Skip to content
Register

Backup strategy: rsync to another cheap VPS or S3?

VPS Hosting by OwnerSeeker 5 replies 362 views
OwnerSeeker

Member OP

Small Biz

#1

My nephew set up my shop's "internet box" on GreenCloudVPS last year. I have about 200GB of photos and QuickBooks files. He says I need backups. I found two options: another cheap VPS from InterServer with 500GB (he says that's the RAM number? No wait storage?) or something called S3 from Amazon. The InterServer one is $4/month. Amazon was... confusing. I used to lease a server from Leaseweb for a project; their email hosting starts around €30/month. Do I need a third company? Just want my files safe if the internet box breaks.

minhmin

Member

Uptime Junkie

2 #2
OwnerSeeker said:
Just want my files safe if the internet box breaks.

Rsync. 3am cron. Done. s3 has egress fees. provider dies; backup dies too. Separate datacenter needed. Went with CloudCone in different region. Ticket open with GreenCloudVPS now; uptime 97% last quarter. Unacceptable.

FlowSana

Member

SRE

#3

1. Define your recovery objectives: RTO (how fast you need files back) and RPO (how much data you can lose).

2. rsync to a second VPS is valid but insufficient alone. You need:

  • Versioned backups (rsnapshot or borg 1.2.0)
  • Geographic separation (different provider, different region)
  • Regular restore testing

3. S3-compatible object storage (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, or self-hosted MinIO) typically offers better durability than a single cheap VPS. 99.9% uptime VPS × 99.9% uptime VPS = 99.8% combined reliability.

4. For 200GB growing, budget $6-10/month total across two tiers.

Practical recommendation: borg to a second RackNerd plus quarterly cold copy to any S3-compatible tier.

It's always DNS. Always.
everseoul

Member

1 #4

Bro I had my minecraft box on RackNerd and did rsync every night to a "backup vps" on same host lol. Host terminated my account for "excessive iops" mid-backup. Lost 6 months of valheim world + all my mods. Gg. Now I do 3-2-1 like the sysadmin types say but with actual separate hosts. lag on restore from s3 was brutal tho, 4 hours to get my server back. wp to anyone who actually tests their backups before they need them.

FR

Member

#5

Rsync is a sync not a backup, use borg or restic, and never trust the same provider.

AD

Member

#6

What's the RTO you actually need

Post a reply

You need an account to reply. Log in or register to join the conversation.

Post reply Preview Save draft