TwoSpy

If you were reading my previous post in which I mentioned I was using TimeMachine with a NAS device, here is the explanation …

TimeMachine can work with your NAS device!!! Although it is not supported, a simple command line will enable this feature:

defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1

Enjoy

On my quest for an offsite backup solution, I discovered CrashPlan. My friend and I have been using the CrashPlan trial for about 20 days now to backup our files to each other. Here are the key features that have set CrashPlan apart:

CrashPlan is a product, not a service - Although CrashPlan offers an optional service called CrashPlanCentral - an online storage facility - it itself is software product that can be purchased for a one time amount of $20.  The tradeoff to CrashPlan being a product is that it requires you and your friend to provide the storage space for your backups.  I psychologically prefer to spend money on tangible gadgets that on intangible services, so I happily purchased a LaCie 1TB NAS device to compliment both CrashPlan and Leopard’s new TimeMachine (more on this in the following post).

Multi-Platform support - At home, I have a MacBook, a Windows 2003 Server, and an Ubuntu Linux VM - each of which I have been successfully running CrashPlan on. Although the Linux version is still in beta, I have encountered no issues with it, only I had to set up my startup scripts manually as they are not yet provided.

Backup locally as well as to a friend - Instead of backing up to a cloud, in which would take days to restore, my backups go both to my local NAS device attached to my Ubuntu Linux VM and to a friend of mine also running CrashPlan. In the case of a disaster, I could simply go to his house and restore as quickly as his home network allows. One caveat regarding using NAS - NAS works only with Mac OS X or Linux. Supposedly with some uber Windows administration skills, the CrashPlan service account (default is the Local System account) can be setup to have networking privileges at boot time.

Thanks to Ronald Heft, Jr. advice, I have finally resolved the issue of my MacBook frequently freezing up when going to sleep.  Anyone else using MacBooks reading this, check out his article.