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Need a new backup service
So I am looking for a new backup service, I have been using Ottomatik but I need the next level of plan to get what I need and quite frankly $59 per month is too steep. Not that I am a cheapskate I just don't value it that high.
Any suggestions? Need to be able to backup both files and databases. Yes, I could set it all up myself that is not a problem per se, but I want a 3rd party service to handle it all and I just do data integrity checks.
Really want something like Ottomatik that I can quickly enable on a VPS or server, set it to work and forget about it (other than the random checks of data).
Let me know what you can recommend.
Comments
How much space you need?
If you would like to point your backups to an rsync.net account we will write the commands for you.
So I wouldn't call it a managed service per se but we'll give you the lines you need to cut and paste.
When those are in place, you can set idle/inactivity warnings and get notices via email/SMS/pushover/webhook (or any combination thereof).
The last step is to increase your snapshot schedule from the default 7 daily to (more than that) if you want to. Optional. These back in time snapshots are immutable/readonly and immune to attackers/ransomware.
It's a pretty simple, boring service.
Well, I will archive everything on AWS and start again, It was growing at around 50GB every month.
I used Rsync.net when I was young
but honestly, I am trying to avoid even that level of involvement if I can, data coming in from lots of servers that can change which means lots of manual interventions. I don't want the manual work that is required for them all.
I was doing it all manually through to AWS, then I started using Ottomatik which is just a breeze to set up and monitor without then having to go near a single server. I need my time back wherever I can get it at the moment.
@Lee would JetBackup for Linux + S3 work for you?
Not an alternative, but have you tried emailing their sales team?
"I need X but can't afford $Y, is there anything you can do?" has gone a long way for me before. Usually willing to negotiate because it doesn't cost them anything to bump you up at a discount, but losing your current subscription hurts them.
Not looked into that in detail I suspect they want $20 for the management console and then $5.95 per server. So I would be looking at over $200 per month just for licences.
I many be wrong with that pricing though, not looked closely enough, the reason for that is that they only provide it for CentOS, others are 'coming soon', not convinced it will 2019 soon.
And before anyone else messages me on Discord, this is nothing to do with my hosting services. This is all about the backups for the websites I have purchased over many years. Over 60 of them. Spread over a lot of VPS/Servers.
No, I may drop them a line. I am not using their space, only the console, everything gets sent to my AWS.
Sounds like you're not costing them much, worth a shot to ask for some extra backup jobs or whatever you need.
I used to feel guilty about asking for discounts, until I started working for B2B companies and realized that you're just burning money if you don't ask.
Sorry, I overlooked the price. Depending on the amount of servers it becomes really expensive.
Sometime ago I took a look at bareos, a Bacula open source fork. They have a GUI and also S3 storage backend, but I'm not sure how much work you would put into "set and forget" it.
I think we have to know more specifics before we can make sane suggestions. Backing up live databases by copying files around is asking for trouble. What are the web sites doing? What kind of hosting/virtualization are they on? How much data? Is this stuff for SRS BZNS in which case you need some kind of failover strategy anyway? Failover means you can take servers offline while you back them up, which can simplify things. How much of the stuff is in live databases, and if you're really after convenience, how about using managed db's so the host backs them up? Etc etc.
Hi. Do you have any recommendation for that service?
I read you need automated DB backup but if you write a script and cron it dump locally you can use duplicati.
I have been doing that for some of my servers and I can store the files in S3.
See if that will work.
duplicati.com
This is the issue, so many sites, different hosting/virtualization, multiple providers, different OS, and so on. one glove will not fit all here.
I have had a few people contact me with different suggestions which I will look into.
Thanks all for the suggestions, will need to think about the best way forward.
How about this option?
BountySite FileTrail - full server backup using restic, excluding websites and database(if you dislike mysqldumps on MyISAM engine).
BountySite Website backup - we can customize a solution that fits your budget. Basically, we setup a storage node close to your hosting servers for super fast and very lightweight backups. No impact on hosting server at all.
I can configure to keep a backup copy on your S3 account. Or if you want a copy in another remote dedicated server or want multiple copies in remote dedicated server locations, we can configure the storage server accordingly.
Francisco
pg_dump -U postgres db | ssh [email protected] "dd of=db_dump"mysqldump -u mysql db | ssh [email protected] "dd of=db_dump"Just sayin ...
It's so much more than that:
etc.
I'm not saying it isn't easy, but when you have 60+ sites, there's quite a bit of admin to set it up and some ongoing admin to maintain it even though it's easy. Yes, sure, you can write scripts, but then...you have to write, test, debug, etc. scripts.
I think @Lee is looking for more of a "it just works" solution.
I have been using myrepono.com but it is more for PHP based websites
Hey, Lee, drop us some words after you examine the solutions you found, if you can manage to have some time for that. It would be useful for many people to see the suggested solutions and the initial or final thoughts on this topic, from a member like you.
Indeed, it sounds simple but it is still a lot of background work multiplied by x servers.
Which is where Ottomatik wins the points. A single line of code dropped into each server, it appears in Ottomatik within minutes then all managed from my account there, and all the points above, dealt with by Ottomatik.
As someone suggested on Skype, I should consolidate into fewer VPS/servers. Correct! That is what I am doing now, trying to get it all in the right place before I do that. I should employ another person, but yeah, I am from Scotland, spending money on important things like that comes after the next new Range Rover.
As an example of one of the sites, I bought a forum must have been 10 years ago, niche, looked good, had 250 members, 2,000 posts, paid $100 for it. Today, 65,000 members, 7m+ posts, no idea how it manages to run as well as it does, not through the owner doing anything to it!
In many cases I truly have no idea how some of the sites are set up or even function, they just keep working so I make sure they are backed up in case something happens and I can roll back as a band-aid solution to fixing it.
I know part of the issue is that I am constantly putting band-aids across this. Once I sort out a new, more robust backup solution I can start looking at some servers in the most appropriate regions to consolidate.
I may just have to pay Ottomatik on the basis it forces me to consolidate quicker which means I can pay less and that is when something like Rsync.net will be more appropriate and easier to manage.
Will do.
Genuinely curious - what does that line of code look like ?
I was reading their FAQ and I see that they do indeed install an SSH key and run some bash commands, etc., possibly installing a few packages like awscli ...
Please tell me that one command is not a "execute this wget payload"
A random generation (amended so as not to cause any issues). Probably not revealing much.
I just happened to get an email this morning that Digital Ocean offers it. Other providers like OVH and Online and AWS also do, and at the LET level, BuyVM has it.
Really you shouldn't be running such a huge variety of different systems while trying to back everything up with a single super convenient solution. At some point you have to get your act together and make your servers more uniform so you can put them all under orchestration of some sort.
I echo that. As soon as all of your servers are configured the same way, you can add backups to that configuration process and it becomes much easier to manage.
Granted, Ottomatik gives you a single dashboard which you rarely find with other common backup solutions.
When I researched a variety of options several years ago, I went with duplicity. That lasted 4-5 few years. In the past year I switched to duplicacy (not to be confused with duplicati, another viable option) and so far I'm happy with it.
In my experience, custom backup solutions start with a lot of tweaks and adjustments of filters and configuration, but eventually you get it where you want it and then it's a set and forget (aside from regular restoration tests to be sure it's still working properly).
BackBlaze B2, AWS S3, Online.net's C14, GCS, Wasabi
I took at look at ottomatik's featureset for the $59/mo tier.
It has some unique features : zero-downtime mysql backups using binlogs, and 'instant restore' for the same
Short of rolling a giant mysql slave server (SSDs!) , OP is not going to be hand-rolling the exact same featureset.
Is that not more or less what everyone does?