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Since we're on the topic: Which cloud provider do you recommend for backup of personal files?

by folli 5y ago

lelandfe 5y ago
I like Backblaze because it works well on my Mac and I don't have to think about it. That's about all I want!
tinus_hn 5y ago
Whatever provider you choose, make sure you encrypt your files locally to avoid the scenario where the provider blocks you because the AI decided one of your files is a virus, a copyright violation or matches some image hash. There is no need for your backup provider to be able to look into your files so there’s only downsides to allowing them to.
prirun 5y ago
I've been using Backblaze B2 since it launched, and HashBackup (I'm the author) was one of the first B2 integrations. What I like most about B2 is the transparent, no gimmick pricing. No monthly minimum, no minimum file size, no paying for storage for 90 days after you delete a file. And they give generous free allowances: 10GB/mo (forever, with no credit card required), 1GB of free egress per day, and up to 5000 free transactions per day. I backup the HashBackup dev server to B2 every night, around 80GB with mostly VM images, and the total backup size while keeping the last 30 days + 12 monthly backups is around 50 GB and costs 25 cents/month. They bill me every few months, I guess when enough charges accumulate. Here are the backup stats for the HashBackup dev server: [jim@bs ~]$ hb stats -c /hbbackup HashBackup #2527 Copyright 2009-2021 HashBackup, LLC Backup directory: /hbbackup 3,617 backups 334 TB file bytes checked since initial backup 80 TB file bytes saved since initial backup 910 total backup hours 79 GB average file bytes checked per backup in last 5 backups 23 GB average file bytes saved per backup in last 5 backups 29.78% average changed data percentage per backup in last 5 backups 13m 43s average backup time for last 5 backups 637 archives 55 GB archive space 84.11% archive space utilization 46 GB 810:1 industry standard dedup ratio 9.5 MB average archive space per backup for last 5 backups 2465:1 reduction ratio of backed up files for last 5 backups 234 MB dedup table current size 9,442,920 dedup table entries 48% dedup table utilization at current size 724,059 files 671,701 paths 10,550,610 blocks 127,965,672 block references 117,415,062 deduped blocks 12.1:1 block dedup ratio 5.2 KB average stored block size 616 GB backup space saved by dedup 49,648 average variable-block length
k8sToGo 5y ago
Depends on the amount you have.
rsync 5y ago
There is only one provider that has rclone built into the platform: ssh user@rsync.net rclone sync s3remote:bucket path/path/dir So you can transfer directly between endpoints without using your own bandwidth. In fact, you don't even need to install rclone yourself - just run it, over SSH, at rsync.net. Here is a broad overview of using rclone with your rsync.net account: https://www.rsync.net/products/rclone.html https://www.rsync.net/products/rclone.html
- vlmutolo 5y ago
  $100/TB/month is significantly more expensive than the standard object storage options. Backblaze is $5/TB/month, for example. For personal file backup, you only need a fairly reliable object storage system. And Backblaze seems to be the cheapest.
  - tzs 5y ago
    If you consider storage in isolation, Backblaze does seem to be the best deal. However, there may be bundles that include storage that are a better deal if you need the other things in the bundle. For example if you have sufficient need for Microsoft Office programs to justify a Microsoft 365 subscription, that comes with 1 TB of OneDrive on the Personal subscription ($6.99/month, $69.99/year). Most backup programs seem to know how to work with OneDrive directly or know how to use rclone which knows how to work with OneDrive [1]. If you need more than 1 TB, OneDrive becomes less attractive. It seems you can add another 1 TB for $9.99/month, but unless you have to all your storage be in one place, it would be cheaper to get your second TB at Backblaze. (And if you need 2 TB in one one place, buying 2 TB at Backblaze + An MS 365 Personal subscription would be the same price as an MS 365 Personal + 1 TB Extra OneDrive, and the former gives you your 2 TB in one place at BB and 1 TB at OneDrive). The Family subscription ($9.99/month or $99.99/year) includes 6 TB of OneDrive, but it is partitioned into 6 separate 1 TB shares for 6 people on the account. A person is identified by an email address, so there is nothing stopping you from making 5 fake people, and one person can give another write access to folders on their OneDrive, so you could cobble together a scheme to use all 6 TB but there would be some hassle. I tried doing that once, having the fake person give the real me write access to a folder. I then uploaded a bunch of files to that shared folder from my regular account. Shortly afterward the fake person got disabled for TOS violations (but could be reenabled via a simple automated process). I'm not sure what the issue was, but what I uploaded was a bunch of Springer ebooks to from the large collection that Springer made freely downloadable early during COVID so that I could read them on my iPad. It could be that triggered some sort of anti-piracy measures. If you can find a way to make it work, though, 6 TB for $9.99/month or $99.year is a good deal even if you don't need the Office apps. [1] https://rclone.org/onedrive/ https://rclone.org/onedrive/
nikisweeting 5y ago
Backblaze B2 has free ingress and egress (w/ Cloudflare) and the cheapest pricing that I know of per GB, but it looks like CloudFlare's block storage might be a competitor soon.
- starwatch 5y ago
  B2 as a backup solution it's a compelling option as far as pricing goes. I'd offer a warning that I have used B2 for highly available blob storage before (2-3 years ago) ... it didn't work well as traffic scaled. I'm not sure if that's the case now. For anyone wondering about B2 encryption. I looked at B2 last year and ultimately didn't use it as they didn't have encryption at rest [1]. It seems they've now added that [2]. [1]: Client-side encryption would have needed quite a bit of engineering to make work for my use case. [2]: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/server_side_encryption.html https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/server_side_encryption.htm...
  - nikisweeting 5y ago
    Duplicati and a few other self-hosted backup tools provide great client-side encryption and use rclone under the hood for syncing to B2.
Grollicus 5y ago
I'd like to piggyback here and add a second requirement: I'm currently looking for a storage provider that supports pulling backups from the outside. Kinda surprised this is not more of a topic, as it should be a simple way to make backups more robust against compromise? Seems rsync.net supports this (see sibling comment). Any others?

Since we're on the topic: Which cloud provider do you recommend for backup of personal files?

by folli 5y ago

Since we're on the topic: Which cloud provider do you recommend for backup of personal files?

lelandfe 5y ago

I like Backblaze because it works well on my Mac and I don't have to think about it. That's about all I want!

tinus_hn 5y ago

Whatever provider you choose, make sure you encrypt your files locally to avoid the scenario where the provider blocks you because the AI decided one of your files is a virus, a copyright violation or matches some image hash. There is no need for your backup provider to be able to look into your files so there’s only downsides to allowing them to.

prirun 5y ago

I've been using Backblaze B2 since it launched, and HashBackup (I'm the author) was one of the first B2 integrations. What I like most about B2 is the transparent, no gimmick pricing. No monthly minimum, no minimum file size, no paying for storage for 90 days after you delete a file. And they give generous free allowances: 10GB/mo (forever, with no credit card required), 1GB of free egress per day, and up to 5000 free transactions per day. I backup the HashBackup dev server to B2 every night, around 80GB with mostly VM images, and the total backup size while keeping the last 30 days + 12 monthly backups is around 50 GB and costs 25 cents/month. They bill me every few months, I guess when enough charges accumulate. Here are the backup stats for the HashBackup dev server: [jim@bs ~]$ hb stats -c /hbbackup HashBackup #2527 Copyright 2009-2021 HashBackup, LLC Backup directory: /hbbackup 3,617 backups 334 TB file bytes checked since initial backup 80 TB file bytes saved since initial backup 910 total backup hours 79 GB average file bytes checked per backup in last 5 backups 23 GB average file bytes saved per backup in last 5 backups 29.78% average changed data percentage per backup in last 5 backups 13m 43s average backup time for last 5 backups 637 archives 55 GB archive space 84.11% archive space utilization 46 GB 810:1 industry standard dedup ratio 9.5 MB average archive space per backup for last 5 backups 2465:1 reduction ratio of backed up files for last 5 backups 234 MB dedup table current size 9,442,920 dedup table entries 48% dedup table utilization at current size 724,059 files 671,701 paths 10,550,610 blocks 127,965,672 block references 117,415,062 deduped blocks 12.1:1 block dedup ratio 5.2 KB average stored block size 616 GB backup space saved by dedup 49,648 average variable-block length

k8sToGo 5y ago

Depends on the amount you have.

rsync 5y ago

There is only one provider that has rclone built into the platform: ssh user@rsync.net rclone sync s3remote:bucket path/path/dir So you can transfer directly between endpoints without using your own bandwidth. In fact, you don't even need to install rclone yourself - just run it, over SSH, at rsync.net. Here is a broad overview of using rclone with your rsync.net account: https://www.rsync.net/products/rclone.html https://www.rsync.net/products/rclone.html

vlmutolo 5y ago
$100/TB/month is significantly more expensive than the standard object storage options. Backblaze is $5/TB/month, for example. For personal file backup, you only need a fairly reliable object storage system. And Backblaze seems to be the cheapest.
- tzs 5y ago
  If you consider storage in isolation, Backblaze does seem to be the best deal. However, there may be bundles that include storage that are a better deal if you need the other things in the bundle. For example if you have sufficient need for Microsoft Office programs to justify a Microsoft 365 subscription, that comes with 1 TB of OneDrive on the Personal subscription ($6.99/month, $69.99/year). Most backup programs seem to know how to work with OneDrive directly or know how to use rclone which knows how to work with OneDrive [1]. If you need more than 1 TB, OneDrive becomes less attractive. It seems you can add another 1 TB for $9.99/month, but unless you have to all your storage be in one place, it would be cheaper to get your second TB at Backblaze. (And if you need 2 TB in one one place, buying 2 TB at Backblaze + An MS 365 Personal subscription would be the same price as an MS 365 Personal + 1 TB Extra OneDrive, and the former gives you your 2 TB in one place at BB and 1 TB at OneDrive). The Family subscription ($9.99/month or $99.99/year) includes 6 TB of OneDrive, but it is partitioned into 6 separate 1 TB shares for 6 people on the account. A person is identified by an email address, so there is nothing stopping you from making 5 fake people, and one person can give another write access to folders on their OneDrive, so you could cobble together a scheme to use all 6 TB but there would be some hassle. I tried doing that once, having the fake person give the real me write access to a folder. I then uploaded a bunch of files to that shared folder from my regular account. Shortly afterward the fake person got disabled for TOS violations (but could be reenabled via a simple automated process). I'm not sure what the issue was, but what I uploaded was a bunch of Springer ebooks to from the large collection that Springer made freely downloadable early during COVID so that I could read them on my iPad. It could be that triggered some sort of anti-piracy measures. If you can find a way to make it work, though, 6 TB for $9.99/month or $99.year is a good deal even if you don't need the Office apps. [1] https://rclone.org/onedrive/ https://rclone.org/onedrive/

nikisweeting 5y ago

Backblaze B2 has free ingress and egress (w/ Cloudflare) and the cheapest pricing that I know of per GB, but it looks like CloudFlare's block storage might be a competitor soon.

starwatch 5y ago
B2 as a backup solution it's a compelling option as far as pricing goes. I'd offer a warning that I have used B2 for highly available blob storage before (2-3 years ago) ... it didn't work well as traffic scaled. I'm not sure if that's the case now. For anyone wondering about B2 encryption. I looked at B2 last year and ultimately didn't use it as they didn't have encryption at rest [1]. It seems they've now added that [2]. [1]: Client-side encryption would have needed quite a bit of engineering to make work for my use case. [2]: https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/server_side_encryption.html https://www.backblaze.com/b2/docs/server_side_encryption.htm...
- nikisweeting 5y ago
  Duplicati and a few other self-hosted backup tools provide great client-side encryption and use rclone under the hood for syncing to B2.

Grollicus 5y ago

I'd like to piggyback here and add a second requirement: I'm currently looking for a storage provider that supports pulling backups from the outside. Kinda surprised this is not more of a topic, as it should be a simple way to make backups more robust against compromise? Seems rsync.net supports this (see sibling comment). Any others?