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Grogster

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Joined: 31/12/2012
Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 05:16am 06 Aug 2021

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Hi all.

I'm looking for an automatic backup software that will backup all of documents etc to a network NAS. This is just for additional insurance. I already backup documents etc manually on a semi-regular basis, but an automatic 'Set it and forget it' kind of application to backup to a dedicated place on my network would be a nice bonus I thought.

I found EaseUS and it seems to be good and does what I am after, but I thought I would ask if anyone else uses that software, or what software they DO use for their own automatic backups?

I'm not interested in backing up the entire system - I have Macrium Reflect for that, and run that manually after every major-ish Windows update, I am only after a software that can backup files and folders.

Anyone got any suggestions or comments?

EDIT: Also interested in any Linux applications that can do the same thing, as I move more and more towards Linux, I will need something I can install for my Linux machines too.
Edited 2021-08-06 15:17 by Grogster

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

CaptainBoing

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Joined: 07/09/2016
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: 05:34am 06 Aug 2021

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on Winderze?

Allway Sync - no question for me. Used it for years, so flexible.

Edit: Looks like the site has gone. la vie! PM me, sweetpea

.
Edited 2021-08-06 16:25 by CaptainBoing

Grogster

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Posted: 06:39am 06 Aug 2021

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Windoze for now for the one machine I use all my CAD on, but also looking for Linux equivalents for my Linux machines. In both Windoze and Linux cases, they need to be able to backup to a network NAS box.

EDIT: These Winderze?
Edited 2021-08-06 16:41 by Grogster

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

Mixtel90

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Joined: 05/10/2019
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Posted: 07:18am 06 Aug 2021

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I only backup *really essential* stuff now. Life is too short to back up terabyte disks. :)

My NAS is 2x 3TB drives in RAID 1 - just mirroring. Not efficient on disk space, but easily restored to a new drive. That holds all my music, photos etc. Also most of my CAD stuff gets copied to there. I don't auto-backup. I probably should really but that would mean being organized and remembering to put stuff into the folders that would get backed up. :)

Apart from that I don't have much in the way of spinning rust. There are a couple of small USB drives - one dedicated to a music backup. They are rarely connected. My computers have small SSDs in them so there's no space to store a load of files on them anyway. They tend to fill up with applications.

Mick

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Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs

Paul_L
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Joined: 03/03/2016
Location: United States
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Posted: 07:40am 06 Aug 2021

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I tried EaseUS disk copy a few years ago but the restored disk wouldn't boot.

Macrium full disk restorations have never failed to boot properly. I do a full Macrium backup on a monthly basis just before patch Tuesday. The Macrium differential backup looks interesting but I have never tried it.

I use ROBOCOPY controlled by a batch file to copy all changed files on a daily basis.

Paul in NY

Bizzie
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Joined: 06/07/2014
Location: Australia
Posts: 192

Posted: 08:14am 06 Aug 2021

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I use Idrive (see Idrive.com ) have for several years.
Cost me $80 per year for 5TB. Tried the restore when I first started and all seemed to work.
I do a differential backup every night of my NAS with no problems.

Rob White

JohnS
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Joined: 18/11/2011
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Posted: 08:50am 06 Aug 2021

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Grogster said EDIT: Also interested in any Linux applications that can do the same thing, as I move more and more towards Linux, I will need something I can install for my Linux machines too.

You can use "sync" tools such as rsync.

It can traverse part(s) (or all) of one or more file systems and just copy across changes.

Have a look at
man rsync

and examples on the net.

If desired (as is common), it can login remotely and securely (e.g. using ssh) and operate over the secure login (slows it down less than you might think).

John
Edited 2021-08-06 18:50 by JohnS

cs41
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Joined: 08/08/2016
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Posted: 09:29am 06 Aug 2021

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Hi Grogs,

Why not use the auto backup program "Timeshift" that is already in Linux Mint.

Set the time interval, location to save and a few other details and forget it until a problem occurs.

I have set mine to weekly, but can be any time interval. Works great.

Regards

cs.

JohnS
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Posted: 10:26am 06 Aug 2021

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I understand Timeshift does not backup user data...

A web search shows plenty of other solutions.

John
Edited 2021-08-06 21:42 by JohnS

Chopperp

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Joined: 03/01/2018
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Posted: 12:57pm 06 Aug 2021

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I use SyncBackFree to a HDD attached to my broadband modem/router.

It can be set up for automatic backups as well as manual ones. Multiple profiles can be set up as well.

Brian

ChopperP

mclout999
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Joined: 05/07/2020
Location: United States
Posts: 490

Posted: 02:03pm 06 Aug 2021

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CaptainBoing said on Winderze?

Allway Sync - no question for me. Used it for years, so flexible.

Edit: Looks like the site has gone. la vie! PM me, sweetpea

Googled it and it is still there and free addition avalible.

https://allwaysync.com/

Goksteroo
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Joined: 15/03/2021
Location: Australia
Posts: 114

Posted: 05:21pm 06 Aug 2021

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Chopperp said I use SyncBackFree to a HDD attached to my broadband modem/router.

It can be set up for automatic backups as well as manual ones. Multiple profiles can be set up as well.

Brian

Totally agree - easy to use and versatile - I have it backing up several folders every night when I'm asleep - works well.

bigmik

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Joined: 20/06/2011
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Posted: 02:07am 07 Aug 2021

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Grogs, All,

Backing up to attached drives is good but if you get hit by an encryption Trojan you will most likely see your NAS get encrypted as well.

I have a 1TB NVME drive in my PC and I do regular (mostly monthly) IMAGE backups to another NVME drive in an external USB C enclosure. I also backup in file mode to my local data drive.

I use paragon Hard drive manager advanced but I probably wouldn't recommend it as it isn't user friendly IMHO.

If my system drive gets screwed I have another I can swap in and boot up that is current within the month.

I have thought of buying another NVME to have two backups in IMAGE mode.

Regards,

Mick

Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<<

Grogster

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Posted: 05:31am 07 Aug 2021

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Wow - lots of replies - thanks chums.

Lots of programs to look at.

I will now work my way through them starting with Robocopy, as Paul has mentioned that before, and I keep forgetting about it!

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

atmega8

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Joined: 19/11/2013
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Posted: 05:37am 07 Aug 2021

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Hello Grogster,

Veeam Backup and Replication Community Edition.
For Linux, Windows, MacOS.

Best of bread!
Give it a try.

Grogster

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Posted: 06:08am 07 Aug 2021

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@ Bizzie - I'm really impressed with iDrive! I have downloaded the free version, which gives me 5GB to play with, but they currently have a special on offer - 5TB for $59.62 for the first year, then the standard $80 per year. This is currently the frontrunner, and I love its list of features and scheduled backup stuff.

Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops!

Volhout
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Posted: 07:21am 07 Aug 2021

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For official stuf I run an iMac. Just plugin a usb drive, and it automatically backups. Even to the point that when I loose the iMac, plug the drive in a new one, and it creates an identical copy of the old. Completely autonomous. I only need to select YES when prompted.

Apple is often put in bad light, but there is lots of good in their products.

Volhout.

PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS

dMajo

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Joined: 18/05/2020
Location: Italy
Posts: 28

Posted: 03:50pm 07 Aug 2021

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@Grogster
it also depends on your NAS brand.

With mine I have a Raid5 array where are the R&D and Document shares beside the music/pictures/....
For the backups I have a dedicated internal HD and a second USB3 external one on the NAS' USB port.
I run several backup tasks from the Raid5 arrays to the internal backup HD. For the R&D and Document shares these are every hour with versioning support.
Then I run backup from the PCs, using their agent, also to the backup HD. Here also bare-metal and system-volume recovery is supported on windows (and server) OS with NTFS file system.
Once a week the USB drive gets switched on and a backup is made from the internal backup HD, then the USB drive is unmounted and switched off again. The only think I done was the scripts which turn on/off the external drive and unmount it. This script is run 5 min before the backup-to-external-drive backup task.

In this way with the internal backup I have quick backup of the shares with great bandwidth and low system resources usage. The PCs backup using agents installed on them with its own credentials avoid that an eventual ransomware running on the PC corrupt the backups. The only corruption can happen to the shares that the user of the PC have access to when he gets the ransomware. But it is a matter of minutes to restore them back from the internal backup. Of course the share can be backed in the encrypted format ... but this is also why versioning is used and you have more recovery points in the backup.

The external backup is just an upgrade to the security level as I have chosen not to have the internal backup under Raid protection. In this way I can always extract the internal backup (or the external one) and recover the files also without the NAS on any PC. With the backup under Raid I would need a Linux machine with enough SATA ports to host all the raid backup disks plus its own system one. The external backup serves to restore the internal backup disk should it damage since it beside the data have also all the backup tasks configurations.

All this comes free with my NAS brand so have a look also to apps and extensions you can install on your NAS. Perhaps you have the same opportunities.

And BTW with the NAS I am also: running an internal DNS (BIND9) with several views to control who can what, deploying SW through GPOs, updates through WSUS and keep backups of family smartphones when under home wifi.

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