We have talked a number of times about the best practices of backing up ones data. Currently I have I have three HD backups of everything and I rotate one of those drives offsite to a safe deposit box. I was using an Amazon S3 account to back up data to the cloud but soon realized that while the price was reasonable for small amounts of data, large amounts would be too costly. Enter Amazon Glacier. Data storage cost for an S3 account are .10 cents per GB but for Glacier it’s 1/10 the cost or .01 per GB! As an example, S3 cost for 500GB would be around $50 per month while a Glacier account would charge you $5 per month! Most of the solutions I see for cloud backup are charging along the lines of an S3 account, or more. And, because Amazon has been around a long time I have more faith that they will be there in the years ahead. The downside with a Glacier account is that you will need to wait a few hours to gain access to your data to retrieve it. You could combine an S3 account with a Glacier account. Have the files you are currently working on upload to S3 and then after a certain time archive it to Glacier.
If you couple your Glacier account with some of the software available for Amazon Web Services you can make the whole process of backing up seamless. I am currently using Cloudberry Backup ($29) which allows me to set and forget my backups. First I designate the directories I want backed up. I can then back up manually, set a schedule or have it work in the background looking for new or changed files (probably not the best solution while recording).
The length of time to back up large amounts of data will depend on your Internet connection. I recently had Verizon FIOS (fiber connection) installed and have a 50Mbps/25Mbps service (25Mbps up is the critical number) so my uploads are very fast and it did not take very long to back up all of my project files and mixes.
If you don’t have a fast Internet connection you can send a hard drive to Amazon to get the bulk of your files loaded on their system and then backup your new files as you go. The Cloudberry software will generate the necessary paperwork that Amazon requires.
I will still rotate my hard drives here at home to my safe deposit box but it’s nice to have that extra added protection.
Here are some helpful links to get started. BTW I have no skin in this game, just passing on the info.
http://www.online-tech-tips.com/computer-tips/how-to-move-amazon-s3-data-to-glacier/
http://www.cloudberrylab.com/amazon-s3-windows-server-backup.aspx
Scroll down to the “CloudBerry Backup Video Review” for setting it all up.
I should note that I am on a PC.
Hope this helps.
I’ve recently read about this Glacier cloud and even tried to implement a way myself to upload but turned out to be a headache specially with the restoration fees, so I looked for a service already does that and I was surprised to find that there are only two at the moment Arq for MAC users and Zoolz for windows. I totally recommend both they are saving me a huge amount of money!
http://www.haystacksoftware.com/arq/
http://www.zoolz.com/
@Tbone:
I am not backing my sample drives. I’m backing up my project files (DP projects, audio files, etc). I also use Crash Plan to back up my laptop hard drive (my personal computer–not my music computer) but Crash Plan makes it easy to backup multiple computers (or just a single hard drive inside a computer) within a single Crash Plan account.
And yes, that initial backup absolutely did take a long time! But since then it seems quite speedy.
I set it to run every night during the overnight hours. No problems yet in my 2nd year of using it.
However, the Amazon Glacier service looks great too, and probably cheaper.
There’s also a service called ‘Gobbler’ which is geared specifically towards audio file backup. I’ve heard great things about them.
Out of interest, how much are you guys having to backup? I mean, what is your total music folder back up size?
I don’t include any sample libraries or software in mine, since I know I can redownload them from the companies’ websites if necessary. Therefore my total data comes to about 100GB, so not that much.
I have about 300GB up at present but in total it will be about 1TB.
I checked out Crash Plan per chromatic’s suggestion. Looks like a great deal for “all you can eat” storage at $150 per year. My two concerns are that 1, some folks were complaining that they appear to throttle down the backup speed so that first big backup can take a long time. 2, I’m just concerned about the company’s longevity. Amazon has been around a long time so I am more comfortable with that.
1TB!!! Holy cow!
How many total finished tracks is that?
My 100GB is for about 150 tracks.
Sorry to be late on this reply. I have at least 500, all the mixes plus some client projects.
Wow, that’s still a huge amount of data per track compared to me. I think mine is low because I use a lot of midi tracks with plugin sounds… and those sounds I don’t back up as I can redownload them from my accounts on the companies’ websites. Actually this would be a fun little extra poll Art:
What is the total size of your backup:
Under 100
100-250
250-500
Over 500
Etc
I render all of my midi tracks to audio and that would explain the difference.
hi Art:
Thanks for sharing this. I find that Crash Plan works great for backing up my project hard drives, and it costs $150/yr. Since I’m already using it for backup of multiple computers including my personal computer, it was trivial to add my music computer and its project drives for no extra cost.