[TriLUG] New Year's Resolution: Backup my data (backuppc rocks)

[Maxwell Spangler]

On Wed, 2008-12-31 at 19:16 -0500, Nick Goldwater wrote:
> ----- "Don Jerman" <djerman at pobox.com> wrote:

> 
> I'd like to see a torrent like distributed backup project where you could share space/bandwidth. A few requirements would include that all files would be encrypted, distributed and reasonably accessible. Also there would have to be some sort of way to not be effected by people dropping out... Maybe there is already something like this out there?

I don't think a torrent would work for private data.

As I understand it, a torrent becomes active when someone seeds an
original file.  After that, anyone that has downloaded part or all of it
can continue to make it available for uploading to other users.  So a
popular file might start on my computer and then be picked up by 300
other people and it will remain available on the torrent until the last
of those 300 people stop sharing it.

But there is no advantage to me downloading your backup and providing
storage space and upload bandwidth for it unless I get some value out of
it.. 

However, what if you grabbed 20-30 people or a group like Trilug and
they, in classic co-op fashion, decided to make a certain amount of
space and bandwidth available for this purpose?  Then you'd be able to
push out backups and know there are 30 copies in the world when that
disaster hits?

It's an interesting idea.. but i think I'd rather just have an account
at my hosting site where my data sits and I pretend its in a virtual
safe deposit box.

-- 
Maxwell Spangler
Research Triangle Park, NC, USA