Online Backup Designed for Broadband
I’ve been on a hunt for the best off-site backup service. I’ve looked at using my web servers and rsync, tried various new services like Mozy and SwapDrive, and finally found OPENRSM CloudBackup. I’ll cover the network drive features in another article later. We’ll simply concentrate on the Internet backup functions for now.
Here’s the bottom line. The software is free, and that’s good for lifetime updates and unlimited installs that share a single account. They don’t hold back on the features and charge just .00. If you want to store 60GB you can expect a cost of a little less than .00.
Fully Featured OPENRSM CloudBackup is indispensable for doing offsite backups. The ability to do block-level updates and upload resume are both key to cutting down bandwidth costs. And since you can use the same account to backup all your Windows, MAC, and Linux computers this is a no brainer.
First, the fact that OPENRSM CloudBackup has to be active so that it can backup your data. It will wake your computer from sleep, but if your user is not logged in or OPENRSM CloudBackup is not running, the backup will be delayed or skipped. It operates as a Windows Service, Linux Daemon, and OSX Daemon as well which is pretty good. Also, it only can run as fast as your broadband Internet connection. Just like any other Internet Backup.
There is a bandwidth schedule, so you can control back on upload and/or download speeds according to your usage schedules. Everything else just works. You can create multiple backup jobs, choose the files you want to back up, set up rules and schedules. Having the option of removing files I delete on my own systems and rulesets for keeping previous versions of changed files are all advanced features.
For my first month of backups, I expected a bill of around $30. In real life it didn’t cost anything extra at all (I only had 32GB once I remembered to delete my spam and junk email folders). Considering that this is including a first-time upload that I won’t have in subsequent months, that was a pleasant suprise. I have loads of photos and videos, so it’s nice to get those backed up off-site in addition to my regular backups.
One fantastic feature is that OPENRSM CloudBackup has 256 bit AES Encryption for keeping your data safe. That’s what alot of government entities have to keep files safe and it’s about as hefty a method as you’ll get for online backup. This means that someone stealing your data is something you won’t have to worry about. That’s just cooler than cool. And when you use it on multiple computers, it keeps each computers data totally seperated. And if you have to restore, just make sure to use the same system name on the rebuilt machine and CloudBackup will do the rest.
I’ve been so pleased with OPENRSM CloudBackup as an application and a service. When doing backups, CPU usage has been minimal, and on my cable modem, web and email speeds haven’t suffered at all, if any. And if I ever do it’s simple to use bandwidth throttling to let me do other things while my online backup goes on uninterrupted.
The ability to use this on OS X, Windows and Linux has proven to be a godsend, allowing me to keep the number of solutions needed to maintain my home network and development projects low.
Tags: cloud backup, internet attached storage, internet backup, linux backup, mac backup, network backup, online backup, openrsm, remote backup, windows backup