The problem I've had with saving to an external hard drive is the user losing the drive, or the drive dying. In our case, we switched to using FreeFileSync to sync the files to the file server over VPN. I set up a script to warn the user if they haven't backed up in over 15 days to help remind/warn them. Since the changes are deltas only, it doesn't take too long to complete the sync once the primary sync is complete (the initial backup is almost always done on site).
Since you indicated that the laptops are rarely in the office, I would imagine that the external hard drive being lost/dying and not having any other backup is more likely. This doesn't take into the account the full system backup, but as someone else mentioned, you can also reimage the computer from a template, and then lay back on the user's files. While we haven't done this yet (it's on my To Do list), this may also be a good situation to set up DirectAccess to prevent the need for the user to use a VPN in case your users are not likely/comfortable connecting to a VPN. -Aakash Shah From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hank Arnold Sent: Monday, September 1, 2014 7:10 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud With the laptops, I like the idea of an external hard drive. It shouldn't be that hard to automate prompting them to attach the hard drive and create the image with the built-in capability. You could do the same with a program like Karen's Replicator or Microsoft SyncToy. Regards, Hank Arnold [MVP Logo_Small] Consumer Security "There are 10 kinds of people in the world... Those who understand binary and those who don't." My Blog: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/ Twitter: @Hank_PCDoc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hank.arnold.96 From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Art DeKneef Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 10:50 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud I gave him some cost numbers and backup time involved plus the pitfalls for doing this and he saw it wasn't a good idea for all the computers. He's still worried about the field laptops. So we discussed different options, everyone gets an external hard drive, small server for backing up the office computers and the laptops when in the office (rarely), create an image of the laptops and backup/save company files to the cloud or combination of ideas. So he's thinking over the ideas and we'll touch base on Wednesday. Michael, thanks for the charts. They will bolster my basic calculations in regards to the time involved. Art DeKneef Avanti Computers Mesa, AZ 480-649-4430 Office 480-529-4430 Mobile From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Micheal Espinola Jr Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2014 4:45 PM To: ntsysadm Subject: Re: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud ? 100 megabits is 12.5 megabytes. If you really meant 100 megabits, that would theoretically transfer 40 gigabytes in 55 min. Breaking that out in realistic (R) statistics with overhead (I typically average-in 13%), you're looking at 63 min, and 78 min if you factor in an addition 20% throttle due to simultaneous practical (P) network usage. Comparison chart: [Image removed by sender.] Red Speed - perf. decrease Yellow Speed - 0-400% increase Green Speed - 400%+ increase If you really meant 1.5 megabits (T-1ish speed), that would theoretically transfer 40 gigabytes in 3641 min (2 days, 12 hrs, 40 min). Breaking that out in realistic (R) statistics with overhead (I typically average-in 13%), you're looking at 4185 min (2 days, 21 hrs, 44 min), and 5231 min (3 days, 15 hrs, 11 min) if you factor in an addition 20% throttle due to simultaneous practical (P) network usage. Comparison chart: [Image removed by sender.] Red Time - 12+ hours Yellow Time - 6-12 hours Green Time - 0-6 hours To get a 40 gigabyte backup under a 12 hr window, you would need to effectively transfer at 11+ megabits per second end-to-end. These factors and these charts are a part of how I generalize backup requirements for clients. YMMV. -- Espi On Sun, Aug 31, 2014 at 7:04 AM, Hank Arnold <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Do the math. Even if you have a 100Mbps line (with, maybe 40-50 Mbyes upload speed), you will be trying to send 20-40 (or more) GBytes of data. You'll be spending hours if not days uploading. It's a bad idea. Create an image on removable media (label it "The Cloud") and store it off site. Regards, Hank Arnold Consumer Security "There are 10 kinds of people in the world... Those who understand binary and those who don't." My Blog: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/personal-pc-assistant/ Twitter: @Hank_PCDoc Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hank.arnold.96 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Art DeKneef Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:01 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: RE: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud I told him. He seems to think this is a good idea. The Internet connection has (does occasionally) have issues that they installed a second line from a different provider for just that reason. In a rural area here in Arizona. Art DeKneef Avanti Computers Mesa, AZ 480-649-4430<tel:480-649-4430> Office 480-529-4430<tel:480-529-4430> Mobile -----Original Message----- From: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> [mailto:[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>] On Behalf Of Susan Bradley Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2014 1:08 PM To: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: Re: [NTSysADM] Remote full computer backup to cloud Does he have any idea how long a full backup to a cloud backup provider takes? I'll bet he doesn't have fiber and has various speeds of connectivity. It takes me weeks to dribble up a large backup. On 8/28/2014 12:57 PM, Art DeKneef wrote: > > Have a new client that wants to backup 15 computers, possibly to the > cloud. The cloud seems to be his preference right now. 7 computers are > in an office with the other 8 being laptops that rarely come into the > office. There is no server (Yeah I know), mix of Windows 7 Home and > Pro, Windows 8 and Pro, varying skill levels. They buy whatever fits > their fancy and price when something breaks. Hopefully I can get them > to see the value of consistency of hardware. > > He wants to backup the whole computer, not just the business stuff. I > mentioned a small server or NAS device for the office but that still > leaves the laptops. They use a couple of 1TB USB drives in the office > now but there have been a few instances where they haven't worked > correctly between the different computers. > > I'm currently looking at Carbonite, Mozy, Crashplan and Copy but they > all seem to just want to backup files and folders, not the whole drive > based on my first glance. > > Anyone have any experience backing up remote computers they would like > to share while I research some more? > > Thanks > > Art DeKneef > > Avanti Computers > > Mesa, AZ > > 480-649-4430<tel:480-649-4430> Office > > 480-529-4430<tel:480-529-4430> Mobile >
