Ask HN: How do you do personal backups in 2023? (Google and Dropbox issues)
39 comments
I use Google and Dropbox more like thumbdrives. Dropbox automagically takes pics and vids off my cell phone. When it syncs on my desktop, they are then (by a schedule) moved to a closer-to-permanent location and the spool is deleted.
10 Terabyte drivers are super cheap, and come in USB formats. My moat, which serves as first-stage backup, is a 10Tb drive hanging off of a Raspberry Pi at home. Everything ends up there. And that drive is the only drive I actually back up. Very simple.
Google I use only for stuff I might have to occasionally show other people.
I don't use external services for things I wouldn't be able to easily replace. Never have. Never will.
10 Terabyte drivers are super cheap, and come in USB formats. My moat, which serves as first-stage backup, is a 10Tb drive hanging off of a Raspberry Pi at home. Everything ends up there. And that drive is the only drive I actually back up. Very simple.
Google I use only for stuff I might have to occasionally show other people.
I don't use external services for things I wouldn't be able to easily replace. Never have. Never will.
I have a NAS.
I run a daily cron job on the NAS that:
a) uses rsync to copy the important bits off various Linux & macOS machines back to a directory tree on the NAS.
b) I use PhotoSync to copy photos from phones to the NAS.
c) I use Bvckup2 to copy from Windows machines to the NAS.
d) mounts a HDD used as the backup medium. Currently a 16TB Seagate HDD. This just lives in one slot in the NAS, except when it's offsite, so the mount is unattended.
e) After the drive volume is mounted, I make a btrfs snapshot of the synced file tree, and save it on the mounted backup drive.
f) umount the volume.
Every month, I exchange the backup drive with a friend who lives in another city (so, I have _two_ backup drives: one local, one offsite, and swap them).
So I kinda have four copies of everything at various ages: the original, last night's synced copy, daily snapshots going back alternating months locally, and the opposite month's daily snapshots remotely.
At this point I have coming up on 10 years worth of snapshots. They're pretty small, because not a lot changes day-to-day.
I need to recover something a couple of times a year. One thing I'd like to do is add some automated testing of the recovery, but for now I just check the cron emails for errors every so often.
I run a daily cron job on the NAS that:
a) uses rsync to copy the important bits off various Linux & macOS machines back to a directory tree on the NAS.
b) I use PhotoSync to copy photos from phones to the NAS.
c) I use Bvckup2 to copy from Windows machines to the NAS.
d) mounts a HDD used as the backup medium. Currently a 16TB Seagate HDD. This just lives in one slot in the NAS, except when it's offsite, so the mount is unattended.
e) After the drive volume is mounted, I make a btrfs snapshot of the synced file tree, and save it on the mounted backup drive.
f) umount the volume.
Every month, I exchange the backup drive with a friend who lives in another city (so, I have _two_ backup drives: one local, one offsite, and swap them).
So I kinda have four copies of everything at various ages: the original, last night's synced copy, daily snapshots going back alternating months locally, and the opposite month's daily snapshots remotely.
At this point I have coming up on 10 years worth of snapshots. They're pretty small, because not a lot changes day-to-day.
I need to recover something a couple of times a year. One thing I'd like to do is add some automated testing of the recovery, but for now I just check the cron emails for errors every so often.
I got a C and D drives on my desktop.
D has a folder named "Backup". In there I keep my Library (all photos, vids, ebooks, old stuff)
I Acronis-TrueImage my C drive to the D\Backup folder
I backup MyDocs and MyPortables from my C drive to Carbonite
I backup my D\Backup to Carbonite.
I got around 1.5 TB with Carbonite with my own encryption.
I started using SyncThing to sync laptop & desktop, so anything I do on the laptop finds its way to the desktop and then to Carbonite.
D has a folder named "Backup". In there I keep my Library (all photos, vids, ebooks, old stuff)
I Acronis-TrueImage my C drive to the D\Backup folder
I backup MyDocs and MyPortables from my C drive to Carbonite
I backup my D\Backup to Carbonite.
I got around 1.5 TB with Carbonite with my own encryption.
I started using SyncThing to sync laptop & desktop, so anything I do on the laptop finds its way to the desktop and then to Carbonite.
I, personally, use rsync + borg.
rsync transfers data from my laptop to my linux box, with a cron.
The linux box regularly creates new borg archives.
A different cron on the linux box rsyncs that data to two off-site locations, and once a week I manually rsync things over to a hard drive stored in a fire-proof safe.
I use healthchecks.io to get alerts for when those crons stop running for any reason.
rsync transfers data from my laptop to my linux box, with a cron.
The linux box regularly creates new borg archives.
A different cron on the linux box rsyncs that data to two off-site locations, and once a week I manually rsync things over to a hard drive stored in a fire-proof safe.
I use healthchecks.io to get alerts for when those crons stop running for any reason.
What data are you backing up so thoroughly?
Mostly stupid garbage that nobody gives a shit about.
But I like to dream that one day, my kids and grandkids will want to see blurry photographs documenting how much I binge-drank in college. Which sounds dumb, but I'd kind of love to see those photos from my dad and grandparents, if they existed!
But I like to dream that one day, my kids and grandkids will want to see blurry photographs documenting how much I binge-drank in college. Which sounds dumb, but I'd kind of love to see those photos from my dad and grandparents, if they existed!
You could use `restic`[1] and a Hetzner storage box[2] (or similar cloud storage like backblaze or IDrive). I personally use a Homelab Proxmox / TrueNAS with zfs-auto-snapshot[3] and rclone[4] for ransomware protection.
For Windows clients I use Veeam Backup[4].
[1]: https://restic.net/
[2]: https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box
[3]: https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs-auto-snapshot
[4]: https://rclone.org/
[5]: https://www.veeam.com/virtual-machine-backup-solution-free.h...
[1]: https://restic.net/
[2]: https://www.hetzner.com/storage/storage-box
[3]: https://github.com/zfsonlinux/zfs-auto-snapshot
[4]: https://rclone.org/
[5]: https://www.veeam.com/virtual-machine-backup-solution-free.h...
Syncthing has been so good. It's a little finicky to setup, but it literally never fails after that. It's quiet magic!
That replicates things across devices. For actual backups I'd use rsync, mostly because I already have all the scripts to make progressive backups with hard links.
That replicates things across devices. For actual backups I'd use rsync, mostly because I already have all the scripts to make progressive backups with hard links.
I have Backblaze on my Mac and I have a NAS that I copy stuff to for deeper backups.
Thanks for this! I'm browsing their site and it led me to the Wirecutter article that discusses them: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-online-backu...
Super helpful. Thanks again!
Super helpful. Thanks again!
I've been using Backblaze since CGP Grey recommended it more than 5 years ago. It saved my bacon more than once.
Do check the default exclusions though, it doesn't backup movie files by default... 8(
Do check the default exclusions though, it doesn't backup movie files by default... 8(
Since the Dropbox update for macOS on File Provider, I moved to Google Drive (it works, but I didn't want to rely too much on Google, I already use it for my email and photo auto-archive).
So I moved recently to Proton Drive (they released their macOS app 3 weeks ago), but boy its really buggy. So now I'm considering moving back to Dropbox...
I've read that sync.com is great too, but not sure I want to pay another provider just yet...
Could you please contact us at https://proton.me/support/contact and elaborate on the issues you've come across on the Proton Drive macOS app? Thank you in advance.
Google and Dropbox store huge amounts of data. The data loss incidents are rare, and don’t change the fact that cloud storage is 99.999… reliable, far more than local storage.
I'd like to keep using Dropbox but the syncing issues with Sonoma make this impossible, unfortunately.
I use Acronis TrueImage that backs up the entire drive to my NAS and to their cloud.
Runs in the background each night. NAS backup is full copy every 14 days and incremental inbetween, keeping the last 3-4 months.
Using full-disk backup is very convenient when the disk dies, just plop in a replacement and you're back up and running in short order.
Acronis is a Windows application, don't know of any OSX alternatives.
Runs in the background each night. NAS backup is full copy every 14 days and incremental inbetween, keeping the last 3-4 months.
Using full-disk backup is very convenient when the disk dies, just plop in a replacement and you're back up and running in short order.
Acronis is a Windows application, don't know of any OSX alternatives.
Neither dropbox or Google Drive are true backup solutions in the strictest sense of the word. They're technically sync services, with all the pitfalls and potential conflict resolution issues that are inherent to these types of systems.
I use an automated process that involves a simultaneous daily backup to an onsite Synology NAS 2x10TB running SHR raid and a backblaze B2 encrypted bucket.
I use an automated process that involves a simultaneous daily backup to an onsite Synology NAS 2x10TB running SHR raid and a backblaze B2 encrypted bucket.
I have been happy so far with iCloud but mainly because I have a colocated Mac that I can also use to mount the iCloud directory over SSH to any local Linux machine (and also have local Macs).
I started using iCloud for git as well due to needing some extra storage that GitHub would have charged me several times more for... unconventional use case where I need a lot of git LFS storage.
I started using iCloud for git as well due to needing some extra storage that GitHub would have charged me several times more for... unconventional use case where I need a lot of git LFS storage.
iCloud should be wonderful except it sometimes refuses to download or upload a file for hours. I’ll want to transfer something from my phone to my computer so I’ll move it to iCloud in the Files app and then it just won’t upload.
I do similar.
And I’d suggest enabling “advanced data protection” which is E2E encryption.
I use this method plus a syncthing folder to bridge everything from iCloud into my Linux box. It’s seamless.
And I’d suggest enabling “advanced data protection” which is E2E encryption.
I use this method plus a syncthing folder to bridge everything from iCloud into my Linux box. It’s seamless.
hello,
"old school": i have an older pc of mine sitting in a corner, running linux - atm debian testing/trixie -, & its filled with a bunch of "somewhat outdated" hdds - of various sizes.
to access it i use
* borgbackup/vorta
* rsync over ssh (external)
* rsync over nfs (internal)
* samba
a remark on reliability:
* i make at least 2 copies of important data to different hdds
* the system is only active during backups and is disconnected from power - to avoid data-loss/problems due to lightning or power-surges.
* and yes, i don't disconnect the lan-cable - but what would live be w/o risks ;))
a remark on filesystems for such setups:
yes, btrfs would be great - respect the conjunctive here ;) - it would be great to create snapshots / generations etc.
but using rsync over larger datasets to a btrfs filesystem, especially if you have a lot of smaller files, can be very time-consuming ...
so i went back to ext4 ... and using rsync itself for snapshots ... sadly ;))
cheersv
"old school": i have an older pc of mine sitting in a corner, running linux - atm debian testing/trixie -, & its filled with a bunch of "somewhat outdated" hdds - of various sizes.
to access it i use
* borgbackup/vorta
* rsync over ssh (external)
* rsync over nfs (internal)
* samba
a remark on reliability:
* i make at least 2 copies of important data to different hdds
* the system is only active during backups and is disconnected from power - to avoid data-loss/problems due to lightning or power-surges.
* and yes, i don't disconnect the lan-cable - but what would live be w/o risks ;))
a remark on filesystems for such setups:
yes, btrfs would be great - respect the conjunctive here ;) - it would be great to create snapshots / generations etc.
but using rsync over larger datasets to a btrfs filesystem, especially if you have a lot of smaller files, can be very time-consuming ...
so i went back to ext4 ... and using rsync itself for snapshots ... sadly ;))
cheersv
Samba file share at the house. I have about 3.5TB of personal media backed up via network file share. This is all old hardware. Eventually I would like to move to a new 4 bay NAS storage device with modern disks and 10 or 25gbps Ethernet.
I'm backing up to my Synology NAS (4 HDD's configured into RAID1 array). Got Openvpn on it so can backup and access my backups while not at home. It's not as convenient as Dropbox but meets my needs.
I use external drives locally, then upload to Google Drive (Workspace), and Fastmail storage. I figure two separate remote backups and a local backup is probably safe enough.
I recently started using Arq Backup to replace Time Machine. It does the local backup to an external SSD and cloud back up to Cloudflare R2. I'm happy so far.
A file as a loopback device. Luks encrypted and formatted with a filesystem.
I mount it like a regular encrypted device then rclone/rsync it elsewhere.
I mount it like a regular encrypted device then rclone/rsync it elsewhere.
Restic to my NAS daily at login. NAS itself is backed up off-site less often
Very simple bash script run by my window manager: Sway
Very simple bash script run by my window manager: Sway
Maestral + Time Machine + Backblaze
Maestral is an OSS Dropbox client true to Dropbox’s original mission before all the cruft.
Maestral is an OSS Dropbox client true to Dropbox’s original mission before all the cruft.
rsync + btrfs works incredibly well IMHO.
I have three drives in different locations, and periodically rsync my home to each of them, then take btrfs snapshot.
rsync lets you exclude things in a finegrained way, similar to .gitignore. So I avoid saving huge binaries that can be recreated.
All this takes two lines of code. Rotating snapshots is also quite easy.
I have three drives in different locations, and periodically rsync my home to each of them, then take btrfs snapshot.
rsync lets you exclude things in a finegrained way, similar to .gitignore. So I avoid saving huge binaries that can be recreated.
All this takes two lines of code. Rotating snapshots is also quite easy.
A linode box with a combination of deja dup that runs daily (encrypts and rsyncs to the linode box).
tarsnap + cron both for personal and work-related backups.
icloud for backing up my phone (mostly photos).
i also have a tiny usb flash drive always plugged in my laptop, which rsync's important files and directories every hour.
icloud for backing up my phone (mostly photos).
i also have a tiny usb flash drive always plugged in my laptop, which rsync's important files and directories every hour.
rclone [1] to dropbox. works since years without problems
[1] https://rclone.org/
[1] https://rclone.org/
I use restic with a home pi5 and second backup to rsync.net
restic
The recent complaints about Google Drive files going missing also doesn't build confidence.
What are folks using for backups? Ideally automated processes.
Thank you.