A question about my backup strategy

TrueNAS General
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See below for the German version …

Hello everyone,

I have a general question about my backup strategy.

I’m running a small TrueNAS server. Snapshots are automatically created there on a regular basis for the individual data sets. So far, so good.
I’d now like to store the data not only on this device, but also outside the tower. And preferably offline.

To do this, I would connect a disk port via eSATA. I would insert regularly changing disks into this (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, … Jan, Feb, …) – just like with the tape drives back in the day. A script on the TrueNAS server recognises the disk and then runs a backup script based on an ID on the disk. This transfers the data to the disks. Once the backup is complete, the disks are switched off and placed in the cupboard. If my hardware ever does actually go up in flames, I’ll still have everything important sitting in the cupboard in the next room.

Unfortunately, I can’t find any ready-made tools for a scenario like this. Perhaps I’ve been searching for the wrong terms. In principle, the script isn’t actually that difficult to write myself. However, the devil is in the detail, and I’m already investing a great deal of time in it, constantly stumbling over new hurdles and fundamental questions.

I suspect this is certainly not a strategy for ‘large corporations’ with global locations. But for small systems, it seems sensible to me. Or am I wrong? Are there no ready-made solutions for such a scenario? I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, after all…

Does anyone here have any tips, ideas or suggestions?
That would be great!
Many thanks

Hallo miteinander,

ich habe mal eine allgemeine Frage zu meinem Backup-Konzept.

Bei mir läuft ein kleiner TrueNAS-Server. Regelmäßig werden dort von den einzelnen DataSets automatisch Snapshots angelegt. Soweit so gut.
Ich möchte die Daten nun nicht nur auf diesem Gerät speichern, sondern auch außerhalb des Towers. Und am liebsten offline.

Ich würde dazu über eSATA einen Disk-Port anschließen. In diesen stecke ich regelmäßig wechselnde Disks (Mo, DI, Mi, Do, …Jan, Feb, …) - wie damals mit den Band-Laufwerken. Ein Script auf dem TrueNAS-Server erkennt die Disk und führt dann anhand einer ID auf der Disk ein Backup-Script aus. Damit kommen dann die Daten auf die Disks. Die Disks werden nach Beenden des Backups abgeschaltet und in den Schrank gelegt. Wenn mir wirklich mal die Hardware abfackelt, hab ich alles Wichtige noch im Nebenraum im Schrank liegen.

Ich finde leider für so ein Szenario keine fertigen Tools. Vielleicht habe ich nach den falschen Begriffen gesucht. Prinzipiell ist das Script ja auch gar nicht sooo schwer, selbst zu schreiben. Allerdings steckt der Teufel im Detail und ich investiere dabei schon sehr viel Zeit und stolpere ständig über neue Steine und grundlegende Fragestellungen.

Ich ahne, das ist sicherlich keine Strategie für die “Großen Konzerne” mit weltweiten Standorten. Aber für kleine Systeme scheint es mir sinnvoll. Oder liege ich da falsch? Gibt es für so ein Szenario nicht fertige Lösungen? Ich muss das Rad ja nicht neu erfinden …

Hat einer von euch hier Tipps / Ideen / Anregungen?
Das wäre toll!

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How much data are we talking about here ?

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I few threads where something like this is discussed.

And an open Feature Request

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Across all my datasets, I have around 8 TB of data. Most of it consists of photos and image files, as well as a lot of videos and audio files. Some of it is virtual machines. And then there are various bits and pieces, each amounting to around 100 GB.

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Thanks for the links! I’ll have a look at them straight away :slightly_smiling_face:

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Ok. But I assume that the daily difference is not that much. Maybe a few new videos / photos etc ?

Virtual machines on Truenas or on another machine ?

I understand the allure of offline backup, but offline discs and the data on there would still have to be periodically checked. This is very tedious.

If you have the budget, to buy that many new discs, I would simply build another Truenas machine ( or a VM) and replicate to it. This machine could be offline for most of the day.

This will give you the benefits of another redundant ZFS pool with all the goodies.

Thats what I do. Because as @SmallBarky wrote, there is no Truenas solution yet for external backup.

There is also cloud Backup that is cheap compared to buy many new discs and its all automatic.

Maybe there is a ready made windows/linux sofware that you could run in a VM.

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Yeah, the difference isn’t that big.

The VMs are from ProxMox and are stored here on TrueNAS.

You’re right, I’d have to incorporate the scrub into the process as well. But the scrub doesn’t have to run every day—just once a month, if I remember correctly.

I don’t need to buy new disks. I already have them :slightly_smiling_face: They’re either used disks from other NAS systems or ones I bought new in the last 3 years.

Are 10 TB cloud backups supposed to be cheaper than the disks? That surprises me. I’ve only ever seen very expensive systems so far… Do you have any tips on where to find them?

Yeah, another TrueNAS would be nice. But I can’t get approval for that right now…

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For Proxmox VMs, I have a PBS VM running on Truenas. If you already have a proxmox machine I would simply install the discs there for a Truenas VM.

A 10 TB cloud backup is not gonna be cheap (even on Backblaze, Storj), but I would not backup all data to the cloud. If you can choose your 1 TB of the most important data, its around 5 USD/EUR per month. Re - downloading lost “Linux ISOs”, sure is gonna be a pain, but IMO not worth it to back it up to a cloud.

If the new NAS case is looking nice, and fits in well, maybe you can get approval :wink:

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I only have one machine: it’s a ProxMox, and TrueNAS is already running in the VM :slightly_smiling_face: Of course, I could set up a PBS VM alongside it. But then everything would be on the same hardware. That doesn’t really solve my problem with hardware crashes. Ideally, I’d really like to have the disk in a cabinet.

Yes, I do categorize the data by importance. I don’t even list ISOs there anymore :wink: And with the other data, I also look at what changes and how often. If I have a video project, there are naturally more and larger changes than if I’m just moving a few CSS files :wink:

But I’m somewhat reassured that I’m not the only one who has considered this scenario. Let’s see if a professional solution for this becomes available soon. Since there’s already a feature request, maybe it’ll happen.