I did a couple searches on this but the threads were nearly a year old. I'm doing some IT work for a small investment company right now. They have a lesser-known vendor right now ( http://www.centraldatavault.com ). It turns out that the software just couldn't handle large amounts of files in a reasonable time, for either backup or restore functions. It'll take an hour for the software to load up the file list just to browse through

So the first thing I have to figure out is what kind of new software to recommend to them. I have heard Mozy thrown around in searches here and in other places. The biggest concern besides price-- is it fast? How quickly and reliably can they restore a file? In a couple years will they want to ditch the software? They were looking at the Dell Datasafe software but all the reviews I read have found it to be mediocre or just plain horrible.

Just to be clear, tape backups etc are not an option. They want an online backup that will be very little hassle.

7/7/2009 6:18:01 PM

I don't see how you can go wrong with Mozy.

7/7/2009 9:38:51 PM

this should be obvious but for online backup the limiting factor is their internet connection.

7/7/2009 9:40:32 PM

yep limiting factor is upload speed on your connection, google for "speed test" and figure out yours.

it'll probably take a while to get the initial upload in place but after that it's no problem.

7/7/2009 10:06:01 PM

I would colocate a server some place and do a cron tab for rsync or rdisk. No way in hell would I trust something like mozy with proprietary information. Iron mountain and to a much lesser degree amazon if you simply must consume someone else's service.

7/8/2009 10:43:57 AM

^ yeah, same here.



those online backup services just aren't built for SMBs.

7/8/2009 10:59:59 AM

I made a thread similar to this already: http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=565706

I ended up SSHing into my web provider and wrote a script to copy certain files over every day.

7/8/2009 1:08:53 PM

Quote :

"this should be obvious but for online backup the limiting factor is their internet connection."

I realize that. The problem with the old software here was that it could handle a relatively small amount of large files just fine, but when it comes to a ton of small files it got pretty held up. If you leave it overnight it would just hang up in the middle of the transfer. It wasn't a matter of a slow internet connection.

Quote :

"I ended up SSHing into my web provider and wrote a script to copy certain files over every day."

as of now the three main employees here are running batch files (set up by a local IT firm that overcharges them) which copy certain directories into the server machine. From there they are backed up off-site using the unreliable software I mentioned. Any kind of custom scripts etc for the online portion is just not in the cards. I used to be an intern here and they are bringing me in as a contractor for some IT projects because I'm not employed full time right now. There is basically no IT person here unless I come in sometimes or they pay out the ass for that other company.

I guess I'm going to have to look into Mozy. Any other competitors to look at? I remember looking at Iron Mountain a couple years ago, but I thought I remembered them being expensive.

7/8/2009 5:48:58 PM

mozy. EMC owns them. they're in this for the long haul.

iron mountain is pretty expensive, amazon can get expensive depending on how much you store/restore.

rsync + colo'd server is a good option, as mentioned.

7/8/2009 6:04:15 PM

so I'm thinking Iron Mountain vs. Mozy now. Do I get anything for using Iron Mountain? Are they better for the purposes of this company? I know they have document shredding services and other crap we don't need.

7/8/2009 6:10:33 PM