NAS vs DAS with Cloud Storage

[Chevron]

Anyone using a NAS drive setup with backup to a cloud service? For me the NAS would be just for Time Machine and archiving, current projects will be on an internal drive.

Main Mac > NAS Backup / Time Machine > Cloud

I was thinking to get a Synology NAS to then back up to a cloud service like BackBlaze. I discovered though that you need the pricier B2 BackBlaze and as I will have upwards of 15 TB of data with Time Machine and archiving that will work out $$. iDrive tops out at 10 TB for personal I believe.

Neat idea to have a NAS that can schedule direct cloud backup, but I’m not finding a suitable cloud service.

So thinking of a simpler DAS setup that is connected to the main studio computer and uses BackBlaze unlimited for offsite cloud backup. The only drawback is having to use the BackBlaze client and have the main studio computer switched on and online to back up.

No biggy really as that is what I have being doing up until now just wondering if a NAS would be a better solution….

 

[satcomer]

Well with a Synology look at their App Store for then at their Package Store!

 

[Chevron]

Well with a Synology look at their App Store for then at their Package Store!

Specifically what am I looking for that would offer NAS cloud backup for 15 TB for less than $150 per year?

 

[satcomer]

Specifically what am I looking for that would offer NAS cloud backup for 15 TB for less than $150 per year?

Then look a Amazon or BlackBlaze or many others! You just have to educate yourself!

 

[Chevron]

Then look a Aazon or BlackBlaze or many others! You just have to educate yourself!

Already mentioned BlackBlaze in my first post, did you read it? Sounds like you just read the title…

Is asking on a forum with folks offering suggestions not part of educating yourself? ☮️

 

[dimme]

I am using a 2012 Mac mini as my "nas" it's not my main computer but has 16 TB of disk space (4 4TB drives). 2 of the drives are mirrors of the of two so 8 TB of usable storage. This setup allows me to use the $70 unlimited backblaze backup.

 

[Chevron]

I am using a 2012 Mac mini as my "nas" it's not my main computer but has 16 TB of disk space (4 4TB drives). 2 of the drives are mirrors of the of two so 8 TB of usable storage. This setup allows me to use the $70 unlimited backblaze backup.

Good point Dimme I was thinking about a Mac Mini, although I am a little hesitant as I already have 2 studio computers to manage, 3 if you include the girlfriend's iMac. I figure it is very straightforward though and you only install the bare minimum software?

How do you connect your hard drives?

 

[dimme]

I have 2 OWC MERCURY ELITE PRO DUAL cases one is connected USB and the other is thunderbolt 2. I also use the sys to back our iOS devices with imazing and it's our iTunes, Time Machine server. Once it's up and running and fine tuned it take very little time to manage.

 

[Chevron]

I have 2 OWC MERCURY ELITE PRO DUAL cases one is connected USB and the other is thunderbolt 2. I also use the sys to back our iOS devices with imazing and it's our iTunes, Time Machine server. Once it's up and running and fine tuned it take very little time to manage.

Nice, thanks for the cool tip.

 

[VideoFreek]

Specifically what am I looking for that would offer NAS cloud backup for 15 TB for less than $150 per year?

Good luck with that--I just don't think your target is realistic. The cheapest storage class on AWS, S3 Glacier Deep Archive, costs $0.00099/GB/month, or in your case about $180/yr. This would come with severe restrictions on your ability to access your data. You've already checked B2 pricing, so you know that conventional-tier pricing is far above your target. You also have to think about reliability: even if you could find a bargain-basement cloud service, would you really want to trust it with your data? Given your budget and data volume, a better approach might be to rotate hard drives offsite--a PITA to be sure, but would be much cheaper in the long run than cloud storage.

I'd also think twice about backing up a TM backup to the cloud or anywhere else. Time Machine backs up to sparse bundles, so a single corrupted file could render the whole sparse disk unreadable. You need to make sure your backups are fault-tolerant, so that minor corruption problems don't screw the whole thing.

 

[Chevron]

Good luck with that--I just don't think your target is realistic. The cheapest storage class on AWS, S3 Glacier Deep Archive, costs $0.00099/GB/month, or in your case about $180/yr. This would come with severe restrictions on your ability to access your data. You've already checked B2 pricing, so you know that conventional-tier pricing is far above your target. You also have to think about reliability: even if you could find a bargain-basement cloud service, would you really want to trust it with your data? Given your budget and data volume, a better approach might be to rotate hard drives offsite--a PITA to be sure, but would be much cheaper in the long run than cloud storage.

I'd also think twice about backing up a TM backup to the cloud or anywhere else. Time Machine backs up to sparse bundles, so a single corrupted file could render the whole sparse disk unreadable. You need to make sure your backups are fault-tolerant, so that minor corruption problems don't screw the whole thing.

All good, I got a Mac Mini as a file server and this week backed up over 10 TBs to BackBlaze. It might not conform to a fully-fledged NAS but it's as good as for me. 3-2-1 in effect....

I've been using BackBlaze personal for years, and never had any issues at all.

 

[VideoFreek]

Great solution. I assume you're using the regular Backblaze client. I know they advertise "unlimited", but I always wondered at what point they might balk, so good to know 10TB is not a problem. The only downside to your approach is that you have to first consolidate everything on a server, as you've done. I have multiple clients backing up directly to B2 (as well as to a local NAS), which also works well but can get expensive for large data volumes.

 

[Chevron]

Great solution. I assume you're using the regular Backblaze client. I know they advertise "unlimited", but I always wondered at what point they might balk, so good to know 10TB is not a problem. The only downside to your approach is that you have to first consolidate everything on a server, as you've done. I have multiple clients backing up directly to B2 (as well as to a local NAS), which also works well but can get expensive for large data volumes.

It is working great for me, I did a number of recovery checks on various file sizes and all came back as expected and easy to source.