I recently upgraded my external backup solution for my workstation PC in terms of both software and hardware, and wanted to share what I came up with.
Previously, I was using a 1.0 TB Western Digital Caviar Black HD in a Vantec NexStar-3 enclosure using a SATA 6 GB/s connection and Windows 7 Backup. This system was set up to create a full system image, as well as backup of two internal drives. While Windows Backup is pretty decent, I found that it was slow and not very configurable, so I needed something more robust in terms of software, along with a drive with greater capacity.
I considered purchasing a NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution and was looking at various systems from Synology and Western Digital. While the products appear to highly reliable, I could not justify the cost, so I decided to look at other software and hardware.
On the software side, I decided to purchase Acronis True Image Premium 2014. This program allows me to create different scenarios for either file, disk, or partition backup. Additionally, I can choose between incremental or differential backup. You can also create a recovery CD in case of a drive failure. Acronis also has a cloud backup service, if one chooses to use it. This program is easy to use, and there is a well written, and extensive user guide (pdf).
On the hardware side, I looked at some different enclosures and drives. I excluded SSD's due to the cost for high capacity drives. I really like the NexStar-3 enclosure. This unit uses a USB 3.0 connection to the PC and a compact external power supply. It looks nice and is passively cooled--no noisy fan.
I knew I wanted a high capacity HD with excellent reliability, so I contacted my sales rep at Puget Systems for a recommendation. After a few emails, I chose a Western Digital Caviar Green 3.0 TB HD. This particular drive has a very low failure rate and low power consumption. It is 5400 rpm drive, so it's not particularly fast. However, since I would be using the drive for backup, high rotation speed is not really needed.
Although I could have saved some money by purchasing the enclosure and drive from Amazon, or New Egg, I decided to purchase from Puget Systems. It cost more, but Puget tested the drive, formatted it, and installed it in the enclosure for me. When the unit arrived, all had to do was plug it in, and I was off to the races.
Now, I have two external drives with full system images on each one for a total of 4.0 TB of external storage, with Acronis True Image set up to control the backups. I am now more confident that I can recover my system in the event of a disaster.
My next step is come up with a convenient way to keep one of the external drives off-site...stay tuned.
Discussion
0 repliesPreviously, I was using a 1.0 TB Western Digital Caviar Black HD in a Vantec NexStar-3 enclosure using a SATA 6 GB/s connection and Windows 7 Backup. This system was set up to create a full system image, as well as backup of two internal drives. While Windows Backup is pretty decent, I found that it was slow and not very configurable, so I needed something more robust in terms of software, along with a drive with greater capacity.
I considered purchasing a NAS (Network Attached Storage) solution and was looking at various systems from Synology and Western Digital. While the products appear to highly reliable, I could not justify the cost, so I decided to look at other software and hardware.
On the software side, I decided to purchase Acronis True Image Premium 2014. This program allows me to create different scenarios for either file, disk, or partition backup. Additionally, I can choose between incremental or differential backup. You can also create a recovery CD in case of a drive failure. Acronis also has a cloud backup service, if one chooses to use it. This program is easy to use, and there is a well written, and extensive user guide (pdf).
On the hardware side, I looked at some different enclosures and drives. I excluded SSD's due to the cost for high capacity drives. I really like the NexStar-3 enclosure. This unit uses a USB 3.0 connection to the PC and a compact external power supply. It looks nice and is passively cooled--no noisy fan.
I knew I wanted a high capacity HD with excellent reliability, so I contacted my sales rep at Puget Systems for a recommendation. After a few emails, I chose a Western Digital Caviar Green 3.0 TB HD. This particular drive has a very low failure rate and low power consumption. It is 5400 rpm drive, so it's not particularly fast. However, since I would be using the drive for backup, high rotation speed is not really needed.
Although I could have saved some money by purchasing the enclosure and drive from Amazon, or New Egg, I decided to purchase from Puget Systems. It cost more, but Puget tested the drive, formatted it, and installed it in the enclosure for me. When the unit arrived, all had to do was plug it in, and I was off to the races.
Now, I have two external drives with full system images on each one for a total of 4.0 TB of external storage, with Acronis True Image set up to control the backups. I am now more confident that I can recover my system in the event of a disaster.
My next step is come up with a convenient way to keep one of the external drives off-site...stay tuned.
--P