Duplicati is pretty nigh perfect for my needs EXCEPT that there is no iOS or Android client; so if I am away without a laptop, like now, and I need a file, like I did today, it seems I am stuffed!
With all due credit and respect to the developers of Duplicati, really, does anyone know of an alternate that I can use to replicate that Crashplan function. I tried Backblaze but it’s methodology drives me crazy.
I am in the same situation. My crashplan service is going to business next month and all my data - more than 1.2TB will be deleted in the cloud at that time since the format isn’t the same with the business plan. go figure. I’ve been evaluating idrive for the past week and really like it although many reviews are negative. They have a lot of features, block level copying, local encryption and clients for android/ios which can backup your texts and phone files.They also have a rebust webui that can access all your computers the client is running on. I signed up for a 5TB year plan for $9.95 for the first year but now they are running a 5TB/$6.95 plan. $99 /yr after the first year. The 2TB plan is $60 a year i think. You can use the desktop client on multiple computers for no extra cost. you can sync a folder across multiple computers as well. check them out.
I was able to migrate from Home to Business (discount deal for one year) and keep all my data/backups without problem.
I used iDrive some years ago and for reasons now forgotten wasn’t happy and moved on; eventually to Crashplan Home. Maybe I should give iDrive another go, but again for forgotten reasons don’t trust the service.
I like using Duplicati with Backblaze B2 and can double-up to OneDrive. I may settle on some hybrid scheme: Duplicati/B2 for backup with versioning and a syncing service for access to latest versions on my phone/pad etc. But the more I think about this the more stupid is seems, I’ll have another go at getting the Backblaze “home” unlimited service to do what I want.
This doesn’t talk about formats, but does note the 1 TB migration limit. Perhaps you could trim your backup temporarily if you have an interest in migrating? I’m assuming there’s no permanent 1 TB limit. You can ask. Basically this could be an interim approach of maintaining nearly current status while looking at alternatives.
Sorry, I was unaware of the 1tb limit. Obviously, I backup less than that.
ah, yes. you are correct. Don’t why they have this limitation. But i will no longer be able to use computer-computer backup which is a feature i used so after 5 years it’s time to part ways.
An alternative ugliness to syncing someplace else for remote access is leaving the computer on to access…
If you don’t want full remote-access software, Microsoft OneDrive has a no-sync-needed Access Remote PC feature which I haven’t personally run, but which research indicates will work through the web or another PC.
True, but I worry about security. I could backup to OneDrive using its client with a very long password on the account. It’s versioning stinks but that would not be in issue.
At least I have things to try now. Sorry can’t suggest anything better for you.
Something’s not clicking. With the alternative I mentioned, there’s no sync to OneDrive, and no versioning. It’s just a direct fetch from your computer. And yes, you could worry about whether you’re comfortable with that…
Other remote access software that does file transfers would be subject to similar security and versioning limits. The main objection some people might have is the need to leave the computer on, if it’s not always on already.
Perhaps you should be looking into a remote file access/share/sync solution rather than be able to use your backups on your mobile device. To me it seems like you are trying to solve your problem with the wrong approach.
You are correct, but it’s what Crashplan provides as does Backblaze (but not B2) for that matter.
Hybrid it will be for me, however silly I feel about it, because Backblaze (not B2) is useless IMO for versioning (30 days). Have they never heard of ransonware? This will give me the remote access I want, without leaving my PC potentially open to attack were I to use eg OneDrive’s on-demand access.
I find I can set Backblaze exclusions so it won’t backup files I don’t want it to, although it is an unnecessarily difficult PITA. Why they won’t provide a check-box selection technique (for either backups or exclusions) is a mystery to me, but it is clearly deliberate.
I can then use OneDrive or B2 for backups with the level of versioning and retention I want.
A few more months of parallel running to build up the versioning history and then its bye-bye Crashplan; with much sadness as its been really good and saved me from my own stupidity on a number of occasions.
Backblaze’s Top Questions from CrashPlan Users seems like it might provide relevant material to this thread.
Backblaze’s 30 day deletion sounds similar to Duplicati set to 30 days retention. In either case, a deleted file will eventually age out and be unrecoverable, however if it still exists you can get a pre-ransomware version.
Backblaze has multiple time limits, so one might sometimes wonder about which one applies to that situation, however Duplicati (still Beta) is IMHO safer to use for shorter term protection than longer-term archival uses.
Backblaze made a very deliberate design about selection (and many other things) for the selected customer base, whereas Duplicati has interfaces for different levels of users (but has a higher minimum starting point).
With multiple computers in the house, I’ll probably try a hybrid solution when my discounted CrashPlan ends.
If you don’t keep your source machine always on the isn’t an option, but I’ve found running an SFTP server on my box very have for remote file grabs many times in the past.
I’ve recently been playing with ZeroTier “VPN” (as in network, not route everything through a remote computer) and found the mobile version adequate when I needed files not exposed via my SFTP server.
It worked fine for plain old RPD remote access as well.
ZeroTier looks interesting!
I have recently set up VPNs using a Raspberry Pi Zero W as an OpenVPN gateway (complete kit, computer, memory card, power and cables is about £35/USD40), which means I can access home, and I can run VNC to get remote desktop access once I’m VPNed in. The Pi setup is pretty easy as it’s been packaged up already, at Raspberry Pi VPN Server: Build Your Own Virtual Private Network . You’ll need a DDNS for a domestic set up so you can have a domain name which updates IP when your provider changes it, and to do a port forward on your router to the Pi.
Also if you don’t like the big provider cloud stores like OneDrive or Google Drive you could install OwnCloud to provide your own cloud file store. This will also run on a RPi (but you’d need a Pi 3 not a Zero for this), and you’d also need DDNS and port forwarding. There are mobile clients for this, and desktop sync clients as well as web access. I did it with a huge USB disk attached to the pi which I also use for local backups from Duplicati.
Happy to help on setting these up if you want, as I’ve done both already. I think they serve a rather different need from backups (and I never got the Crashplan mobile app to work anyway!)
Thanks for the info and the very kind offer of help. Much appreciated.
I prefer to have file access without leaving my pc on (could just Wake on LAN I know), even though that would save me the cost of Backblaze sub. Maybe one day there will be a mobile Duplicati app.
But an issue has arisen with the Backblaze continuous backup as it has missed a couple of files I added to a folder; Crashplan picked them up correctly as I would expect. Once that is resolved, assuming it is, I will start to move away from Crashplan.
Nice setup, but do I understand correctly that public IP (4) address is needed?
You already have an external IP address (see http://checkip.dyndns.com ), but the problem is it is likely to change (some providers change more often than others), so to run an externally accessible service in your own network you need DDNS so that a domain name is updated automatically as your IP changes, and you actually access the server via that domain name. My provider has an API to DNS so I can do this myself, but you can get one from noip.com , along with a client to do the updating.
That’s why I was suggesting a raspberry pi for cloud storage, a tiny low power server that can stay on when your pc is off.
I don’t really think the architecture of duplicati lends itself to a mobile app, as it depends on a client database, which has to be rebuilt from the data- slowly- if not available.