Hello everyone, I am a long time lurker of this channel, and I finally decided to write my first post.
Two years ago I used my old desktop PC to run a home server using TrueNAS Scale. It is still running at the time of writing this.
It works so well in fact that I have grown more dependent on it over time. First it was just Jellyfin, then came all the Arr apps, Adguard, Syncthing, Immich, Forgejo, Wireguard…
What was supposed to be the “PC for backups” has turned into the angular stone of all my computers and devices.
The reason why I am posting today is because I am afraid of the day my server dies or I have to move out of my place (which might happen soon)
Does anyone know if it is possible to rent a cloud server where I could install TrueNAS and then have that be a “replica” of my local one to use in case of an emergency? Is this a bad idea? What is the ideam solution for this issue?
Use something like Backblaze or Hetzner storage boxes for off-site backups. There are a number of tools for making this painless, so pick your favorite. If you have the means, I recommend doing a disaster recovery scenario every so often (i.e. disconnect existing drives, reinstall the OS, and load everything from remote backup).
Generally speaking, follow the 3-2-1 rule:
- 3 copies of everything on
- 2 different types of media with
- 1 copy off site (at least)
For your situation, this could be:
- 3 copies - your computer (NVMe?), TrueNas (HDD?), off-site backup; ideally have a third local device (second computer?)
- 2 media - NVMe and HDD
- 1 copy off site - Backblaze, Hetzner, etc
You could rent a cloud server, but it’ll be a lot more expensive vs just renting storage.
You are right to be afraid. I had a similar story, and am still recovering and sorting what data is recoverable. Nearly lost age 0.5-1.5 years of media of my daughters life this way.
As others have said, don’t replicate your existing backup. Do two backups. Preferably on different mediums, spinning disk/ssd eg.
If one backup is corrupted or something nasty is introduced, you will lose both. This is one of the times it is appropriate to do the work twice.
I’ve built two backup mini PCs, and I replicate to them pretty continuously. Otherwise, look at something like Borg base/alternatives.
Remember, 3-2-1 and restore testing. It’s not a backup unless you can restore it.
This looks like the most convenient approach I have read so far. I will look into this for sure. Thanks a lot!
Like others have said, I also prefer having a backup and getting new HW when shit hits the fan.
You can build a warm-standby solution, but that road is both costly and more labor intensive.The family can survive for a few hours while I run out to get a new drive or NUC to fix stuff.
If you’re lucky, it happens right after dinner so you can skip clean-up too!A few years ago I had a threadripper server, then I had to move. I planned it out to have a little low power NAS for traveling.
Now I live offgrid in an RV with some solar panels. My little NAS can be powered by 12V so I have it plugged into a cigarette lighter plug on my battery. It’s been working great so far, has docker so I have a bunch of stuff running on it now.
That’s quite cool. I wish I could install/buy solar panels for my server
I have an old i5 Mac mini (2011 I think) as a backup for infrastructure stuff (proxy, home assistant, pihole). If something goes terribly wrong I can just plug it in and start it. All the LXCs are copies of my main proxmox rig, albeit a bit outdated (BC I don’t leave it plugged in). I know I could do better with proxmox’s HA but seems like another thing I’d be on the hook to keep maintaining.
Folks, tell me if this is a good idea - OP gets a backblaze subscription. Backs up everything on that system - all the forgejo stuff, all the immich stuff, all the Arr content.
If/when stuff breaks, OP… gets a backblaze drive home with their stuff and returns it after reinstating their backups?
