Episode #174


Implementing A Reliable Backup

am looking for a good, secure (safe) backup for all of my iTunes/iPhoto libraries & general files. I use Mac (2 Macs on a home network) and would like to implement a back-up system that is reliable & safe. Many NAS (with RAID) don’t seem to be well supported by Mac formats and are very expensive to set up, but seem like a good way to have relatively secure back-ups and can also provide centralised storage. However, they are no good if the house burnt down. On-line back-up/storage seems like it has a lot of benefits and with Jungle Disk, Mozy, etc there is starting to be good support for Mac. My one issue with on-line is that Internet access is relatively expensive in Australia (compared to USA, etc), so backing up both computers would break my limit for about 4 months just to get the initial back up done. I would prefer not to have to back up to DVD/CD as this take a lot of time & therefore does not get done as often as it should…Do you have some advice on NAS vs on-line & which system/service would be best for Macs? I am also looking at setting up a media serving in the future, so this may change your thoughts.

David, Melbourne, VIC



You’re on the right track. Backing up to an external disk is good. Backing up to a RAID-5 array is better (because of the redundancy). Backing up online is best. Any good backup strategy will combine fast and easy onsite backup (like an external drive) with off site backup (like Mozy.com).

If online backup doesn’t work for you you could buy two external drives and rotate them - bring one to work each week or the like.