this post was submitted on 10 May 2025
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178
3-2-1 Backups: How do you do the 1 offsite backup? (lemmy.blahaj.zone)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by CatLikeLemming@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I'm planning on setting up a nas/home server (primarily storage with some jellyfin and nextcloud and such mixed in) and since it is primarily for data storage I'd like to follow the data preservation rules of 3-2-1 backups. 3 copies on 2 mediums with 1 offsite - well actually I'm more trying to go for a 2-1 with 2 copies and one offsite, but that's besides the point. Now I'm wondering how to do the offsite backup properly.

My main goal would be to have an automatic system that does full system backups at a reasonable rate (I assume daily would be a bit much considering it's gonna be a few TB worth of HDDs which aren't exactly fast, but maybe weekly?) and then have 2-3 of those backups offsite at once as a sort of version control, if possible.

This has two components, the local upload system and the offsite storage provider. First the local system:

What is good software to encrypt the data before/while it's uploaded?

While I'd preferably upload the data to a provider I trust, accidents happen, and since they don't need to access the data, I'd prefer them not being able to, maliciously or not, so what is a good way to encrypt the data before it leaves my system?

What is a good way to upload the data?

After it has been encrypted, it needs to be sent. Is there any good software that can upload backups automatically on regular intervals? Maybe something that also handles the encryption part on the way?

Then there's the offsite storage provider. Personally I'd appreciate as many suggestions as possible, as there is of course no one size fits all, so if you've got good experiences with any, please do send their names. I'm basically just looking for network attached drives. I send my data to them, I leave it there and trust it stays there, and in case too many drives in my system fail for RAID-Z to handle, so 2, I'd like to be able to get the data off there after I've replaced my drives. That's all I really need from them.

For reference, this is gonna be my first NAS/Server/Anything of this sort. I realize it's mostly a regular computer and am familiar enough with Linux, so I can handle that basic stuff, but for the things you wouldn't do with a normal computer I am quite unfamiliar, so if any questions here seem dumb, I apologize. Thank you in advance for any information!

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[–] SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 month ago

Most of my work is with Macs, and even one server is running macOS, so for those who don't know how it works 'over there', one runs Time Machine which is a versioning system keeping hourlies for a day, dailies for a week, then just weeklies after that. It accommodates using multiple disks, so I have a networked drive that services all the mac computers, and each computer also has a USB drive it connects to. Each drive usually services a couple of computers.

Backups happen automatically without interruption or drama.

I just rotate the USB drives out of the building into a storage unit once a month or so and bring the offsite drives back in to circulation. The timemachine system nags you for missing backup drives if it's been too long, which is great.

It’s not perfect but very reliable and I wish everyone had access to a similar system, it's very easy, apple got this one thing right.

[–] pinguin@fault.su 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I tend to just store all my backups off-site in multiple geographically distant locations, seems to work well

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[–] InFerNo@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

I bring 1 of my backup disks to my inlaws. I go there regularly so it's a matter of swapping them when I'm there.

[–] liliumstar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 month ago

I have a storage VPS and use Borg backup with Borgmatic. In my case, I have multiple systems in different repos on the remote. There are several providers, such as hetzner, borgbase, and rsync.net that offer borg storage, in the event you don't want to manage the server yourself.

[–] SpatchyIsOnline@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I built a near identical server for my parents and just sync my nextcloud folder to theirs using syncthing

[–] frozencow@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I also had been contenplating this for a while. The solution I implemented recently is:

The system itself is a RPI on NixOS. The system can be reproduced from the NixOS configuration. The NixOS configuration is stored on GitHub. Since I can reproduce the sdcard image (and full system) from the configuration I opted to not do any backup of the sdcard/system itself.

I've also opted to not use raid, as I can replace/add a RPI without too much hassle.

The real backups for me are for photos. Those are stored on a M.2 storage. A second (similar) RPI is placed at my dad's place. The rpis run tailscale and syncthing. Syncthing syncs using staggered mode (stores 1 version for the last day/week/year) and the RPI at my dad is untrusted, so the backup files are sent/stored encrypted there.

This setup hasn't run very long yet, so I won't recommend it, but it seems to check quite a lot of boxes for me. Maybe it gives some ideas. I'm also interested what alternative solutions others came up with.

[–] darkstar@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

I have 2x 18TB HDD drives which I sync weekly and store in separate rooms.

I use Backblaze for offsite.

[–] q7mJI7tk1@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I spend my days working on a MacBook, and have several old external USB drives duplicating my important files, live, off my server (Unraid) via Resilio to my MacBook (yes I know syncthing exists, but Resilio is easier). My off-site backups are to a Hetzner Storage Box using Duplicacy which is amazing and supports encrypted snapshots (a cheap GUI alternative to Borgbackup).

So for me, Resilio and Duplicacy.

[–] randombullet@programming.dev 1 points 4 weeks ago

My friend has 1G/1G Internet. I have a rsync cron job backing up there 2 times a week.

It has a 8TB NVMe drive that I use bulk data backup and a 2TB os drive for VM stuff.

[–] toe@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

LTO8 in box elsewhere

The price per terabyte became viable when a drive was on sale for half off at a local retailer.

Works well and it was a fun learning experience.

[–] dirtycrow@programming.dev -3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Amazon AWS Glacier

Edit: I was downvoted for this, but it’s genuinely a more affordable alternative to Backblaze whose finances are questionable.

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