I need an offsite backup service that works with OS X and can handle frequent changes.

April 24, 2004 12:07 AM

I am looking for a good offsite backup service, I don't really feel comfortable storing important files on a web server. It doesn't really have to be automatic, but that would be nice. If it does have software it needs to be OSX friendly. This data is important, and not replaceable, but not like checking account numbers and things. The data also changes somewhat frequently, so burning a dvd and throwing it in a safety deposit box is not an option.

also i'm aware of .mac, and I use it but this is for a friend, and he won't be needing any of the other features, so i'd like another cheaper option.

posted by rhyax to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Hm. I'm sure there are cheaper options, but none that work so seamlessly with OS X's Backup application.

I do all sorts of backing up on a schedule -- some to my iPod, some to the servers, and I haven't had to think about it since I set it all up many moons ago.
posted by jragon at 9:17 AM on April 24, 2004

Since it's OSX, you could easily set up a remote shell account, exchange keys, and schedule rsync over ssh with cron. .Mac works out to $8 and change a month, so you'd have to find a shell account with sufficient storage (I don't think you mentioned the quantity of data) for less than that to make it worthwhile.

You could set up cron to do it daily and add a script to launch if he wants to make sure it gets saved after a specific change.
posted by sohcahtoa at 9:34 AM on April 24, 2004

I've heard good things about iDrive.
posted by invisible ink at 10:40 AM on April 24, 2004

yea, on second thought I am going to suggest .mac, compared to the other services it's really not that expensive, and maybe he could use the other features when he got used to them.
posted by rhyax at 2:22 PM on April 24, 2004