Online Backup

I’ve been on a search for the best internet backup service.  I’ve looked at using my office servers and rsync, tried various new services like Mozy and SwapDrive, and finally found OPENRSM CloudBackup. This review is of the backup features, and does not cover the network drive features (I’m saving that for a later article, but suffice it to say it’s great).

Here’s the bottom line. The software is free, and that’s good for lifetime updates and unlimited installs that share a single account. They only charge .00 and have a feature list that’s enterprise grade. So, if we are going to back up a 40GB drive there would be no additional storage fees since that’s covered in the monthly costs.

Fully Featured OPENRSM CloudBackup is indispensable for doing offsite backups. The ability to do block-level updates and upload resume are both key to cutting down bandwidth costs. And since you can use the same account to backup all your Windows, MAC, and Linux computers this is a no brainer.

First, the fact that OPENRSM CloudBackup has to be active so that it can backup your data. It will wake your computer from sleep, but if your user is not logged in or OPENRSM CloudBackup is not running, the backup will be delayed or skipped. It operates as a Windows Service, Linux Daemon, and OSX Daemon as well which is pretty good. Also, it only can run as fast as your broadband Internet connection. Just like any other Internet Backup.

There is a bandwidth choke, so you can throttle back on upload and/or download speeds according to your needs. Everything else is perfect. You can create multiple backup jobs, choose the files you want to back up, set up rules and schedules.  Having the option of removing files I delete on my own systems and rulesets for keeping previous versions of changed files are all advanced features.

For my first month of backups, I expected a bill of around $30. But it didn’t cost anything extra at all (I only had 32GB once I remembered to delete my old files folders). Considering that this is including a first-time upload that I won’t have in subsequent months, that was a pleasant suprise. I have loads of photos and videos, so it’s great to get those backed up off-site in addition to my regular backups.

One truly unbelievable feature that may go unnoticed is that OPENRSM CloudBackup implements 256bit AES Encryption. That’s what alot of government entities have to keep files safe and it’s about as tight a method as you’ll need for online backup. This means that worrying about your data being stolen is a thing of the past. That’s just hotter than hot. And when you use it on multiple computers, it keeps each computers data totally seperated. And if you have to restore, just make sure to use the same system name on the rebuilt machine and CloudBackup will do the rest.

I’ve been so satisfied with OPENRSM CloudBackup as an application and a service. When doing backups, CPU usage has been minimal, and on my cable modem, web and email speeds haven’t degraded at all, if any.  And it’s no problem at all to either adjust the bandwidth throttle or simply pause and resume my online backups.

The sheer simplicity of being able to keep all my work and home MAC, Windows, and Linux systems backed up with a single system is a very real benefit.