Assigning an I.P address to a USB Memory stick

E6600

E6600

E6600

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Please no cloud suggestions; it is not a viable option with my poor home broadband upload performance. :(

My home router has two USB ports in to one of which I plug a memory stick that forms one component of a multiple layer backup strategy.

The reason for writing this backup layer to a USB stick is so that when I travel - which I do a lot - I put it in my jacket pocket and take it with me. If my laptop fails or is stolen I can still work if I use another machine. The backup utility always correctly updates the file images on the USB stick on arrival back home no matter how long I was away or how many changes were made.

What I would really like to do though is be able to trick the USB drive in to appearing to the laptop (Lenovo X1 with W7 Professional x64 SP1) as a network device with the same fixed I.P address as when it is connected to the router back home; I will then be able to maintain backups whilst travelling, further enhancing redundancy in the case of laptop failure of loss.

The workaround in use at the moment is to have two backups on the USB stick - one which is written when connected to the laptop and the other when connected to the router - and two corresponding backup profiles in the backup tool but is there a driver or hack that can help dispense with the workaround, please? It is *only* when the particular thumbnail drive is plugged in that I desire this behaviour.

TVM,
E6600
 
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basically your router turning your usb pen drive into a NAS?

what would happens if you plug in the pen drive in your laptop? does it show up anything?

by the way its physically impossible to assign an IP address to an USB pen drive as its not a network device
 
Is a cloud backup really out of the question? How large are the files you're working with?

Even my mum's 400kbps (~50KB/s) upload connection is fine for her. She uses databases, pictures, office documents on hers.

Onedrive just tootles along in the background
 
Many thanks for the replies and suggestions.

My broadband upload speed is typically 100kbps so yes, cloud really is out of the question. Been there. Tried that. Suffered the frustration.

Yes, the router turns the USB stick in to a NAS. Very handy as my three "real" NAS devices are rather too bulky to slip in to a jacket pocket! Of course the USB stick displays as a drive when plugged in to the laptop but the backup software does not see it because it is not carrying the expected I.P. address.

I was hoping that some software existed that could make a USB drive appear as a network drive with manually assigned I.P. address and it seems the VM approach might be on to something. Thanks for that. Now to find a free VM with low CPU and memory overhead (not that the laptop is lacking but I don't want to crack a nut with a sledgehammer).

Cheers,
E6600
 
Surely if you are plugging the USB device into your router it will be taking the router's IP every time? I can't see that changing too often.
 
With respect, you misunderstand. Every time the stick is plugged in to the router, yes, it has the same I.P. address. This is an essential part of the backup working.
When I am in Timbuktoo on business and the same stick is plugged in to the laptop it becomes a local drive, F for the record - so the backup tool does not recognise it as the same device with the same backup. For this to happen I have to fool the backup tool in to thinking that F:\backup is actually 192.168.10.23\backup despite not actually being a network drive at all.
 
Set your computer's IP address to 192.168.10.23 (assuming this is what you want it as) and make the USB drive shared. I'd imagine pointing Windows explorer to \\192.168.10.23\F$ (assuming F: drive is the USB drive) would then point your USB drive.
 
This is ridiculous.

Basically you backup to your USB/NAS Router arrangement at home. No issues here.

Then you take your backup TRAVELLING with you through AIRPORTS, SECURITY and HANDLERS who are renowned for LOSING and BREAKING things.

You are backing up diligently at home then putting said backup through increased risk for potential convenience of having access to files IF you suffer a failure away. You need to rethink this.

Leave your backup safe at home and make provisions to access the data if required. Examples include:

Direct remote access to router
VPN access to network/router
Access via Remote Desktop/VNC at a system located at home
Cloning the backup USB onto a separate USB to take with you
 
Sin_Chase said:
This is ridiculous.

Basically you backup to your USB/NAS Router arrangement at home. No issues here.

Then you take your backup TRAVELLING with you through AIRPORTS, SECURITY and HANDLERS who are renowned for LOSING and BREAKING things.

You are backing up diligently at home then putting said backup through increased risk for potential convenience of having access to files IF you suffer a failure away. You need to rethink this.

Leave your backup safe at home and make provisions to access the data if required. Examples include:

Direct remote access to router
VPN access to network/router
Access via Remote Desktop/VNC at a system located at home
Cloning the backup USB onto a separate USB to take with you
Click to expand...

it would make sense if he was doing it to 2 usbs (1 stays at home 1 travels) but i dont think this is the case

i agree with you sin.
 
I can't think of a way to access the root of the usb drive with just an ip address, but you could maybe try something like assigning your laptop a second ip address which is the same as the pen drive and then try to access it from an admin share, the location would still be slightly different though, ie something like

192.168.0.5 at home
192.168.0.5/e$/ while away

A better alternative would be to adjust your backup strategy, have a pen drive attached to the computer all the time which you work from and then have your backup software back this up to your network storage usb.
 
Oh boy. Ask a clear question and and the thread goes off on tangents anyway, supposing things when in fact the available information isn't there and the suppositions are plain wrong. :)

Per my original post the memory stick forms one component of a multiple layer backup strategy. The other layers are irrelevant to my question.

Anyway, there appears not to be a piece of simply configured software to mimic a network address via USB and there are good reasons why the USB stick is not connected to the laptop when at home, so thank you anyway and good night!
 
You want a solution to a problem that does not require a solution - It should not be a problem in the first place.

It's a ridiculous hack, at BEST, so don't be surprised there is no nice off the shelf package for what you want to do.

If you want a solution which works, implement a solid solution, not a cut and hack of bits and bobs to be cheap. If your data is worth something to you, back it up properly.
 
Can't you change the target in your backup software? Or maybe create 2 backups, one targets //nas/backup the other <drive letter your laptop mounts the memory stick>/backup. Wherever you are one will the fail and the other succeed.
 
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