Cloud Storage..

utiler

Hey guys, I've got to a point where we need to make a decision on file management. Below is a synopsis of our current situation and an ideal solution. I just need ideas on the solution!

Situation:
Office size:
2-man architectural office; 40sqm. Both use SU exclusively and outsource documentation

Technology:
Individual PC's and laptops
Use MS Word / Excel / Outlook for contract admin documentation [I've recently moved over to Google Apps and dropped Outlook and trying to drop Word and Excel...]

File Management:
Individual PC's and laptops have external hard drive backup

Ideal:
Google Apps operating via Gmail, Docs and SU [of course]
Office templates, proformas, etc. to cloud storage [have
Sync to cloud all documentation with periodic backups to physical archive

Cheers!

brodie

I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for. You're asking what the best solution is for you to backup your files?

-Brodie

utiler

Yes Brodie. Our option is to buy another PC and set up a server but don't want the hassle of another system..... not do we have the space!

Not sure if Google's Cloud Storage allows for files other than Picasa and Docs.

Rich O Brien

How about a FreeNAS setup. I've one in the house it's great and easy to do.

Whilst the cloud is great sometimes having it locally is a bit more secure.

brodie

Any idea how many gigs you're wanting to back up? I've got a few ideas and solutions that I've used depending on the size.

-Brodie

Ecuadorian

Currently using Backblaze. $50/year per machine, unlimited space, continuous backup, no problems. It backups all user data by default, but you can select folders/drives you want it NOT to backup.

You can think of it not only as a backup service, but also as some sort of "cloud USB drive"... I was recently on vacation in Chile and needed some SketchUp files from home. I just logged in to Backblaze and downloaded them.

utiler

@Rich - FreeNAS; never heard of it but will have a squizz...
@Brodie - I'd say up to 50Gb would do seeing I would periodically back up physically.
@Ecuadorian - I have a look at Backblaze as well....

I've heard Dropbox is very simple to use but what I was thinking is maybe looking into Google's cloud storage which I believe integrates with docs seamlessly... you'd expect so I guess.

Cheers,

brodie

Well, I'll explain what I do. I backup for multiple reasons and use a variety of methods. Primarily I backup in case of loss of data of course but I also sometimes need files while I'm at home.

I place all of my files on a NAS which is connected to my computer but can be accessed by other computers on the network as well. The NAS has 2 1TB hard drives which are mirrored so if a hard drive dies the other one automatically takes over with no loss of productivity. I also have 2 1TB external drives. 1 is plugged in and once every couple weeks or so I'll do a backup of everything on the NAS to my external drive using Puresync which is very nice for a free program. Once I do the backup I swap it out for the other external drive which is in a firesafe. So the worse case scenario that's reasonable is someone coming in and stealing everything on my desk. In that case I'd loose a maximum of 2 weeks worth of work since I've got a hard drive in the firesafe. If the apocalypse occurs and somehow I loose everything on my desk and somehow the drive in the firesafe is damaged or lost...well, I've probably got bigger problems than my lost data (like fighting zombies or digging myself out of the massive earthquake rubble). So far all of that backup just costs me the time it takes to backup the external drive every couple weeks which you could set up on a schedule to run over night if you'd like.

For accessing files outside of work I have another 1TB drive. I used to have a smaller drive but I found it a hassle to have to decide what I may or may not need to backup. So now I just put everything on there and take it home at night. Puresync has the ability to sync files as they change so you wouldn't really have to do any hands on syncing at the end of the day but I haven't quite figured that feature out yet.

I use the free version of dropbox occasionally and it comes in really handy. If for some reason something is on my computer at work that I really need I'll log in with Logmein.com (also free) and place the file in dropbox which will sync it up with my home computer.

One thing I'd suggest looking into for you is Sugarsync as a possible replacement for Dropbox. I downloaded it and never really learned to use it but I understand it has an important feature dropbox doesn't really have. With Sugarsync you can choose any folder on your computer to sync up. With dropbox, if it isn't in your dropbox folder it doesn't sync so you have to be very intentional about which files you want to copy over to dropbox. I'm afraid I don't know anything about google's cloud so I can't help there. Hopefully this will at least give you an idea of how someone else has approached this issue of backups and storage.

Oh ya, I should mention that I'm thinking about getting rid of the NAS and just having all the files. THere's an issue, at least with ReadyNAS, where the thumbnails don't generate very reliably which really sucks since I deal so much with images and need to see the thumbnails.

-Brodie

utiler

Thanks Brodie, I really appreciate you putting the time into outlining your process. It certainly gives me some insight into options...

Cheers!

andybot

Good backups are definitely critical! A few suggestions I have:

burn DVD's of current files monthly - always good to have optical backup.
My file sync software of choice is Synkron.
I got rid of mirroring my hard drives after I experienced some corruption problems. It's quite a *itch to get files off of one half of a mirrored drive... Now I have a setup where I schedule synkron to copy updated files daily to a second hard drive that I basically use as a mirror, without the mirror format. I then have an external drive I update weekly.