I plan to build a separate TrueNas Scale backup NAS to automatically store backups of my existing TrueNas Scale NAS (maximum 10 TB data). However, I am not too sure about two things concerning the UPS & RAID for this backup NAS.
My data is stored redundantly on the main server with a (roughly) weekly manual backup to a separate HDD outside of the NAS.
I would like to ask for other’s opinions as well to check if the following things would be OK for the (future) backup NAS:
Is using a UPS for backup servers recommended?
The power is expected to be stable in the location of the backup server with minimal (less than 5) outages per year. Could that cause any problems for the server given that it only syncs from the main NAS?
Is it recommended to have redundancy even on the backup server?
Since I already have a backup, I thought that maybe using RAID is not necessary on the backup server (to trim down the budget). However, I saw that ZFS benefits from RAIDs and it can help avoiding bit rot.
A RAID is not a backup replacement. That said when I was running TrueNAS I had 2 of them and I replicated one to the other. It worked well. Though I had a raid fail and the rebuild times were awful.
Over the course of a few years I had one hardware failure and a 2 or 3 software failures. In the end I just replaced the TrueNAS with a couple of large Synology boxes and I have had no issues. Though they are much slower as they do not have optical networking. But I appreciate the plug and play and minimal maintenance. Cost was annoying, but most of it was on the HHDs, and those got reused… 18 or 16 TB each and the enclosures are full, and I have a few extra for replacement for when they crap up.
I run UPSes on anything that I care about. Mostly to protect from transients (if that is the correct term).
EDIT: Backup is kind of by definition in a separate machine. Ideally two, one possibility on site and another in different physical location (cloud?).
The setup I wrote in my original post is directed at my backup server.
That is, I already have:
a TrueNAS Scale server with RAID 5 (redundancy)
a roughly weekly backup to a different HDD (outside of the NAS).
I would like to extend this with an offsite backup server (located elsewhere) which would still run TrueNAS Scale.
However, since my original server already uses RAID, I am not quite sure if it is “needed” on the backup server itself as well, as it is only for backup.
Have you considered something like backblaze? The cost to store data there is a lot cheaper than a second nas, even spreading the cost over several years.
I say that because if it has to be off-site, it could be anywhere, and the cost of another NAS at least for me to store all my stuff… lets just say backblaze is WAY cheaper. Never mind having to maintain the other NAS, deal with keeping it in an appropriate environment, worrying about UPS, etc.
I’m backing up something like 4 TB to back blaze for a handful of dollars per month.
I have to say I like that idea. Currently I have a backup on a local NAS and non-OS stuff on OneDrive. Lots of pain there cuz it seems they got the junior programers to write that! Though I have enterprise licenses for 365 so it is convenient as I can access stuff from all my computers, plus phone and tablet. And GitHub for code.
I should reassess my backups again. I have a lot of data that is only backuped once and onsite… not feasible to backup offsite given internet speeds and how often it changes… though I can regenerate it if needed as these are computations.
During the weekend, I was also able to think it through and I will go with RAID. However, it seems I will be able to get away with the UPS for the backup server.
Backblaze is also a great idea. Honestly, that was my first thought (and a recommendation of a colleague as well) when I started planning the 3-2-1 backup strategy. However, I saw that for around 10TB of data, the prices were quite high. Plus I seem to remember that the automated backup from a NAS was a bit pricier, but I will double-check that.
To build a second backup NAS to store 10TB of data and replicate to it where I live - you’re talking a couple of thousand dollars in hardware. Hardware which has a life cycle and will need replacement in a few years.
