1d ago

Do you try to protect your onsite backup from fire?

I fully understand backup in layers. Ideally you want an onsite backup, and an offsite backup. But for the onsite... do you even try to protect it from fire?

If not, doesn't that mean all your "fire" protection is really just the one online layer?

And if you do, where do you get such a thing. I have looked around, I can't find anything that actually lists hard drives as protected. Like sentry safe has "data protection" safes, but they say this

"CDs, DVDs, memory sticks and USB drives up to 1700°F (927°C) for all FPW base models. These products are NOT intended to protect computer floppy or 21⁄4” diskettes, cartridges, tapes, audio or video cassettes, or photo negatives. "

That doesn't seem to include HDD or SSD. So I started wondering if anyone actually tries to protect their onsite backup from fire.

20 comments

I don't bother.
A fire (or flood or theft or...?) threat might take out both of my local copies. To offset that risk, I put a lot of effort into making sure the offsite copy is always functional, up-to-date, and healthy (S.M.A.R.T and otherwise).
I've been considering keeping a fourth copy of extra extremely crucial data encrypted on Backblaze B2, but honestly...if I lose my whole 3-2-1 stack, it's probably time to go live as a goat.
Just put some stuff on a HDD, encrypt it, and keep it at your parent's house.
- Yeah this is what I do. All the important or irreplaceable stuff easily fits on a USB HDD, and I leave one with a friend I visit regularly. I just run three drives total and no more than two of them are in the same place at the same time. Cheap, simple, and a good excuse to catch up.
  
  This should be a thing. Like a trusted group of people to store encrypted backups at their house. Just needs a catchy name. "Data Safety Social Club"?
Sure, my place has the required residential sprinklers and a couple up to date fire extinguishers around.
Besides, offsite backup is 1:1 on identical hardware with off-grid power resilience. Worst case scenario I have to order new hardware and physically move the old machine for a local duplication again.
All of it is insured of course with yearly audits.
My production and onsite backup burned in a fire this summer. Everything backed up remotely. Once I get new hardware I'll be back where I left off in less than an hour (if everything goes as planned)
The cloud storage is backed up to an external harddrive (only like 200 GB) and the on site stuff is backed up to the cloud.
If we end up with the office burning down and a ransomware attack or something at the cloud storage at the same time we are beyond fucked anyway.
At home I've got nothing important enough to care for either.
What I'd do is occasionally take an external harddrive with a backup to another site. Does not need to be fire proof. Sure you can have two simultaneous fires, but you've got to draw the line somewhere.
MTO answer your title, yes. He's you should.
My off site backup are physical drives in another building.
I use a fireproof safe but never bothered to look to see if it would protect. just assumed.
- Seems like the vast majority don't. They protect paper, but not drives...
  
  maybe he keeps on his backup on punch cards?
No. I didn't do backups during the last decades, so maybe I'm going to start some day, eventually, but surely not with overdoing it ;-)
That's what the off-site backups are for.
You can if you use USB HDDs or tapes for backups.
- I assume the intent here is humor. Or am I missing something?
  
  I think they mean if you’re using removable media that is easily portable then the answer to your question about fire proofing is doable.
  You can store them in a fire safe when not actively backing up or need constant access.

20 comments