Cloud and External Drive Backup Plan

cormie

Hey folks,
I'm looking for a backup solution and would appreciate any feedback on this plan.

My set up is quite simple. Until now, I was backing up to two external hard drives (manually) and then important files to SugarSync too (only about 60gb worth) I'd rarely do the external backups, so I'm thinking it's far better to have a full backup in the cloud and only need one external as I'd be more likely to keep one regularly backed up than two.

The goal would be to have one laptop and one external hard drive, but the laptop storage is 1TB, where the external is 2TB. I have over 1TB of data and want to keep a few 100GB's free on my laptop too, so I'm thinking best solution is:

Cloud keeps all data encrypted - 1TB Laptop keeps 500GB (200gb of which is media I don't need encrypted) of regularly used data and 500GB free space - 2TB ext hard drive keeps personal files encrypted and then media files not, so that they can plug and play into the likes of a projector, stereo system or anything that can read USB files.

I haven't found a solution for this yet. Need to wait until Crashplan live chat open again to ask them more questions, but I believe that they only backup encrypted, so I'll need to find out is it possible to store data that's been deleted off the PC or not or does it only keep what's currently on the laptop backed up, and whether it's possible to exclude folders I'm backing up to the cloud, from being backed up to the external, in which case, I would organise my media that it populates my laptop, is uploaded to the cloud, then when I plug an external drive in, all non media files sync to the external drive and then I manually drag and drop the media files from laptop to ext media folder.

Once the laptop HDD gets a bit full, I delete any media files from the laptop I don't need quick access to, my music collection will always be on my laptop, other media isn't necessary to have quick access to, but these files will still be on the cloud encrypted with the rest of the files and external, but not encrypted there, so they can be used with as plug and play USB media.

This would mean I would have the following amount of backups:

Personal files (laptop, cloud, external)
Music (laptop, cloud, external)
Other media (cloud, external)

I'm also a big fan of Google's eco system and find Google Photos invaluable. I think I'll be hosting all my photos here from now on and am also considering using Google docs and drive to manage and store all my documents. So it could result in:

Phone data and info (phone, Google)
Personal files (laptop, cloud, external PLUS docs and photos on Google)
Music (laptop, cloud, external)
Other media (cloud, external).


I hope this makes sense and I hope it sounds like a fail safe solution as I want to minimise the amount of hardware and software and apps I'm reliant on and even dropping from 2 externals to 1 would be great and having one program or service to manage everything would be too. If Google offered a proper backup system and not just Drive where you need to drag files into, I'd jump at it.


If anyone has any feedback on the above, it would be brilliant!

Dravokivich

cormie wrote: »

If Google offered a proper backup system and not just Drive where you need to drag files into, I'd just at it.


If anyone has any feedback on the above, it would be brilliant!

If you've got a local sync folder for Google Drive. Use that to have the files in on the laptop. Otherwise you'll be duplicating data.

I have O365 so use One Drive to do a similar thing you've mentioned above. But I'm not really all that bothered with backing up entertainment media files. Focus on what you need to retain, as opposed to what you want to retain. Otherwise you can find Cloud storage to be a bit more costly than it has to be.

cormie

Thanks a lot for the reply. So you mean instead of having a folder called 2016 accounts, within another folder and also putting it in the Google Drive folder to back it up, to just keep everything in the Google drive folder and use that location from now on? Otherwise I'd have it stored in the first location, in the Google Drive folder on the laptop and also on Google drive?

So I don't need to be online or connected to access and use the files in the Google Drive folder and they will be downloaded to the laptop just as regular files on the laptop would be?

I need to retain a lot of the media files, $59 a year for unlimited storage through Crashplan is pretty good, I'm just not sure it's going to work how I want it to?

Dravokivich

If you have a folder set to sync up, it'll have the updates queue'd for the next time you are online and will update to or from the cloud.

cormie

Ok sweet, I've just been on Live chat and it seems crash plan will be able to accommodate my plan above Also found out some good info for anyone concerned about the NSA getting the data.

Trevor
That looks like it will work fine. CrashPlan will keep files in the cloud even if they get deleted from the local source, so no worries there. Regarding excluding what is backed up to which destination, we offer backup sets to organize what you want backed up at each destination.

https://support.crashplan.com/Configuring/Creating_Backup_Sets


ME
That's cool about the backup sets. But I heard that if you don't connect the external HD for more than 30 days, your backup is removed or something?


Trevor
Some of our competitors do that, but we do not. The only instance in which your archive will be removed is if the computer is completely inactive for more than 6 months.

https://support.crashplan.com/Subscriptions/Backup_Retention_Policy_For_Inactive_Cloud_Destinations


ME
Ok great, so the plan I described is fully possible with Crashplan if I'm willing to transfer the media files manually?
and should work with Google Drive too?


Trevor
Correct

ME
Ok great stuff. Is there any intermediate package between the individual and family plan? Or any special offers or discount coupons going at the moment? Or are there any friend promo codes to get me to sign up as I have one friend on crashplan already

Trevor
No discounts or promotions at this time. The only difference between the individual and family plan is the number of computers you can back up. If you?re interested in something with a bit more features, CrashPlan PRO has more advanced web console administration for 10$ per month.

ME
Nah, I just meant price wise Can you also confirm, there is no expiry date on the data that's baccked up, which I no longer have on the laptop? Isn't there some version selection where some items can expire or only certain amounts are kept?

Trevor
By default CrashPlan will never remove deleted files, unless otherwise specified by the user.

ME
ok, and is there a way to lock any deleted files?

Also, I know restoring through the browser is limited to 250mb, so if I have a 500mb movie on my account and want to watch it, it's no possible to download this without installing crash plan to the computer I want to watch it from?

Trevor
That?s correct

ME
can I download more than 250mb through the app on my phone? How long on average might it take to download a 1gb file ?

Trevor
No, the only way to restore significant data is through the application. Depends a lot on the file, could take an hour

ME
so phone download is limited to 250mb too?
Trevor
I think it?s still 500mb, not sure on that. Let me check

ME
Thanks. I think browser limite is 250mb, not 500mb

Trevor
Sorry for the confusion, it?s 500mb for both

ME
ok, that's not so bad. Last question for today I think... Is all data stored in the USA and therefore may be inspected by the NSA if they so wish?

Trevor
Yes, all data is stored in the U.S. As for privacy concerns, here is our privacy policy for you to review:

https://www.code42.com/privacy-policy/

ME
ok, I see it says something about you disclosing info for national security concerns, but I thought it wasn't possible for you to access the data if it was encrypted with a key that only the user has?
Read

Trevor
I?m really not qualified to discuss the finer legal points, but it?s my understanding that we?re required to hand over whatever we have available. If you secure your archive with a key, we don?t have access to that so we give the data but there?s no way to decrypt it.

ME
Aha, interesting, that doesn't sound so bad then
Thanks a lot for all the help. I think I'll probably be signing up soon!
Delivered

cormie

Just when I was almost all set, Google go and announce this: https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/14/15802200/google-backup-and-sync-app-announced-drive-feature

That will surely be a game changer. I just paid for a year of Crashplan so will use it anyway and see how Google fares in a years time

cormie

Ah here...

CrashPlan® for Home
Transition Information
Here's what you need to know
Hello,

Thank you for being a CrashPlan® for Home customer. We're honored that you’ve trusted us to protect your data.

It's because of this trust that we want you to know that we have shifted our business strategy to focus on the enterprise and small business segments. This means that over the next 14 months we will be exiting the consumer market and you must choose another option for data backup before your subscription expires. We are committed to providing you with an easy and efficient transition.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU
We will honor your existing CrashPlan for Home subscription, keeping your data safe, as always, until your current subscription expires.

To allow you time to transition to a new backup solution, we've extended your subscription (at no cost to you) by 60 days. Your new subscription expiration date is 08/21/2018.

YOUR CHOICES
Your first step is to consider the options below, available exclusively for CrashPlan for Home customers. Once you make your selection, no further action is required until your new expiration date. We will send you reminders well before your CrashPlan for Home subscription ends.

Option 1
CRASHPLAN - For Small Business

Migrate to CrashPlan for Small Business in a Matter of Minutes

If you're a small business, freelancer or just getting your side hustle on, quickly move your data* into CrashPlan for Small Business for the remainder of your current subscription for free. After that, enjoy 75% off the regular price for the next 12 consecutive months. Get unlimited backup at an affordable monthly price and access our intuitive administration console for managing multiple users.
CLICK TO GET CRASHPLAN FOR SMALL BUSINESS


Option 2
Carbonite

If You're Backing Up Home Computers, Easily Start Up With Carbonite

We've selected Carbonite as our exclusive partner for home users. Like CrashPlan, Carbonite provides automatic and continuous backup for all of your important files. Carbonite is also recognized for its complimentary award-winning customer support. Carbonite is offering a 50% discount on their Home and Core plans, exclusively for CrashPlan for Home users. The Carbonite and CrashPlan for Home support teams are aligned to make your transition to Carbonite quick and easy.
GET CARBONITE WITH EXCLUSIVE OFFER!
If you take no action, we will honor the remainder of your subscription and then securely delete your backup.

If you have any additional questions, please refer to our Consumer Information Page. And thank you, again, for being a CrashPlan for Home customer.

Sincerely,
Joe Payne, President and CEO of Code42

*If you’re currently using CrashPlan for Home to back up to another computer, your computer-to-computer backup will be deleted once you convert. You’ll need to take action to preserve these archives prior to converting to CrashPlan for Small Business. You can migrate your cloud backups up to 5 TB per device. Some restrictions may apply. Click here to learn more.