First hand experience of online storage

John C

Has anyone had first hand experience of online storage.
Which provider do they use?
Has anyone else got unauthorised access to their data?
Are they reliable until the year 2011? Will the provider and the data
be there next year.
Is it a practical service. Can the data be easily reached when one is
away from home? ( Better than USB Stick)

Is there a major weakness with online storage?

Overheal

John C wrote: »

Has anyone had first hand experience of online storage.
Which provider do they use?
Has anyone else got unauthorised access to their data?
Are they reliable until the year 2011? Will the provider and the data
be there next year.
Is it a practical service. Can the data be easily reached when one is
away from home? ( Better than USB Stick)

Is there a major weakness with online storage?

Im not sure why you think they will be unreliable in 2011?

Most if not all of these services back up your data on multiple hard drives using RAID redundancy arrays to prevent loss due to hardware failure. They will also store the data in more than 1 location for example your data might be stored both on a server in LA and a server in NYC.

The Data can be accessed from any computer once you submit your login information. That data is encrypted of course. Its not as easy as a USB stick in a sense that you require an internet connection. Transfer speeds over USB will also still be faster than download and upload.

Any specific information about service, security and storage, you can ask the individual providers; and they will normally discuss the information on their websites.

fcrossen

I use a roll-your-own online backup solution for backing up web sites.

Problem with on-line backup companies is that their terms and conditions usually have the same auld "sold as-is" and "no warranty of fitness for purpose" disclaimer.

In the end I implemented a peering system, backing up between:
- a VPS in London
- a VPS in Citywest
- my trusty home server

Ironically the terms and conditions of reputable VPS providers often carry better warranties that online backup companies!

Update: This is the kind of thing I am talking about:

http://www.backupvault.ie/online-backup-plans.php - click on "Subscribe to a plan today" and you get a 404. Does that fill you with confidence?

Random

Posting to subscribe on mobile theme

unnameduser

Hi there,

We offer online data backup services so I'm happy to reply.

Has anyone had first hand experience of online storage.
well yes ... Essentially most providers use the similiar type of software, hardware and network infrastructure. The key differences (I believe) in online backup providers is pricing and support

Which provider do they use? There are many to choose from I will list some below.

Has anyone else got unauthorised access to their data?
Data is encrypted. Access to data is only available if one has access to the encryption key. You can keep this secret from your provider i.e Your provider can back up gigs upon gigs of your data in an encrypted form and not be in a position to read the data.

Are they reliable until the year 2011? Will the provider and the data
be there next year.
There is no reason why it wouldn't be unless the company went under / folded ...

Is it a practical service.
It works quite well. It is very customisable. A certain level of broadband speed is required and it depends on the amount of data generated / changed each day but for 99% of situations it is a great service - The catch is the financial commitment to the service. There are cheaper alternatives out there like dropbox etc but the benefit of having an Irish backup provider is that in the case of a major system failure most Irish backup providers will courier to data to you immediately to allow you to rebuild a server immediately.

Can the data be easily reached when one is
away from home? ( Better than USB Stick)
Yes, most providers have a web interface through which you can log in and download files after entering a username and password.

Is there a major weakness with online storage?
Online storage is the most reliable type of backup. I could harp on about the advantages but to answer the question the disadvantage is that in order to receive a professional online storage service there is a fee associated. Also once again, online storage is not a viable option for some companies operating in areas of poor broadband availability. (prob not an issue for most readers here, but I am based in Tipperary where there are still some black spots.)

There are a number of possible providers
www.irishdatabackup.com - operated by me
www.arion.ie
www.keepitsafe.ie
www.perfectbackup.ie

to name but a few....

Most will offer a free trial to allow you to test out the service.
If you have any other questions I'll do my best to answer. Best of luck.

bhickey

I've used Mozy.com for a while now and it's been excellent. There's a free package for < 2GB and another unlimited one for $5 per month. The prices is per PC but you can work around that The client is a doddle to use.

Personally I think that the price most "normal" online backup providers charge is just taking the piss!