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  • #2219399

    Which of these do you think is a better option?

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    by tink! ·

    I’m still looking for a replacement to our tape drive backup that is cheaper than a new tape drive.

    I only need 40-50 GB of storage space. We do have a Fire-proof safe where we keep tapes (or whatever backup solution I end up with.)

    So, I’m considering the following and would like your input as to which is better, factoring in cost, effectiveness, durability and efficiency.

    – USB Flash Drive
    – External Hard Drive (USB or Firewire)
    – New tape drive

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    • #2856026

      Clarifications

      by tink! ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      Clarifications

    • #2856022

      I have our home network on an external

      by darryl~ ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      1 TB drive connecting to my computer via ESATA…it seems pretty fast (better than USB)…it didn’t cost much & I back up mine straight to the drive & PurpleSkys & our daughter’s computers across the network….I use Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition….it schedules full, differencial, etc. backups….works really well for us & is inexpensive.

      At work we have a full tape library & use Symantec Backup Exec….that’s kinda pricey though.

      EDITED FOR: tapes are easier to control for storage….you’d have many tapes but only one external drive.

    • #2856006

      Lacie 5big Network

      by jfuller05 ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      we use this as our backup solution at work and I have to say that it’s everything the .pdf says it is.
      It’s quiet, reliable, and the software is easy to use. You can schedule backups for the month/year/whatever you want as Full, Diff., Inc., Copy, and you can use it in a RAID fashion.

      http://www.lacie.com/download/datasheet/5big_network_en.pdf

      http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10007

      In my experience, it’s been great, but of course I’m sure there are others that disagree.

    • #2855982

      very little to back up

      by muzza2005 ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      Tape is far more reliable, but costs more. Disks don’t report bad blocks back to the OS, so in time the disks may degradate to the point of failure.

      50GB on USB stick is pushing it… USB/firewire drive pref. Double up on the drives, and dual write in the backup cycle. Quite a few freebie/cheap backup s/w packages around.

    • #2855981

      What do y’all thing about this scenario?

      by tink! ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      I’m leaning toward external drives, although not certain on what connection yet.

      I’m thinking since tape drives seem to be several hundred dollars up to over $1000 (not to mention the tapes themselves are heavy cost too), I’m thinking of proposing the purchase of 2 external drives (approx $200 each).

      Because we only need to be able to restore 1 day back, I can swap the drives each day and store the current backup in the safe.

      Does this sound like too much?

      • #2855972

        It should work OK Tink

        by oh smeg ·

        In reply to What do y’all thing about this scenario?

        Just make sure that whatever you use to Backup can be used on different Hardware in the event of something really nasty happening.

        But saying that I had a External HDD dropped and destroyed 2 days before a Tax Department Audit by a customer. The guy that stole the NB with the only copy of the Accounting program on caused the External Drive to be dropped.

        It cost a lot of money to have On Track here recover the Data in time for the audit well nearly at least I was only a hour or so late in getting in the door.

        I would be using more than 2 HDD Drives though.

        Col

        • #2855918

          Agreed….

          by darryl~ ·

          In reply to It should work OK Tink

          Thus the reason I mentioned tapes are a lot easier to store……even dropping a tape can scr3w it.

          It all comes down to “how valuable is the data”?

          😉

      • #2855917

        Depends how far the safe is

        by nexs ·

        In reply to What do y’all thing about this scenario?

        Or, more importantly, how much hassle it is to travel between server and safe on a daily basis.

        The replacement expense would be smaller than that of tape, but tape has the chance of lasting longer (no ‘moving parts’ etc.).
        So you’d probably have to make the decision based on dollars.

    • #2855900

      I can suggest

      by .martin. ·

      In reply to Which of these do you think is a better option?

      two (or however many) of these: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cef42o

      they are a dual drive external hard drive, with 500GB of space in a RAID 1 config, unit is completely user serviceable, with the option to put larger (or smaller) drives into it.

      also, depending on how much of the data changed daily, I would probably consider an off-site/online incremental backup system.

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