CrashPlan automates the preferred backup solution used by geeks: store a backup at a friend’s home. As mentioned in their FAQ they also provide a backup store themselves, but they don’t recommend it:
CrashPlan » Support, http://www.crashplan.com/support/faq.vtl
… A typical machine can hold 150GB of data these days. From a typical home ISP, it can take 12 days to get all your data back! During those 12 days, you can forget about using your Internet connection or PC. Did we mention it'll take 2 months for your data to get backed up in the first place?
At $20 a machine, support for OS X and XP, and offsite backup, it’s impressive. It will also support backup across one’s own LAN.
I love the viral feature of how this is sold. “Allowing others to backup to you is free”. Unless, of course, you decide to charge them … heh, heh. Of course they recommend backing up to TWO friends, each of which would backup to … etc, etc.
I’ve seen several peer-to-peer backup solutions, but they spread data over a network of anonymous machines. Recovery will still be tedious, and there’s always the chance of the FBI knocking down the door looking for the key to some weird plot.
I might just do this — I have to check, however, how much data my ISP will let me send.
Hat tip: Andrew
Update 5/2/07: I'm reading about people using this, so it's real. I still haven't implemented, but I'm getting closer.
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