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Backup: Keeping superceeded versions?
I currently have an Ultra-6 as my main storage device and it is being backed up to a DriveBender box using something called SecondCopy - which keeps up to 20 versions of any given file. I think I...
This has helped some users: https://community.netgear.com/t5/ReadyNAS-in-Business/ReadyNAS-312-Need-Help-Understanding-Snapshots/m-p/936586/highlight/true#M3041
Each snapshot holds the entire share at the time the snapshot was taken - all the files are visible. The reason it is space-efficient is because the data blocks that haven't changed are referenced by both the main share and the snapshots. So unchanged files are only stored once, files that changed once are only stored twice, etc. But they appear in the share and all the snapshots.
There are some shares where snapshots can create problems. Two common examples are shares holding SQL databases that are frequently updated and shares for downloading torrents. The frequent changes result in a lot of snapshot space being used, and also a lot of file fragmentation. Just something to keep in mind.
Note that if you are using Windows 7, 8, or 10, there is a right-click function that shows previous versions of a file. If you are using snapshots, you can right-click on any file in the share (or any folder) and see the previous versions for that file. That simplifies your use-case considerably. (There is a way to turn that feature off if you use custom snapshots).
PeteCress wrote:
Is there any way to conveniently delete all superceeded file versions before a certain date? ..... or would the backup NAS just keep growing and growing until a Factory Reset/Reload?
If you use the custom snapshots mode, you can set retention (either as a time window or as a number of snapshots). There's also a setting to skip snapshots if the share hasn't changed since the last one was taken - that saves no space, but does reduce clutter on the recover page.. You lose the "thinning" that is done by the "smart snapshots", but from my point of view that isn't really very interesting anyway.
Snapshots will be automatically deleted if the volume gets too full (there is a threshold you can set for that). In the specific cast of a ransomware attack, you have to assume that every file in every share will be re-written. If you use the default threshold of 90%, that implies that you'd need to maintain about 60% free space on the NAS to prevent deletion of the oldest snapshot when the attack hits.
You'd also want to prevent SMB access to the snapshot folders, since of course they could also be encrypted by the ransomware if you don't. That still allows the right-click restore from Windows.
Off-line backup probably needs to be part of this overall picture (since something that's off-line will be safe from any ransomware attack).
>Off-line backup probably needs to be part of this overall picture (since something that's off-line will be safe from any ransomware attack).
Given that I am not ready to double the size of my backup server, I am coming around to thinking that my backup server would best be kept offline and manually booted up only for the duration of each incremental backup.
That would trade the convenience of automated backups and the minor added security of more-frequent backups for the assurance that all would not be lost in a ransomware scenario.
90 percent of my volume is media stuff... The rest (which I think of as "Data") fits easily on the 2-TB disks that I already rotate for daily "Data" backups via Macrium Reflect.....hence "minor"....
Hopefully my last question in this vein....
Given that I will use Snapshots and the RN316 will be the backup box (in spite of the recommendation to make it my main/production box).... will I need to have OS6 on the Ultra-6 also?
I'm thinking "Yes, of course, because the Snapshot functionality resides on the main box and not the backup box.".... but wanted to make sure....
PeteCress wrote:
Given that I will use Snapshots and the RN316 will be the backup box (in spite of the recommendation to make it my main/production box).... will I need to have OS6 on the Ultra-6 also?
I'm thinking "Yes, of course, because the Snapshot functionality resides on the main box and not the backup box.".... but wanted to make sure....
If you don't install OS 6 on the ultra-6, then you will only have snapshots on the backup RN316. You can still recover old backed-up versions. But anything that changed more than once between backups won't have the full history. Also, users won't be able to directly use the right-click restore function (unless you give them access to the RN316 - which I don't recommend).
So you get some of the benefits, but not all of them.
If you don't install OS 6 on the ultra-6, then you will only have snapshots on the backup RN316. You can still recover old backed-up versions. But anything that changed more than once between backups won't have the full history.
Sounds like it works for my application:
- I am the only user
- No problem between backups: I will run a snapshot each night and if something changes during the day and I want to recover the old version, it is not going to happen..... and I can live with that.
- Then I do not have to take the (probably miniscule...but still...) chance of messing up the Ultra-6 by somehow fat-fingering the OS6 install.
But the Ultra-6 is going to drive this process, right? i.e. the Ultra-6 pushes changed files to the 316 each night.
That being the case, any thoughts on what app I should be running on the Ultra-6?
Or am I going to have my Windows box as the middleman and use a Windows application like BeyondCompare, SecondCopy, or SynchToy to do the nightly backups?
It is starting to sound to me like maybe I should re-think my aversion to installing OS6 on the Ultra-6....
- I am the only user
PeteCress wrote:
But the Ultra-6 is going to drive this process, right? i.e. the Ultra-6 pushes changed files to the 316 each night.
Either NAS can drive it. You can do "push" backups on the ultra, or "pull" backup on the RN316. I have multiple backups (and some older backup NAS can't hold everything). I find it easier to use "pull" backups jobs running on each destination NAS. I don't use the home folders, and my approach is to set up incremental rsync backup jobs for each share that run daily. All send me an email notification if they fail. One backup job on each machine sends me an email even if it succeeds - giving me assurance that the backup machines are actually running.
FWIW, I've done this in both directions. For a couple of years I was backing up my pro-6 (4.2.x) onto RN102 and RN202 OS 6 systems. Currently my main NAS is an RN526, and one of back up NAS is my pro-6 (still running 4.2.x).
You might want to set the owner/group on the Ultra to admin/admin for all shares. That maps nicely over to the RN316 (and the guest accounts don't).
PeteCress wrote:
Or am I going to have my Windows box as the middleman and use a Windows application like BeyondCompare, SecondCopy, or SynchToy to do the nightly backups?
That's not needed. rsync incremental works well.
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