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Network Backup

Started by mbaldw, January 30, 2009, 06:53 hrs

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mbaldw

Hi folks,

I am rather lax when it comes to remembering to back-up my computer and one of these days I know itââ?¬â?¢ll come back to bite me!   At the moment I just back-up my important documents onto DVD-RWs (when I remember).   However, with a recent expansion into digital photography and video editing, the number of DVDs needed is growing.   So, I was thinking of buying a NAS drive to back-up the data to.   My question is two-pronged:

1.   I know that Windows has a back-up facility that creates a .bkf file according to the contents you specify.   However, all I really want to do is back-up my My Documents folder.   If my hard drive fails, Iââ?¬â?¢ll just re-install the O/S, so Iââ?¬â?¢m not concerned about backing up all the settings.   Is it possible to get Windows (currently XP Home, SP2) to automatically copy the My Documents folder to the network drive at a specified time?   If not, is there a good bit of software someone could recommend to do this?

2.   My current router is a D-Link DIR-655 (wireless-N, gigabit Ethernet).   At the moment I have a desktop PC and a printer both hardwired into the router via Ethernet.   I then have three laptops (two XP Home, one SP2 the other SP3, the third Linux Mint) connecting wirelessly.   Would it make more sense to buy a gigabit switch and connect the desktop, printer and NAS into that (and then the switch into the router), or am I better off just hooking the NAS directly to the router.   On other forums, Iââ?¬â?¢ve read comments to suggest itââ?¬â?¢s better to have a switch dealing with the traffic and let the router get on with the task of ââ?¬Ë?routingââ?¬â?¢.

Any thoughts on the above would be very much appreciated.

Cheers,
Marc.

Buffalo2102

My two pence worth.....

1. I don't believe XP is flexible enough to do what you want.  I have always found Syncback to be an excellent backup tool - it will do what you want to and more.

2. A Gigabit switch is an unnecessary expense in my opinion.  None of your PC's (especially those connected wirelessly) will be able to transfer data anywhere near that fast.  Your router, unless it is a particularly poor one, should easily be able to handle the bandwidth usage so the occasional backup between a PC and the NAS wouldn't be a problem.  Why not try it first with the router only and see how you get on?

Buff

Vista x64 Home Premium. Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Abit IP35, 4 Gig Kingston HyperX PC8500C5 DDR2, GTX260, Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer, Antec 900 Gaming Case.

mbaldw

Thanks for the advice guys.

Cheers,
Marc.