Just received a great question from Danny regarding online data storage.
Danny writes:
Mike…
Always appreciate and enjoy your newsletters. Do you use and/or recommend/discourage any of the online backup/restore services like Carbonite or Mosy? I gotta do “something” beyond my on-site hard drive mirroring using external drives. Want to cover my assets in case of fire or theft.
I’d appreciate your thoughts when you get a few moments.
Thanks,
Danny
My response:
Hi Danny –
I don’t use the online backup places for one significant reason: the amount of time it takes to upload/download data. Even over the fastest internet connections, transferring 1TB of data can take multiple hours and days. If my on-site disk drive fails it usually happens when I need the data the most. These things always happen when you are finishing a project for a client or trying to meet a deadline. Remember, Murphy’s Law is always in effect! Because of this, I don’t want to wait days (or even hours) to download my backup information.
I think the best solution is to create an off-site drive that is a clone of your on-site hard drive. Bring your off-site drive into the office once per week for data synchronization. Then, move it off-site immediately for safe keeping.
If disaster strikes my on-site drive, then I can quickly go grab the off-site backup and be back up and running in a matter of one hour.
Best regards,
Mike
