Synology DS120j as backup system only

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Synology DS120j as backup system only

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NAS
DS923+
Operating system
  1. Linux
  2. macOS
Mobile operating system
  1. Android
At the moment I use an hdd in a usb enclosure connected to my DS923+ for backup purposes.
I consider changing that with a DS120j which I can find in quite good price, so I can move this backup system off site too.
My question is, regarding the low processing power of the J series, can DS120j serve for the purpose I describe? It will be 100% used as a hyper backup destination both remotely for my DS923+ and for a couple of local PCs at the place it will be installed.
 
I am curious about your opinion here on btrfs and raid support on the backup NAS unit.
Sure, the DS120j is perfect for putting away data. But what about disk failure or bit rot? I guess you'd also want to protect your backup.
Is it worth to invest in a plus model solely for btrfs support, or do you think it's overkill? (considering the unit would be used as an off site hyper backup NAS unit only)
 
I am curious about your opinion here on btrfs and raid support on the backup NAS unit.
Sure, the DS120j is perfect for putting away data. But what about disk failure or bit rot? I guess you'd also want to protect your backup.
Is it worth to invest in a plus model solely for btrfs support, or do you think it's overkill? (considering the unit would be used as an off site hyper backup NAS unit only)

Maybe your question goes to @EAZ1964 if I understand correct.
But as far as I am concerned, I just want to replace the simple usb enclosure with a more flexible solution. As I mentioned it will be solely used for hyper backup destination.
In this scenario I believe btrfs is not necessary (no snapshots will be used) and raid setup is out of of scope..
OK, I understand that one could worry for this backup too, but then we would enter a non-stop circle of creating raid over raid etc.
I have separated my data to those I need in any case to save (photos, family videos, documents and work data) and those that it is not necessary to backup or I can easily find again (movies, general media, software etc) so it seems to me that a DS120j with a 8TB disk that I happen to have as spare can help in this scenario.
 
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I am curious about your opinion here on btrfs and raid support on the backup NAS unit.
Sure, the DS120j is perfect for putting away data. But what about disk failure or bit rot? I guess you'd also want to protect your backup.
This pov comes up frequently on NAS forums and related...'yes, but what will backup the backup...?'

My take on it is that the Q subtly conflates 2 different things - backups and archives; and I think that when some people talk about backups they're really talking about an archive.

The difference is this; an archive is data that will stay in a relatively cold state, but that nevertheless contains important stuff that must be stored for a long time. Eg, tax records / copies of receipts / old photos of family moments taken years ago / previous versions of an ever-changing or developing project like your plan for world domination... Although rarely (never?) accessed, this stuff must be protected from corruption ('bit rot') because it is fairly irreplaceable if lost.
This stuff is NOT a backup, and as its irreplaceable should be as proteced from corruption and backed up as thoroughly as 'hotter' more current data like my current projects and this years' invoices. BTRS / ZFS, multiple versioning, 3-2-1 rule, all that good stuff applies here.

A backup is just that. It's something that I only expect to have to use in the event that the primary data is lost. It's something that can be (should be?) replaced frequently so that it is up to date. It should be able to be wiped without much thought and replaced with another, more recent version. I don't need to keep multiple versions going back in time; as long as I have a reasonably recent up to date version that's enough. I don't rely on my backups to dig out old copies of important documents, photos or anything important.
I dont worry about making backups of backups. They're ephemeral, recent (hopefully) and disposable. I only need them in the event that I've deleted something important or a drive has died; and the chances of this happening to both my primary storage and the backup medium at the same time is one I'm prepared to live with. The disk image I make of my machine, the .tar archives or the TimeMachine backups on my mac; these are backups and they can be wiped and restarted again without any worry about loss of data.

For me, separating these 2 things out helped clarify the conundrum of 'yes, but what about a backup of the backup, just in case...'
 
Not sure the question is for me?
For a regular backup device BTRFS does not bring advantages
Regarding "bit rot": I have never seen/experienced any clear, hard evidence on the "issue" . For me it is a myth.

Regarding backup of backup; seems only valid to me if your backup contains versioning that you do not want to loose.
Personally I have my really valuable data back-upped twice in different frequency, different media/location (1x nas, 1x cloud).

If the main data pc fails and you have to restore a backup, there is a minute chance that a single disk DS120j fails as well, but that is up to the individual to decide how much security you need.
 
For me it is a myth.
You would question Synology? Here's a "real life" example they offer...
qTa0BVX.png
 
Thank you all for commenting. I was just considering my backup strategy and didn’t know what would make sense. I’ve decided to use my old ds212j (still works) as my offsite backup unit and see how it goes. I also have an online backup of my real important data, so this gets close to the 3-2-1 strategy.

Best wishes for 2023 for you all!
 
Hence "3-2-1 backup" is the preferred methodology.
I think this misses the point of my post, which was to make a distinction between stuff to '3-2-1' backup ('hot' & 'archived' data) and stuff that doesn't need it (eg a client machine OS backup or a time machine backup).

In your link in a related thread, the poster seems to be thinking along similar lines:: "I personally think the 3-2-1 backup strategy is a little heavy handed to be used in all cases - I'm not going to keep 3 copies of some old Linux ISO."
 
Hi dimfil,

The setup you described is almost identical to what I am doing now: I use a DS920+ as working station, and back it up to both local USB disks and my "old" DS115, which I moved to my sister's home.

Even if I find it ok it is not as good as I wished. Here is why:
-DS1xx devices only have one disk and are unable to build RAID systems or anything similar. As a consequence we are unable to activate any "security option" regarding the data stored on that machine.
-Backup integrity tests are of outmost importance. Believe me. I have had bad experiences when not checking my data regularly. But running HB integrity tests on a remote, entry level machine is veeeryyyyy long. Talking about several days continuous work for a <3To backup.
-Entry level machines lack the possibility to use other backup tools than HB. Line snapshot and replication, or NAS bare metal backups with ABB as they don't support Btrfs file format.

Now, as you already own the machine, do not hesitate to start with it. It doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money and significantly impact the environment by buying new, first class hardware. You will still be able to do so at a later stage if you really feel the need to.

But don't forget: be careful and regularly check the integrity of your backups on the remote target!

BR
 

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