Ok, so I'm finally getting some steady work with my video business, and with all the posts I've read lately about "wish I had backed up my stuff....", I figured it was about time for me to get a good backup system going. Here's what I'm thinking:

Use Drobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822240001&Tpk=drobo) for backups. On my computer, I have a folder for each project I'm working on. At the end of the day, copy the entire folder of projects I'm working on over to Drobo. That way, when I'm working on a project, it is backed up twice: once by having it on computer and Drobo, and second, internally in the Drobo (Drobo backs up data internally so that when a hard drive dies, no data is lost). Then when I have finished a project, copy the entire project folder (which includes Premiere files, AE files, original footage, etc - everything) over to an external hard drive dedicated to that project, and put it in the closet for archive. Once archived, I would delete the project from computer and Drobo when I need the space.

Now here are the questions:

1. Would there be any reason to keep multiple copies of the project's folder. In other words, when I back up to the Drobo, should I overwrite the previous backup, or save the updated folder separately?

2. Should I archive the same data to two external hard drives so that, if one dies, I have the same data still accessible. I just don't know how likely a hard drive is to fail while sitting in a closet. :)

Thoughts, suggestions?

Thanks!

No one, huh? Guess that means I'm thinking along the right lines...

You run the risk of losing a drive in the closet, they can still fail when off. How important is the data? We currently accept that risk, and archive our projects to 1TB firewire drives.

Well... not super important. Pretty much the only reason to keep it is if the client comes back several months later and wants a modified version of the project, all I have to do is hook the external drive up to the computer, copy the project folder over onto my local hard drive, and I'm up and running with the original project again.

As was said, drives can fail even when off (bearings freeze up etc.). You might also consider a different media type. You could output your project as an .m2t and put that on a Blu-Ray disc. As a camera-ready stream it would be the same bitrate (25mbps for HDV2/1080i) as the original footage.

So I have an occasionally powered up external eSATA disc for local archive and an extra Blu-Ray (25 or 50 GB) of the edited project in safe deposit.

I have taken previous .m2ts and cut them up, put new "cut aways" over some spots and substituted sound tracks, but it is not a "full project" folder.

I currently back up on 2 of these. They are great.
You can edit m2t's right off it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822204022

Mine are daisychained via FW800.

I also keep 2TB's internal and store finished client projects for 1 year before archiving.

Sometimes I will back up on DVDR too. I swap my editing drives every year regardless.

I've lost files before and I'm really paranoid now.

Luckily, master tape is the best archive. Don't tape over it!

Eric,

I'm pretty sure that's what I'll do - backup to external HDD and just be sure to pull them off the shelf and fire them up every so often to keep them from freezing up. As soon as possible, though, I want to archive to flash media. Actually, that might happen in a year or so with P2, SxS, or something similar.

As far as archiving, I like to keep all the project files burned to a DVD. For me, that amounts to one or two CDs, or one DVD, or files. Then I make sure to keep that and the master tapes together in a safe place. Tape is a better medium to store on than an external hard drive, and cheaper as well, though not by the gig. If you get an external hard drive, and always back up just your project files to that, then it will get fired up every time you back up, and it can hold quite a few projects. Then, when you need to make a change, all you have to do is recapture. It works really well for me.

I currently back up on 2 of these. They are great.
You can edit m2t's right off it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822204022

Mine are daisychained via FW800.

I also keep 2TB's internal and store finished client projects for 1 year before archiving.

Sometimes I will back up on DVDR too. I swap my editing drives every year regardless.

I've lost files before and I'm really paranoid now.

Luckily, master tape is the best archive. Don't tape over it!

Does that have 2 500 GB drives linked as a 1TB drive, or is it a 1TB drive in that unit? It looks fairly large from the pictures, and I don't see any information on the mfg page that would indicate this.

Having two drives act as 1 in that manor just doubles your risk of failure.