Offsite Backup For Windows and Linux

Backing up data is essential not only for businesses but for individual users as well. There are several benefits of backing up data to a different physical location. For businesses, this could be another office, and for home users, this could be a relative or a friend.

Generally speaking, a backup can be divided into two categories:

1. Local and connected backup
2. Offsite and disconnected backup

Local and Connected Backup

Locally, individuals keep copies of their data on several destinations:

• External USB drives
• To another computer with the same LAN using mapped drives

These local destinations are often connected 24/7 to the source computer, and it is easy to write a scheduled task to copy files based on a schedule.

Offsite and Disconnected Backups

The second category, sometimes also called Remote Backups, is typically disconnected. In other words, accessing the backed-up data is not as simple as copying files from a mapped drive. Often offsite backup jobs run on a schedule but maintain a replica of the source files in case a restore is needed.

Comparing Local vs. Offsite backup

Benefit	Local	Offsite	Comments
Accidental deletions			Recovering files from accidental delete operations is as easy as copying the files back to the original destination.
Accidental corruption			Chances of restoring corrupted files is directly proportional to how soon the corruption is discovered. If a scheduled backup runs after files are corrupted, you run into the risk of getting the backed-up data corrupted as well. Many offsite and remote backups offer features like versioning, which keeps multiple copies of your data, allowing you to restore to a previous version in case the latest file is corrupted.
Ransomware			Viruses such as a ransomware often target network attached devices before corrupting the local data. This make connected backup destinations particularly vulnerable to such attacks. Offsite and remote destinations often protect users from such attacks since the destination cannot be reached easily.
Remote access			Ability to remotely access previously backed-up files from a remote location is typically unavailable on local destinations. Offsite backups, on the other hand, usually provide mechanisms to access backed-up files through a browser on your desktop or a mobile device.

An Offsite Backup Tool For Windows and Linux

If you're looking for an offsite backup tool, download Syncrify to protect your precious files. It provides the following benefits:

• Offsite backup across the Internet. You decide where the destination for your files will be. It can either be another office within your company or at a friend's home.
• Maintain multiple versions of your files if you need to roll back to a previous version due to file corruption.
• Remotely accesses your backed-up files from any device.
• Built-in ransomware prevention
• Works on both Windows and Linux. You could back up a Windows machine to a Linux box or the other way around.
• Compatible with most NAS devices, such as QNAP and Synology.

Public vs Private Cloud Backup

There are two types of offsite backups:

• Public Cloud - Where you back up your files to a service provider somewhere on the Internet.
• Private Cloud - Where the destination of your backed-up files is under your control.

Public cloud backup services handle 50% of the tasks - meaning you don't have to do the installation and/or configuration on the destination. Therefore, they are easier to set up. Private cloud backups offer several benefits over a public cloud, such as:

• Unlimited storage
• Unlimited file transfers
• Faster restores
• Privacy
• Cost effective

Summary

Offsite backups offer several benefits over an on-site local backup. If you're looking for a cost-effective and reliable solution that works with several operating systems, such as Windows, Linux as well as Mac, look no further than Syncrify.