Hi, I am looking into online backup systems, such as Backblaze, Mozy, Carbonite, Safecopy and the list goes on…
I already have other backup systems in place, but just in case of fire/theft, it seems to make sense to have a copy in the clouds.
I have been using Mozy on previous occasions, but was not overwhelmed by its speed, and since I used the free version limited to 2Gb, I never used it for DT databases. I recently installed Backblaze, which seems faster, although my wireless set-up probably makes it still very slow.
However, Backblaze does its work continuously. Is there a reason to fear for open databases being backed up? If so, is there an alternative anyone could recommend?
EDIT: just spotted viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7374&p=37310&hilit=mozy#p37310
I have Time Capsule (wish I never bought it, as it fails to be found every other three days, and slows down my internet connection considerably in contradiction of promises), I backup my databases on a laptop (no synchronization, one-way backup) and I previously used Retrospect, too, on a HDD
Thanks, that helps clarifying part of my question, because it seems that incremental backup with DT has become easier. Just as DT is swifter and leaner since DT 2 arrived.
As for Backblaze, I’ll have to ask them how they do this. In contrast to Time Machine, you don’t see when a backup is being processed, unless you keep the System Preferences open.
I use both Mozy and Jungle disk Workgroup (which is a front end for Amazon’s Web Services). They both back up the same stuff, about 40GB worth*. After the initial backup, these two take up perhaps an hour a day each. They do their work in the background but each has a small “activity monitor” window that you can keep open that will let you see what’s going on. Frankly these monitors aren’t too helpful. Both of these plans allows for a second computer to be backed up within the same “bucket” on the remote server, which makes them attractive pricewise, since both our Macs get backed up for the price of one (more or less ) Mozy has a fixed yearly price while Amazon bills once a month according to use. Jungle adds a disc icon to the desktop and i can go find something if I need to, and I have done this. It’s slow but that’s the nature of the remote backup beast.
I used the free version of Mozy, but had frequent hiccups - where I had to start all over again because it no longer recognised my account or something. As it was only 1,5 Gb of documents (a small selection), that was not too bad, but it did not give me any confidence about the service.
I have decided to go the way of the backup scripts, as Bill suggested (probably on several threads). These scripts are practical, although, with several important databases, I’d like to see some automation here.
I now make a backup via the Export script to another location on my HD, and will select that location for online backup with Backblaze.
Advantage: no open databases are backed up.
The disadvantage: it will not be an incremental backup, and while leaner, it will take more time to backup online.
Since I have several databases, I must keep track of my backups.
I would prefer a scenario that allows for incremental backups. I noticed that there is a script for both iDisk and Jungle, but don’t know whether they allow for incremental backups (iDisk has a limited size, I would not be able to select all databases as it is).
Where does DTPO store its own internal backups? Could I somehow select these?
In passing, DT2 is a joy, much faster that it used to be (for me at least), and while the Sorter is not the most flexible (it does not hide automatically, for one thing; I prefer the bookmarklets by far) the flexibility is great.
I’ve been using Mozy for awhile now and am very happy with the service. It backs up everything - including DT - just fine. Retrieval is easy. The initial backup is slow - it takes several days. The daily backup speed isn’t bad, and because I have it set to run at 3am, where, ideally, I am sleeping, I don’t care about the speed as long as it’s done by morning coffee. I use Time Machine for incremental backup.
Archiving DT results in one large file which for all databases together would overburden online backup. To solve that, I made a Chronosync schedule to:
Quit DTPO first
Then sync all databases with another folder on my HD (with dissect packages, so that only additions/changes are synced).
Have Backblaze exclude the original databases, which might after all be open when it does its work, but include the copied ones which will always be closed.
As far as I know, there is no DT script to do this - which I might prefer, because in this scenario I am worried about the files in the Sorter. Where would they be?
In /Home/Library/Application Support/DEVONthink Pro 2/.
Your Global Inbox is the database file named ‘Inbox.dtBase2’.
If you regard the Global Inbox as a temporary holding point, copy its contents to your normal databases and empty the Global Inbox, synchronization problems because of its location go away.
) Mozy has a fixed yearly price while Amazon bills once a month according to use. Jungle adds a disc icon to the desktop and i can go find something if I need to, and I have done this. It’s slow but that’s the nature of the remote backup beast.