Linux is not just for total geeks anymore and it is being seen more and more on household desktops and laptops. With several computer companies selling computers with Linux preinstalled I thought it would be appropriate to take a quick look at some of the offerings that are available for Linux users for online backup.
Jungle Disk
Jungle Disk is built on top of the Amazon S3 service. The Jungle Disk client is available for Linux and is one of the nicest online Linux clients I have tried. Pricing for the Jungle Disk client is $20.00 with client software for Windows, Mac and Linux included in that price. You can also install it on as many computers as you like with the same Amazon S3 account. Storage is billed directly from Amazon S3. Amazons prices are as follows:
Storage
$0.15 per GB-Month of storage used
Data Transfer
$0.10 per GB of data uploaded
$0.17 per GB of data downloaded
Requests
$0.01 per 1,000 upload requests
$0.01 per 10,000 download requests
I am working on a larger review of Jungle Disk so check back for more information on Jungle Disk.
SpiderOak
SpiderOak is a solid online backup solution offering a cross platform software client for Windows, Mac and Linux. The service allows users to backup, store, access and share files all from one interface. It also features perpetual file and version storage, not just 30 or 60 days.
SpiderOak offers two versions.
SpiderOak Free
Space: 2 gb
Price: Free
SpiderOak Plus
Space: Up to 100gb
Price: $10.00/month
Incremental: Add 100 GBs for $10.00 per month
Memopal
Memopal is based out of Rome, but they offer a cross platform software client for Windows, Mac, Linux and IPhone. You can install the software on more than one computer. They offer web and mobile access to your data and have a search feature so it is easy to find the file you are looking for. Selecting files for backup is easy and they even offer the option to backup your entire system.
Personal plans start at $49.00 / year for 150gb.
CrashPlan
CrashPlan can backup to CrashPlan Central, another computer or even a friends computer. It automatically backs up and you can choose where to backup your data to. Makes it easy to backup to a friends computer or another computer you own whether on site or off site. If you backup to another machine you own you do not have any fees to worry about.
CrashPlan Central fees are $0.10/gb/month, with a minimum of $5.00 per month. Free to backup to other computers.
Diino
Automatic backup, file sharing and file storage all in one product. For backups you need the desktop client and you can install it on as many computers as you like. The client is Java based so you will need to make sure that Java is running on your computer first. The combination of file backup, storage and sharing makes Diino a great choice
Plans start at $49.00/year for unlimited backup.
Cloud Backup
You can install Cloud Backup on any number of computers with only one account, so if you have several Linux machines no need to get multiple accounts to back them all up. The service also offers a way to archive files so you can actually delete them from your local machine and still have access to them. Can automatically backup your data, and works just like a local disk.
Pay for what you use. Starts at $0.30/gb/month.
ADrive
ADrive’s desktop backup client is based on Adobe AIR so it is able to run on Linux machines, that is if you are able to get Adobe AIR actually installed on your Linux machine. Once you get Adobe AIR working ADrive does work fairly well on Linux. You get a 14 day trial to test it out to see it is the right Linux solution for you.
Signature plan starts at $6.95 / month or 69.50 / year for 50gb.
MyOtherDrive
MyOtherDrive uses Java based software, so in theory any system that can run Java should be able to use MyOtherDrive. They just released a desktop client so they might be worth looking into for a Linux backup solution. They offer 2gb for free so you can try before buying.
Plans starts at $4.99 / month for 100gb.
DropBox
DropBox is more of a file storage service than a backup service, but it does offer a limited backup capability. You can upload and sync files between several computers using DropBox. You can access your files over the web, share files and it is easy to use, just drag and drop files onto the DropBox.
DropBox offers two versions.
Dropbox Basic
Space: 2gb
Price: Free
DropBox Pro
Space: 50gb
Price: $9.99/month or $99.00/year
IBackup
While there is not a nice graphic interface for IBackup for Linux, you can use your IBackup account to backup you Linux or Unix computer using rsync. While it might not be for the beginner or average Linux user they give some examples on their website.
Plans start at $9.95/month for 10gb.
Other Options
Of course if you are creative you can create your own Linux online backup solution. Some options that I have heard of include:
- Using rsync to backup to a dedicated web server.
- Using rsync to backup to another local Linux machine.
- Using rsync to backup to a Windows machine running a Windows online backup client.
- What are some of your ideas? Please share them in the comments.
Are there other online backup services that offer Linux clients? Please share them in the comments. Looking forward to what others have to say.
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