Back Up Heaven: On-Line Storage

Transmit One of the fundamental obstacles to overcome in storing data off-site and on-line is being confident that it’s secure: you don’t really want all your data freely available for all and sundry to poke around, do you? When you are as paranoid as I am when it comes to data security, this is a very real issue. But, as I discovered, choose wisely and the need for concern is minimal.

I had already taken the dotMac plunge for reasons other than storage (and yes, the cool e-mail address was a factor – not a critical one, but it did influence me – I really am that sad ) and so I had access to a measly 1GB of storage on my iDisk – a secure off-site ‘hard disk’ (read: server space) on Apple’s servers (I presume).

As the level of my data grew both in volume and importance to me, I became more interested in storing it off-site, but 1GB wasn’t enough. Given my already existing investment in dotMac services, increasing my storage capacity to the maximum available (4GB) was my most cost effective way forward – it needed me to be selective in what I stored, but it was OK for critical stuff. However, more recently Apple got into the real world and my 4GB became 32GB overnight at no extra cost: Party On!!

So, my 32GB now holds a mix of all my data, some music, all my photos and all my downloaded applications (all of which, I hasten to add, I have legitimately purchased). Here’s how I got it there in the first place, and what I do to ensure it is always current…

For this you will require: Off-site disk space accessible via an internet connection, a good FTP program, data to transfer, a similar storage structure to the one I outlined here ,and bucket loads of patience for the initial set-up.

For interest only, and not by way of recommendation: my storage space is, as already mentioned, iDisk via dotMac, but there are alternatives out there, and a simple Google search will get you started in finding something suitable; you can even use some standard web hosting space if storage and bandwidth limits make it feasible. My FTP program is Transmit – partly because it rocks, and partly because it is one of the few that allows access to iDisks; but, most of all because of it’s killer feature: syncing.

Having purchased/acquired some off-site storage, and found an FTP program, it’s time to get connected to your space using your FTP program and, once connected, create an empty directory in your space. Mine is called ‘Cabinet’ to mirror my data set up on my computer and then I utilise the ‘Pictures’ and ‘Music’ folders on the iDisk for those items (for music I concentrate on only my ‘Music to be backed up’ folder on my computer, but you may want to back your entire library up, if you have the space, which I don’t.

Next, get your data up there. In many FTP programs this is a simple drag and drop exercise – it certainly is in Transmit. At this point it is worth thinking through a few things regarding limits: what is your ISP’s monthly bandwidth limit, what is your storage space host’s bandwidth limit, and what is your storage capacity limit. Lastly, think about your connection speed, especially if you are transferring a lot of data. I have 32GB of space and 300GB of monthly data transfer with dotMac, and I have a 10GB connection with no data limits – but be warned, upload is slower than download, generally, so this is where the patience is required.

Once your data is on-line, you then need to keep it synced up. Depending on your FTP program, you may or may not be able to automate this. In Transmit it’s a snip, as long as you have mirrored on your on-line storage the file structure that’s on your computer: highlight the directory you want to sync on both your computer and on your on-line storage, click ‘sync’, choose your sync mode – for me it’s ‘mirror’ which forces my iDisk to mirror my computer, driving deletions and additions based on what it finds on my hard disk. I do this for my ‘Cabinet’ (data and downloaded applications), my music files and my pictures. That’s it, job done.

To recover files from your on-line storage, simply download them from your space using your FTP program.

Remember, syncing is usually quick (if it’s automated) and doesn’t usually demand a lot of bandwidth, because it is only uploading changes to the original data.

The frequency with which you do it will be driven by the amount of changes you make, the importance you place on having current data stored on-line, and your paranoia levels. Personally, I do data every time I have a productive day at the computer, music every time I make an iTunes purchase, and photos every time I do a download from the camera.

Share this on