Best photo backup solution (hardware + software)

phantelope wrote in post #17309900
I'm pretty sure cloud storage is encrypted and while 'they' could probably crack that, I'm not concerned that 'they' will be interested in my photos anytime soon. I also order online, do online banking, and so on.

Prime in the US is well worth it, in Germany I can get anything I order from Amazon the next day. I can also put 3 Germanys into California and still drive around it..... With Prime I get things from NY shipped some 3000 miles to my house in two days.

I had prime in Germany too for some deal but cancelled it afterwards, not worth it there, I'd agree.

a) IF the cloud storage is done right, the encryption should be on the client side, with client generated keys - however this requires the client to transfer keys to devices that need to access the data.

b) The next step down is for the server side to encrypt - BUT this leaves two big holes:
1) keys can be stolen from the server holding them
2) companies can be forced to datamine for the government - in fact, they are forced as well (the best example being email) without disclosing it

Only point a) would be secure - but hardly anybody does that.
Of course I assume data transport is encryted too.

The other option is to say the only things you put on the web are those you would not mind becoming public - in that case b) may very well be sufficient, BUT I'd still be wary of the potential for harm through unsubstantiated accusations.
And yes, the "five eyes" have effectively broken the internet.

Before it was only clear that companies datamined - and hackers stole data.
Nowadays we know our governments spy on us... because they can, not because they have a warrant.

DetlevCM wrote in post #17310477
a) IF the cloud storage is done right, the encryption should be on the client side, with client generated keys - however this requires the client to transfer keys to devices that need to access the data.

You can still do that over existing cloud solutions if you want. It's not totally straightforward, but if you're inclined to you can.

I just looked at my Amazon Prime Cloud limits - if you're a "professional" photographer you are excluded from the free unlimited storage.

I wonder how they decide if you're a professional - in business, quality of photos, number of photos uploaded?

I use three 3TB external USB3.0 drives. One is attached to my computer, another is in a friend's house some distance away, and the third is either in my fireproof safe or in a safe-deposit box. I rotate them periodically.

My backup software is very simple and cheap: the XCOPY /D command built into Windows. (Actually, I use the freeware XXCOPY program, which may be found at www.xxcopy.com.) The /D switch copies only new and updated files. As I don't use LR, Photoshop, or any other software that relies on its own catalog, all I need to do is copy the pictures and other files. As I keep all of my data: pictures, videos, music, etc. on my D: drive, all I need to do is copy the entire drive. The full command is XXCOPY /VSE D:\*.* H:\, where H: is my external drive.

I'm an Apple user so backup # 1 gets done by Apple's TimeMachine. Every few months I make an extra backup to an external drive which I keep offsite (safe deposit box). It might not be as robust a backup solution as some but it beats the heck of the old days when I had boxes of negatives stored in boxes.

Erik S. Klein wrote in post #17308866
To DetLev's comment above, my system is currently at about 3.5 TB (OS, software and images) which still has about 80 days left on the initial backup with Crashplan. I started about 4 months ago...

It's more or less what I would have to back up, how much does it cost?

Reiep wrote in post #17313470
It's more or less what I would have to back up, how much does it cost?

Crash plan between pcs used to be free - no idea about today or their web backup.
Side note - there is no way of removing your data from them, or at least there wasn't in the past. Maybe it has changed now.

Reiep wrote in post #17313470
It's more or less what I would have to back up, how much does it cost?

It's usually $60/year for unlimited storage. They are running a holiday special right now at $42 for the year. Zaphod would be pleased.

PC to PC backups are free.

Last summer I studied different online options. None of them are good for me, since I've been too trigger happy for years, and I can't bring myself to delete any single raw image, unless it's 100% black or white. And I need to make 2 copies. With my 5M upload speed, it'd take months to upload.

So after editing (on SSD), I copy everything to two external USB drives. Only bad part on my plan is that all drives are at my home. Otherwise I like the strategy. Drives are so cheap so it's good option too. ~$100 for 4TB drives.

mike_d wrote in post #17309029
Actually, Prime shipping is a benefit in the US. An item could come from a warehouse on other side of the country and spend days on a truck, being handed from UPS/FedEx to USPS for final delivery.

And I am keen on the streaming video, especially since I don't have cable TV and I have a 3 year old.

Amazon sits on a free shipping order for 7 days before processing unless you are a prime member, except during the Christmas rush.

iowajim wrote in post #17317761
Amazon sits on a free shipping order for 7 days before processing unless you are a prime member, except during the Christmas rush.

If they do really do that, it surprises me that the press hasn't been tearing them apart over it.
I have seen Amazon being slow in the UK every now and then - but that means a days or two to ship and they may have genuinely been busy at those times.

On the other hand, it may just be that Amazon lacks any suitable competition in the US - in the UK as well as in Germany we do get a choice. Other retailers but also obviously the other sellers on the Amazon marketplace (who can be cheaper and quicker to post than Amazon at times).

I've been a prime member for a couple years now, so things may have changed. But I recall suspecting the practice, and then I obtained some level of confirmation. For one, I received my packages quickly starting with the black Friday rush, yet orders took considerably longer to fill through the rest of the year when using the free shipping option.

Im a bit of a backup freak...

Couple of years ago i almost lost my complete archive due to being cheap with only one HD which crashed... Never again.... Storage is cheap nowadays, lost archives; brr..

I load my RAW's onto my imac, then copy the folder to two connected LaCie 4tb thunderbolt drives ánd my synology server. When those transfers are done, i wipe the card. I dont care about the library's. Its lightning fast to load images again from the thunderbolts if i need them again.

Once a month i break out a Sharkoon HD dock and copy all new files to three separate HD's that i keep separated. One in the vault, one at a friend, one at the in-laws.

When im on the go i load the files on my macbook, then later copy the folder to the server and HD's connected to my imac.

I import the files using Aperture (for now...) I don't use any cloud storage for photos.

I keep edited photos in a separate folder, usually i upload any i want to share to Flickr. If i lose my "edited" folder, not much is lost. My precious RAW's are still there.

First I dump all of my memory cards to an SSD before importing. Next all images are imported into lightroom from the SSD and a second copy is made to another hard drive. I have a program called Create Synchronicity that syncs my primary hard drive with a 3rd hard drive daily but it is a 1 way mirror so deleted files on my primary are not deleted during the backup. My catalog is backed up to 2 separate hard drives as well. I do not format my CF cards until I need to use them again, and then I delete the raws off of my SSD once it is nearly full. That way at any given time there are no fewer than 4-5 copies at any given time. Finalized JPGs are backed up on google drive and a 2 drive raid array in my server machine as well.

Once per year I do a catalog purging, where I delete my "maybe" images. I tend to use a 1/3/5 star system for images and delete all 1's after 1 year. 1=maybe 3=web 5=print

Drobo NAS, CrashPlan and BitCasa Pro for me.