hello

i'm with a big doubt... hopefully someone can help me choose the best

all the accounts on my server, compressed (tar.gz), has 5.2 GBs

my server is at SM, and currently i'm using their backup drive (10 GBs - US$ 10,00)... my doubt is to:
1) get a backup FTP for $5 (10 GBs) as showed on http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=230405

2) get a 40 GBs HD for US$ 10,00 setup + US$ 10,00/month at SM

pros of 1:
- it's not in the same physical location of my server... it's cheaper (not in quantity, but for $5 i'll be able to do all my backups for some time)

cons of 1:
- every time I backup the accounts, i "waste" 10 GBs of transfer (but i'm not running out of BW yet)


pros of 2:
- more space... i may not need even to compact, just to rsync the homedirs (that would be faster to put all the accounts back if something happens to my main HD)
- transfers don't count bandwidth... i could backup everyday (currently I backup twice a week)

cons of 2:
- it's in the same rack (supposing it get on fire for example, i may loose the 2 HDs)


what would you suggest if you must choose between one OR other?

thanks

The only safe bet would to get both. Even so, things do happen, but atleast you'll be doubly protected.

Or get a remote account, and use rsync to keep bandwidth usage low. Rsync can easily cut down your transfer by a factor of 1000. We use rsync for daily backup.