Need offsite community storage for deep archiving reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-06 16:45 I am self hosting my storage with good redundancy but the fear of having nothing offsite has really been creeping in due to recent earthquakes in my area. I am contemplating cloud storage for deep archiving just in case of a disaster. All of these backups will be rendered useless if something major was to strike. I am looking for some sort of community driven solution - i.e. a barter service where I'll be happy to host a cloud server for someone in exchange of them running one for me. All the data and access will be exclusive to each other and any help needed to maintain can be looked after. I am not sure what's the right place for such an arrangement or should I just instead invest in a corporate solution? I have a 1gbps internet plan so data transfer shouldn't be slow. I will be happy to invest in whatever infrastructure brings peace to someone's mind. Would love some suggestions! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- signed- · 2023-11-06 16:51 How much data are you holding? rsync.net is a really amazing service ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-06 16:53 I imagine around 20tb should be adequate for me to not fret anymore. I currently have about 80tb with data that can be let go of and in redundancy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Legitimate_Farm_3095 · 2023-11-06 16:54 no offense but i wouldn't just trust some rando with my backups. that is why i pay for a service from a business whose sole purpose is data backups. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-06 16:56 I understand and no offense to taken. This is the reason I figured I'd share and get some serious feedback on the process. I'd be grateful to have your suggestions on services you've found valuable through your experiences. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kv603 · 2023-11-06 17:00 I used to do this many, many years ago, trading storage space with somebody at nic.funet.fi on the assumption that anything that took out both central US and Finland was TEOTWAWKI. > I am not sure what's the right place for such an arrangement or should I just instead invest in a corporate solution? As mentioned, rsync.net has some really cheap deals -- just GPG the data and push it to them. Or look into /r/safenetwork ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Legitimate_Farm_3095 · 2023-11-06 17:01 personally i use backblaze. i know there are some differences in their offerings depending on if you use linux vs windows. i use windows so its like $10US a month for me. you might have better luck **searching** for backup service suggestions in a sub like /r/DataHoarder as it comes up quite often there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-06 17:04 $99/year for unlimited storage? How does it work - do you just backup your computer or can you also back up external hard drives? Not sure if there is a catch I need to know. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Legitimate_Farm_3095 · 2023-11-06 17:09 i dont know off the top of my head if its actually "unlimited". i'm probably backing up less than 10tb but it's three external drives plugged into the computer. you can tell it what to back up and what to ignore. i'm sure all the up to date info is on their website ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-06 17:10 Thank you for your suggestions and prompt response. Truly appreciate it. I'll do my research and this definitely looks like a really good option for me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tech2but1 · 2023-11-06 19:58 Even if there was a group doing this I'd still carry on paying Backblaze for my B2 storage. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Feahnor · 2023-11-06 20:52 Can it also backup network drives? I have a mini pc with all my nas shares mounted through smb and i’d like to back them up. It’s not more than 3 TB tops. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Splice1138 · 2023-11-06 21:39 You can back up "external" drives but they must be kept online. Backblaze does not allow you to use their standard plan for cold storage. Files that are not live on the pc synced to Backblaze are deleted after a set time, though I believe that can be up to a year if you pay more ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Icy-Goose4703 · 2023-11-06 23:24 I'd still trust IDrive e2 (which I currently use) rather than leveraging a barter system... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BillGoats · 2023-11-06 23:42 I'll back up your data if you back up mine. >!PS: I'm expecting an earthquake to hit me soon.!< ---------------------------------------------------------------------- syedirfan6773 · 2023-11-07 06:05 I use IDrive e2 and it's good and reliable. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- lvlint67 · 2023-11-07 13:28 You're going to be hard-pressed to find a hobbyist that's willing to set aside that kind of space and bandwidth. If you want to backup a few gigs or could work.. but basically no one is going to want to store your Linux ISO collection without cash getting involved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrmclabber · 2023-11-07 15:04 Pay for b2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:32 From what I understand from the general consensus is that the most viable solution is to go for a professional provider. Not sure however where you picked up hosting a website in return deal. The idea was based around equal services both end. And I wasn't really offering any deals, I was merely asking if this is the kind of thing that even happens. Pretty safe to ask in a self hosting space where people do these kind of things with friends and family. Plenty of good advice here and I am glad I asked! Now I know something I didn't before :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:35 Thank you for your response. Yes I understand I am better off hosting with a professional service. Either way I was only contemplating for deep archiving, and would've offered exactly the same infrastructure/uptime/storage in return. I was only considering it since this would be data I might need incase of severe emergencies as I have backups at my own end for other malfunctions. But thanks for helping me and giving me more perspective on the practicality of thr situation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:37 Thanks for this! This is an important aspect to consider and I did read up that they've added the option for a year fairly recently. Your response has been very helpful, thank you! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:38 Lol okay man, doesn't hurt understanding and asking questions. At the risk of sounding stupid, but hey at least we learn this way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:39 A lot of postiive feedback for Backblaze. I'll definitely be going that way too. Thank you for your recommendation! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:39 Thank you for your recommendation. I'll check it out! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:39 Really appreciate your recommendation. Thanks for sharing! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 15:41 So it was a thing once upon a time :) Thanks for recommending rsync! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrmclabber · 2023-11-07 15:59 Fair enough. I just don't trust anyone with my data that I'd want to backup. The stuff I would trust them with I wouldn't care to backup in the first place lol. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 16:01 I get you. It just makes more sense to have peace of mind and send it out to services who know what they are doing instead. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrmclabber · 2023-11-07 16:09 Yep! It would be a fun local experiment, and I do act as a backup source for certain things for my family, but it’s also backed up on b2. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 16:13 I am a photographer and each year I have a lot of work related files that I back up religiously, but until they've all received their final deliverables, I wanted to have an offsite solution that I can park that data at just in case. I am also gravitating now towards compiling this season so far into another hard drive, shipping it to my parents - and then setting up a server there on my next visit for future uploads. Meanwhile, the compressed version of everything can also be on Backblaze or similar for an extra layer of security. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrmclabber · 2023-11-07 16:23 It might be easier to setup a small pi with attached storage at your parents to sync to. It will be more reliable\more real-time than backing up and shipping. Shipping drives is super risky. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 16:28 Really appreciate you helping me! I was just considering shipping it for the first time since the first data load would be the heaviest versus all incremental data uploads. They have a slower internet bandwidth so I know the struggle is real in that direction. A pi would actually be a good idea since I won't be able to benefit from any better hardware as the transfer rate will be pretty slow. I was thinking of a Seagate exos drive that's usually packaged in their external drives (14-18tb) that can be powered and connected. I can remotely manage it, I would just have to get them a static IP and possibly coerce them to upgrade their intenret plan :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BillGoats · 2023-11-07 16:41 I'm not mocking your question. I just thought it was funny that you suggested you'd be backing up data for other people as payment for them backing up your data since your system lives in an unsafe location. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 16:44 Lol no it's okay, I welcome the humor :) It's not that it's particularly unsafe but you know, anything can happen anywhere. I am more sensitive to quakes so thats where the concern really cropped from. Been living here for 5 years and anything bad can happen anywhere. I get the irony in your line of reasoning :) fully accept it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mrmclabber · 2023-11-07 16:52 I use exos drives in my NAS and they are beasts. They don't need a lot of upload as long as their download is semi-decent. If you need\want to pull from it you can always sneakernet the drive back to you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- limeice · 2023-11-07 16:54 Perfect! I have five of them across my storage system too, and I feel fairly confident in their integrity. This sounds like a decent plan to start with :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- inrego · 2023-11-07 18:22 No ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PoSaP · 2023-11-21 22:05 Agreed, Backblaze B2 is a nice cloud option. Compare different cloud options, this link will help. [https://www.qualeed.com/en/qbackup/cloud-storage- comparison/](https://www.qualeed.com/en/qbackup/cloud-storage- comparison/) Also, there are a lot of different options like LTO (tapes), virtual tapes (Starwinds VTL), and even M-Disc.