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How Do I Backup My Stuff?

I have been a backup junky for quite a while. I have lost my fair share of data in the past due to poor backup practices, and that just sucks. Backup is generally not on the top of everyone’s mind, but it really should be. Keeping a solid backup of your data is easier than ever, and the cost is trivial in comparison to what your personal data is worth. I was thinking about how all my stuff is getting managed and eventually sent to some kind of backup, and thought it may be helpful for some to see what I am doing to keep my stuff safe. This setup is kind of elaborate, and won't fit your needs 100%, but parts of it I am sure can, at the very least, give you ideas of better ways to protect your data. Below is an overview of how various devices are moving data around to protect it, and then you will see a nice visual diagram of how all the parts are interconnected.

I would love to hear about cool ways you are backing stuff up and keeping it safe, or perhaps you have suggestions on ways to improve my system. Either way, let me know!

iPhone

  • Nightly iCloud backup
  • Weekly encrypted backup to iMac with iTunes

iPad

  • Nightly iCloud backup
  • Weekly encrypted backup to iMac with iTunes

iMac Internal Drive

  • Locally connected Time Machine drive
  • Network mounted Time Machine (Mac Mini Server connected to 4 Bay Drobo)
  • Weekly image backup to external drive with SuperDuper
  • Arq backup of Home Folder to Amazon S3

iMac External 4TB Thunderbolt Drive

Mac Mini Server w/ 4 bay 8TB Drobo

  • Internal Mac Mini drive weekly image backup to Drobo
  • Drobo real time backup to Crashplan