4 ms·

This is all contingent on four things you haven't told us: cost, how often you expect to access it, your threat models and risk tolerance for each of those thre

This is all contingent on four things you haven't told us: cost, how often you expect to access it, your threat models and risk tolerance for each of those threats, and what infrastructure you have access to (aka how safe is your home, can you store a backup safely with your parents, can you store drives in a lockable private office at work safely?) For example, if your house burns down, it doesn't matter if you have 10 mirrored copies of the same 8 TiB drive in the same room. If your parents get a new housekeeper who goes on a cleaning spree, it doesn't matter if you have 10 mirrored copies of the same 8 TiB drive in the same shoebox.

pushedx 3y ago
Cost: Given a quick look at the cost of archival cloud storage, I guess I would be willing to spend up to $60 per month on a remote copy. How often: I would expect to access the remote files rarely (maybe once a month), and need a complete recovery very rarely (with a low requirement for recovery speed). Local backups I would like to occur at least weekly, with a verification or access frequently (daily?). Risk tolerance: For the local-encryption-for-remote-storage aspect, I would like something with a high level of confidence in the cryptography and the implementation surrounding it. I would also like a high degree of confidence that I can recovery my files in case of a natural disaster or similar that wipes out my local copies. Local security: I live in a relatively secure home in a relatively low crime area. I could store a copy at a relative's house, although I may move far enough away soon that it would not be practical to access.
- Cheer2171 3y ago
  You should separate your long-term and near-term storage and treat them as different backup projects. For the near-term that you are backing up weekly and thus likely need to recover faster and easier in an emergency, borg -> backblaze with your own keys. For the long-term backups that sound more sentimental, the "put lots of 6 TiB HDDs from different manufacturers in safe places" becomes more feasible when you don't have to update it weekly and when it is OK to wait a few days until so you can drive to a relative's house after a disaster. But you also have to test those drives every now and then. I have a bunch of long-term drives at my parents' house a 5 hour flight away, but I visit them every winter and do a test every year. If I needed those today, it might cost me $1000 to drop everything and get on a plane. But if I'm visiting every winter and it isn't really urgent, I can wait. You should think of those kinds of costs too.

pushedx 3y ago

Cost: Given a quick look at the cost of archival cloud storage, I guess I would be willing to spend up to $60 per month on a remote copy. How often: I would expect to access the remote files rarely (maybe once a month), and need a complete recovery very rarely (with a low requirement for recovery speed). Local backups I would like to occur at least weekly, with a verification or access frequently (daily?). Risk tolerance: For the local-encryption-for-remote-storage aspect, I would like something with a high level of confidence in the cryptography and the implementation surrounding it. I would also like a high degree of confidence that I can recovery my files in case of a natural disaster or similar that wipes out my local copies. Local security: I live in a relatively secure home in a relatively low crime area. I could store a copy at a relative's house, although I may move far enough away soon that it would not be practical to access.

Cheer2171 3y ago
You should separate your long-term and near-term storage and treat them as different backup projects. For the near-term that you are backing up weekly and thus likely need to recover faster and easier in an emergency, borg -> backblaze with your own keys. For the long-term backups that sound more sentimental, the "put lots of 6 TiB HDDs from different manufacturers in safe places" becomes more feasible when you don't have to update it weekly and when it is OK to wait a few days until so you can drive to a relative's house after a disaster. But you also have to test those drives every now and then. I have a bunch of long-term drives at my parents' house a 5 hour flight away, but I visit them every winter and do a test every year. If I needed those today, it might cost me $1000 to drop everything and get on a plane. But if I'm visiting every winter and it isn't really urgent, I can wait. You should think of those kinds of costs too.