Server Backup Solution

jem7sk

I have a Lenovo ThinkSever running with direct attached storage that contains five virtual servers. One server is a file server that has our users (100 users) files. What is a good way to back these up these days? I'm looking for something reliable and hopefully able to take offsite just in case, however, we do have multiple buildings and if it comes down to a NAS I can connect it in a building about 100 yards away. We are running fiber between buildings.

GAngel

100 different answers would fit based on your description. How much data and what kind of recovery times affect the choice alot.

Datto is the most pain free i've used in a while.

jem7sk

Thanks GAngel.. honestly our data is not that important. Everything important is house'd at headquarters in the main office. I really just need to backup about 10 terabytes of our users Document files which they are supposed to be backing up to thumb drives anyway. A decent NAS is probably what we need.

discount81

jem7sk wrote: »

I really just need to backup about 10 terabytes of our users Document files which they are supposed to be backing up to thumb drives anyway. .

You must have some fairly clued up users if you trust them to do their own backups.

That's an enormous security risk having company data spread out over 100 USB thumb drives, for several reasons, if the user loses that thumb drive or it corrupts they can lose some data, if someone misplaces or has a thumb drive stolen with unencrypted company data on it.

I can't recall working anywhere in the past 10 years that even allowed USB devices to be connected to their desktops or laptops, it's an extremely liberal security policy you have there, I hope nothing confidential is stored on those drives.

To answer the question though, I would recommend building your own NAS with FreeNAS in something like a Supermicro server that can house 8+ disks, you will get a better performing server and way more bang for buck over buying a QNap or Synology.
I've replaced old tape backup and low capacity NAS systems at several companies now with a custom built FreeNAS and it is absolutely rock solid, I checked the uptime last week on one of the servers and it is over 400 days.

--chris--

jem7sk wrote: »

I have a Lenovo ThinkSever running with direct attached storage that contains five virtual servers. One server is a file server that has our users (100 users) files. What is a good way to back these up these days? I'm looking for something reliable and hopefully able to take offsite just in case, however, we do have multiple buildings and if it comes down to a NAS I can connect it in a building about 100 yards away. We are running fiber between buildings.

I like redundancy in my data storage. If you have three buildings, a NAS in each building would provide some resiliency against hardware failure. I have had a QNAP with 5 red drives in it up and spaz out on me losing 3 drives in 72 hours. I had a second (and third) nas duplicating that data, so nothing was lost but it underscored my fears.

Whats your internet connection like? How much does this data change daily? How much does it grow in 12 months?

You could make crashplanpro regret their "unlimited" size per device offer if the answers to those questions jive...lol.

jem7sk

--chris-- wrote: »

I like redundancy in my data storage. If you have three buildings, a NAS in each building would provide some resiliency against hardware failure. I have had a QNAP with 5 red drives in it up and spaz out on me losing 3 drives in 72 hours. I had a second (and third) nas duplicating that data, so nothing was lost but it underscored my fears.

Whats your internet connection like? How much does this data change daily? How much does it grow in 12 months?

You could make crashplanpro regret their "unlimited" size per device offer if the answers to those questions jive...lol.

Our internet is not all that great.. the data doesn't change much at all. I like your idea about multiple NAS.. I think I might try two in two different buildings. Thanks!

Discount81.. thanks for the advice.. I'll check out the FreeNAS! Unfortunately, I am not in control of the policies here.. I just make do with what I have

Deathmage

I've had a 6 bay (12 TB - RAID 5) QNAP NAS now for 9 months and no issues. Just keep up with the latest firmware updates and your fine; it can be a quirky GUI sometimes so you just need to go gentle...

snokerpoker

I recommend Veeam. It is the best backup program I've ever used.