Cloud vs On-Premise Backups

Cloud vs On-Premise Backups

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Where should your backups live? The cloud-vs-on-premise decision isn't binary — most businesses need both. Here's a practical comparison to help you choose.

On-Premise Backups

On-premise backups live on hardware you control: external drives, NAS devices, or dedicated backup servers in your office.

• Pros: Fastest backup and restore speeds (local network is 10–100x faster than internet). No recurring fees. Complete control over data and encryption. Works even when internet is down.
• Cons: Vulnerable to physical disasters (fire, flood, theft). Requires hardware maintenance. Limited scalability — you must buy more drives as data grows. No built-in redundancy unless you configure RAID.
• Best for: Large datasets (>1TB), environments with limited internet bandwidth, sensitive data that must not leave your network.

Cloud Backups

Cloud backups store your data with a cloud provider (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, AWS S3, Google Cloud Storage, Azure).

• Pros: No hardware to maintain. Automatic geographic redundancy. Scales infinitely. Accessible from anywhere. No upfront capital cost.
• Cons: Ongoing monthly costs ($5–7/TB/month). Restore speeds limited by internet bandwidth. Potential vendor lock-in. Data must be encrypted before upload to maintain privacy.
• Best for: Off-site backup copy (the "1" in 3-2-1), small-to-medium datasets (<10TB), teams without IT infrastructure.

Cost Comparison (100GB Critical Data)

The Hybrid Approach (Recommended)

Use both on-premise and cloud together to follow the 3-2-1 rule:

1. On-premise: Backup to a local NAS or external drive for fast daily restores. This covers hardware failure and accidental deletion.
2. Cloud: Encrypt locally, then push to Backblaze B2 or Wasabi for off-site protection. This covers disasters and ransomware.

Step-by-Step: Setting Up Cloud Backup with Duplicati

1. Download and install Duplicati (free, cross-platform) from duplicati.com.
2. Create a new backup job: Add folder → select directories to back up.
3. Choose destination → Backblaze B2 (or Wasabi, Google Drive).
4. Enter your cloud storage credentials (create a B2 bucket at backblaze.com/b2).
5. Set encryption: Choose "AES-256" and create a strong passphrase. Store it in a password manager — lose it and your backup is irrecoverable.
6. Schedule: Daily at 2 AM. Set retention to keep 7 daily, 4 weekly, 6 monthly.
7. Run the first backup and verify it completes successfully.

Free Cloud Storage Options for Small Datasets

• Google Drive: 15GB free — good for <15GB critical documents.
• Mega: 20GB free with end-to-end encryption built in.
• Proton Drive: 5GB free with zero-knowledge encryption.

Key Takeaways

• On-premise = fast, private, no recurring fees, but vulnerable to physical disasters.
• Cloud = off-site, scalable, no hardware, but costs monthly and restore is bandwidth-limited.
• Use both: local NAS for daily restores, cloud for disaster recovery — this is the 3-2-1 rule.
• Always encrypt before uploading to the cloud with AES-256 encryption.