Redundant system, protection against storms/fire etc

Server
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Hi all!

I am new to this site, and new to OwnCloud.

I recently started to research personal cloud solutions, being tired of paying for cloud solutions. I am currently using Dropbox for basically all files and documents I am using, safe to say that every single non-software related file I have is located in the Dropbox folder. This is a setup I like, since I am moving a lot between computers, and also for security. I once lost my laptop, but I didn't loose any work, since everything was pushed to the cloud.

I have read a lot about owncloud, and looked through the administration manual, but I haven't quite found the solution I am looking for. I want to use a raspberry pi for my cloud, since it is a small and simple device, and doesn't draw much power. I have seen multiple site online describing how this is done, BUT my requirement is a bit more complex. My cloud will hold a lot of important files, including several thousand photos I have taken. Today I have these photos on a local HDD and on the cloud as well.

WHAT I WANT: A raspberry pi powered owncloud server at my house that I can use just like dropbox, that is COMBINED with another raspberry pi powered owncloud server at some other place (parents house or something). These servers should mirror each other or something like that so that if either place burns down or blows away in a storm, the data is intact and the cloud is running at the second location. Even better with three locations, but two is sufficient.

Is it possible to make such a redundant system? If not: What is possible with respect to protection against a hardware failure.

Thanks for all thoughts and recommendations :slight_smile:

RBorlet

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You can do this with Open Source Tools outside of ownCloud. Not sure that a Rasperry Pi is the ideal hardware for those tasks however as DRBR or a clustered database will need a little more CPU power ... Maybe a virtual machine at a Hoster would be more suited to your needs ... but thats really up to you.

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Thats good news!
Do you know of any such tools, or is "Open Source Tools" the name of some feature I don't know about?

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"DRBD" is a tool which does keep storage in sync on a block level. And a clustered database would be the second tool to use. Mentioned both :wink: For ownCloud its important to have storage and database in sync, so in order to do high availability/disaster recovery thats what you need. Normally such setups are done with way larger servers of course ...

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Haha. I did not realize that DRBD and clustered database was such tools, I thought they were only terms or lingo. I am just starting to research how to do this so I appreciate your patience. Are these tools some kind of add-on software that can be configured the way I want it?

I see the word "secure" is used a lot with respect to personal clouds, but I have outlived three harddrives already and haven't turned 30 yet, so to me "secure" is a lot more than privacy.

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Yes, but then again they might be above the capacity of a Rasperry PI and traditional backup methods might make more sense for you.

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I understand. I have looked around a bit, and I think I will first try to make my own "NextCloud box" with their ubuntu core snap. Then I will try to make that system perform backups to an off-site harddisk connected to another Pi. Thanks for all your help.

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Did you ever find a working solution for this? I want to do exactly this.