Best practices for syncing vs backup

[Yooofi]

Hi, I have been using insync since 2015. using the sync function to mirror my folder structures in my workstation: project files, all sorts of material. and this all worked fine.

since then I now have internet fiber so upload is fast, and also have unlimited cloud space. I want to use that to backup/mirror my files in a way that is relatively safe.

now came to a situation where I realized that by mirroring my structures - is not really like backup. if by accident I delete something in my workstation, it will immediately get deleted in the cloud…

so I wonder, should I be using the backup feature? in addition? for now I can’t use both…

Backup also synchronized folders

I have seen the new Backup feature: that’s great! I wanted to have a regular backup of my important folders, that are synchronized, to avoid accidental deletions and losses. But unfortunately there is a strange constraint that does not allow to backup a folder that is synchronized: [Screenshot from 2022-01-11 09-25-42] I would like to ask that one can make a backup of all your folders, also those that are synchronized. Thank you!

I wish I could sync to a virtual drive so that I can see the structure and control the process. it seems google drive client has that feature, not insync.

what is your backup/sync routine? do you use both? any other thoughts?

thanks.

[mia]

@Yooofi Thank you so much for opening this discussion!

[Yooofi]

I would share my thoughts with this so far.

I have tried backup with insync. I am missing some control. syncing has been working great and with easy, but backing up - that’s a different story. the fact that sync can’t work in conjunction with backup is a a problem for me. I want to backup my project but have certain folder with sync also (to send to clients).

what I am trying now is using syncbackpro app to back up straight to my drive (you can do that with syncbackpro), this way I would backup each day to the drive, know exactly how long files are saved after deletion, have versions, and keep insync for the sync only process.

[dnarnold]

I keep my home directory on my numerous linux machines all in sync, by syncing them all to the same google drive folder. This works as a back-up also. Suppose I accidentally delete a file or directory on one of my machines. Insync then sees that the corresponding file is deleted on google-drive, and then insync running on my other machines deletes their copies. However, I can generally restore the file on google drive, because when you delete something on google drive it is moved to the trash, from where it can be recovered for 30 days.

[alpha]

Wait, the backup can’t do the folders that already synced? What is the use case of the backup? When should I buy it?

[mia]

Hi! Here are some resources for you:

Backup: How it works

Backup: Common use cases

[Yooofi]

after a few weeks of back and forth with backup solutions for my home workstation, I was able to find a solution that keeps me relaxed.

I used to sync my important files (project files and more) to the google drive cloud (using insynchq - it’s a cloud client app) it was a nice solution that is 2 way sync from computer to cloud and back. a good way to have your files always out there. but it’s not a backup. one mistake and if accidently deleted from my computer or the cloud (harder to delete that but still a risk) - then it’s gone.

so I bought a google enterprise workspace (20$/month) for unlimited cloud space (you need an email with a domain address for that) and I use syncback pro (so easy to use and full of options) with a daily schedule to backup my files to the cloud. I installed google drive app in my workstation, because it creates a virtual drive so you can upload from your internal/external drive to the virtual drive fast (and see it too!), from there it uploads to the google drive cloud via google drive app (faster than trying to upload from the syncback app to the cloud without a virtual drive).

I also still sync files using insynchq for folders I want to share with clients or have out there (like presets, and stuff I want to reach from anywhere and fast). and I also backup these files daily too.

I am now relaxed.