rsync.net

[fos]

I recently opend an account with http://rsync.net

rsync provides offsite data storage and backup using open source protocols, most notably rsync.

The pricing is 1.60/gig per month with unlimited bandwidth. Affordable insurance for data that can't be replaced.

I have begun saving the data from all for my web activities nightly. With rsync, after the first backup, it only backs up files incrementally minimizing time and bandwith.

fos

[fos]

I have been playing with the rsync.net account this afternoon.

I can send files to the server at the maximum rate that my web server can send it (about 1.2 mb rate). It is much slower to send them back, probably 1/10 that speed. Since it is a backup, the slow return rate shouldn't be a factor.

Using Fuse and sshfs I am able to mount the rsync.net file system on my local computer. It is pretty handy. I can manipulate the files as if they were directly on my computer.

Out of curiosity, I tared and gzipped (tar -zcvf) the backup files. It produced a single backup file that is 132 mb. The original files were 296 mb. It wouldn't be practical very often. The whole process took about 3 hours. Some of that time was receiving the files from rsync.net and the rest was the compression and archiving.

fos