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Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

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Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#31

Post by dmd »

archagon wrote: post #25
relix wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm using Crashplan now but when my subscription runs out I will switch to Arq+AWS Glacier. I'm currently around the 300GB mark for backup space. Using glacier this would cost me $3/month, about $36/year or half as much as I'm paying for Crashplan ($60 with a discount). Even if it was more expensive for me, I would still switch, because I don't trust Crashplan completely. There have been stories from users of backups…

Don't you need to pay a ton to actually get your data out of glacier?

Not if you're willing to wait a few hours - a delay of the same or smaller order of magnitude as the transfer is going to take anyway.

For example, suppose you're restoring 50 GB. If you want to start the retrieval 4 hours from now (the minimum), you'll pay $97. If you're willing to wait 10 hours, that drops to $43. 20, $25. 40, $16. Goes down to $7 at the limit.

You can play with the cost at http://liangzan.net/aws-glacier-calculator/

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#33

Post by natch »

willtheperson wrote: post #28

Can someone tell me why I shouldn't be using BitTorrent Sync as a multi-location backup plan? In other words, can someone sell me on the idea of paying for AWS storage when I have dirt cheap storage around my house and even a remote location that I can stuff a huge drive in.

If use BitTorrent Sync, does that mean all your data is sitting unencrypted at the remote location? I guess that would be one reason.

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#34

Post by drdaeman »

dewey wrote: post #8
coffeecheque wrote: post #6

I love the addition of SFTP, and I hope to buy the update soon. Can anyone recommend a SFTP backup provider? My Arq backups are designed to be worst-case. I have other, local backup options in case of failure. I was using Glacier, but I ran into Arq3 sync problems and I need to re-upload all my data. Glacier is very slow from where I live. I assume SFTP will be a bit faster.

If you don't need a turnkey solution I'd just go with a cheap server provider like OVH/Online.net/Hetzner and set up an SFTP server there.

OVH has Swift/OpenStack storage service (hubiC) that makes Glacier look insanely expensive if we're talking about at least about 1TiB+ of backups. Can't tell anything about their reliability, though.

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#36

Post by natch »

chimeracoder wrote: post #11

Pretty awesome to see this. When I used a Mac for work, I used Arq and set it up on my coworkers' computers (they were completely non-technical). It was very easy to use. I'm curious what backup tools people use on Linux if they want to back up files on Glacier. I use git-annex[0] for certain files (it works well for pictures and media). The rest of my backup process is a fairly rudimentary (though effective) rsync s…

I use my own script.

It tars a directory, naming the output with a hash of the original directory name. Then it encrypts it with gpg and breaks it into small parts (100M) so I can pace any needed Glacier restores so as not to break the bank. Then it runs par2 on each part, to make it more likely that I can recover from any file corruption. Then it uploads each part and the par2 files to an S3 bucket which is set (via the S3 admin web dashboard UI) to automatically transition the files to Glacier.

The shortcoming is it's not a whole-system backup. Also it doesn't do differential backups, though that's not a problem for me because I organize things such that old stuff doesn't change often if ever. It's dirt cheap, one-command simple, and feels pretty reliable... though I must admit I haven't tested a restore!

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#37

Post by natch »

sreitshamer wrote: post #35
natch wrote: post #32

The purchase link is incredibly well hidden. Anyone find it?

That's not good! :) (It's my site) Here's the link: https://store.haystacksoftware.com/store?product=arq4

Especially for you: http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp...

pay close attention to the part about providing a clear call-to-action. :-)

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#38

Post by warmwaffles »

natch wrote: post #36
chimeracoder wrote: post #11

Pretty awesome to see this. When I used a Mac for work, I used Arq and set it up on my coworkers' computers (they were completely non-technical). It was very easy to use. I'm curious what backup tools people use on Linux if they want to back up files on Glacier. I use git-annex[0] for certain files (it works well for pictures and media). The rest of my backup process is a fairly rudimentary (though effective) rsync s…

I use my own script. It tars a directory, naming the output with a hash of the original directory name. Then it encrypts it with gpg and breaks it into small parts (100M) so I can pace any needed Glacier restores so as not to break the bank. Then it runs par2 on each part, to make it more likely that I can recover from any file corruption. Then it uploads each part and the par2 files to an S3 bucket which is set (via…

Do you mind sharing the script this with us? I currently have a NAS that I backup to and a couple external drives that the NAS backs up to (the most important backups). This is all painfully manual and I may write my own script sometime.

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#39

Post by Serow225 »

leejoramo wrote: post #30
tunesmith wrote: post #17

I've regularly been curious about this, but Crashplan has a stable reputation and seems much less expensive for large backups. For those who have researched Crashplan, why did you choose Arq instead?

As I have replied to several questions in this thread and said that I use both CrashPlan and Arq for remote backups let me give my rational. CrashPlan: I have used since soon after they first appeared for Mac. They have really strong compression and de-duplication to minimize and speed data transfers. I personally use their consumer and small business solutions. However, I also maintain their CrashPlan PROe enterpris…

I've talked to the CrashPlan folks recently, and they have been working on native clients for a while now. They wouldn't tell me a release date of course, but it's in the works :)

Re: Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

#40

Post by archagon »

dmd wrote: post #31
archagon wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you need to pay a ton to actually get your data out of glacier?

Not if you're willing to wait a few hours - a delay of the same or smaller order of magnitude as the transfer is going to take anyway. For example, suppose you're restoring 50 GB. If you want to start the retrieval 4 hours from now (the minimum), you'll pay $97. If you're willing to wait 10 hours, that drops to $43. 20, $25. 40, $16. Goes down to $7 at the limit. You can play with the cost at http://liangzan.net/aws-…

For me, the far more likely case would be 500GB, kept for a year. Even with 1000 hours (more than a month!!) for a restore, I'd still have to pay $125. CrashPlan lets me do this for free, and allows me arbitrary access to my backed up data to boot. It just seems like a better deal, unless you're really worried about data corruption in the cloud.
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