear]

Sounds like you just need a second computer and a RAID card.

 

If you have an old mobo and CPU lying around you can probably make exactly that. I have a RAID 10 setup which I keep in my basement and I just throw it onto my home network

[Windows7ge]

If you're already open to it eBay does have good deals on barebone Supermicro servers where you install your own CPU and RAM. Most are 1U or 2U and can hold 4 or 12 3.5" drives.

 

For an OS if you just need this to be a backup server I recommend FreeNAS. It supports ZFS which is a very resilient file system. It uses Software RAID so you don't need a RAID card (with ZFS it's advised that you don't). Depending on what used server you get you may need a new HBA though. Both the LSI 9207-8i and LSI 9201-16i are great choices. From there the hardware is mostly plug'n'play. You just need to configure the OS.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

First, you are to be commended for realizing the need for backups. That puts you ahead of many, if not most computer users.

 

I recommend not going the server route for backups. For data to be reasonably safe, it must exist in three separate places. Usually, this is on the computer, on an external onsite backup drive (s), and on an external offsite backup drive(s) (the easiest, most reliable, and least expensive solution). For a backup drive to be a true backup, it must be kept powered down, disconnected from the computer, and stored out of sight of the computer at all times except while updating the backup. Thus, each data drive should have two external backup drives.

 

If a "backup drive" (including a DAS or NAS) is left connected to the computer (either directly or via a network or by being installed in the computer), it becomes redundancy, not an actual backup. It will protect from losing data from hard drive failure (up to a point) but will not protect from losing data to viruses (and other malware) and accidental deletion. If kept powered on, it will be subject to possible damage from power surges.

 

If the house burns down, is destroyed by flood or storm, or a thief makes off with your computer and any redunancy and/or onsite backups, you will lose your data. That is the reason for the offsite backup. An offsite backup will also protect against a really sneaky virus or other malware that you accidentally backup on your onsite backup. Offsite backup drives can be kept at a trusted neighbor or relative's home but a far more secure solution is in a financial institution's safe deposit box. Since you can't recover data that hasn't been backed up, offsite backups drives should be swapped out with the onsite backup drives as often as is practical.

 

A backup drive can be a regular external backup drive that you plug into a USB port via a cable or you can use internal type drives with each drive in an enclosure (that would be a better quality than factory backup drives), plugged into an external USB dock when updating a backup, or plugged into an internal, trayless hot swap bay in the computer (if you have an unused SATA port and 5.25" bay in the case, you can retrofit a hot swap bay).

 

Before backing up anything, your data should be segregated from the System (OS, games, and programs). This can be as simple as having a separate boot drive and a separate data drive(s). If you have the System and data on a single drive, you can put the System and data on separate partitions (pretty much the only time I recommend partitioning).

 

For backing up data, I recommend imaging using a program like Macrium Reflect Free (I do not recommend using the paid version). An image is a snapshot of your System at the time the image is made and, much like a photo negative can be used to make a photo print, an image can be used to recreate your System. You can store several images to get multiple restore points.

 

Although imaging is essential for backing up and restoring your System, it is to time consuming and storage space wasting to be good for backing up data. For data, I recommend using a folder/file syncing program like FreeFileSync (FFS). When set to Mirror Mode (not the same as RAID 1!), it will copy and delete files to or on the backup drive to make it essentially a clone of the data drive without the data drive itself being touched. After the initial backup, since only new, changed, and deleted files will be involved, updates can be very fast.

The better folder/file syncing programs (including FFS) include a feature called Versioning that will send files deleted from the backup drive to a user designated drive or folder. This protects from losing accidentally deleted data and will alert you to any corrupted data (although I've never encountered that problem).

 

While the above seems rather complcated, in practice it's not too difficult to set up. Both backup methods, one you have software set up, take a handful of minutes or less to start (most of the time will be spent connecting the backup drive to the computer), then the computer will take over and do all the work for you. I've been using this system for years (with extra backup drives most people will not need) and its been very reliable.

 

[Skipple]

Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate it. Totally get what you are saying here @Lady Fitzgerald.

 

There is someone selling a ThinkServer on Craigslist near me:

 

 

I was wondering what your opinions were for this as my first NAS in my house:

Lenovo ThinkServer TS440 Server / Model: 70AQ000NUX

• Processor: Xeon E3-1225 v3 4C/3.2GHz/8MB/84W/DDR3-1600
• Memory: 16GB 4x 4GB UDIMM DDR3-1600 ECC
• Storage Controller: RAID 500 / 9240-8i RAID controller with upgrade key reflashed to HBA
• Disk Bays: 8x 3.5” HS
• System Management: AMT9
• Power Supply: 450Wx1 Gold

NIC:

• 1 port 1GB built-in
• HP 331T 1GB 4-port adapter

User is selling for $300 local. I was thinking if I could get him down to the $225 area?

 

Thoughts?