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Arq 4 is out – Mac backup to S3/Glacier

haystacksoftware.com

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

#91

Post by chmars »

acjohnson55 wrote: post #90
chmars wrote: post #89

BTW, another great product from the same developers have recently become available: It's called Filosync and is like Dropbox but secure and with your own (or with Amazon) servers. Check out http://www.filosync.com/ for more information. And be warned, it's pricey!

My personal solution is to use the free Boxcryptor Classic [1] on top of Dropbox. I've actually replaced my entire Documents folder with a link symlink to its version in my Boxcryptor instance (something I was leery of doing directly in Dropbox, for privacy reasons). So now I get transparent encryption and sync on both of my computers. It's been working amazingly for about 6 months now. [1] https://www.boxcryptor.com…

I did a test with BoxCryptor last year and was not too pleased. For enterprise use with the necessary master key, it's expensive too, and you still have the disadvantages of Dropbox. On the other hand, if you are a Dropbox user and willing to pay for BoxCryptor, the solution works flawlessly.

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

#92

Post by northwoods »

sreitshamer wrote: post #48
egonschiele wrote: post #44

Could you change the upgrade system on macs please? I got a message telling me to install the latest update -- so I did. I was on a paid version of Arq 3, and now I'm on a trial version of Arq 4 :-/

Didn't the upgrade text explain that it was a paid upgrade? I tried to make that as clear as I could. If you want to stick with Arq 3 you can. Delete Arq 4. Download Arq 3 ( http://www.haystacksoftware.com/arq/Arq_3.3.4.zip ). Launch Arq 3. You'll have to find your old backup set under "Other Backup Sets", select it, and click the "Adopt This Backup Set" button. Sorry for the hassle.

Agree that this should have been presented differently - something other than the normal update mechanism, which becomes routine over time. This is a major update with a fee associated - the 'upgraded' user is presented with an 'unlicensed' copy of Arq4 and continual purchase dialogs until they get out their credit card and pay again.

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

#93

Post by sreitshamer »

mjmsmith wrote: post #61
AdamGibbins wrote: post #3

Wonderful piece of software - highly recommended. Awesome upgrade also, have been waiting for S3 alternatives for a long time. It's unfortunate a few things appear to be backwards - why can you include wifi APs, yet not exclude them - despite the example suggesting you exclude from tethered devices. Likewise, why can you email on success, but not failure.

Seriously? There's still no way to get notified if a backup fails?

It emails on both success and failure.

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

#94

Post by relix »

archagon wrote: post #68
kl4m wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the same price for ~72h retrieval...

Still, it means your monthly price isn't actually what it seems. With 72 hour retrieval, you'll be paying about $14 a month, compared to CrashPlan's $5. And what if you need the data earlier? If you have bad luck and your hard drive crashes a month after you make your backup, you'll end up paying about $100 a month, at least for that month. CrashPlan's flat rate means you don't have to stress out about the fine print…

You have bigger problems if you need to recover from backup once a year.

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

#95

Post by leejoramo »

chmars wrote: post #77
leejoramo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will ignore what I do for server backups, and I will focus on my MacBook. I run my web development business and my personal life off of this system. The software I use: CrashPlan, Arq, DropBox, Carbon Copy Cloner. CrashPlan: I have backing up my data, configuration /Users, /Library. I have a bunch of regex restrictions to not backup various files such as caches, VMWare images, etc. Crashplan backups up to their clo…

@leejoramo: > DropBox: I have many of my documents stored in Dropbox with the PackRat feature to keep copies of every version and deletion. Aren't you worried about the lack of encryption?

Due to privacy concerns, I don't put everything in Dropbox. But most of what I do doesn't need to be that protected. And I do keep somethings in Dropbox that have been gpg encrypted.

I live in a office and work environment with windows that people can look in. I don't much like people staring in, but I am also not about to keep the blackout curtains drawn at all times.

I do wish that there were other more secure options than Dropbox, but the combination of easy of use, price, third party support, and collaboration make Dropbox hard to beat.

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

#96

Post by leejoramo »

ojilles wrote: post #71
Stratoscope wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Currently, the biggest pain point for me in backups is VMWare images. I currently have 4 Linux and 3 Windows images on this system, and they can cause a huge amount of data needing to be backed up every time they are used. This is where a sector-by-sector backup program shines. I don't know what to recommend on the Mac, but on Windows, ShadowProtect is pretty wonderful. It backs up only changed sectors - update 10M…

Why not just setup backups from inside the VM's, while having the base VM image backed up somewhere (once) as well?

I have sometimes done this with Linux VM's that I use for local development.

Usually, the VM disk images are some where between the need to backup Applications and configuration files, and not as important my work and data files.

The problem with VM's is not just the quantity of data that needs to be backed up, but the overall size of the data that needs to be evaluated. I think that CrashPlan does a pretty good job of just coping the changed data of the disk image, but it has to do a HUGE amount of processing with every backup. Therefore VM's are hard to fit in with the remote versioned backups of CrashPlan and Arq.

I do backup these up via Carbon Copy Clone when I mirror the entire drive.

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

#98

Post by jonpierce »

tedchs wrote: post #97

What I couldn't find is whether Arq encrypts the data client side before uploading it. This has prevented me from using several other backup tools. Does anybody know?

Yes, it does. "All encryption is done before your data leave your computer" - http://www.haystacksoftware.com/arq/index.php

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

#99

Post by cmsj »

OWaz wrote: post #13
leejoramo wrote: post #2

Arq has been part of my backup systems since version 2. This upgrade looks very good. Especially the expansion beyond relying solely on Amazon S3 and use number of other services including SSH. Having used the past Glacier support, the new S3 Glacier Lifecycle will be much better. I am wondering about when (if?) the open source arq_restore and format documentation will be updated.

Do you mind elaborating what your total backup solution is? I've been looking at Arq but am not aware of what it does not do and what I would need to fill in the gaps. Currently I rely on time machine backing up to three different drives and keeping one of those drives in the office.

So, you need to cover yourself against (at least) the following:

1. Bug in your backup software This is addressed by using more than 1 piece of backup software.

2. Corruption in your live data (i.e. your filesystem corrupts your favourite baby photo) This is addressed by having lots of incremental backups going back into history. Note that Time Machine throws away historical incrementals over time, so does not protect against this, given long enough time windows.

3. Failure of your backup hardware This is addressed by using more than 1 piece of backup hardware.

4. Destruction of your backup hardware This is addressed by having your backups exist in more than 1 physical location, so you can never lose your live data and all your backups because of, say, a house fire.

5. User error deletion of data This is addressed by having backups that run frequently.

My strategy is:

* Time Machine to a Time Capsule on my LAN

* Time Machine to an external disk on my Mac

* Nightly Carbon Copy Cloner clone of my entire disk to (the same) external disk on my Mac

* Nightly Arq backup to Glacier's Ireland location (I live in London)

So (in addition to the live copy of my data on my Mac's main disk) I have 4 copies of my data, from 3 different pieces of backup software, on 3 different pieces of hardware, in 2 different locations. The CCC clone is there mainly because it's bootable, so if my mac's SSD fails, I can reboot and hold a key and I'm no more than 24 hours behind.

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

#100

Post by acjohnson55 »

chmars wrote: post #91
acjohnson55 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My personal solution is to use the free Boxcryptor Classic [1] on top of Dropbox. I've actually replaced my entire Documents folder with a link symlink to its version in my Boxcryptor instance (something I was leery of doing directly in Dropbox, for privacy reasons). So now I get transparent encryption and sync on both of my computers. It's been working amazingly for about 6 months now. [1] https://www.boxcryptor.com…

I did a test with BoxCryptor last year and was not too pleased. For enterprise use with the necessary master key, it's expensive too, and you still have the disadvantages of Dropbox. On the other hand, if you are a Dropbox user and willing to pay for BoxCryptor, the solution works flawlessly.

What do you mean by the disadvantages of Dropbox?

Also, keep in mind that Boxcryptor and Boxcryptor Classic are two different products. If sharing files in an encrypted way with other people or having a master key is part of your use case, Boxcryptor Classic is not a great choice. But if you just need a way to store your own files in the cloud, with seamless sync between machines, and without privacy concerns, Boxcryptor Classic has worked very well for me.

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