Hello,
my total dataset is now 2TB and it grows about 1TB/year.
Is this a sound backup strategy:
- buy 3 hdds today, rotate backups between them, so I have at least 2 previous versions of a file
- replace them every X years, say every 3 years, so the chances of catastrophically losing all data are very very low
I have been looking at tapes also but the drives are quite expensive, and my dataset size probably does not justify them - or does it?
There’s no need to toss the drives at three years. Run drive diagnostics on them using a tool (GSmartControl, WinDLG, Hard Disk Sentinel, etc). Ideally every six months full scan, at least once per year.
Drives easily can last ten years without issue, and the odds of all drives failing simultaneously is near-zero.
Really you should keep at least one, ideally two, drives at different locations. And add an encrypted cloud backup to the mix.