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New Online Backup Services Coming (Read 44109 times)
Pleonasm
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New Online Backup Services Coming
Jul 26th, 2006 at 12:39pm
 
According to CNN, there will soon be a proliferation of companies offering on-line backup services, including:
  • Symantec (“soon plans to combine a Web-based backup product with its Norton antivirus software”)
  • Seagate (“plans to roll out a separate online storage and file-sharing service in August”)
  • Microsoft
  • Google
This is good.  Online backup is a great approach to achieving off-site protection.
 

ple • o • nasm n. “The use of more words than are required to express an idea”
 
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Rad
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #1 - Jul 26th, 2006 at 6:49pm
 
hi pleo.

yeah, i know you've been banging the drums for off-site (online) back-ups . and for good reason.

the problem is, i think, that folks don't see the necessity .. until it's too late. i mean, that's how it was with me. the back-up lesson is a painful one to learn. which is how i found ghost.

the story about the guy in the cnn article is definitely a-typical.

i think google offers 2 gigs of storage for each email account. i have 3. that's 6 gigs worth (free)i think you could just attach an image file an send an email from one acct to the other.

but come to think of it, that's probably not enuf space for an image.

whatever these people are charging, it's worth it .. and competition is always good for us. here's a quote:

"
which lets users back up unlimited amounts of data for less than $5 a month
."

i wonder why symantec doesn't package the online back-ups with ghost or norton save & restore .. instead of anti-virus. i mean, that would be the more logical segue, no?

folks interested in imaging are typically interested in backing up.

which is the one you are using?
 
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Pleonasm
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #2 - Jul 27th, 2006 at 11:25am
 
Yes, Rad – I agree:  it would make quite a bit of sense for Symantec to add an online backup capability, probably best as part of the new Norton Save & Restore product and/or the Norton 360 service.

For myself, I don’t see the necessity of storing a Ghost image at an off-site location (e.g., by using an online backup service or otherwise).  If the PC and the backup images were both destroyed, that would be okay.  In this scenario, I would replace my entire PC system and start “fresh” by reinstalling all of my existing applications and my personal data files, both of which are maintained on my online backup service.

I use the Connected DataProtector online backup service.  It’s certainly one of the most expensive alternatives in this arena, but I like the fact that it is ‘commercial grade’ and delivered by Iron Mountain Digital, “the world's largest provider of data backup/recovery and archiving software as a service”.  Contrast this with the $5/month option by Carbonite, which appears to be a start-up operation run by “two guys”.  We all have different tolerances for risk and different perceptions of cost/benefit, but – in my opinion – reliability, trustworthiness and security (not price) should be the key considerations in choosing an online backup solution.
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #3 - Jul 27th, 2006 at 3:13pm
 
On-line, off-site storage is a great idea.

Downside, and what has so far put me off, has got to be the time to upload the initial relatively large volume of data and the amount of data for the subsequent daily incremental backups.

I have followed Pleos link, thanks for that, to his supplier and looked at their FAQ, see link below, which provides a table that indicates a 256Kbps upload speed would take almost an hour to backup 100Mb. Considering my data is 40Gb across 56,000 files this would take days to upload? OK, so obviously it's going to depend on your own ADSL upload speed and the contention ratio. It would be great to get your "real world" feedback on:-

1. Amount of data for your first backup.
2. ADSL upload speed.
3. Contention ratio.
4. Time for that first high volume of data to copy to your suppliers on-line site.

Maybe one way around this is to backup only your vital data and thus limit the volume?

http://onlinebackup.connected.com/faq_internetconnections.asp
 
 
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #4 - Jul 27th, 2006 at 4:15pm
 
Kool, I use ADSL with an advertised upload speed of 896 Kbps, but in reality often transmit at 1,000 Kbps.  Additionally, the Connected DataProtector product compresses files before transmission, further enhancing the effective upload speed.  Nonetheless, the initial upload of information may require choosing a portion of your backup set and letting your PC run overnight, and repeating that cycle until all of your critical files are first uploaded.

I store about 7 GB of information using Connected DataProtector.  I don’t recall how long the initial upload required, but I remember being surprised that it ran faster than expected.  The intention of the service is to backup only your most critical personal files rather than everything on the PC (i.e., “backup only your vital data and thus limit the volume”).

I think I have only had two instances where the service was temporarily unavailable, and each situation was quite brief in duration.  I have not seen evidence of ‘contention’, and so suspect that Connected has a lot of inbound bandwidth.

In most day-to-day cases, updating my backup takes about one-to-five minutes (during which time you can continue to use your PC, if you wish).  Note that Connected only transmits the changed ‘deltas’ (disk blocks) of a file – rather than the entire file – where possible, and this greatly speeds the process.  You can schedule the backup, or launch one manually by right-clicking the tray icon and choosing “Backup Now”.

I have retrieved selected files about eight times, and in each case the service was flawless.  I like the fact that you can choose any of the prior nine versions of a file (within the most recent ninety days) to restore – a handy feature.

You may wish to consider testing and evaluating the Connected DataProtector service using the free 30-day trial option.

Does this information answer your questions?
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #5 - Jul 27th, 2006 at 4:49pm
 
Thanks Pleo for your swift reply, answered in full, QED.

Envious of your upload speed! Mine tests at 366Kbps.
 
 
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #6 - Jul 27th, 2006 at 8:17pm
 
 
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #7 - Jul 28th, 2006 at 12:58pm
 
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #8 - Jul 29th, 2006 at 5:26pm
 
fyi: i included a link to this thread in the ghost guide where i discuss redundant back-up, at the very bottom of this page:

http://ghost.radified.com/ghost_2.htm
 
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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #9 - Jul 30th, 2006 at 10:41am
 
The reader of this thread may also be inerested in the following discussions:
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #10 - Aug 4th, 2006 at 10:23am
 
Quote:
Time Warner Inc.’s AOL service early next month will offer 5 GB of free online storage to all Web users with an AOL or AIM screen name, outdoing rivals like Google’s Gmail, Yahoo Mail and MSN’s Hotmail.

This comes soon after AOL, Dulles, VA, launched a free video service and free e-mail accounts to broadband users.

The free storage will be powered by AOL’s Xdrive service. It is intended to let users back up files like photos, documents, music and videos.

Users will be able to access their files on the Web and share them with others by granting file/folder permission. Files can be moved via drag-and-drop tools and are automatically backed up.

There will be no charges for users to upload or download.

Users who need more storage can upgrade to a premium service with 50GB of storage, AOL said.

Source:  http://www.dmnews.com/cms/dm-news/internet-marketing/37746.html
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #11 - Sep 11th, 2006 at 12:13pm
 
It has arrived:  5GB of free online storage with Xdrive.

P.S.:  A word to the wise - Xdrive is owned by AOL, a company that doesn't have a great reputation for being 'customer-centric.'
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #12 - Oct 8th, 2007 at 9:45am
 
Readers of this thread may be interested in Windows Live SkyDrive Beta, a free service providing 500MB of online file storage.
 

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Re: New Online Backup Services Coming
Reply #13 - Oct 18th, 2007 at 11:27am
 
A good review of several options for online backup may be found in this article:  Take Your Storage Online
 

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