Automated Local Backups + Crashplan Cloud From Server

[Synx]

I have been searching for a simple solution to my problem.  I want to be able to have simple automated backups from my laptops, both OSX and Windows, to my unRaid.  Then use CrashPlan on the server to backup from a single client in the middle of the night.

 

I would prefer to not use CrashPlan on each client and then the server for a number of reasons;

- I would like local non-encrypted backups (obviously encrypted on the cloud)

- Double the cost for multi-client CrashPlan license

- My laptops are not on 24/7, I would like automated backups for when the laptops are on

- Late night CrashPlan to cloud to save on bandwidth durning the day, my server is the only computer in the house on 24/7.

 

So I need a (pref. free) backup client software that would run on both OSX, Win, and possibly *nix.  Incremental backups are not required but would be nice.  I am not really sure how incremental backups would play with CrashPlan though as it does not play nice with hard links (exactly why TimeMachine is not an option).

[dgaschk]

TimeMachine writes to a sparsebundle. This is a type of disk image. The image is comprised of regular directories and files. HFS+ is completely hidden from the file server. TM backups look like regular directories and files and contain no links. TM should work for your application.

[stchas]

I use SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/) on my laptops to create backups of the "My Documents" folders on the unRAID server, and then use Crashplan (running on unRAID) to copy them to the cloud.  All of these can be scheduled to occur while you're asleep.

 

Kevin

 

[Synx]

TimeMachine writes to a sparsebundle. This is a type of disk image. The image is comprised of regular directories and files. HFS+ is completely hidden from the file server. TM backups look like regular directories and files and contain no links. TM should work for your application.

 

http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/articles/time_machine

 

[dgaschk]

TimeMachine writes to a sparsebundle. This is a type of disk image. The image is comprised of regular directories and files. HFS+ is completely hidden from the file server. TM backups look like regular directories and files and contain no links. TM should work for your application.

 

http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/articles/time_machine

 

 

That article is somewhat misleading. It's referring to TM backups to a local volume. It does not apply to TM backups to a network file server such as unRAID. UnRAID uses reiserfs. Rieserfs does not support hard links to directories. The entire backup is wrapped in a sparsebundle disk image. As mentioned, the sparsebundle contains only regular files and folders. It has no links of any kind.

 

Perform a TM backup to unRAID and cd into the directory then do an ls -l.