Backup setup

[Turbo-G]

I just use time machine to an external hard disk via USB, and then every night an incremental backup is made to CrashPlan remote servers. At the end of the day, if you have a break-in/fire/flood - no number of mirrored disks in a NAS is going to help you.

The likelihood of the disk in your computer AND the disk in a time capsule or other basic external hard drive are pretty darn slim, so it's not of that much concern tbh to warrant a "professional grade" storage solution in your house IMO... Unless of course you're into that sort of thing.

My recommendation would be, simple time machine job to a decent external hard disk (or TC for convenience - multiple machines, portable laptops etc), and some kind of offsite backup solution over the Internet.

 

[LordSplodge]

My recommendation would be, simple time machine job to a decent external hard disk (or TC for convenience - multiple machines, portable laptops etc), and some kind of offsite backup solution over the Internet.

Exactly. A Time Capsule (or NAS) will cover stuff like accidental deletion and something like Crashplan, Carbonite et al will cover the more serious problems like fire or the rare failure of both computer and backup drives.

A Time Capsule is handy if, like our house, you have lots of Macs. It's central and because Time Machine is set-and-forget you don't have to worry about complex backup regimes and schedules.

 

[theheyes]

Yes, but again, this can be applied to any single drive solution, not just the TC.

And besides, you could go on forever; the fact is, yes, drives fail. The average consumer doesn't need such backup solutions, a single drive is usually enough.

But I'm not comparing it to other single drive solutions, because of course they would share the same fundamental problem. What I'm saying is, for a similar amount of money, you can get something much more reliable than a Time Capsule. And reliability is surely the whole point of buying dedicated backup hardware?