I have every source file from every web project that I have worked on for the past 10+ years stored on physical drives inside my office connected to my network. I also have backup media (CD’s, DVD’s) of these files also cataloged in an enormous library as a redundant backup system. This has served me well over the years as I have always been able to put my hands on files when I needed them, albeit not as convenient as it could be sometimes.
Faced with needing to purchase additional storage for the new year for my library, I have made the decision to move my vast life’s work to the cloud for storage. I am very familiar with Pleth but while it’s extremely convenient, there are certain aspects of Dropbox’s service that I am not 100% happy with. I basically have 3 machines that I work from, my DEV-001 Machine, my DEV-002 Machine (which is a test server), and of course my MacBook Pro. I also have a very specific method in which I store files on my machines. It’s a method that suits my OCD tendencies well and allows me to locate files quickly.
I have several directories in which I store files that I would like to synchronize across all three of my machines and I also have directories that I would like to store versions of, like subversion. I know that doing this is probably possible w/ Dropbox, I have seen some creative uses for Dropbox’s service, but for some reason I decided not to go that route.
Instead I decided to go w/ a solution provider that Pleth already has a long-standing relationship with and opted to try their cloud storage solution. My partners and I have played around with the idea of adding online storage to our repertoire of solutions in the past and hopefully my experiences with this solution can help further that process along. I see cloud storage as a service businesses will one day view alongside email in terms of importance.
So far so good w/ this solution, I am able to do exactly everything that I have wanted to do in terms of setting up synchronization and versioning directories. As soon as I get a little further into this solution I will likely blog about it.
In the meantime I was wondering…
- What do you use for your personal / business backup solution?
- Do you use Dropbox or another Cloud Based Solution?
- Do you primarily use Cloud Storage as a Network Drive or do you Synchronize & Version?
As my life is already heavily invested in cloud services I’m intrigued and looking forward to hearing your thoughts and details on the solution.
My current method:
Personal Backup – Mozy http://netkno.ws/mozy [affiliate link]
I chose them because of the ease of setup while offering advanced configuration options. The app also does a simultaneous backup to an external USB drive so it saves a seperate backup routine. The killer feature is the ability to get my files on DVD in the case of disaster.
Business Backup – Barracuda http://bit.ly/ibjfKY
This appliance is superb. The SMB market is being transformed to bring an end to tapes and Barracuda got this solution right. Easy interface, easy setup, and they’ll ship you an appliance with all your data overnight in the case of an emergency. (note to anyone evaluating these systems the question isn’t how well it backs up data the question is how fast can you restore a full copy)
Concerning synchronization
Dropbox
But I’m not a heavy sync user. It’s more of a virtual USB drive for me. I do keep copies of contacts, bookmarks, and a few important .xml config files there.
Most of my req’d services are already cloud based and the most important set of files I maintain, client documentation, reside in a heavily encrypted volume. While some of my peers have experiment with putting this volume into dropbox the size of my file and the fact it has to sync on every mount/dismount has kept me from trying it out.
At the moment the free 2Gb Dropbox meets my needs but I imagine that will change this year.
I have spent the past two days experimenting w/ this cloud storage solution and I have to say that I am pretty impressed. I have had 2 conference calls this morning regarding this product. One day you are in Conway and have a minute, I really want to show you this thing.
The solution I am trying is kind of a hybrid between Mozy and Dropbox as best I can tell right now. I am on day 2 of letting everything upload / synchronize. I am not for sure of my exact storage requirements yet but I am guessing its way over 2gb right now. haha.