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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1,219

    Backup Strategy - Need your recommendation

    Greetings,

    I am asking myself what the best backup strategy for my dedicated server could be. I do not host any commercial website on it (just private ones), but we all know that even losing non-commercial data hurts.

    What I already do:

    • More or less recent backups of the most important websites (just webspace, no email or database) on my local computer
    • Having hardware Raid-1 on the server and 2 HDs
    • Using R1Soft Backup Space provided by my server host


    I would like to add some FTP space at an external (!) DC to do scheduled cPanel backups. I think that a further dedicated server or VPS will not be necessary for this task.

    Can you recommend a provider of pure FTP Backup Space which is reliable, at least on a 100 Mbps line and affordable?
    I guess I need about 100-200 GB of space to keep daily, weekly and monthly backups.

    Thank you in advance and kind regards
    -Amitz

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    277
    To best answer your question, first look at possible causes for data loss:
    1. harddisk crash
    2. accidental command (oops, "rm -rf /")
    3. server compromise
    4. home computer compromise
    5. DC compromise
    6. theft of equipment

    I think that monthly full backups and daily incremental backups work fine against both (1) and (2). You seem to have that covered already.

    Off-site backups aren't secure when you're dealing with points 3, 4 or 5. As WHT learned a few months ago, an attacker may purposely hunt down your remote backups and delete them as well. This is particularly the case if your home computer is compromised (point 4).

    One idea may be to use one of those external USB drives and turn it off when you're not copying backups. You can even have two drives and keep one in a safe. That would cover (6) as well.
    There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    114
    I agree with Talence fully. A external drive of sorts that can be shut off when not being used would be best, and most secure. Yu can explore options as well for offsite backups on a separate server, or some sort of host.
    Jeremy Miller - Account Executive
    SingleHop Inc. - Dedicated Servers Exclusive Specials - www.singlehop.com/jeremymiller
    Phone: 1-866-817-2811 ext. 103

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    5,105
    First, try BQBackup. I have used them before, rock solid. They do just that, offsite backups and do it well.

    I respectfully disagree with the last 2 posters.

    Offsite backups are the way to go. A fire or other natural disaster means that both your live data and your backup data is gone. Not much help in that case.

    No solution is perfect but steering people away from offsite backups is a bad idea. I can't comment on the situation here at WHT but I will say that in many environments they go offsite THEN go to another medium for business critical data.

    The OP seems to be on a dedicated server (I could be wrong) but dedi or colo, getting your DC to run out and turn a USB drive on and off for each backup event may not be practical. I like the idea personally but don't use that only, roll it offsite as well. Optimal to have the offsite machine come in and get the backup not the main server initiate the connection.
    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1,219
    Stop, Mates!
    This is going in the wrong direction...
    I do not have the possibility to do full backups on my local drives (whether they are on build-in or USB harddrives). My DSL connection is way too slow for this. I just want to have a full backup outside of the DC where my dedicated server is located. Additionally to the R1Soft Backup that is made in the same DC.

    Therefore I thought about external FTP Space but do not seem to find a provider for JUST that and need your recommendation. I guess my thread title is a bit misleading... Sorry for that and thank you for your further help!

    -Amitz

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Chicago, IL
    Posts
    114
    I was not steering him away from offiste backups, as that is what he is currently doing but on his local computer which I assumed was his house or office (from the way it was worded anyway). I am in full agreement offiste backups are necessary if you are serious about keeping secure backups.
    Jeremy Miller - Account Executive
    SingleHop Inc. - Dedicated Servers Exclusive Specials - www.singlehop.com/jeremymiller
    Phone: 1-866-817-2811 ext. 103

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    The Netherlands
    Posts
    277
    @ Coolraul: we do not disagree, but after reading my post again I see how it can be interpreted that way.

    Off-site backups are the way to go, but no backup method by itself will guard against all situations. Also, I meant that the USB drive (or eSATA, etc) should be connected to the home computer, not the server. If it were, it would still leave room for compromise.
    There are 10 kinds of people, those who understand binary and those who don't.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    New York
    Posts
    285
    If you take a look at the Other Hosting Offers section there are quite a few providers that meet your needs pretty cheap too.
    WCSWEB.NETWORKS - 24x7 Support We're here to help anytime, day or night!
    WCSHOST.Net <- Call us (800) 590-0017 ->
    Linux based Cpanel Shared and Reseller premium Hosting with Fantastico & rvskin
    Windows based Helm Shared Premium Hosting / Remote Backup solutions

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Posts
    462
    You should consider R1Soft as it typically uses less space, and is very resource friendly. Also keep in mind most backup providers have multi-gigabit connections.

    Good luck!
    =>Admo.net Managed Hosting
    => Managed Hosting • Dedicated Servers • Colocation
    => Dark Fiber Access to 1102 Grand, Multiple Public Providers
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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Posts
    3
    I choose R1Soft, great piece of software.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    5,105
    Ah I got you guys now. Lots of misreading today including the OP. I wasn't clear with them.

    try www.bqbackup.com they provide remote ftp backup space.
    CloudNexus Technology Services
    Managed Services

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    34
    R1Soft and/or FTP are the way to go. Simple and secure.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Kansas City, Missouri
    Posts
    462
    Quote Originally Posted by NetDepotKevin View Post
    R1Soft and/or FTP are the way to go. Simple and secure.
    Maybe SFTP (over ssh) or SSL FTP would be more secure. R1Soft also offers an encryption feature which transmits and stores all data encrypted.

    Good luck!
    =>Admo.net Managed Hosting
    => Managed Hosting • Dedicated Servers • Colocation
    => Dark Fiber Access to 1102 Grand, Multiple Public Providers
    => Over •Sixteen• Years of Service

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Dallas, TX
    Posts
    34
    R1Soft transmits and stores data that is encrypted. Perhaps you could try SSL FTP if security is your main objective here.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Location
    Cincinnati, OH
    Posts
    298
    You can have multiple r1soft servers back up a single machine.

    You could order secondary CDP service from a place like steadfast.net (who i use for my cdp service) and back up the server with r1soft locally (at your DC) as well as to a remote DC in a different city/state/country.

    FTP/file based backups (creating tars and copying them off somewhere else) always ends up being a nightmare for one reason or another. Stick with CDP.

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