HD backups

[mylesgm]

Hi All,

Getting ready to do set up a new hard drive back up setup and not sure what's the best way at the moment. In the past I've generally just utilised multiple portable HDs and I just make sure there is more than one copy of the material. Not particularly thorough but it has always worked. I want to go a little more streamlined and centralised. Was thinking something like 2x 4tb drives that are mirrored with all of my "not immediately active" projects on that and a second 2tb hard drive running as time machine for my laptop system which has whatever I'm currently tracking/mixing. This can all fit on a shelf in my computer cabinet. What do people think of this setup? Should I go with bog standard portable hard drives on usb3 or should I get a hard drive caddy? Does it matter? shouldn't I just go and have a beer?

[wez]

Hey Myles... yes beer is always a good idea. But you still need to tackle the backup plan.

There are lots of ways to do it, and there's no right or wrong way... whatever suits your work flow, as long as you follow a couple of rules -

First up, the old 'data doesn't exist unless it's in 3 places' rule. So you need a local backup and a remote backup. You're not just protecting yourself from drive failure, but also theft, and total loss (fire etc). So make sure there's an offsite backup.

Secondly... make your clients responsible for archiving the finished project. OK, so I've totally failed at that and have kept a copy of everything I've ever done, but I have issues.

Thirdly... instigate a backup schedule and stick to it.

My system is pretty simple... I don't use a mirror (but it's certainly not a bad idea), but I have a system drive, a project drive, and a 'storage' drive in my Mac Pro. Each get's backed up incrementally using Carbon Copy Cloner to it's own sparse image file on two external drives - a local backup, and a remote backup. The remote backup lives in a fireproof safe in another building.

Client projects get backed up on to at least one of these drives, plus a portable drive that the client keeps (and becomes the 'archive' once the project is finished). I also back up my MacBook Pro to the same drives.

I use raw 2TB WD 'green' drives with a Newertech Voyager dock. I try to back up to at least one of the drives once a week. I keep a record of when each drive is backed up. I've never used Time Machine or any automated system, always manual (again, I have issues) but I guess that would work.

That's the bare minimum for me to be able to sleep at night. I wish life were simpler.

[Drumstruck]

my 2c (devalued by infation to 1c) is based on simplicity:

1/ mirror the system drive for recovery purposes
2/ add another USB3 external and make regular (incremental) copies of your data drive
3/ if your comms are good enough get a secure cloud space and make a full then incremental data backups to that

If you need more local speed consider a RAID array instead of 2/

[gigpiglet]

i do something like wez

there is an extra drive in the main machine, that (daily? weekly? depends on how much work is going on) you can dump your project onto.
this of course only protects from drive failure (not fire etc)

if working on something important, and significant stages (end of bed tracks, after overdubs, end of vocal tracking, start of mixing etc) i copy onto portable drive which stays out of the studio at my desk (same building though)

similarly - at significant points of the project i back up to dedicated backup drives which live in the "server room"
i have a drive for each client/ type of project. so if i need to find a NOVA backup i know what drive its on, or a jack carty album will be on a different drive. i find that basic level of "filing" super helpful.
similarly once an album is finished, i copy to two track (and instrumentals etc) which are on a different machine, onto that final backup drive. that way the mixes are with the multis (for in 10 years time when someone asks for something)

i also back up all the mixes to another drive (which i guess is a backup of computer two in essnence) so all my mixes are in one place too.

and finally - if its something i couldnt live without - as in if the whole building burnt down, i take a copy home on an external drive and keep it in a drawer there.
there is not much that gets that treatment. i figure if my studio/ office/ building burn down - ill have many many more issues than what music was backed up.

i love carbon copy cloner for all these tasks.
only think i use time machine for is a daily/ automated backup of my laptop.

[Sammas]

If you have your computer on a network, something like a NAS might be a good solution.

It can be in another room (attached to your router via cat5 for example), and if you choose a two-HDD system it will also work as a mirrored raid (creating two copies).

[gigpiglet]

i looked at a NAS system
with the number of computers here and amount of data it seemed like the way to go..

but i couldnt come close to fulfilling the needs with a number that was anywhere near what i was willing to pay.

that was a few years ago, so things may have changed/ got cheaper - but at the time i was doing the research i just couldnt see it being worth the money

[Sammas]

A 2-bay D-link NAS is only $99 at MSY. With a pair of 2TB western digital drives ($90 each) you are looking at $280 all up?


Mirrored raid, and a bunch of other stuff. There are even USB ports on the back that you can hang USB drives or printers off.

[Thirteen]

A 2-bay D-link NAS is only $99 at MSY. With a pair of 2TB western digital drives ($90 each) you are looking at $280 all up?


Mirrored raid, and a bunch of other stuff. There are even USB ports on the back that you can hang USB drives or printers off.

MSY?

[Sammas]

http://www.msy.com.au/

Its the go-to computer shop for custom PC builders.

[gigpiglet]

i didnt look at any DIY solutions i must admit
and like i say - may be a different thing now (or maybe i was never looking in the right place)
i would have done NAS at the time i was doing all the other cabling etc
but since i didnt, i wont now.
if you know what i mean