The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/Zach83 on 2024-06-11 22:21:28.
I don't know a lot about networking, storage, and proper backing up. I'm a 3d artist and do some coding on the side so I don't get scared by technical manuals or learning new tech, but proper sys adminning is not my strength.
I just did some reading on things like windows backup and mirroring and now I think I need to update/change/modernize how I backup my stuff.
Apparently the things I am relying on are NOT reliable at all.
So I dove in and now I can't see the forest for the trees anymore. I need help thinking this out.
My current setup
I have a work/gaming pc with 2 2TB drives and a synology 1 disk(2TB) NAS device.
The windows PC contains important data, the NAS serves media to a media pc(that needs no backing up) and some tablets
To back these up I have a windows based "NAS" with 2 mirrored volumes, F and G. 2 4TB volumes (so 4 disks, 4TB each, 2 used for each mirorred volume)
On the Work PC there are three folders that I manually backup to G while working. Daily backups sort off.
Every week I run a Bat file with a few robocopy commands on the windows "NAS". The BAT maps the work PC's drives and the synology NAS drive and then does a copy with options like /mir and /purge. Essentially an incremental backup of the NAS and work PC drives to the windows "NAS".
A few times a year a I run a second bat script. It copies everything to external devices that I store in my shed. Best offsite backup available to me.
my questions
How to mirror?
Apparently windows mirrored volumes can not be relied on? I use it to protect against disk failure and apparently there are situations where the still working disk will NOT be read by another windows pc. Kinda defeats the point.
I want such protection on the windows "NAS", an automatic and fast mirror copy.
I want to be able to put any disk of the mirror pair in any other windows pc and have it appear like a normal disk, so it should be NTFS.
What should I do? There are so many options and I have no idea what is reliable.
How to backup without Robocopy (in a file system that windows can read like ntfs, and without puting files into a proprietary binary blob)?
I'm told I shouldn't use Robocopy for incremental backups because it's too easy to fuck up, and should power cut out while copying I could be fucked.
Googling I went, searching for a way with the following requirements:
- I want to backup the synology nas and the 2 disks on the work pc weekly, to the windows "NAS".
- I only want to copy changed or new files and I want to remove files that no longer exist in the original source.
- The backup should not go into a binary blob, I want loose files.
- No need for file versions/history.
- Timestamps(date modifed/created) are important to me.
And I found nothing. I probably don't even know the right terms to search for.
How should I do this backup?
Ideally this should not involve signing up for a service or managed via a web interface hosted by some company. I want to keep everything in home and away from the internet.
Free would be nice too.
