Best Syncing Software?

Barman58 said:

The way I look at this is a question of semantics,

If you use a Sync tool to create a copy of the data on an external device then remove or disconnect the device that is a backup - a copy of the state of the media at a specific time

A sync to me will always be a continuous link between two or more data locations which are kept identical over a period of time - this can be a one way, two way, or multiples of this - Once you disconnect a device you create a backup

Traditional backups, and traditional backup software are basically a one off sync process that is immediately broken :)

Exactly.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

Roland, can you provide direct links to posts that say folder/file syncing is not a backup process? I went to that forum and didn't find anything to support that.

"...If you use a Sync tool to create a copy of the data on an external device then remove or disconnect the device that is a backup - a copy of the state of the media at a specific time..." Barman

I have been away from that forum for quite awhile, I no longer have those links. During this week and during this coming weekend, I'll attempt to re-Login and search for those posts.
** If memory serves me, one main point by a couple of posters over there:
if syncronization/replication includes the deletion of data folders and files from the Cloud and/or from onsite NAS or from onsite 2nd and/or 3rd HDD(s) because the end-user earlier deleted same from his/her computer -- then, that process is not a backup process. **

RolandJS said:

"...If you use a Sync tool to create a copy of the data on an external device then remove or disconnect the device that is a backup - a copy of the state of the media at a specific time..." Barman

I have been away from that forum for quite awhile, I no longer have those links. During this week and during this coming weekend, I'll attempt to re-Login and search for those posts.
** If memory serves me, one main point by a couple of posters over there:
if syncronization/replication includes the deletion of data folders and files from the Cloud and/or from onsite NAS or from onsite 2nd and/or 3rd HDD(s) because the end-user earlier deleted same from his/her computer -- then, that process is not a backup process. **

You are splitting thrice split hairs here, Roland. First, the only way folders and files in cloud storage or a NAS would be deleted when they are deleted from the computer is if one has the folder/file syncing program set up to do so (and that would require a bit of extra work to set up).

There is a difference between backup and archival. For some, such as businesses or governments, it is advantageous and/or desirable to archive every little thing to the finest detail for the foreseeable future but you wouldn't want every bit of the archived data restored to the original computer(s), if only because of storage space constraints. For recovery, you would only want the data that was on the computer at the time of failure to be recovered. That would be handled by either a separate backup, which is a copy of only the original data still on the computer, or some fancy algorithm that would restore only the data that was on the computer at the time of failure from the archive. We are talking advanced IT system engineering here. Btw, keep in mind archives also need to be backed up for the same reasons computers need to be backed up. Also keep in mind full archival requires one "heckuvalot" of storage space!

For others (which would include vast majority of us here), archival is overkill. We have no need to keep a record of everything that passed though our computers (and it would probably be advantageous not to do so). All we need to backup is the data on our computers and, possibly, additional storage off the computers. The only archival that would be necessary would be older files that we decide may be necessary at some point in the future, such as financial records, receipts, insurance inventories, medical records, etc. We don't need to keep, say, receipts for items we got rid of 20 years ago. What is kept will vary from individual to individual. If someone uses a NAS, cloud storage, etc. for overflow storage because there isn't enough room to store it all on the computer, then a different backup scheme would be needed since the overflow storage would also need backing up (unless we are talking about huge amounts of data here, say 30TB and up, it would be much simpler, safer, and much less expensive to just upgrade the storage capacity in the computer).

No matter what ones data storage set up is, the backup schemes needs to be tailored to that set up. For the vast majority of people here, a simple folder/file syncing program set to Mirror with Versioning enabled will do the job. Off computer storage would need to be backed up separately.

LadyF, thanks very much for a gracious and informative reply! I was only parroting what I saw over in community.spiceworks.com's forums :) Myself, I only back up each of my computers onto their respective two dedicated pancake-sized usb ext HDs. Although I do not do the NAS or do the Cloud, for those who do either one or both -- I'm glad they backup on a regular basis.

"First, the only way folders and files in cloud storage or a NAS would be deleted when they are deleted from the computer is if one has the folder/file syncing program set up to do so (and that would require a bit of extra work to set up)." LadyF
Agreed! And, those posters over there pretty much said the thing as you said above.

Keep in mind that some, maybe many, tech forums are overrun with members and mods who believe that RAID by itself is a backup (and I've gotten into some heated arguments over that sacred bull... cow; I quit one forum because I was accused of trolling over it). You can't always trust what you read.

For the benefit of anyone else reading this, RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks or Redundant Array of Independent Disks, depending on who is defining it), with the exception of RAID 0, provides is redundancy. All redundancy does is protect against drive failure, allowing a computer to keep chugging along with full access to all data should a drive in the RAID die. This is critical for business, etc. who can ill afford any computer downtime and is darned inconvenient for individuals.

However, a RAID is still subject to data loss due to user error (such as accidental deletion), viruses and other malware, power surge, equipment failure (such as a blown PSU frying everything inside, including the drives), fire, flood, clumsiness (such as knocking the computer from a desk to the floor), theft, etc. Only a backup that stays powered down, disconnected, and stored away from the computer can protect from many of those. For more complete protection, an offsite backup in addition to the onsite backup is essential. The upshot is, the more copies you have of your data scattered about onsite and offsite, the less likely you will ever lose any of it.

This isn't to say RAID can't be part of a backup solution. For example, one can use a NAS with a RAID in it to backup another NAS as long as the backup NAS is kept in a location other than where the NAS being backed up is kept and is kept powered down and disconnected except when updating the backup. On the flip side, one can have a small RAID inside their computer to ensure continuous operation should a drive go south and back it up with a single drive if the volume of the drive is at least as large as the volume of the RAID (multiple backups are still recommended).

Most people are horrified by how elaborate my backup scheme is (I have a lot of data I can't afford to lose) but it is nothing compared to what big businesses, and even some smaller ones, use.