Your NAS isn't enough – you still need to back up your data!
Not All NAS
© Lead Image © bram janssens, 123RF.com
Some users trust their data to powerful file servers that advertise enterprise data protection, but your Network Attached Storage system might not be as safe as you think it is.
There is a point in the life of a compulsive data hoarder when a regular computer is not enough to contain a burgeoning file collection. Upon the relentless expansion of a massive data compilation, the first step a home user takes to extend the storage capacity is to purchase an external USB hard drive. The hard drive will buy the user some time, but eventually this solution will fall short. A data hoarder who is dedicated enough will eventually have to invest in a Network Attached Storage (NAS) server.
A NAS is a dedicated server optimized to store large amounts of information. NAS servers are commonly available as commercial appliances, but many power users prefer to build their own from spare parts. Serious NAS servers are scalable and allowed to increase their capacity by adding hard drives as needed. Better yet, they often offer enterprise features that come in very handy, and they promise mitigations to the most common threats against the long term survival of your files.
NAS vendors often advertise fault tolerance and profess the immunity of their systems from disaster, which causes users to treat this sort of storage as bulletproof, dumping their data and then skipping the step of making backups. But rarely do these consumer-grade storage systems provide a complete solution. This article describes some of the things that can go wrong – and why you still need to perform backups to ensure that your data is safe.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.