The 3-2-1 backup rule, which has been around for more than two decades, states that you need to store three copies of your data on two different types of media, including one in an offsite location. While this strategy made a lot of sense when it was launched, data usage has changed a lot over the past two decades. Nowadays, it is very easy to put data on public cloud services and make it accessible from anywhere.
hardwired
In Hardwired, AC Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda takes an in-depth look at all things hardware, including phones, storage servers, and routers.
The downside of relying on a public cloud provider is privacy – you don’t have much say in where your data is stored. So when I was strategizing how to back up my data, I came up with a modified version of the 3-2-1 rule that made the most sense for my specific use case. Let me start by saying that I have extremely large storage needs, which is definitely not the norm—I currently use over 300TB of storage.
Of that 300TB, just over 100TB is actual data; it contains all the photos and videos my wife and I have taken over the past decade, our massive music library, and our media collection. The main warehouse of data is DiskStation DS1823xs+, equipped with 7 NAS HDDs for a total of 128TB of storage space. I then backed up the NAS to a DiskStation DS3622xs+, which has a dozen 12TB drives.
The third copy of this data is on an older DiskStation DS1019+; until a few months ago this was my primary home NAS until I decided to switch to a DS1823xs+. Since I’m using a brand new HDD in the DS1823xs+, I only kept the DS1019+ and its data; I plan to move it to my parents’ house in a few weeks and it will serve as the default off-site backup.
The missing piece of the puzzle is a cloud backup solution. Until the end of last year, I used Google Workspace to back up all the data in the DS1019+ to the cloud and encrypted it using Hyper Backup. This was possible because Google didn’t enforce any data limits on Workspace accounts — making the $20 monthly fee the best deal in the backup world — but that’s not the case now.
I still use Google Photos to back up photos taken on my phone, but other than storing documents in Drive, I don’t have much need for cloud storage. Even if I decided to back up all this data, the cost of doing so would be prohibitive.
Utilities like Tailscale make it very easy for me to access the NAS from anywhere, and since I have so much data, it doesn’t make sense to back up to a cloud provider. Also, every time I think about storing data on a remote server, I’m reminded of this quote from Dune: “The power to destroy a thing is the absolute control of it.”
Technically, the 3-2-1 rule says you need to store data on two different media types, but that’s not necessary for my own needs, so I use mechanical hard drives throughout. Flash storage is still too expensive, but I’m considering buying four 4TB WD Red NVMe drives to see how they perform.
I know it’s not feasible for everyone to store data in three different locations, but at least it makes sense to back up the data to external media. This is one of the biggest selling points of NAS, and the best home NAS servers make it easier than ever to store your data and media collection in a centralized location.
But if you don’t want to go that route, I recommend an external SSD; the Crucial X9 Pro is the one I use the most, and it’s available for as low as $259 for the 4TB model.