The following is a Plus Edition article written by and copyright by Dick Eastman.
I have written often about the advantages of storing some of your backups off-site in “the cloud.” Computer experts will tell you that everyone needs to make backups, and at least one copy of each backup needs to be stored “off site” where it is safe from local disasters such as house fires, burst water pipes, and similar in-home disasters. Storing some of your backups on BackBlaze, Carbonite, Dropbox, Amazon S3, SugarSync, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, or other backup services is a great idea. However, most of these services provide only a limited amount of free storage space in their cloud (typically 2 to 5 gigabytes) and then charge you if you need more space. If you have a lot of data to back up, the charges can add up quickly. There is a cheaper method of accomplishing the same thing: you create your own off-site backup servers. Luckily, this is easy to do and, with a few pointers, is rather inexpensive. This article will supply those pointers.
Another advantage of this type of backup is that it lets you access your backed up files from anywhere you have an Internet connection. If you need a file from home, you can connect to the Internet from the office, from a hotel room, or from most any public library and retrieve whatever you need from your own server. You can even retrieve files by using an iPhone or an Android smartphone. Likewise, you can also save newly-created files from your laptop to your server in the cloud so that those files are available in the future from anyplace you can access the Internet. If you own multiple computers, you can back up all of them.
Actually, there are several methods of creating your own server(s) in the cloud. Today, I will focus on one method that is simple to accomplish at low expense by anyone with modest technical skills. If you already have an old computer sitting in a closet and gathering dust, the price for creating your own cloud-based server with nearly infinite storage space can be surprisingly low although probably not free.
First, let’s explore the possibilities of the words, “off site.” With the commercial backup services, we think of off-site as being in a data center in some other part of the country, perhaps in a huge room full of servers, attended by a staff of system professionals. Indeed, that is a good scenario for off-site backups, but it is not the only possible method.
“Off site” could mean a computer or server located in your next door neighbor’s house, a friend’s house, a relative’s house, or perhaps your own office across town. To make backups of your computer(s) at the office, maybe all you need is a “server” in your home. Off site can mean “just a short distance away.” However, I would generally recommend using a server some distance away as one hurricane or one fire can destroy everything in a wide path. Ideally, your remote server in the cloud should be well outside the path of any possible disasters that could affect your normal locations.
Next, what is the definition of a “server?” Most computer professionals will tell you that a server is a computer box designed especially for the task, perhaps rack mounted, with dual power supplies, remote console capabilities so that you can operate it from many miles away, and more. Indeed, the servers in most professional data centers fit this description.
However, if your primary purpose is to simply store files for later retrieval, you can use a very simple “server.” In fact, it doesn’t have to be a box designed for that purpose at all. Did you purchase a new computer in the past two or three years? If so, the old PC that was replaced might now be gathering dust and can be repurposed as a “server.” If not, another possibility is to buy a used computer at a garage sale for a few dollars. You won’t need anything fancy. A six- or eight-year-old computer will work well.
I would never use an old PC as my ONLY backup in any one location. However, if you are making multiple backups and are storing them in multiple locations, an old PC can easily serve as one of the locations. The old PC can be converted into a server for little expense. If that one server later suffers a hardware problem and dies, who cares? You have other copies stored in other locations. You simply restore from one of your other backup copies. Having multiple backups stored in multiple locations keeps you safe from most any possible disaster.
You don’t need redundant power supplies, super high speed processors, or any of that fancy stuff. Neither will you need a big, expensive monitor. In fact, the monitor can be left powered off most of the time. You will need some large disk drives, but I’ll describe a low-cost, simple solution for that later.
This solution works well for personal use or for business. If your office has five or ten computers, you can back up all of them to this low-cost, off-site server. You can even (optionally) share files with your friends or co-workers.
Your “server” should run Windows, Windows Server, or Macintosh OS (most any version released in the past 5 or 6 years). You will also need a modest amount of memory. The exact amount of required memory will vary, depending upon which version of Windows or Macintosh you are using. If your re-purposed “server” runs its present operating system at a reasonable speed, it already has enough memory to be a server.
Next, you will need to boot up the old computer and uninstall all the superfluous programs you can find. The exact list isn’t critical; just get rid of the junk and any other stuff you won’t need. With Windows, this step will also speed up the system somewhat.
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