Hamachi is a free tool for establishing secure VPN connections between two PCs by mediating p2p connections (like Skype does). Its potential for Internet backup and data replication is huge.

I believe there is a mistake in the article. I use Robocopy and there is a switch you can use to control whether or not you remove files from the target directory if it is deleted in the source. I purpose never have robocoy delete anything because I feel I'm more likely going to need to restore a backup of a file I delete by mistake than an actual hardware failure.

I feel sorry for Windows users.

I use this:

rsync -arzv --rsh="ssh" ~ myhost.net:BACKUPS/$HOSTNAME/`date +%a`/$HOME

for backups through firewalls and VPNs using a variety of linux and OS X machines.
Some machines have it crontab'd.

Sometimes I use it from Windows boxes with Cygwin, but the ugly part there is just having to use Windows.

Dave

someone forgot to blur out an IP addy on page 3

For an alternative solution that does all the above plus synchronization try Vice Versa Pro. Also supports compression and AES 256 bit encryption. Works extremely well but not free.

pfff
your doing a sync through an ssh tunnel. can be done on any windows box. i like linux but saying stuff like this is ridiculous.

The real way to do this is contacting your Service Provider and getting a tunnel, like a point to point MPLS layer, cut out of a circuit. That way your traffic, and only your traffic, is in the tunnel.

OK, humor me here, I'm learning this on the fly, but on page 3 the article states:

That sounded a bit strange to me so I did some digging. Windows VPN relies on PPTP by default, and PPTP apparently utilizes MPPE. MPPE purportedly employs 40-bit or 128-bit RSA encryption.

So what's the problem exactly??

-Brad

been looking for something like this.. I need something that uses little to no resources. I've been thinking about using CwRsync but it looks a little confusing to use between two windows machines and I can't find any good documentation.

Is robocopy with this GUI the best/easiest bet for me, or should I face the facts and learn the command lines needed to go with CwRsync.

-Cody

damn, secrets out. my friends and i have been using hamachi for a while, its so great for lan parties now that i've moved away from my hometown. my friends are kinda computer-illiterate, and can't give out the right ips, so we use hamachi. its great.

never thought of this backing up stuff. pffff. who works, i mean, really? kidding. sweet idea! hamachi is nice, but i've had a minor prob or two w/ it.

Instead of messing around with robocopy, I would recommend ALLWAY SYNC. It does a better job and is easier to configure. It is also a freeware.

Allway Sync Features

* Free for personal use synchronization software. No spyware, adware or malware.
* Easy-to-use graphical interface.
* Performs true bi-directional and n-way file and folder synchronization, forget about backup and restore routines.
* File modifications and deletions are tracked in a local database. So, Allway Sync knows the true history of your files--no unnecessary questions asked.
* Our innovative, proprietary algorithms do not rely on the accuracy of the system clock or network connection quality. So, Allway Sync helps prevents data loss.
* Generates a full report of differences between synchronization folders.
* Synchronizes folders as well. Allway Sync detects when folders are removed from one device and removes them from any other corresponding synchronization targets.
* Supports virtually any file system (FAT, NTFS, SAMBA, Netware, X-Drive, CDFS, UDF and more).
* Capable of synchronizing more than two folders.
* Synchronize data between your desktop PCs and laptops over a network.
* A good way to backup and restore files if you run Allway Sync in one-way mode.
* Specify independent synchronization parameters for any number of sets of folders (multiple jobs).
* Transfer documents from one computer to another using an intermediate removable drive.
* Or just synchronize with a removable device (USB key, flash drive, CDRW, Zip) so that you always have your data with you.
* Flexible configuration and customization.
* Supports files of any size.

http://www.gaztronics.net/rsync.php

Read, be enlightened young padawan, welcome to the dark side . . .

Who I feel sorry for, is people who have become so estranged with their systems, that they don't have another backup solution, and require something like this to begin with.

Have important data ? use that USB port on your machine, and backup data to a USB HDD. Have important data at work to backup ? Use a real solution such as iSCSI, GbE networks, and RAID 5 +. Who cares if your system is wiped out by whatever means, a savvy system admin can install WinXP in minutes, and probably already has your current system ghosted on a remote system to begin with.

There are so many option out there already, and this one makes very little sense to me . . .

[EDIT]

Well, that is, unless you're trying to circumvent measures in place at work, and stealing sensitive data . . .

Oh, come now, it's not as bad as it seems. Although I wanted to chuckle a bit that it took three and a half long pages to describe a "simple" VPN solution. But Robo is a slick widget and the price is right. And since there are so many "smart" people who do back up but never think about the need for off-site backups, or do think of that but get lazy about rotating the media back and forth, using a VPN tunnel, existing connectivity and spare bandwidth ain't a bad solution.

RAID-5 is nice but it won't save you from data corruption or accidental deletion. A local ghost copy is nice assuming the entire office hasn't been destroyed. And sure, a savvy sys admin can install XP in a few minutes but re-installing twenty, thirty or forty applications can be taxing.

I do wish that all the oh so very helpful folks that recommend Cygwin would offer a detailed description of exactly what parts of it need to be installed, because I pity the poor fools who might try to install the whole package (and whose backup times will subsequently SKYROCKET)...

-Brad

I don't put Cygwin on any of my systems, nor do I recommends its use. Not because of exploits, and whatnot, but because its software, that people have worked very hard on, but doesn't work as intended at times. The result is at least a slightly fouled system, but I've seen, and experienced worse.

RAID5 is nice, but you can not expect it to magically undelete files for you. Files that are *that* important, need to be stored in multiple safe locations, which RAID5 could be one, and a DvD another (pretty safe between the two if you ask me), but you could add even more locations IF you really think thats going to "save" you. I suggest that you read up on iSCSI, use it, and learn the possibilities. With a little imagination, and 2 or more computer systems, the average Joe could have enterprise like solutions available to him at home.

If you're interested in iSCSI, and know about it, or not, you can read my own mini analysis of speeds obtained with average, inexpensive hardware
here. . I personally see a big future for iSCSI

I've always been at least a little suspicious of things like what this article speaks of, especially if its free. Using gmail myself, I still sleep with one eye open

iSCSI has been around a while although I have to admit I didn't read up on it much until just now. Frankly I'm feeling a bit ambivalent about it, mostly because I'm lukewarm - skeptical even - to this ridiculous rush over the past few years to use TCP/IP (with all that overhead) on everything from toothbrushes to toilet bowls. Then again, sadly, nobody's ever accused me of being a world class visionary. Oh well.

It does have some fun possibilities. Poor man's cluster was one of the first to come to mind. Too bad 10 Gig is still so expensive - GigE can be completely saturated by just one of a few of today's better consumer -class SATA hard drives.

FWIW, I won't even send email to people with gmail accounts ;-).

-Brad