I have recently begun the search for a better backup system. I had been using a pair of external hard disk drives with goals of backup daily and always storing a backup off-site. To ensure security each backup was encrypted with TrueCrypt. This arrangement was time-consuming and dependant on me to physically swap the drives. The other problem was that the computer and external hard needed to remain powered overnight to perform the backup. Needless to say this did not happen enough and left me without a backup for periods of time. Even if I had did this routine without fail my off-site backup would still be up to a week old.
I have been interested in online backup solutions for some time. I have had a series of requirements that systems have not met such as…
- Open files system that is not dependent on particular software
- Hosted by an established, large company
- Costing based on usage versus a set monthly cost
- Client software compatible with multiple operating systems
- Rich option set on client software
I know I am asking for a lot, but we are talking about the one thing we can do to protect our digital assets. I have found a solution that has met my criteria – Jungle disk.
I have run down my requisites and how Jungle disk has met them all.
- Open files system that is not dependent on particular software
Jungle Disk is not open-source, but the developers do take security very seriously. Steve Gibson of Gibson Research has spoken to Dave Wright the Jungle Disk creator. Steve was impressed with the security of Jungle Disk. If Steve is impressed then I am satisfied.
The other source of satisfaction on this point is that Jungle Disk does not store the backup data in a proprietary format. The data can be accessed by any software that can access Amazon S3.
- Hosted by an established, large company
Amazon S3 service actually stores the backup data. You really cannot get much larger or more established on the Internet than Amazon. (and you thought they just sold books)
- Costing based on usage versus a set monthly cost
There is a minimal upfront cost of $20 for the Jungle Disk software. That does include a copy for all operating system platforms with lifetime upgrade support. Amazon does charge a monthly fee for storage and upload/download. The table below outlines storage costs:
- Storage
$0.15 per GB-Month of storage used
Data Transfer
$0.10 per GB – all data transfer in
$0.18 per GB – first 10 TB / month data transfer out
$0.16 per GB – next 40 TB / month data transfer out
$0.13 per GB – data transfer out / month over 50 TB
Requests
$0.01 per 1,000 PUT or LIST requests
$0.01 per 10,000 GET and all other requests*
* No charge for delete requests
Jungle Disk has a great chart and calculator on their home page that simplifies this cost structure.
- Client software compatible with multiple operating systems
Jungle Disk is currently offered for Windows, Mac, and Lin
ux operating systems. This also includes Windows server flavors including Windows Home Server.
- Rich option set on client software
Jungle Disk offers many options related to your backup routine as well as utilities to manage your S3 backup set.
- Backup interval from 5 minutes to a week
- Limit upload speed
- Clean up backup files (This option deletes files on your backup as you delete them on your hard drive)
- Choose multiple folders to backup and filter files by file type
- Options to keep multiple versions of files for a specified number of days
- View backup history to confirm backups are taking place
- Clean up utility to remove deleted files manually
I would STRONGLY recommend Jungle Disk. I frankly have not been this excited about software or a service in a long time. It handles a universal computer problem in a very sensible and smart manner. So many devices, software, and services come close, but usually miss the mark. That is not the case with Jungle Disk. It hits the mark in every category, and I cannot think of a single way to improve the software/service.