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Decent back-up software?

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jmdixon85

jmdixon85

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Joined
Oct 5, 2008
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Cumbria (UK)
So I've been using backup4all to backup my Data drive on my server but I find it slow and unreliable (ie, seems to freeze when backup up certain files inc the recycle bin??) Not to good if my RAID array fails and my backup hasnt completed :(

So does anyone know of a good (preferably free) backup solution? Must be able to set it to backup once a day and compression would be a bonus.

I am running Windows server 2003 R2 64-bit.

Cheers :beer:
 
Why not use Windows Backup?
Otherwise, look into Karen's Replicator, or even Microsoft's Synctoy. I don't know if KR does compression, I know Synctoy doesn't. Synctoy requires you use task scheduler to automate
 
Well windows backup in server 2003 is very limited. I was using it in server 2008r2 but I went back to 2003 due to my server board drivers (RAID&Video) not supporting 2008 :(

I will look into KR :thup:
 
Use Acronis True Image. It does bare-metal backup by imaging the entire disk. You can always restore your computer with the boot disk. and you can mount an image and go through the files that way. It also supports network backups.
 
jmdixon85 said:
Does acronis support compression?
Click to expand...
Yes, it does. You can set compression levels when you add it as a job.

I don't use it any more, but it literally had every feature I could think of. It costs money, but I don't see how any other program could be better. The only thing they could improve is the price. :p
 
Well cheers Thid. Looks like you hit the nail on the head :) Going bed soon but will look it up in the morning. Even if its not free it may buy worth a few ££ :)
 
jmdixon85 said:
Well cheers Thid. Looks like you hit the nail on the head :) Going bed soon but will look it up in the morning. Even if its not free it may buy worth a few ££ :)
Click to expand...

I have used Acronis True Image, but it isn't true backup software. It just maintains an image of your current system. What if you want to retrieve a file that you deleted BEFORE you did your latest system image, or if you want to retrieve an older version of a file.

To address those issues I use Retrospect. It used to be sold by a company named Dantz, but then Dantz got acquired. Now it's owned by Roxio (??) but the good news is that Roxio is putting in the resources to enhance the product.

You could go nuts and buy a "multi-server" version that backs up SQL databases and Exchange databases, but I oought just the Professional version. Recently one of my systems crapped out and I had to replace the hard drive. Worked like a charm.

And many times I've screwed up a file and had t retrieve an earlier version. Again, no problem.

Something to think about ...
 
Not a true backup software? I don't follow. You can keep as many, or as little, images as you want. In addition, you can pull out single files/folders.

You could also do very frequent differential backups that run fast, but grab any changes.
 
I'd just use robocopy as a scheduled task using command line switches. It's free, well documented, and once you get the command line switch the way you want it pulling over the latest changes is quick and easy after the initial copy. This isn't a true backup, but it does ensure you don't lose any data thats older than your last robocopy execution.

It doesn't address your compression concerns however. But if its a home server you are unlikely to have much data that is highly compressible. I'd consider this "good enough" but it depends what your goals are somewhat.
 
Here are 4 that are free and portable.
Create Synchronicity - 32bit ms windows
fast and lightweight
http://synchronicity.sourceforge.net/

Capivara - multiplatform synchronizer
works well
http://capivara.sourceforge.net/

FreeFileSync - Linux & Windows though doesn't specifically mention server
Works excellent in batch mode on my box
http://freefilesync.sourceforge.net/

There's also DirSyncPro - multiplatform but I found it to be slow and resource hungry so I don't use it.
http://www.dirsyncpro.org/index.html

I don't have a server nor am I on a network so your results may vary but they are all network capable I believe.

For the record it is easy to look at older files in acronis as long as you use the update original image feature and not simply do a full backup. It's what I would recommend for whole disc imaging atm.

The only one I can recommend with compression is SuperFlexibleFileSycn... and it's not free, but it is portable. It's ok, but for what I do freefilesync works perfect.
 
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actually Acronis is free, all you have to do is find the manufacturer of your hard drive then download the backup software from the manufactuer's web site, it is usually Acronis!
 
I.M.O.G. said:
I'd just use robocopy as a scheduled task using command line switches. It's free, well documented, and once you get the command line switch the way you want it pulling over the latest changes is quick and easy after the initial copy. This isn't a true backup, but it does ensure you don't lose any data thats older than your last robocopy execution.

It doesn't address your compression concerns however. But if its a home server you are unlikely to have much data that is highly compressible. I'd consider this "good enough" but it depends what your goals are somewhat.
Click to expand...

i will +1 this... i use robo copy and the /MIR switch to do a mirror image between certian folders on my desktop to my server... and my server to the backup hdd.

I also use acronis as well to do a full image every now and then of all my system. Both are awesome, robo copy is genius... i have a lil bat file and i can run the backup when i want... oh i want to backup my itunes, user folder on my main rig... click click... and it takes only a min or so usually as it compares the time stamps and will only copy over if the file is newer.
 
Personally, I just run a RSYNC server since I use linux. Clients either just use the rsync command (linux) or DeltaCopy (rsync ported to Windows). My daily backup takes ~10s per computer per night unless there were major file changes; then it might take a minute or so.
 
If you do not wan't a image based backup, but want something that is simple to set and forget take a look at Crashplan.

I run Crashplan free on my laptop and have it backup my "My Docs" folder to my linux server (running crashplan too).

Super easy to use, reliable and it has saved my butt a few times for school documents. Also its free! If you want to do more with it they do offer a CrashPlan+ licence that offers some pretty slick features as well.
 
the advantage of acronis is that when you use the boot disk you are OS independant.
 
SuperFlexible is now FREE for Linux!!
http://www.superflexible.com/linux.htm
Acronis is great for whole disk backup but I find it somewhat bloated for simple mirroring type stuff. To begin with, you MUST leave at least the schedul2.exe service running at all times just to get it to even open up.
 
terran2k said:
I like GFI Backup Home Edition. the backup file is a ZIP file
Click to expand...

Thanks for letting me know about this great program :thup: I have it running on my server now and I love the web interface!

It has all the features of my old backup software, but I can't seem to find a place where you can exclude the type of files to be compressed. My old backup software had a list you could modify for this, as default it included archives and media files to the exclusion list.

I'm not sure if GFI is compressing my media files tho, as the backup seems to be working faster than my old software did :)

I'm not to sure how to use the agant yet? I would have thought I could have installed the agent on my main pc and monitor the servers backup etc. But I cant see how to do this?
 
on the source tab, when you click the "files/folders" button, on the window that pops up, the bottom left corner, there's a "files mask" button. It lets you set inclusion and exclusion masks. I don't think the remote agent is enabled on the free version ie. the Home Edition. It can be set to send an email though when errors or warning occur, send a backup summary, i've tested it with an aol account.
 
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