Backup solutions

[martward]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm thinking of building a NAS server using freeNAS for my dad's company somewhere soon. It's not a large company and they don't have that much data. The only thing I haven't quite figured out is how to setup a backup plan. Right now they are running a windows server which places backup images on a harddisk which is always connected to the server (I did not set this up so don't hate on me). I was thinking about a solution with an external HDD which they could do the backup on ones a week and then take it home with them. I found this program called SyncToy which was almost perfect, because it doesn't rewrite the entire backup folder to the HDD but only checks what changed and then only writes that, but sometimes it doesn't write things (so if you change something it writes it to the backupfolder, but if you change it back later on sometimes it doesn't write the new changes). Does anyone know a (if possible free or not too expensive) program which can do a oneway sync between a folder on the PC (which in this case is a network folder on a NAS) where it does writes, reads, deletes and everything (kind of like what the dropbox sync does)?

 

TL;DR I am looking for a cheap-as-possible way to do a one-way sync between a network folder on a PC to an external HDD.

 

PS: No I cannot set up another server somewhere to do an offsite backup because I do not have another server and I was not planning on building one anytime soon. I know this is not how a big proffessional company would do it, but like I said they are small and don't have that much data.

 

Thanks

[alpenwasser]

Honestly, I think that's actually quite a reasonable idea.

Personally I use rsync for my syncing needs. I think FreeNAS has it as well,

but you might need to look around a bit for info to find out how to use it.

You might also need to resort to the command line for this, not totally sure

as I've never tried it myself (on FreeNAS, that is).

You should be able to format the external drive with NTFS, so you could mount

it on any regular Windows PC if there are issues with the server. I'm not sure

if it still works the same way, but apparently it was possible in 2010, so I

hope it should still be possible somehow: http://www.kristijan.org/2010/12/mounting-external-usb-ntfs-drive-to-freenas/

So, basically, you'd plug the NTFS drive into a USB port on the FreeNAS box,

sync it with your pool via rsync, and unplug it again.

EDIT: Although his question is about a different issue, this user apparently

had that idea, and the consensus seems to be that it should work. Although

as they say, extended file attributes will probably not be preserved if you

format the external drive with NTFS (this might not matter that much to you,

depending on your needs).

http://serverfault.com/questions/364060/how-can-i-use-rsync-from-servera-to-serverb-via-usb-hard-disk-drives

Edited June 20, 2015 by alpenwasser

[martward]

Honestly, I think that's actually quite a reasonable idea.

Personally I use rsync for my syncing needs. I think FreeNAS has it as well,

but you might need to look around a bit for info to find out how to use it.

You might also need to resort to the command line for this, not totally sure

as I've never tried it myself (on FreeNAS, that is).

You should be able to format the external drive with NTFS, so you could mount

it on any regular Windows PC if there are issues with the server. I'm not sure

if it still works the same way, but apparently it was possible in 2010, so I

hope it should still be possible somehow: http://www.kristijan.org/2010/12/mounting-external-usb-ntfs-drive-to-freenas/

So, basically, you'd plug the NTFS drive into a USB port on the FreeNAS box,

sync it with your pool via rsync, and unplug it again.

EDIT: Although his question is about a different issue, this user apparently

had that idea, and the consensus seems to be that it should work. Although

as they say, extended file attributes will probably not be preserved if you

format the external drive with NTFS (this might not matter that much to you,

depending on your needs).

http://serverfault.com/questions/364060/how-can-i-use-rsync-from-servera-to-serverb-via-usb-hard-disk-drives

 

Would this store the information about the NAS setup as well? The server is literally only going to be filled with Office documents and pdf files, so I was planning to go with a simple solution where I just plug the HDD to a computer, and let it sync the files there (only the files which changed). I have found GoodSync and SyncBack for instance, but I have no idea whether or not these are good programs. I will try this method though, once I have it up and running. The problem is that the people who work there have 0 knowledge about computers and NAS, and they will be the ones actually performing the backups and taking the HDD back home with them. I am never at the office myself.

[alpenwasser]

Would this store the information about the NAS setup as well? The server is literally only going to be filled with Office documents and pdf files, so I was planning to go with a simple solution where I just plug the HDD to a computer, and let it sync the files there (only the files which changed). I have found GoodSync and SyncBack for instance, but I have no idea whether or not these are good programs. I will try this method though, once I have it up and running. The problem is that the people who work there have 0 knowledge about computers and NAS, and they will be the ones actually performing the backups and taking the HDD back home with them. I am never at the office myself.

You mean the config setup about the NAS itself? I don't know to be honest, probably not

without doing some extra magic.

If they're going to be the ones doing the backups, my way is probably not the way to go.

I doubt they'd want to fiddle around with the command line on the NAS.

There's a list of backup software on Wikipedia if you want some more inspiration:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backup_software

I don't know the programs you've already mentioned, but I have personally used Unison and

found it to be quite nice. But your mileage may vary of course. I would probably recommend

trying out a few solutions until you find one with which you're happy, that will probably

give you the most reliable results.

[martward]

You mean the config setup about the NAS itself? I don't know to be honest, probably notwithout doing some extra magic.If they're going to be the ones doing the backups, my way is probably not the way to go.I doubt they'd want to fiddle around with the command line on the NAS.There's a list of backup software on Wikipedia if you want some more inspiration:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_backup_softwareI don't know the programs you've already mentioned, but I have personally used Unison andfound it to be quite nice. But your mileage may vary of course. I would probably recommendtrying out a few solutions until you find one with which you're happy, that will probablygive you the most reliable results.

I will try Unison and check out the list if that's to complicated for them.

Thank you!