Hi,
I’m trying to set up a backup solution for my home PC and Laptop. My idea was to get a DS120j and a 6 TB HD. then I want to use hyper backup as the Software to run everything. In an other Synology forum I asked if this would work before I start buying things. Well… their answer was that I’m an idiot and that I should use google instead of asking them stupid questions. But what I got from it was that
- hyper backup is apparently not the right tool for the job and I should use active backup for business (ABB) even if I’m not a business.
- a j model does not support ABB, for that I need a + model.
- an image is not what I thought what it is. (It would be cool if some one could explain what an image is and if I need to back it up.)
- I need twice as much storage if want to back up both my image and my data. (Why? The tutorial I watched said Images are small)
- Disk recovery will not work on a disk smaller than the size of the backed up. For example, the size of the backed up disk is 256GB, it is not possible to restore to a disk of 250GB. Is that correct? As far as I see it a backup can never be bigger then the disk it came from, even if the disk I’m saving the backup on is bigger.
So, it would be nice if some friendly people from the community could help this absolut newbie out. And just to make it clear:
- I don’t know anything! I’m an absolut caveman when it comes to anything Network, NAS, BackUp, etc
- I have started researching this topic 1 day ago.
- I have a tight budget and can’t afford the more expensive solutions.
- Yes, I know about the 3-2-1 rule. No, I don’t have the money to implement it. (However I’d be interested for online storage solutions for the future.)
So, what do I need to buy?
What Software do I need to use?
Also here are my notes on the project where I tried to figure out my requirements:
What to back up? ------------
-
Laptop
- ~ 2 TB HD
-
Gaming-PC
- ~ 2 TB SSD (C drive with mostly only windows on it)
- ~ 2 TB HD
-
3rd PC
- ~ 150 GB (data of other family member on their machine)
When to back up? ------------
- Daily file backup
- monthly image backup (suggestion from a tutorial, but I don’t know what it means)
How to back up? -------------
-
automatic (NAS)
- I want the back up to run without me doing anything once everything is setup.
This includes not having to plug in external HDs every day. So I’m looking for a NAS solution.
- I want the back up to run without me doing anything once everything is setup.
-
“Push notification”
- If the external hard drive breaks down and needs to be replaced, I want the software to inform me.
I don’t want to check on the external drive manually because I know that if nothing happens for some years, I will eventually stop checking.
Something that just tells me the state of the external drive every time I boot my Laptop, would already be enough.
- If the external hard drive breaks down and needs to be replaced, I want the software to inform me.
Why to back up? -------------
-
Hardware failure
- My Laptop is ~5 years old and the HD in the gaming-pc is from an old pc that was standing in a corner for ages.
So, I’m most worried about the Laptop/HD just stop working one day and I quickly need to setup an replacement.
- My Laptop is ~5 years old and the HD in the gaming-pc is from an old pc that was standing in a corner for ages.
-
Software failure
- Malware is of course also a concern, but less then the hardware failure.
What solution for back up? –
-
Hardware
- Synology DS120j (https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/product/synology-ds120j-nas-12200422)
- WD Red Plus 4 or 6 TB (https://www.digitec.ch/en/s1/product/wd-red-plus-4-tb-35-cmr-hard-drives-22886688)
-
Software
- ???