Your cloud backup is only as good as your ability to restore your lost files. If you cannot restore your files from your service then it is pointless to have it in the first place. While I love to champion how great cloud backup is I still recommend that everyone keep local backups of your data. Your restore time is faster and easier. Your cloud backup is your insurance policy in case you cannot restore locally for some reason.
I also recommend you test restoring your data occasionally from both your local and cloud backup. It helps to know how to restore when there is no pressure than when some disaster has happened and you really are in a crunch to get your data back.
I recently decided to test my restores from both Backblaze and CrashPlan. I choose to test a rather large restore to see how long it would take. I currently have a DSL connection with an advertised download speed of up to 10 Mbps. I decided the restore my pictures folder in the event I had lost all of my photos, a pretty common problem. The restore size from both Backblaze and CrashPlan was 27GB. According to Google at 10Mbps should take just over 6 hours to transfer that amount over my connection in a perfect world.
Backblaze Restore
I logged into the Backblaze website and selected the entire My Pictures folder for restore at 9:50am on Sept 26. Once I selected the files I logged out and waited for the email from Backblaze to tell me my files were ready for download. I received an email from Backblaze at 12:09pm, 2 hours and 19 minutes after I selected the files for download.
With the download being so large it is not possible to download the file using a web browser without it failing. I decided to download the restore file using the Backblaze Download client. I downloaded and ran it at 9:00am Sept 27 and logged in using the download client to begin the download. The download completed at 4:36pm.
Total time to restore 27GB: 9:55
Downloading this large of a restore is not recommended just using your web browser. I choose to use the Backblaze download client. The download client is a simple application you can download from Backblaze that you can run any Windows or Mac computer. It means you do not have to install the whole client on a machine if you were simply borrowing a computer from someone to help get your files back.
CrashPlan Restore
I logged into the CrashPlan website to start the restore process of the My Pictures folder. I was then reminded that CrashPlan has a limit on the size of the restore file through the web. You can only download 500MB at a time through the website. When I was reminded of this I had to start a restore through the CrashPlan client on my Windows 8 desktop that has CrashPlan installed. The restore started at 10:15am on Sept 26 and ended that night at 11:38pm.
Total time to restore 27GB: 13:53
Overall
Comparing the restores to my actual pictures folder there was a slight difference. The missing files were new pictures that were taken after the latest backup had occurred on the machines where Backblaze and CrashPlan are installed. Ignoring the folders where new pictures are automatically uploaded to from my Android phone the other folders all were complete and not missing any files. Both Backblaze and CrashPlan restored all of the pictures that were available in the backup.
This is far from a scientific test. The fact that the CrashPlan restore took longer could simply have been a fact that I was using the Internet more the day I was downloading files from the CrashPlan servers.
If I had really lost all of my photos it is also possible to order a restore on an external hard drive from both Backblaze and CrashPlan but there are some limits. The CrashPlan restore to the door program is only available in the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Backblaze however does ship internationally. This is important to remember when you are choosing between Backblaze and CrashPlan. Both services charge extra to order a restore on an external hard drive but if you were looking at restoring from a total data loss that is a small price to pay.
The Backblaze restore via Flash Drive costs $99.00 with a limit of 53GB and the Hard Drive restore option costs $189.00 with a maximum size of 3TB. The prices include shipping I believe.
The CrashPlan restore via hard drive costs $164.99 and has a limit of 3.5TB but remember it is only available in a few limited countries.
Want to know more about Backblaze? Read our complete Backblaze review for more information.
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