A free public beta version of Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server is now available for download after being requested from many Home Server adopters since being announced as one of the winners of the Code2Fame contest.

The online backup solution for WHS can be downloaded from here.

for support and feature requests see the following section in their forums.

KeepVault the online backup solution for Windows Home Server has been updated. The original version for WHS 2.10 was released on 5 November (2007). This latest update 2.12 dated 11 November (2007), incorporates the following:

• Optimize retry attempts after network connectivity issues
• Set file scanning thread to low priority
• Data compression optimization
• Fix high CPU usage on large file sets

Existing users of KeepVault can download the update from here.

More information on KeepVault is available in this post.

We discussed the other day that the online backup service for Windows Home Server was out of beta and available for purchase. Finally, we have a way to protect our Home Server’s if you unimaginable happens, and we come home from a night out to find the house burnt down, flooded or …you get the picture. KeepVault to the rescue!

The current asking price is $78/year for an annual subscription billed at the same rate each year. For that price you get unlimited backup, and unlimited means unlimited, not like some other company’s I could mention. So 100GB or even 500GB is absolutely fine. The only requirements are that it is limited to personal use only, individual files must be less then 5GB in size, no illegal material and that storage is linked to a single Windows Home Server. If you want to backup 2 Windows Home Server machines then you will need two accounts. Other than that the sky’s the limit.

The price is normally $99 but is being offered from their site for $78 as an introductory offer. And even better news, we have negotiated with Proxure, the company behind KeepVault, a discount for our readers. By using the coupon code 10FROMMSWHSCOM during checkout you will receive an additional 10% of the already reduced rate of $78. So all you’ll pay is $70.20 for 12 months of unlimited online offsite backup.

The storage backend is being provided by Okay Publish LLC, owners of BTSharp and Ceedien networks which also powers Filmaroo, the new personal video sharing application from Proxure. Your files are secure too. For maximum security KeepVault encrypts your files before they leave your PC. KeepVault uses 128-bit AES encryption. Further, you have the option of specifying your own personal encryption key during setup which virtually limits anybody from viewing your personal data.

Once setup and signed in, all you have to do is select the Home Server “Shares” you wish to protect. KeepVault will automatically backup all new and changed files from those shares that you have selected to protect, either on-the-fly or overnight when your server is less busy. This includes executables and install sets … anything and everything. The KeepVault add-in resides in the Windows Home Server console, making it easy to monitor your backup status. Getting your files back is easy too. KeepVault enables you to recover all your files with one simple click, or to recover just specific files that you need to recover. Now you can relax knowing your data is safe and there when you need it.

• Automatic, continuous, real-time file protection
• Peace of mind, your digital memories are safe
• Web backup protects against local disasters; fire, flood …
• Simultaneous automatic protection
• Backup status monitor warns if you are at risk
• Easily restore your backed up files in just a few clicks
• UNLIMITED storage for personal use … simple!

And if you are not 100% satisfied with the software. Proxure will issue a full refund within 30 days of purchase.

More information can be found here as well as ordering details.

Please Note: The 10%-off coupon is valid until January 1, 2008 and it applies to the first year only.  Subsequent years will be billed at the full $78 rate.

Proxure, has officially announced KeepVault for Windows Home Server. The KeepVault family of products let users automatically backup all of their media files online for storing, managing and anywhere access as we discussed here.

Using the easy to use KeepVault for Windows Home Server application, files on Windows Home Server are backed up online, for access via the KeepVault interface or for fast one-click restore.

For a limited time only, Proxure is offering unlimited online storage for just $78 per year (only $6.50 per month). By coupling the power of Windows Home Server and the flexibility of unlimited online storage, users can now have total peace of mind knowing that all their valuable documents and digital memories are protected.

It is available on their site right now and this is a great deal for unlimited storage.

We were sent a private beta of Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server, an online, off site backup solution for Home Server.

Once the add-In was installed we were able to use the new Online Backup tab under the settings dialog to configure Jungle Disk. From here we clicked the link to take us to the Amazon S3 signup page. But if you have an account already you just need to insert your two security keys as supplied.

Within this tab, you also have the option of selecting which shared folders you want to backup and the time frame in which you would like this to happen. By default it uses the time that you have set in the Backup tab. In my example 12 midnight till 8 am. Your files will now be backed up during this period each day.

After the initial backup, only new or changed files will be uploaded and If the time period you have set is not long enough for your initial backup to complete, it will continue on the next day as needed.

You also have the option of limiting the bandwidth used by the backup, in case you use upstream bandwidth intensive applications like VOIP etc, and you can also specify after how many days that you would like to remove deleted files from your online backups.

The main screen allows you to pause your next scheduled task and start a backup immediately if required. The screen is mostly taken up by a log, that shows if there are any backup warnings or errors. A shortcut is also provided to take you back into the online backup settings tab as and if needed.

The Restore Files button opens another screen that enables you to select which SERVER to restore from (in case you have more than one). From here you also have the option of displaying files that are no longer present on your server, in case of situations like accidental deletion etc. This makes it easy to restore those files that are missing, quickly and easily.

As we stated earlier, at the moment Jungle Disk for Windows Home Server is only currently available as an internal preview build but will be available shortly as a public beta. Several features which are planned for the final release version are:

• Multi-version backup / restore
• File / folder / file-type filtering
• Byte-level incremental backups for changes to large files
• More complex scheduling options
• Additional restore options
• Custom encryption settings (similar to the desktop version of Jungle Disk)
• Backup history display
• Integration with the WHS Health / Error reporting system

We look forward to the public beta release, as I am sure many of you are too.

All hard drives fail. It’s not a matter of if but of when. Since you are reading this, chances are computers are mission critical in your home. Windows Home Server (WHS) is the best solution for backing up the computers in your house. You can rest easier knowing that if a hard drive fails you can quickly and easily recover from a hard drive failure.

What I Love.

It’s just so easy! Most people don’t backup their machines because it’s a hassle. Not so with WHS. Once it’s set up, WHS keeps and manages multiple backups for all your computers without you having to do a thing. In addition, it gives you the ability to “lock” backups so that they won’t be automatically deleted. It’s a good idea to do this for the first backups you run. That way if a machine becomes infected with malware, you can restore it to a known good point.

It notifies you if there’s a problem. WHS puts an icon in the system tray for all computers connected to it. If that icon is green, things are good. If it turns red, something needs attention. Let’s say that you are running out of hard drive space on the server, the icon will turn red to let you know. Or maybe a machine hasn’t been backed up for days; again it will let you know.

What I Want.

I want more control. WHS lets you decide when you want backups to run and how many to keep. But this setting is for everyone on the network. What I would love to see is the ability to set backup times and other settings for each machine. This matters to me for two reasons. Some machines contain more critical data than others. The machines that my wife and I use have important files stored on our local drives. On the other hand, my kid’s just use their machines to connect to the net. Also, we have early birds and night owls at our house. It would be great to set one machine to backup between 9 and 11 PM and another to backup between 4 and 6 AM. This would help avoid the problem of backups failing because the machines were in use.

I want integration with online backup. Windows Home Server is great but it’s not a total backup solution. For that, you need to add online backup. I use Carbonite but there are a number of good alternatives out there. In an ideal situation WHS and an online service would work together seamlessly. Here is how I see this happening. WHS would know if an online backup were running on a machine and wait until that’s finished to run its own. In addition, online backup would be integrated into the Health Alerts so that you would be aware of any machines that were not being backed up regularly online. Lastly, the server itself would be backed up to the online service. I would love to see a vendor step up to the plate and offer unlimited household backup integrated with WHS for around $10 per month.

How about you?

What do you think of WHS’s backups? Do you know of a better solution? How could it be improved?

This is a guest post by Craig Huggart. He blogs at Tech Rest.

Remote or off-site backups are a great solution for those who wish to protect their WHS files from fire, flood or theft. This adds a great layer of redundancy in case of catastrophic loss. For WHS there are a few remote or on-line backup options out there (iDrive-E, Mozy, Carbonite) and some even offer a WHS console add-in (Jungle Disk, Keep Vault). But these services either charge a monthly or per GB fee, which can quickly get expensive! Also, your precious files are in the hands of some unknown holder. But there is another solution and all you need is your own remote web site server with some extra storage space.

Personally, I use Handy Backup on WHS to run a weekly FTP upload of “special” files to my remote web site server. This gives me a great layer of redundancy for no additional cost per month because I already pay a monthly fee for the web server. My web server is cheap! I use a company called BlueHost for my web site needs. It’s only $6.95 US a month and is cheaper still if you pay up front for a year. You get 300 GB of storage, 3000 GB of transfer and a free URL if you need one, plus a ton of extras. Heck, that’s better than many of the fee based backup options listed above! So, if you want a more economical and customizable remote backup solution for WHS…then this option may be for you. All it takes is a basic understanding of the FTP protocol, a cheap web host plan and an hour to set up Handy Backup on WHS.

This article lists the steps necessary to set Handy Backup to run as a WHS Service and backup files to your off site server via FTP. This will allow Handy Backup to run in the background without being logged into a user account. This setup can also be used to create backups within your network as well. This was tested on WHS RC1 and the OEM (RTM) versions during October 2007.

Step 1: Get the software

• Handy Backup-Located here: www.handybackup.net Current version 5.8.0

The software comes with a 30 day trial or you can buy it for about $39 US.

Don’t bother to pay the extra money for the Run as Service! You are going to do it manually for free! Handy 5.8.0 comes with a 30 day trial for the Run as Service. Again, you’re going to set it for free!

• Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools-Here
• Marcel’s AnyServiceInstaller Tool- Here

It’s a zip file, so you may want to get it on your PC, unzip and place the .exe in a share folder with the other three files.

Step 2: Install Software

• Log into WHS via Remote Desktop. Drag all three files from your share folder to the Desktop.
• Install the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools.
• Install Handy Backup.

During installation, install links to the Start Menu and the Quick Launch Menu.

During installation, tell Handy to open when finished.

Once started click on File>Settings. At the top click General. Uncheck “Launch Agent at Windows Start Up” and “Show Splash Screen at System Startup.” This is to reduce the annoyance factor at logon time.

If you paid for your license, install your key so you don’t forget.

Close Handy Backup.

Step 3: Set Up the Handy Backup Service

• Open Marcel’s AnyServiceInstaller Tool

Open the Mode menu from the toolbar and select Advanced.

Click the first Browse button and go to the folder where the Windows Server 2003 Resource kit was installed. It should be: C:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\, select the Tools folder and hit OK.

Now click the second Browse button and go to the folder containing the Handy Backup hbagent.exe. C:\Program Files\Novosoft\Handy Backup select hbagent.exe and click Open.

Warning—Do not select the backup.exe or this service will not work properly!!!

Under Service Name give this service a name that’s easy to remember. I choose “HandyBackup Task Bar Agent,” but you can choose anything you like.

Under User Name, enter the main WHS administrator name. With RC1 and OEM the default is Administrator unless your changed it during WHS installation. It is case sensitive too.

Under Password enter your main WHS administrator password. It is case sensitive too.

Here is what it should look like. Click “Create” and then Reboot WHS.

Step 4: Configure Handy Backup-Decide which folders to back up-Set the FTP parameters.

• Open Handy Backup using the Quick Launch icon you set up earlier.
• In Handy Backup, at the top task bar select File>New Task. Below is the window you should see afterwards.

• Select the Backup Task radio button and click Next.

• Now click Add. A menu will pop up and have many choices to select. Folders is listed at the top. Click on the Folders Icon to select an entire folder on WHS to backup.

You can select folders or individual files after clicking on Add. You can keep adding to this list with as many folders or files you want to back up for this particular day and time. If you need other dates or times then you will have to repeat this entire sequence with a new task for each grouping of folders or files.

• You now must find your \\Servername\Foldername . Browse to your My Network Places>Entire Network>Microsoft Windows Network>Workgroup> and find your server name and click to expand file list. In this case my set up is \\Server\Users\Paul Roberts . Select the folder or sub folder within you wish to back up via FTP and click OK.

Warning, do not select My Computer>Data (D) and then to Shares. i.e. D:\\Shares. Files backed up via this root may become corrupted!!!!

You can also configure Handy Backup to backup files from WHS to ANY network PC hard or USB drive as well…….

You can also configure Handy Backup to backup files from a network PC or USB drive and send them via FTP along with the files being sent from WHS……

• I selected a folder with a single 2 Mb PDF so I can easily/quickly check for file transfer during testing.

• Select your backup method. Either a full back up or new and or changed files. The second option saves time and bandwidth after the initial backup is made. Especially with large files.

• Select FTP

You can also backup files or folders to/from WHS, to/from a network PC or USB drive too. Or just about any way or direction you want…. Not just FTP.

• At Host enter your remote server IP. Then your port, user name and password.
• Next to Location / click the blue PC monitor to open the FTP connection to your server. You should be able to get into your server. Toggle Try Passive Mode if one way does not work. Passive mode is most common.

• Once logged into your server (you will see the server communication in the bottom portion of the window), Click the top folder / icon. If you don’t get logged in, double check your IP, user and password or toggle Passive mode.
• You can Select an existing folder or create a New Folder.

• I chose to Create a new folder. Name it something easy to remember and click Create.

• Now your new folder should show up in your server listing. Highlight your new folder and click Select.
• Click Disconnect.

• Now your FTP settings are complete. Click Next. (my Host and User settings are hidden)

• Here you can choose to compress or encrypt your data. I did not choose either.

• Now check Setup Schedule and click Next. Don’t select Run Now at this point. You still want to test WHS and Handy to run without being logged in….. Almost done.

• Until working correctly, select Once and click Next. When everything is working you can come back and change the time and frequency of this backup via Properties for this scheduled backup.

• For testing purposes, set your time ahead about 5 minutes. That will give you time to finish the next screen and then RESTART WHS for a test run. Click Next when done. Again, this can all be changed once you know things are working correctly.

• Now assign a name to your backup task and click Finish.

• Your first file backup schedule is done. Now for the test. You did give yourself 5 minutes or so before the backup begins??? Now, note what time it is and Restart WHS. Remote desktop will turn off. But don’t log back into WHS! You want to make sure the Handy backup starts the service on its own and runs the scheduled backup you just made.

I gave myself a 5 minute window, which should be enough time for WHS to reboot and start the service. Then either watch your router lights to check for data transfer or use your favorite FTP program on your client PC and keep refreshing the view until your files show up. If all goes well, your files should transfer and Handy will close its FTP connection. If not then you need to check that your folders, dates and times are correct. You are now done.

Step 5: Optional–Handy Backup Service Settings Check:

To check your service settings in WHS click Start > Control Panel > Admin Tools >Services. You should find your Handy Backup Service listed. Double click the Handy Service to open the window and toggle through the tabs. Below are my service settings as done in the examples above. You can start, stop, pause or disable the service should you ever need to.

Guest Writer
Paul “The Judge” Roberts ©2007

We reviewed KeepVault 2.0 in the past and was impressed and now KeepVault WHS beta 2.1 is available for download. KeepVault is an online backup service for your Windows Home Server. The software fully integrates into the Home Server console enabling you to select which shares you want to protect. It then monitors for changes/additions to these shares and automatically uploads them to secure storage servers hosted by DriveHQ. If this auto backup routine is not for you you can also upload once every evening (Midnight to 6am) instead. New in this beta is the ability to limit the amount of bandwidth used for your uploads and of course being an online/off site backup service you can access your protected files anytime via the web by logging into your account at http://www.drivehq.com.

This current beta includes a free account with 3GB of storage space, with a 10 MB download limitation but Pay-for accounts are available for higher storage needs. KeepVault are still tweaking the pricing for the WHS market but as an example, currently they are offering 13GB for just about $8/month. You can see all their pricing plans here.

A KeepVault spokes person hade this to say:

“We take the back-end storage reliability very seriously – so you likely won’t see some of the other outrages deals promised by other service providers simply because our reliability and data security requirements are pretty strict. We definitely understand the cheaper prices from the competition, but want to make it clear we’re definitely going to target users who value uptime and reliability of their backups – and we won’t throttle uploads in any way, unlike some of the other guys. With that said I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the pricing when we roll out the service. Also keep in mind KeepVault is designed to protect the data on the WHS server, and we think it’s pretty easy to use.”

In their previous beta KeepVault were using MediaMax as their storage provider but due to reliability and API issues DriveHQ now provides the storage space.

Download KeepVault today for a trial run and let us know what you think.

NOTE: This beta version will expire October 1, 2007. File protection will stop and the WHS console will notify you that the beta software has expired. A final release version will be released after this date.

Tom Ziegmann part of the Windows Home Server Team has just posted this over on the Microsoft WHS forums:

You will get a message saying that “Windows has installed new devices, in order for them to be fully functional you need to restart your computer.” You get this message because when a backup is opened it loads a disk driver that allows you to open the backup as a separate disk. If you restart your computer you will have to start the process of opening the backup all over again. Do not restart your computer, the backup will open and you should not have any issues.

As of 01 July 2007 the beta of Proxure KeepVault expired. It will be publicly available later this year as part of AMD LIVE! This add-in which fully integrated to the Windows Home Server console enabled you to select which shares you wanted to protect for offline storage. It also:

• Monitored for changes/additions to your Windows Home Server shares and automatically uploaded them to secure storage servers
• Enabled access to protected files from anywhere by logging into your account http://www.keepvault.com/login.htm
• Protected files either immediately or once every evening
• The ability to limit the amount of bandwidth used for the uploads
• Free account had 25 GB of storage space, with a 10 MB download limitation. Pay-for accounts were available for higher storage needs.

Now that beta version 2.00a has expired file protection has stopped and the WHS console now notifies you that the beta software has expired.

Following my write up on different online offsite backup providers it was bought to my attention that although IDrive-E offers unlimited backup their pricing page states

The concept of ‘Unlimited Storage’ is to facilitate a low one-price plan to backup a PC’s critical data that meets requirement for majority of consumers; there may be some limits based on what constitutes fair usage. Please see Conditions of Use.

And their Conditions of Use state

…..this limit from storage point is currently fixed at 150GB and subject to changes.

I do wish that when company’s state unlimited that they do mean unlimited and not “unlimited up to 150GB” . Apart from this I am sure that an upper limit of 150GB may be fine for some but not for me.

After a quick browse through my hard drives I figure that I must have in access of 250GB that needs backing up, perhaps you have more or perhaps you only have 5 or 10GB that you want stored offsite. So OK, what is the solution.

Well, here are some recommended online backup providers listed by the amount of data that you require to be backed up:

• For up to 25GB of storage I would use MediaMax FREE alongside Proxure KeepVault add-in for WHS. And as the package name suggests it is free.
• IDrive-E Pro for Personal Use allows unlimited storage space for your backups. Although their use of “unlimited” is 150GB. So for backing up 26GB-150GB I would use them @ $4.95 per month.
• For backing up 151GB-250GB I would use the MediaMax Elite service along side Proxure KeepVault add-in for WHS @ $9.95 per month.
• And for backing up 251GB-1000GB MediaMax again along side Proxure KeepVault add-in for WHS @ $29.95 per month.

NOTE: For the MediaMax/Proxure KeepVault products you only need to download the Proxure KeepVault add-in for WHS as the signup to MediaMax is included in the add-in itself and upgrades from the FREE 25GB storage to a higher plan (up to 250GB or up to 1000GB) can be performed from within the add-in also.

After my review on Online Offsite WHS Backup Solutions, the winner of the gold award was IDrive-E. A few installed it and are happy but a couple of you asked for my own configuration details and a walkthrough.

So without further ado, here it is:

• Remote Desktop into your WHS and install the IDrive-ESetip.exe. Install it to the default directory and when prompted click Yes, restart the computer now. The WHS will now re-boot and you will have to Remote Desktop into the WHS again.
• Click the IDrive-E Shortcut on the desktop and login with your details. Make sure that all 3 items at the bottom are ticked.

Once you have logged in its easy to configure:

• Go to the File Selection Wizard and make sure everything is unchecked then OK out of the dialogue.
• On the Backup tab open D, and place a tick in Shares (all the shared folders below this folder will now also be ticked)

• Click on the Schedule button (top, middle).
• Make sure Use Custom Backup Time is circled, set your backup Time and set Frequency to how you want it. I have mine set to Hourly.
• Under Email notification options I set mine to Notify Always then enter your email address into Mail To: and then click Add. Then tick Send log extract. (On this screen make sure that Desktop notification, Backup when idle and Automatic power off after scheduled backup jobs are NOT ticked).

• Now click OK out of the dialogue and click on Enable Continuous Backup (Bottom, right)
  The ‘Enable Continuous Backup’ option will let the IDrive-E application automatically recognize and perform backup of files and folders that have been recently updated within 10 minutes. This option performs backup of files, which are less than 50 MB size without any intervention from you.

UPDATE: This “Enable Continuous Backup” feature is new in version 2.0.0 and when enabled bypasses what you have set in your schedule. Because of this reason and also because some of the files that I backup are over 50mb I have now disabled this feature.

• Finally close “IDrive-E Classic” by clicking the X (top, right)

You can now Log-Off your Windows Home Server. And that’s it job done and WHS protected from disaster. Hopefully!

In my post about the new forth coming book Windows Home Sever for Dummies, Drew left the following comment:

I would like “Easier to understand details on how WHS controls the drives and storage. Seems like a lot of people are worried about backing up WHS, but you do not need to if you know how WHS does Duplication. “

Woody Leonhard replied:

“…offsite backup is critical if you’re worried about losing your data. I’m surprised that MS didn’t build that into WHS – but agree wholeheartedly that Folder Duplication is 10,000% better than what most people are doing now.”

I totally agree that we need an offsite online backup solution. If the worst scenario struck and your server was destroyed by fire or 2 of your hard drives died at the same time (it has happened too many people in a lightening strike) all our data that we have transferred to the server so we can have a central data store would be lost. WOW. It’s not worth thinking about – Or is it?

What’s why I have decided to look at the current online backup solutions? I lined up the candidates. Jungle Disk powered by Amazon S3, Mozy, Carbonite, Proxure KeepVault and IDrive-E. Both Mozy and IDrive-E offer 2GB of free storage space, but I have 120GB in my shared folders that needed backing up so I would need the “unlimited” versions. My budget was $10 (£5) or less per month. I wanted to see how these five contenders would compare?

First off was Jungle Disk powered by Amazon S3. They don’t do an unlimited account but charge per GB. 120GB with a monthly transfer rate of 2-10GB would cost $18.40-$20 per month. Too expensive for me, so candidate number one can be crossed off the list.

Next up is Mozy from Berkeley Data Systems. I used to use this myself on my xp machine and it was excellent and cheap at only $4.95 per month or $54.45 yearly. I transferred the downloadable executable over to the WHS, but when trying to run the following error appeared:

On looking at the Mozy Pro page they charge $0.50 per GB per month and you also need a licence per server that is being backed up, which is $3.95 per month. The price for backing up my 120GB with the license fee is $63.95 per month. Six times over my budget!

Berkeley Data Systems have told me that they may be looking into a WHS version at a future date.

Candidate number 3 Carbonite. You can’t pay monthly but at only $49.95 per year that is less than $4.17 per month.  This is one I have also used in the past before using Mozy. The reason I stopped using it and used Mozy instead was because Carbonite only backs up certain file types. If you have exe, cab, msi, chm (and the list goes on – over 180 different file types) in your shared folders they will not be backed up during the backup sessions. You can manually right click on all the excluded files and Back them up individually. But for me this was an unnecessary step and time consuming as over 50 GB of my backups would be exe files.

Carbonite installed and worked fine on WHS but with so many file types being excluded from the auto backups I had to continue to find my ideal off site backup solution.

Candidate number 4 Proxure KeepVault powered by Streamload/MediaMax. This is the only one here that has an add-in for Windows Home Sever. If you have under 25GB of data to back up this is the business, although you would properly need to go to another plan if you wanted to do a complete restore of your off site backups as the free plan only includes 1GB per month of downloads. Anyway for my 120GB I would need the Elite package at $9.95 per month which will allow for expansion as it allows up to 250GB online storage but only 25GB per month for downloads.

The add-in installed fine and my test data all backed up fine, although slower than the others for some reason. I had a few technical issues that were sorted by Proxure very efficiently (thanks Kim) although an account issue that I have with Streamload/Mediamax is not so good. An email was sent twice 9 days ago and still no reply, not even an automated one to the question I posed!

I shall re-test the lengh of time it took to backup the data at a later stage and post my findings here in the meantime Proxure KeepVault gets my Silver award.

UPDATE – 7 November 2007: KeepVault now use a different provider instead of Streamload/Mediamax for their backend, which has improved performance immensely. They now also offer unlimited backup at a great price. More information can be found in this post.

And finally our last contender IDrive-E. I would need the Pro version at $4.95 per month or $49.50 yearly. This allows unlimited backup for my future needs and there are no Limits/restrictions on upload/restore data compared with Proxure KeepVault. The application installed fine on the server and configuration was fairly ok although I had one minor issue which was quickly resolved by the very efficient telephone support team at IDrive-E.

Since WHS is a headless system (no keyboard, mouse or monitor) I needed to know if my files were backed up correctly so after a read of the PDF user manual and the FAQs I configured IDrive-E to back up data hourly if needed and to notify me via email on the backup status.

My test data backed up extremely fast. Internal tests have shown at least a 30% performance advantage over competing services, which could mean a huge difference in backup time as was shown with my backup.

For me IDrive-E gets the Gold award for best online off-site backup provider.

We’ll there you have it, a round up of the most popular online offsite backup providers. For me this was a worth while test as my data is priceless and if there was a fire or flood or a lightening strike (the list goes on) at least all of my shared folders are safe and secure. Believe me 120GB is a lot to lose, I know it’s happened to me and it is not a very nice experience.