Personal Archive Backup Tactics ?

[sheef500]

Hi thanks for having me folks ! 

 

I wanted to inquire about creating a proper backup system to my 3+ TB of archival data.... Both tactics wise and hardware wise.

So here's what I had in mind.

 

For starters, besides the SSD/OD - I will have two 6TB WD Red drives 24/7 inside the PC Case, one drive holds the data, the other mirrors the source Red every midnight automatically with the paid Backup4all. 

This will be the on-site redundancy solution, raid free for extra caution.

 

Onto the offsite redundancy:

 

-Offsite we will have a third WD Red, that will be plugged for mirroring once a month and be kept off site for cold storage (also auto-mirrored by Backup4ALL just so I don't have to mess with what's new and what got deleted)

-Another offside SD chip will have only the most important 128gb of data and be kept off site, encrypted.

 

This way I don't have to use NAS machines or spend money on online services, all in all, 350 bucks can handle all of the above ( I already bought the software for 60 bucks )

 

What do you say ? Is it OK enough or am I not being efficient.

 

Also, there are three types of WD Red.... SMR, CMR and a 7200 Pro. Which one is best for my purposes considering I don't access the drives all that much ? 

[Radium_Angel]

4 minutes ago, sheef500 said:

Hi thanks for having me folks ! 

 

I wanted to inquire about creating a proper backup system to my 3+ TB of archival data.... Both tactics wise and hardware wise.

So here's what I had in mind.

 

For starters, besides the SSD/OD - I will have two 6TB WD Red drives 24/7 inside the PC Case, one drive holds the data, the other mirrors the source Red every midnight automatically with the paid Backup4all. 

This will be the on-site redundancy solution, raid free for extra caution.

 

Onto the offsite redundancy:

 

-Offsite we will have a third WD Red, that will be plugged for mirroring once a month and be kept off site for cold storage (also auto-mirrored by Backup4ALL just so I don't have to mess with what's new and what got deleted)

-Another offside SD chip will have only the most important 128gb of data and be kept off site, encrypted.

 

This way I don't have to use NAS machines or spend money on online services, all in all, 350 bucks can handle all of the above ( I already bought the software for 60 bucks )

 

What do you say ? Is it OK enough or am I not being efficient.

 

Also, there are three types of WD Red.... SMR, CMR and a 7200 Pro. Which one is best for my purposes considering I don't access the drives all that much ? 

Your backup plan sounds good to me. I have several Raid 5 NAS for long-term storage of critical files, but in my system are two backup drives (4TB each) that get written to on a schedule, I try to keep a hands-off approach to backups, so I don't forget to make a backup, it's all automated.

[sheef500]

Hmm let me research on Raid-5, have not messed with that since the 90's haha.

 

Thanks for the assurance ! 

 

I also thought of burning a carbon M-DISC and just tossing it wherever in my property because it can resist fires etc, but it's pretty expensive at like 20 bucks a CD.

 

Regarding which WD Red to buy, does it matter ? All 3 types cost about the same.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, sheef500 said:

Hmm let me research on Raid-5, have not messed with that since the 90's haha.

 

Thanks for the assurance ! 

 

I also thought of burning a carbon M-DISC and just tossing it wherever in my property because it can resist fires etc, but it's pretty expensive at like 20 bucks a CD.

 

Regarding which WD Red to buy, does it matter ? All 3 types cost about the same.

It makes a huge difference if you use RAID, if they are individual drives, then no, it does not.

 

I used to make additional archives of super critical can't ever lose stuff onto DVD and store in the safe deposit box at my bank, but it's been some time since I've done that