GoFlex Net & GoFlex Home

[jackkicker]

I just bought a GoFlex Home to continuously backup and share files/pictures/music between my 2 computers over my home network.

I'd like to know if there would be a way to automatically backup the GoFlex Home drive? My pictures and music files are now only on the Goflex Home drive and I would hate to loose them all in case the drive would fail...

[ntpntpntp]

I raised the same question a little while ago.  It is a shame there's no simple one-button option to back-up the entire drive. Suggestions included using tools like ICE Mirror.

I considered using command-line access to the device and using the linux rsync command to a second linux-based NAS device (possibly another GF Home but that would then mean fiddling with changing the network name to allow more than one GF Home on the same network).  The second NAS would have been sited in an outbuilding and attached to the network using ethernet-over-mains.

In the end my solution is to buy a 2Tb GoFlex Desk drive, hook it to my Windows 7 laptop via USB and then use the "robocopy" command (part of Windows 7) to mirror the GF home to the GF Desk.  I use a wired gigabit ethernet switch between the GF Home and my laptop when running the backup overnight.  Seems to run at around 40Mb per second on average.

I've written a batch file on the laptop which disconnects the mapped drives to the GF home, connects to each user's personal & backup folders in turn (I know everyone's password) and copies these, then copies the public folders using my user and password.  

I've only done a couple of full backups so far.  I still need to play with incremental/difference mirroring using robocopy, which should be much quicker then doing a full backup each time as the majority of the data on the GF Home is unchanging music and video in the public folder.

After the backup, the GF Desk drive  is stored offsite in my outbuilding (just in case the house burns down!)

[jackkicker]

Thanks for the complete answer!

Indeed that's a shame that there's no easy solution... I guess I could backup the drive the same way you did but I would have preferred an automatic and continuous backup...

[ntpntpntp]

I suppose another option is to hook a 2nd drive into the GF Home via its USB port, and backup to that.

When I first bought my GF Home I hooked in my old external USB drives this way.  It worked, I could access the other drives as external storage shares.    Trouble with doing backups to an external drive this way is the backup command would effectively be copying out of the GF home over the network to the pc running the backup command and then back over the network into the external drive, so would be very slow and inefficient.   

I did try logging  into the GF Home using ssh and used the rsync command to copy to the external drive.  Seemed to work ok.  This might be a way of achieving the "continuous backup" you want, I  imagine the rsync command could be set up as a scheduled task (I'm not familiar enough with linux to know how to do all this stuff without a lot of googling!)  

Maybe this is an opportunity for the HipServ guys to build in a backup capability using the USB port?  Personally I'd want the attached backup drive NOT to be visible to the network, and have the option to safely unmount it afterward for removal offsite, and maybe an email alert or some other indication when it's finished.

[danadeb]

I am experimenting with the same type of backup plans. I am using SyncToy 2.1 from Microsoft. SyncToy has a help that explains the process of using schedule tasks to run it on a schedule. It does 3 types of syncs. It is easy to use and only copies the files that are new. Currently I am copying one Goflex home to another Goflex home on the same network. (used the rename your Goflex home link elsewhere in this forum to give them each a different name) The process takes the file from one goflex over the network to the PC running SyncToy then over the net the other go flex. I have looked at the network throughput and it seem to be running at 25Mbps. I have a webcam on a PC running 24/7 so I use that PC for syncToy.  Ultimately I would like to have one goflex in another location( IE my folks house in another state) and backup to it.

I would like for the backup program to reside on the goflex and I my try OpenStora on a goflexHome base I bought on E-bay ( $25.00) incase I brick it!

MAybe Seagate / Hipserv will come out with updates that will include an option to backup directly.

[kenji57]

I use the Linux cp command (with the -u switch to copy only new files) with ssh to backup my GFH to a usb harddrive.

I have to run it manually as I haven't been able to get public keys working and still have to enter a password. The Axentra site suggests that it should be possible;

 Setting up an “authorized_keys” file to enable key-based SSH logins may be convenient for you, but doing so is beyond the scope of this document.

But I only back up once a week so typing a password is no big deal and copying directly from GFH to a usb drive this way is much faster than going all around the network.

I'm more worried about drive failure than the house burning down since the data is reproducible, it would just take time. Stuff like photos which aren't reproducible I burn to DVD and store off-site.

The Axentra site says they have a back up utility for Premium users, but I haven't seen it or any documentation other than this;

USB Backup

                  USB Backup makes backing up the content of your HipServ on to a USB drive easy and convenient.

[kenji57]

Any word on USB Backup robyb ?

[robyb]

No answer for you kenji other than Seagate didn't want the feature.  It is available on the Netgear Stora and Verbatim Mediashare, for example.

Cheers,

Roby!

[kenji57]

Ok, thanks for saving me fom looking any more, robyb. I even re-installed the Seagate Dashboard (briefly) in case it was hiding there!

LaCie also uses it as My Safe so it makes Seagate's choice a little strange, but that's life.

[robyb]

Yep, I agree.  I believe it's to promote the Memeo(in-house) backup options.  Yes, most of the other manufacturers have included the features, as well as RaidSonic with the IcyBox.

Cheers,

Roby!