Backup Solution

[wingfen]

I'm looking for a backup solution for a website I run. I have other backup systems already in place, but would like to add a personal HD system to it. Capacity-wise my other solutions are 10 GB and I'm nowhere near that amount, though I like to keep a lot of backups. Anything 500 GB or larger will work for my needs, and really 100 GB would be fine but I know that nothing is really sized like that these days.

From my reading here it seems there's a lot of support for the HP EX485 (or 487). My only concern with that is I really want reliable drives, so it seems like I'd have to go with the 485 and then add 1 or 2 other drives (if you have recommendations that'd be great). I would also like the system to be fairly quiet.

Price is a concern, as I'd like to keep the entire solution around $750, unless there's a great reason to do otherwise. I want something that will last a long time, which is another concern (maybe) with the HP as it runs Server 2003.

My main computer is a laptop, so that pretty much rules out anything requiring a PCIe card or something of that nature. I'm not averse to building a separate machine for it, if the cost makes sense.

I like the idea of the HP being network accessible but security is always a concern. I'm not quite sure yet how I'd like to get data onto the machine (automated FTP, cwsync, etc.) and would appreciate some help in that area. I need something that will not compromise my main server if the system is compromised, so that probably means "pushing" to the backup solution. Remote access is a bonus.

Basically I'm looking for a system that requires minimal management and setup and maximum data security. I would probably keep one drive disconnected at all times in case of an intrusion or compromised software.

In addition to the HP I find this Netgear NAS interesting (http://www.netgear.com/Product...detail=Specifications). I like that it provides RAID-1 instead of just copying certain folders.

I don't have any experience with NAS so I appreciate any help.

 

[wingfen]

Bump. It looks like the HP may be the best solution for me, but I'm still a bit concerned about the lack of RAID. However, it seems like it's the easiest to use and setup, and support would probably be decent.

 

[RebateMonger]

I never replied to your original post because it wasn't clear to me what "backup solution for a website" meant. Does this mean you have an onsite server that you want backed up? Or does it mean something else? Thanks.

 

[wingfen]

Ah, no problem, I apologize for the confusion.

I have a hosted website (a www, not intranet) and I'd like to back up the database/html/etc. to a home storage solution. While this will only be part of my disaster recovery solution, I'm looking for something fairly robust and reliable.

Thanks.

 

[wingfen]

Bump again.

 

[RebateMonger]

Windows Home Server is certainly a sold way to back up a system on your own network. If you are using it solely for backups, it won't do any good to add a second disk and enable folder redundancy, since the backups aren't part of the folder redundancy system.

I'd:
1) Make periodic copies of your web page code and your database contents. Make these copies to a PC on your network.
2) Have Windows Home Server make daily automatic backups of that PC, as well as any other PCs on your network.

If you do it this way, you'll have three copies of your web site:
1) On the web site itself
2) On the PC on your network
3) On the Windows Home Server

WHS will retain all versions of all files (including your web site and database) that are copied to your PC. So you should be able to restore your site or database back to any date that you have a backup of. By default, WHS keeps daily backups for a week or so, then keeps weekly backups, then monthly backups. You can set the automatic retention periods to suit your needs.

There's no built-in automated "backups-of-the-backups" in WHS. And no provision for frequently disconnecting drives in its Storage Pool. If you want to keep additional, disconnected, backups, you can attach a USB or eSATA drive and make backups to that.

You might also consider online backups, such as Carbonite. Carbonite will back up data files on a single desktop computer, with "unlimited" data size, for $55 a year.

Finally, you could probably script automated FTP backups of your web site and database to your desktop computer.

 

[wingfen]

After doing some more research, it looks like WHS may not be the solution I am looking for. I have a few qualifications for what I'm looking for, and I hope I can figure something out that fits. First, I need to be able to set up an automatic FTP to the system. Second, I'd like some sort of hardware redundancy, at the very least RAID-1 with 2 drives. Third, I'd like something that is remotely accessible. Ideally the system would be remotely accessible such that I could FTP from the backup system back to the web, all remotely.

Thanks for any help.