mojopojo
asked on
Looking for a good "Off-site" storage/backup solution.
I am in need of a descent off-site storage solution and was wondering if anyone had some suggestions. It has become necessary for one of my users (home office) to backup his data to off-site storage. He would also like to be able to have access to the files while traveling (without his laptop) from any terminal.
The home-office consists of 3 Win XP Pro PCs, running over a GB router w/CAT-6 cabling. The ISP is Comcast – which here in Chicago provides cable modem service with decent bandwidth. He will require about 25GB of storage space for his files and backups (this is more than enough for him to grow into).
I must implement this solution with the following restrictions:
-Using the existing infrastructure/No additional hardware (i.e. – no new FTP server, etc).
-Keeping the same dynamic IP account with the ISP.
-Backup must run “incremental” to save time, bandwidth and space.
-Files must be accessible (can be additional to backup) from any remote location.
We tried iOmega’s “iStorage” service that promised to fulfill our every requirement – but it didn’t work at all. Their on-line backup software wouldn’t run the first full backup so the incremental was useless. The web interface was often garbled and parts of it transposed over other parts that needed to be accessed but couldn’t be. It constantly said that the file structure I was trying to move had been up-loaded but none on them appeared in the iStorage folder list, were inaccessible if they were there and did not appear to take up any of the total leased storage space (25GB – professional account) by there own meters. And there was NO tech support what so ever and no one replied to my e-mail queries to their support staff. So we canceled and got a full refund – which they did respond to and quickly.
So if anyone has used a service similar to what iOmega promised, but that actually delivers I would love to hear about your experiences and take/look into any recommendations. Please, post only if you have used one of these services. I can read all of the press I want. What I am looking for are success stories from real techs who have experience with the product. Not testimonials from the aplication's site.
Just wanted some credible input/feedback.
Thanks,
-MP
The home-office consists of 3 Win XP Pro PCs, running over a GB router w/CAT-6 cabling. The ISP is Comcast – which here in Chicago provides cable modem service with decent bandwidth. He will require about 25GB of storage space for his files and backups (this is more than enough for him to grow into).
I must implement this solution with the following restrictions:
-Using the existing infrastructure/No additional hardware (i.e. – no new FTP server, etc).
-Keeping the same dynamic IP account with the ISP.
-Backup must run “incremental” to save time, bandwidth and space.
-Files must be accessible (can be additional to backup) from any remote location.
We tried iOmega’s “iStorage” service that promised to fulfill our every requirement – but it didn’t work at all. Their on-line backup software wouldn’t run the first full backup so the incremental was useless. The web interface was often garbled and parts of it transposed over other parts that needed to be accessed but couldn’t be. It constantly said that the file structure I was trying to move had been up-loaded but none on them appeared in the iStorage folder list, were inaccessible if they were there and did not appear to take up any of the total leased storage space (25GB – professional account) by there own meters. And there was NO tech support what so ever and no one replied to my e-mail queries to their support staff. So we canceled and got a full refund – which they did respond to and quickly.
So if anyone has used a service similar to what iOmega promised, but that actually delivers I would love to hear about your experiences and take/look into any recommendations. Please, post only if you have used one of these services. I can read all of the press I want. What I am looking for are success stories from real techs who have experience with the product. Not testimonials from the aplication's site.
Just wanted some credible input/feedback.
Thanks,
-MP
What's wrong with a tape drive and tapes he puts in a safe deposit box?
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I second Ibackup.com. We use it at about a dozen customer sites. Just remember to setup 2 backups, 1 for data and 1 for exchange.
For offsite and dependable safekeeping. Look in to Iron Mountain
Oops. I didn't read the whole thing. Check out DataVault.com
ASKER
I've gone over the suggestions and am leaning toward iBackup. I like the interface, the ability to map the off-site storage site as a drive in Explorer (then to be able to drag-&-drop to and from the mapped drive) and am very interested in the "iLite" feature that will allow this user to access all of their stored data on his Blackberry (along with ability to stream his multimedia data to the device as well - turn you BB into a 100GB music/movie iPod).
Their support in direct – phone/e-mail/web – and is 24/7 in the USA and abroad. I already spoke to them and they seemed up to snuff. I need him to be able to rely on this in case he has to restore/access data while doing business in China, Germany, England… He’s an adept user but needs some hand holding at times and due to the time differences when he’s traveling I am not always available.
You can also create online shares for projects and password protect them – then send a link to associates with a username/password who can then view, download and upload the files. It becomes, in essence, an FTP server.
They also offer a 15 day free trial version of the backup software. The backups are of paramount importance. I downloaded, installed and configured it tonight. I’ll let the sets run this week and run a few test restorations. If everything works out I think this is the one we’ll go with. If everything works out…
Thanks for everything so far. Please, if anyone has any other suggestions or has any further insight into iBackup I’d like to hear about it.
I’ll post later this week, after I have tested out the features and reliability of the service/software. Points to follow.
Thanks again,
-MP
Their support in direct – phone/e-mail/web – and is 24/7 in the USA and abroad. I already spoke to them and they seemed up to snuff. I need him to be able to rely on this in case he has to restore/access data while doing business in China, Germany, England… He’s an adept user but needs some hand holding at times and due to the time differences when he’s traveling I am not always available.
You can also create online shares for projects and password protect them – then send a link to associates with a username/password who can then view, download and upload the files. It becomes, in essence, an FTP server.
They also offer a 15 day free trial version of the backup software. The backups are of paramount importance. I downloaded, installed and configured it tonight. I’ll let the sets run this week and run a few test restorations. If everything works out I think this is the one we’ll go with. If everything works out…
Thanks for everything so far. Please, if anyone has any other suggestions or has any further insight into iBackup I’d like to hear about it.
I’ll post later this week, after I have tested out the features and reliability of the service/software. Points to follow.
Thanks again,
-MP
I use usadataservices.com , great service.
ASKER
Well, the verdict is in. We went with iBackup for the client and I am using a smaller account too.
Thanks everyone for the input.
Thanks everyone for the input.