Need easy & inexpensive network drive back-up solution

[msnedrow]

Hello,

I have a small network - only 4 computers with 1TB of network storage. I need a back-up solution that will back-up both the administrator's computer and the network drive. Can I do this with a single product? If so, what product do you recommend?

 

[gtvr]

what kind of device is the 1tb of network storage on - a real PC, a NAS, or something else?

How much data is on the storage device, vs. how much on the admin's PC?

Budget?

 

[msnedrow]

Hello,

I have a small network - only 4 computers with 1TB of network storage. I need a back-up solution that will back-up both the administrator's computer and the network drive. Can I do this with a single product? If so, what product do you recommend?

ADministrator's computer has a 1TB HP SimpleSave external hard drive connected via USB. The entire network has a 2TB WD MyBook attached through network cable. The WD is accessible from administrator and three lab computers. Users in the lab save documents on the WD. Administrator has a personal library on the HP SimpleSave.

I'd like to attach a WD 3TB external drive to the administrator's computer and backup the HP SimpleSave Library, the Administrator's computer image and also the WD 2TB storage drive. Will that work? Does the new WD 3TB external drive software allow me to back-up multiple drives? i.e."C:" and also both external drives?

 

[gtvr]

I don't know that much about the WD software. One key question is still how much actual data is there?

For something like this, I would strongly consider tape, if the sizes work out. A tape drive can be expensive, but the advantage is taking your backups offsite easily. You could take the external HD with you offsite and the end of the day I suppose, but someone would have to bring the drive home & back every day.

The amount of data (not just drive size) and budget are important factors.

 

[msnedrow]

Budget is low - $200-$300 maximum. Data storage is not critical to any business functions, so external hard drive is acceptable risk. Tape is too expensive and unnecessary for this environment. We mostly need to recover the data in event of hardware failure on computer or the other hard drives.

Actual data on each drive is 700-800 GB each. data stored is homework for school age children, pictures and video/music library. Most likely failure would be a hardware failure resulting from inexperienced users on the lab computers. We have a GOLD image of the lab machines, so restoration to original condition is possible, but stored data would be lost. Looking for inexpensive method to back-up data, so its not lost in event of similar hardware failures.

We are not looking for a solution that provides back-up from natural disaster or catastrophic loss of the facility. If that happens, the computer lab is the least of our problems.

 

[gtvr]

Yeah, that looks like HD storage. That can be a LOT of data over a network though, especially considering you already have one drive connected by USB.

You should be able to back up anything the PC can access. I would look at an eSata drive for speed, or get a USB 3 card/drive combo. Hopefully the network & all devices are gigabit.

 

[msnedrow]

YEs. It's a lot of data for a USB2 and HD solution, but I think the least expensive. Once the initial backup is complete, the incremental back-ups should be relatively fast. I am more concerned that the software enables me to reach out to the network drive and back it up to the storage drive. From what I read, the WD 3TB external drive is able to do that.

One more question, if you don't mind. The WD 3TB external drive is USB3 enabled, but the administrator's PC is only USB2. From everything I read, the PC is my limitation and may not be able to use USB3 without an upgrade of the administrator's PC. Is there any device that will enable USB3 for older equipment? Note, the administrator's PC is a laptop, so the device would need to be something that hangs from one of the existing ports. No ability to crack the box and add expansion cards.

Suggestions?

 

[gtvr]

Does it have a PC Card slot or similar? What model is the laptop? Just from a quick google here is an express card - USB 3 adapter. Not sure how fast it would actually be

http://us.startech.com/product/ECUSB3S2-2-Port-ExpressCard-SuperSpeed-USB-3-Card-Adapter

not recommending, just showing as an example. There's tons of PCIe - USB3 cards out there if the laptop solution is too slow & you want to try backing up from a desktop.

 

[prettyming]

Hello,

I have a small network - only 4 computers with 1TB of network storage. I need a back-up solution that will back-up both the administrator's computer and the network drive. Can I do this with a single product? If so, what product do you recommend?

 

[prettyming]

BackupCow.com does a great job and it can fully meet your needs. Backup Cow can back up and sync files between computers over local network or Internet/Intranet. The software can also help you build internal private cloud storage by utilizing in-house computers. Free Edition Available!