Free online storage space

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Joined
28 Jul 2005
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768
Hi,

I need to backup and store 30-50GB online as I am worried my media will be subject to fire or theft or degrade over time. I have seen free services such as BT's digital vault which offers 2GB, and various others up to 20GB. What is the best, the largest and the safest as my data is important? :cool: Any experiences?
 
Personally I wouldn't trust a free online service with vital data. If you're not paying for the service then it's highly unlikely that there will be any SLA or any form of data integrity guarantee. What happens if the service goes bust?

I'd be looking at a decent multi level backup strategy using physical media. I have a copy of everything important on the PC on a RAID5 array, a backup on Taiyo Yuden DVDs at home and a second DVD copy at my parents. All the DVDs have an MD5 or CRC file on them so occasionally I'll swap the local and remote disk sets over and recheck them for readability.
 
Your going to have many hassles if you do find a provider willing to store 30-50 gig free or at little cost.

Either be prepared to pay minimum £20 per month or buy an external drive.
 
I can see the attraction to online services, an external hard disk at home provides no protection from data loss through theft or fire as the chances are both your PC and the external hard disk would be lost from either.
 
rpstewart said:

Agreed, if your data is important enough, don't shift the responsibility to a company you don't have an SLA with.

You also have the problem with bandwidth that you don't with a local external media.

Burnsy
 
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Depending on how important your data is i would recommend a disaster recovery solution.

Either the data is archived to tape and stored at an off-site DR center or copied to there servers which would be secured against theft, fire and other environmental concerns.

Personally we use NDR in Birmingham

http://www.ndr.co.uk/

Might be a little over the top for your needs though.
 
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