Back up workflow upgrade help

[Dennis]

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Hey, I would love to upgrade my data management workflow, and I'm looking for some expert help. First of all, I don't know anything about NAS and how they work. Neither FTP, servers, etc. I just would love to find a simple-ready solution (hopefully, it's possible).

So far, I have "all my life data" in two (6+10TB) G-Technology thunderbolts drives in Raid 0. Plus DropBox. In my G-drives I have EVERYTHING; in my Dropbox, everything but all raws. Easy. I worked this way since 2000, and I have to say I'm happy and I can always find everything I want, I'm organized. But I know I can do better. Let me explain to you where the issue is. My DropBox has 2TB data, while my G-Drives have the same 2TB Dropbox + 4TB WORK files, so far so good. The only thing I can't do without messing up with some files is keeping the G-drives automatically updated. Every time I have new jobs to back up, they go all in the G-drives (C1 catalogs, jpegs, raws, and miscellaneous). But my Dropbox it's not synced with my G-drives. So, every week, when I launch my G-drive1, I update the Dropbox folders manually. This is good enough for me, until a very few times, I messed it up 😞 No big deal. But I'm sure I can do better; I just don't know-how.

When the new job is backed up, my Carbon Copy Cloner automatically clones all the info from G-drive1 to G-drive2. So, I have two clones of EVERYTHING backups, just in case. Plus everything online on DropBox (except the raws). Did you understand? I hope it's not so messy. 🙂 

My idea was to buy a new desktop hard drive, maybe 12TB, but more like a NAS solution. In addition to all my backups, I would love to have another one with EVERYTHING I have (so far, it's 6/7 TB). FWIS, a NAS is like a desktop hard drive, permanently ON and connected with an ethernet cable to the network. And I can access my files everywhere online, right? Pro and cons? I just need a simple automatic solution. 

Maybe, I can make it easier. I could only put WORK in my G-drives and have a new small NAS drive dedicated backup of my iMac and Dropbox (which is the same). Does it make sense?  🤔

What do you suggest? Any tip or advice that can change my life?
Thank you in advance for your help

 

 

[Simone_DF]

My personal back up workflow is:

- a Synology 12TB NAS. I set it up in a way that basically whatever I add to a certain path/folder ("Lighroom" or whatever) gets automatically copied on the NAS

- a full Backblaze backup as an extra layer of security

Everything is done automatically, I don't have to lift a finger once I configured everything. And that took me maybe 10 minutes for both of them.

Dropbox is too limited, in my opinion. Have a look at dedicated online backup solutions. I'm using Backblaze but there are more, and as always they all have their pro and cons.

[LocalHero1953]

Sounds like you're working in a Mac environment, so I can't help much - and I haven't followed all that you want to do!

But if you are thinking of using a NAS together with Dropbox, then check: will Dropbox work from a NAS? I think it needs a DAS or internal drive. I also use Backblaze, but it will not back up a NAS either.

Edit: @Simone_DFIn case I have offered the wrong advice.....are you backing up your NAS with Backblaze? Or an internal drive?

Edited June 23, 2021 by LocalHero1953

[Simone_DF]

@LocalHero1953 no, I'm not backing up my NAS WITH Backblaze, only my internal hard drive + an external portable hd which is permanently connected to my laptop 

Backblaze has a separate plan to back up a NAS but I find it too expensive and I don't really need it for now. 

https://help.backblaze.com/hc/en-us/articles/217665478-Why-don-t-you-backup-network-drives-NAS-drives-

[Dennis]

6 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

- a Synology 12TB NAS. I set it up in a way that basically whatever I add to a certain path/folder ("Lighroom" or whatever) gets automatically copied on the NAS

Everything is done automatically, 

And this is great. I heard the brand Synology many times, it looks like one of the top choices. For a system like this, about how much would it cost? To have an idea.

And I have two kinds of data (dropbox on my iMac + big external backup) how can I do to have them both in a new NAS 12TB? Any path or tricks?

I'm a little lost in the possibile options 🙂  

6 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

But if you are thinking of using a NAS together with Dropbox, then check: will Dropbox work from a NAS? I think it needs a DAS or internal drive. I also use Backblaze, but it will not back up a NAS either.

Good point. I'll definitely look at it and its compatibility between DP and NAS. Do you know if Blackblaze can backup external HD such as 8TB? 

 

[Simone_DF]

36 minutes ago, Dennis said:

And this is great. I heard the brand Synology many times, it looks like one of the top choices. For a system like this, about how much would it cost? To have an idea.

And I have two kinds of data (dropbox on my iMac + big external backup) how can I do to have them both in a new NAS 12TB? Any path or tricks?

Price should be in the 400-600€ range in Europe. You can get the Synology pre-configured with everything installed and ready to go on many platforms like eBay or Amazon or whatever. 

I went the DYI way and shucked two internal HDs from a Western Digital MyBook enclosure, then manually installed and configured everything. I saved about 200€ this way. For me it was easy, but I don't know about your technical skills. Plenty of Youtube tutorials though.

On your Synology drive you can install "apps" that will appear on both your NAS dashboard and your Mac, including a Synology Drive sync app. You just have to specify a source path and a destination path, for example "everything in subfolder X" --> "goes to subfolder Y" and whenever a change is detected, the app will copy the file. 

You can also replace the path with an external hard drive plugged on your computer. For example "everything in hard drive X" --> "goes to subfolder Y", which is basically what I'm doing with mine

Dropbox is supported by Synology:

https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/help/CloudSync/cloudsync?version=6

I never tried myself but you should be able to sync your Dropbox files with your NAS.

Is your external backup "fixed"? What I mean is, do you keep adding files to that disk or is it static? Because if it's static you can just dump everything into the NAS and forget about it.

[LocalHero1953]

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2 hours ago, Dennis said:

And this is great. I heard the brand Synology many times, it looks like one of the top choices. For a system like this, about how much would it cost? To have an idea.

And I have two kinds of data (dropbox on my iMac + big external backup) how can I do to have them both in a new NAS 12TB? Any path or tricks?

I'm a little lost in the possibile options 🙂  

Good point. I'll definitely look at it and its compatibility between DP and NAS. Do you know if Blackblaze can backup external HD such as 8TB? 

 

I do use Backblaze to backup an external HDD: a Lacie 2Big 4Tb in RAID 1 (2x 4Tb HDD)

Edited June 23, 2021 by LocalHero1953

[Simone_DF]

44 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I do use Backblaze to backup an external HDD: a Lacie 2Big 4Tb in RAID 1 (2x 4Tb HDD)

You can do that, but you have to plug it at least once every 30 days or the backup will be deleted from Backblaze.

[LocalHero1953]

2 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

You can do that, but you have to plug it at least once every 30 days or the backup will be deleted from Backblaze.

As it happens, I do, but I wasn't aware of this - why is it?

[Dennis]

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it. You did it well.

2 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

On your Synology drive you can install "apps" that will appear on both your NAS dashboard and your Mac, including a Synology Drive sync app. You just have to specify a source path and a destination path, for example "everything in subfolder X" --> "goes to subfolder Y" and whenever a change is detected, the app will copy the file. 

This is great. It will work perfect for my iMac (dropbox included) ... Maybe no more than 4TB

But what about I want to add an external hard drive?

2 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

I never tried myself but you should be able to sync your Dropbox files with your NAS

I would say it's doesn't matter if I will be able to sync Dropbox with NAS... I have all my DropBox files downloaded and synced on my iMac ... It's works like a charm. And my laptop is always updated too. If I made change when I'm abroad with my laptop, once I come back home and switch on my iMac, it will sync the new information.

So also if I don't sign it on Dropbox in the NAS sync app, It will copy the files on my iMac anyways, right? 

2 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

Is your external backup "fixed"? What I mean is, do you keep adding files to that disk or is it static? Because if it's static you can just dump everything into the NAS and forget about it.

my external backup is not static, I usually update it every week with new data. I don't work on files in the G-drive. I switch it on only to add new files. After every assignments/jobs and (usually) once in a week to update the dropbox folders.  

.

Putting it in a easy way to understand:

I have an 2Tb Imac, with all my DropBox folders inside my mac username. All my dropbox data are downloaded and always sync to my internal HD. I have also a time machine for that. A rugged portable 2TB Adata disk. All this info, it's on three places: Time machine, iMac internal drive, DropBox online.

Then I have my two G-drives, with the same information: they include Dropbox (2TB) + WORK (4TB) ... My goal/need is to back up, in one place, my 6TB everything, and always be synced. I'm ready to buy a small or big NAS, or a combo of a NAS and a new bigger G-drive, but I just want to be sure I have everything synced in one place.

I mean one EVERYTHING backup in NAS, plus a few backups, with different data, it could just work. What do you think could be the best practice? I appreciate it!

 

[Simone_DF]

2 hours ago, LocalHero1953 said:

As it happens, I do, but I wasn't aware of this - why is it?

Basically Backblaze will keep all your files for up to 30 days. After 30 days it will consider them "deleted". Imho it's very reasonable, and I suppose it's also to curb abuse, or people would just plug any hard drive they have and overload their system.

You can have BB keep the file for you for 1 year or forever, for an additional fee. Before Covid I used to travel a lot, so I went for the 1 year option

https://www.backblaze.com/version-history.html

[Simone_DF]

2 hours ago, Dennis said:

I have an 2Tb Imac, with all my DropBox folders inside my mac username. All my dropbox data are downloaded and always sync to my internal HD. I have also a time machine for that. A rugged portable 2TB Adata disk. All this info, it's on three places: Time machine, iMac internal drive, DropBox online.

Then I have my two G-drives, with the same information: they include Dropbox (2TB) + WORK (4TB) ... My goal/need is to back up, in one place, my 6TB everything, and always be synced. I'm ready to buy a small or big NAS, or a combo of a NAS and a new bigger G-drive, but I just want to be sure I have everything synced in one place.

I mean one EVERYTHING backup in NAS, plus a few backups, with different data, it could just work. What do you think could be the best practice? I appreciate it!

I still think my solution is the best in terms of safety + ease of use, or at least it is for me! 

Remember: should somebody steal your NAS and your computer or should these get damaged all at the same time (think a fire, earthquake, etc), you may end up losing all your data... for me a permanent online solution is a must.

You can keep using Time Machine for physical backups. It's very handy and integrated within the system. I also have a dedicated Time Machine external hard drive that I plug every now and then.

I'd recommend you to look at a Synology NAS. It works very well with macOS and it has a user friendly interface. Pre-configured combos should not take more than 10 minutes to set up, and there are plenty of online guides, both on paper and video.

For your specific situation:

You can create a simple rule that dumps all the new content your WORK hard drive into the NAS one way.

Whenever you plug your work drive and start moving files onto it, the Synology Drive sync app will detect new files and trigger the online backup. Please note that online backups will take way more time, depending on your connection. Especially if we are talking about a large amount of data like raw files and videos.

And you can create a separate rule for your Dropbox folder, since it's already on your Mac it'll be permanently in sync, saving you some time.

It's really as simple as that. Sync can be set to one way, meaning files won't be deleted from your NAS if the G-drive is disconnected.

Here's how the sync app looks

 

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[Dennis]

25 minutes ago, Simone_DF said:

I still think my solution is the best in terms of safety + ease of use, or at least it is for me! 

Remember: should somebody steal your NAS and your computer or should these get damaged all at the same time (think a fire, earthquake, etc), you may end up losing all your data... for me a permanent online solution is a must.

You can keep using Time Machine for physical backups. It's very handy and integrated within the system. I also have a dedicated Time Machine external hard drive that I plug every now and then.

I'd recommend you to look at a Synology NAS. It works very well with macOS and it has a user friendly interface. Pre-configured combos should not take more than 10 minutes to set up, and there are plenty of online guides, both on paper and video.

For your specific situation:

You can create a simple rule that dumps all the new content your WORK hard drive into the NAS one way.

Whenever you plug your work drive and start moving files onto it, the Synology Drive sync app will detect new files and trigger the online backup. Please note that online backups will take way more time, depending on your connection. Especially if we are talking about a large amount of data like raw files and videos.

And you can create a separate rule for your Dropbox folder, since it's already on your Mac it'll be permanently in sync, saving you some time.

It's really as simple as that. Sync can be set to one way, meaning files won't be deleted from your NAS if the G-drive is disconnected.

Here's how the sync app looks

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain it, again. 🙏 Your system totally makes sense. I now perfectly understand all my options and possible workflows. I just have to reorganize my own workflow, make some changes and decide the final setup. NAS + G-drives + Time machine + DropBox + BlackBlaze, I think it's too much.

I think BlackBlaze and Time machine have the same purpose, but only one can survive. 

.

Do you think a UPS no break like this one can handle a NAS, two G-drives, one iMac, router and monitor speakers? Do you think is a valid solution? Or maybe a NAS need more?

I heard about UPS on line, but I'm not sure if it worths the upgrade.

 

 

[Simone_DF]

10 hours ago, Dennis said:

I think BlackBlaze and Time machine have the same purpose, but only one can survive. 

.

Do you think a UPS no break like this one can handle a NAS, two G-drives, one iMac, router and monitor speakers? Do you think is a valid solution? Or maybe a NAS need more?

I heard about UPS on line, but I'm not sure if it worths the upgrade.

No, BackBlaze and Time Machine, while similar, are different.

Time Machine is basically for an offline backup, though theoretically you could store it even on your NAS (not recommended - it will end up eating all the available space).

BackBlaze is online only. 

They complement each other. It will be faster to restore from a Time Machine backup, but if your backup drive is not with you, BackBlaze can save the day. Happened to me. I was abroad and urgently needed a file that was not on my laptop, I downloaded it from BB.

On the UPS side I cannot help, sorry. 

[Dennis]

8 hours ago, Simone_DF said:

No, BackBlaze and Time Machine, while similar, are different. 

Time Machine is basically for an offline backup, though theoretically you could store it even on your NAS (not recommended - it will end up eating all the available space).

BackBlaze is online only. 

They complement each other. It will be faster to restore from a Time Machine backup, but if your backup drive is not with you, BackBlaze can save the day. Happened to me. I was abroad and urgently needed a file that was not on my laptop, I downloaded it from BB.

On the UPS side I cannot help, sorry. 

It makes sense! Thank you for your info and time Simone, I appreciate it!