Backing up raw files online

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_MikeyB

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Michael
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I'm wanting to backup my Aperture library online - basically, in case my laptop & external had drives fail, including the one off site - I'll have a copy of my original photos online.

I want to upload them as raw files as that protects me for future proofing my skills. I'm obviously going to be learning new tricks etc as things move on - so I'll need access to the raw files, as well as my current edits.

If I can keep a copy of the entire Aperture library online, then that's my most preferred solution.

I've looked into online storage from specific photo hosting companies, but they generally charge on a upload and download basis which won't be cheap.

What I do have, is a hosted server - which I can upload and download unlimited amounts of data to and from.

So - ideally, I'd like to run some sort of Apple script (or windows batch file) to ftp my current library, then the next time, only upload the changed and new files.

Is this possible, or is there a better solution that you're aware of?

Thanks
Mike
 
Keep more copies on more hard drives in separate locations e.g relatives and friends etc.
 
How fast is your internet connection and what limits does your ISP place on upload/download size. Most ISPs will limit the amount you can transfer per month. Even those that are 'unlimited' will probably have a 'fair use' policy that will restrict you to a few 10s of GB per month. Now I have around 200GB of raw images, so I'd be looking at the best part of a year to upload them with those sorts of restrictions.

But a backup is useless if you can't access the data when disaster strikes. What use is a backup if it takes you a year to restore your data?

Take Michael's advice. Get eSATA on your PC/Mac, buy an eSATA dock and three 1TB hard drives. Copy all your images to each of the three drives (shouldn't take more than a few hours). Take one of the disks to a different location - work, friend's house, mother-in-law's house - so that you've still got the images if the house is burgled, flooded, burnt down, trampled by elephants, etc. Then keep one of the disks in the dock (put the other one safely away in a draw) and set your PC/Mac up to keep everything backed up. Every now and then rotate the three disks.

That system will be cheaper and faster than anything the Cloud can offer. It may be a little more hassle day-to-day, but it's a lot less hassle when disaster does strike.
 
I have 3 hard drives already running vaults - one is taken to my office which is then off-site.

I have Virgins 50MB connection which is lightening quick - its about to be upgraded to 100MB soon (so I'm told) so speed should be good - upload is around 1.6 mb at the moment too.
 
_MikeyB said:
I have 3 hard drives already running vaults - one is taken to my office which is then off-site.

I have Virgins 50MB connection which is lightening quick - its about to be upgraded to 100MB soon (so I'm told) so speed should be good - upload is around 1.6 mb at the moment too.
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upload speeds top out at 2mb i believe, even on this high speed connections.

i certainly wouldnt want to upload a substantial amount of data on that. id go down the route of muliple hard drive backups with rotating at least one hard drive off site.

you'll also need to factor in download times in the event of total loss. downloading 1tb+ of data for example wont take overnight. especially with data caps etc.
 
neil_g said:
upload speeds top out at 2mb i believe, even on this high speed connections.

i certainly wouldnt want to upload a substantial amount of data on that. id go down the route of muliple hard drive backups with rotating at least one hard drive off site.

you'll also need to factor in download times in the event of total loss. downloading 1tb+ of data for example wont take overnight. especially with data caps etc.
Click to expand...

This is the point of my original post - once the data is uploaded - I'd like a script to upload only the changed or new files - I don't take that many shots and I don't care if it takes 2 days to upload all the shots as it's running on a server at home.

I think the conclusion is to carry on using multiple external HD's as said - and then I'll look into using Virgin's webspace as you get unlimited storage online too - all included in the price of the DSL connection.
 
_MikeyB said:
once the data is uploaded - I'd like a script to upload only the changed or new files
Click to expand...

if you can find one that accepts ftp uploads that should be possible i guess.. otherwise its going to depend largely on what method the storage company accepts for connection and/or if they want you to use their software.
 
Bear in mind web servers can and do fail and a backup from the isp is not always an option, well an up to date one any way.
 
i just think youre more than covered with your current solution. the chances of all of your on site and off site backups failing at the same time is minimal.

just seems a little pointless to me..

(for the record i manage the backups for a national retailer)
 
Have you looked at the specialist on-line backups (e.g. Carbonite)?

(I'm going through the same decision process atm :))
 
No, I kind of ruled companies out like that as they generally charge on the amount of data you upload and download. Could work out quite expensive.
 
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