Synology Backup To Backblaze
The Time Machine backup is now being synced to Backblaze B2. This can take a few minutes or much longer depending on the size of the initial Time Machine backup. Each Time Machine backup is updated, the changes will be done on the Synology NAS and then synced automatically to Backblaze B2. You can close your Synology NAS device. This would also have the added benefit of being able to recover files without the need for a Synology NAS or pulling down the entire repository and using our Hyper Backup Explorer software since Cloud Sync does a file-level backup rather than using a proprietary database like Hyper Backup. So do keep in mind there are trade-offs for both methods. I back up my Mac using Backblaze. I then use Carbon Copy Cloner task to back up my Synology to an 8TB USB drive attached to my Mac (which I only power on every three weeks) which in turn backs up to Backblaze. So I'm able to backup both my Mac and my NAS to Backblaze, for offsite backups.
Early in 2016 I published a post on how I setup my Synology NAS to backup to CrashPlan from Code42. It certainly wasn't an out of the box process and involved a lot of behind the scenes hacking on both the Synology and my laptop in order to get it going. It did, however, work well.
For a time.
I started to notice a pattern in that, with every iteration of the DSM platform or Java update, the CrashPlan service would just stop. I'd get it going again, but each time, it was not as simple as clicking the Start button next to the Service window. No, it was always far more detailed than that and I started to grow weary. I even went weeks at times without backing up my NAS, and this was not a situation I could tolerate any more.
At the time, when researching backup solutions, I felt disappointed that Backblaze weren't offering any kind of solution for this. I had been using Backblaze for several years on my Mac devices and always found it to be a solid, reliable and unobtrusive piece of software. I've only needed to restore a few items in that time, yet each time the process was quick and easy. This is what I ideally wanted on my NAS.
Well, now I do.
Backblaze now offer a B2 Cloud Storage which links directly to my Synology NAS. Rather than paying a fixed monthly fee, B2 works in a very similar mould to it's cloud storage competitors in that you will pay per GB (currently $0.005 per GB), so working out your appromiate monthly bill is simple.
The best part about this solution is, without question, the ease of setup and subsequent lack of worry. You can 'set it and forget it', just like on your laptop or desktop machine. Backblaze provide an intuitive guide which lays out the steps in a logical, well explained manner.
I'd say more, but once the guide was followed, I haven't had to carry out any more maintenance. It's important to note that this is a Cloud Storage solution for your NAS as opposed to a fully fledged Backup solution. I use this solely for duplicating all of my NAS content to cloud storage. I can then download on any device with an internet connection.
So quick, so simple, so hassle-free.
Synology Cloud Backup
That's enough of a selling point for me.