Help! As part of my ‘backup’ strategy I want to be able to use some sort of backup software to backup to a remote computer. Having checked out some of the other threads on backup software I was thinking of using acronis or Allway sync. I think allway sync is able to backup over the net but in the faq section on their website it mentions needing a ftp/sharepoint or webdav account to work. Being a total noob about this sort of thing I was hoping someone can give me some advice about how best to proceed, if I need an ftp account or if there is a simpler way of doing it. Thanks
Cerberus is a good FTP server to run on your offsite machine. I'd use FTPS if supported by your backup software though as you want some security. Don't forget to open the ports required on your firewalls.
I use Acronis to back up to a computer running FreeNAS in a spare bedroom. Securing a lan connection is almost pointless... but over the internet you should really look at setting up SSH to protect your data. Any ftp server will do.. but I find the FreeNAS built in one with OpenSSH never fails to work It also helps with the port settings - FreeNAS doesnt block itself and OpenSSH takes almost takes care of itself... the only thing that could really break things is your router's firewall
Thanks for the response, I have some spare parts about so I am going to try and build a freenas server as the 'remote computer'. I have download a trial of acronis so I can see if I can get it to work. The only thing I am worried about is that I have nearly 1TB of data to back up so is it possible to loadup the freenas server directly first and then just set acronis to monitor any changes? (I havent read the full 217 page acronis instructions yet!)
you can definitely wire them both to your router using ethernet the first time to make the transfer fast, or if you have a crossover cable you might be able to connect them directly.. but i've never tried :/ No matter what media you're backing up to, acronis will first do a complete backup, then update it at a time you specify when setting the schedule
