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Desktop 1 <-> NAS 1 <-internet-> NAS 2 <-> Desktop 2 backup scenario
I work at home at weekends and away during the week. I have a fixed location, internet and desktop PCs in both locations. I want to work on the same files in both locations. I also want to keep a complete backup of my files at different addresses. So I bought two RN104 NAS' and I have done some research and think there are two issues and possible solutions:
Issue 1 - How to replicate data between two NAS's:
a) Use RSYNC backup jobs between the NAS'. Although from what I can see, this will only allow me to do a one-way backup, so I would have to run two jobs to sync back and forwards.
b) Use REPLICATE service on the NAS. Although I have tried to set this up and find the online portal very confusing, as it doesn't have the right name for one of my NAS' and doesn't let me choose the destination folder.
Neither solution seems to enable a setting like the old Robocopy application use to provide, which is two-way replication...?
Issue 2 - How to sync the files from the NAS to the desktop
a) Use the ReadyCloud desktop app on each PC to sync the folders and files from each NAS to the desktop
b) Use something like OwnCloud to achieve the same sync (and maybe even sync from one NAS and dont worry about Issue 1 - just use the second NAS to backup the OwnCloud master)
I am a little lost and looking for some advice... any appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon
redstamp wrote:
Would this be the agreed was to go forwards then, ie Cloud (from what you know - and I appreciate there are quite a few unknowns!)
It seems to fit what you need. The unknown is the ReadyCloud performance and reliability - which frankly has been an issue over the years. They've clearly been making investments there, but even so there have been some bumps in the road over the past year. Perhaps other users will want to comment on that.
Another option would be OpenVPN. Many routers (including Netgear Nighthawks) have built-in OpenVPN support. You combine that with a free DDNS name (also included in the Nighthawks) and you can access the full remote network via an openVPN client on the desktop. It doesn' have built-in sync, you'd need a second tool for that. You'd only need this on one of two routers (perhaps your home network, since it has the better internet speed).
4 Replies
Hello redstamp,
It is best to use ReadyNAS Replicate if you are backing up from one NAS to another when they are not connected to the same LAN. Each backup you want needs a job to be configured and that means one source and one destination only. You can set this by schedule. Alternatively, I think what you can do is set a backup sched for NAS1 to NAS2 then a different backup sched for from NAS 2 to NAS1.
To backup NAS to PC or PC to NAS, you can use backup job feature of the NAS, see this article: How do I back up data from my ReadyNAS OS 6 system to a Windows (SMB) share?
Regards,
redstamp wrote:
Neither solution seems to enable a setting like the old Robocopy application use to provide, which is two-way replication...?
Let's start here. Robocopy does NOT do two-way sync. It does one-way sync. /MIR is not two-way, it is one-way. RSYNC and REPLICATE also do only one-way sync.
Running jobs in both directions doesn't really get you to two-way sync. Depending on the timing and the sequencing, new files can get deleted, and deleted files can get undeleted. If files
Egynte can do two-way sync, though it is a paid service. Bit Torrent sync or the new Amazon cloud sync mght work for you to.
It's not clear to me that you actually need two-way sync though. You have a regular schedule (home on weekends and away during the week). One-way sync is likely enough (work->home during the week, and switching to home->work on the week-ends).
Depending on the file-churn you might not even need to automiate it. You could just manually run work->home backup when you get home, and run home->work backup before you leave. You do of course need to be very careful not to make a mistake (though if you leave snapshots on, that might help recover from that).
redstamp wrote:
Issue 2 - How to sync the files from the NAS to the desktop
a) Use the ReadyCloud desktop app on each PC to sync the folders and files from each NAS to the desktop
b) Use something like OwnCloud to achieve the same sync (and maybe even sync from one NAS and dont worry about Issue 1 - just use the second NAS to backup the OwnCloud master)
Why a cloud solution? You need to sync the PC at home to the NAS at home, correct? And likewise the PC at work to the NAS at work. These are both local, Cloud isn't needed.
Depending on what you are doing, you can simply map the NAS shares as drive letters, and not do any sync - just access the NAS files directly from the PC. If that doesn't offer enough performance, you can use any PC tool to update the PC copy (including Robocopy)
If you do use a cloud solution, then it might be best to sync both PCs to the same NAS (for instance the one at work), and then just use the other NAS strictly for backup.
Dont know how to do the quote thing in proper HTML, so I'll just do my own italic version:
Stephen B wrote:
Robocopy does NOT do two-way sync
Yeah, good point, after posting I was thinking about that one and you're right - obviously.
Stephen B wrote:
It's not clear to me that you actually need two-way sync though
I suppose I am worried about the files not copying fast enough ('work' has a very slow internet connection), or one of the NAS' losing connectivity for a day or so. In a perfect world, everything would complete whilst I travelled from 'Home' to 'Work' and vice versa as it were, but if not, I am just worried I start to lose work unless I am VERY diligent. I suppose 2-way doesn't really get around this anyway... hence my thoughts on Cloud...
Stephen B wrote:
...not do any sync - just access the NAS files directly from the PC
Have tried that and the speed is very slow to access files through Explorer and network mapped connections kept dropping etc - and as I am working on fairly large files, I presumed this would also be slower, so wanted to try and keep a local copy sync'd for speed of editting purposes.
Stephen B wrote:
If you do use a cloud solution, then it might be best to sync both PCs to the same NAS
Yeah - agree - this is what I was thinking gets around the issue and fear of timings and un-sync'd NAS' - if things fall behind, it doesn't matter.
Would this be the agreed was to go forwards then, ie Cloud (from what you know - and I appreciate there are quite a few unknowns!)
NB I didn't like ReadyCloud app sync until I found a post on this site about editting the cloud.config file to change the sync directory location (should be a feature!) - now it works great!
Thanks,
Jon
redstamp wrote:
Would this be the agreed was to go forwards then, ie Cloud (from what you know - and I appreciate there are quite a few unknowns!)
It seems to fit what you need. The unknown is the ReadyCloud performance and reliability - which frankly has been an issue over the years. They've clearly been making investments there, but even so there have been some bumps in the road over the past year. Perhaps other users will want to comment on that.
Another option would be OpenVPN. Many routers (including Netgear Nighthawks) have built-in OpenVPN support. You combine that with a free DDNS name (also included in the Nighthawks) and you can access the full remote network via an openVPN client on the desktop. It doesn' have built-in sync, you'd need a second tool for that. You'd only need this on one of two routers (perhaps your home network, since it has the better internet speed).
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