Music library (backup) in the cloud?

[Jud]

1 hour ago, bodiebill said:

Does anyone store/backup their music library in the cloud? Cloud services are getting cheaper and f.i. Backblaze offers unlimited storage at a reasonable price.

For me it would mainly function as a backup (library is approx. 5TB), but I am somewhat reluctant as upload speed may be an issue.

Curious to hear about any experiences with this...

 

I use Backblaze's unlimited storage. I like it a lot. When I began using it, my upload speed was 1Mbps, and I had about 1TB of music.  Unlike another service I'd used previously (no longer available in unlimited form - not Amazon, it was someone else whose name escapes me at the moment), it didn't bring the rest of my network throughput to its knees while it was going on. So I could just carry on as usual letting the upload take place in the background.

 

My upload speed is now 40Mbps, so new music is backed up pretty instantly.

 

Edit: I cannot play my files direct from Backblaze. For playing my files remotely anywhere there's an Internet connection I use Subsonic ($1/month, $99 lifetime).

[Jud]

14 minutes ago, bodiebill said:

 

Thanks! What is the size of your library? And what was 'a while' approx.? Hours, days, more than a week?

 

Google Drive, now called Google One, charges $9.99 a month for 2TB, $99.99 a month for 10TB. So let's say you established 3 separate accounts of 2TB each for your 5TB of files, you'd be spending $30 a month (or $300 annually if prepaid).

[Jud]

https://www.lifewire.com/price-comparison-unlimited-online-backup-plans-2625182

[Jud]

1 hour ago, TJtennispro said:

Might need to research again. G Suite is $12 a month for unlimited. I’ve got 9tb backing up and started 11 days ago. 2.7 tb uploaded so far. Best option by far. 

 

Backblaze is $5 a month if paid annually. As noted, I have a separate $1/month server for my music collection (at full resolution, including DSD).

[Jud]

4 hours ago, bodiebill said:

and I believe Google is considerably faster than Backblaze

 

Backblaze speed simply varies with my upload speed here, but if you have tested and your experience is different, certainly rely on that. One thing I'm quite sensitive to is whether a backup cloud connection interferes with other Internet connections, and Backblaze does not, so I'm very happy with it.

[Jud]

3 hours ago, bodiebill said:

 

IBackblaze does not work with Windows Server 😐

 

Just Mac and consumer versions of Windows.

 

Since I run these operating systems along with a couple of Linuxes, this works for me. Running the server version of Windows or modifying it to eliminate services can sometimes produce errors with the players I use, so as long as I'm running Windows (or MacOS), I leave it as the player developer expects to find it.

[Jud]

1 hour ago, hopkins said:

I use google drive to back up my library (in addition to a backup on local drives).

I like the fact that file content is automatically indexed (either text files or images/pdf through OCR)

The automatic sync software on Windows works pretty well, but takes up a lot of resources on my computer when syncing. As mentioned by others, the initial upload of all the files is slow (takes a day for 1 terabytes). With automatic sync one has to be extra careful not to modify/delete content on Google Drive accidentally...

 

I did not find a good application to browse and play my music collection using Google Drive, so I developped my own.

 

I designed a web page to browse my music collection and play files either locally (using LMS) or through the cloud when I am not at home. I initially used the copy of the files on Google Drive, but soon found out that Google Drive is not the best platform for this, as access to the files is quite slow.

 

In addition to having a Google Drive backup, I store all album covers and album information in "buckets" on Google Cloud Storage, and selectively upload music files to Google Cloud Storage as well when I want to play an album "on the road". Here is an example: https://gentle-ridge-34867.herokuapp.com/album#1574857707026 (you cannot play the album - copyright issues... so I embedded the spotify album at the bottom). When run locally the web page allows you to edit the content of the page (which is simply a text file in markdown format stored in the album's folder). The content of the text file is parsed when saved and the credits are indexed and searchable (ex: find all albums were Jimmy Forrest played...).

Here is another example: https://gentle-ridge-34867.herokuapp.com/album#1567008961828

The composers are missing and plan on adding them.

 

 

I've divided the functions of backup (Backblaze) and access to my music at full resolution anywhere with an internet connection (Subsonic and the app AVSub on my phone). This doesn't have the speed of access problem your (impressive) home brew solution does.

[Jud]

I am sorry to say the robustness of various backup solutions (multiple locations, remote governance and maintenance, etc.) will likely be tested in the coming weeks and months.

[Jud]

45 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

I don't actually use mine to listen to music, just to backup. I could however.

 

I've got the backup in the cloud and local, and remote music listening enabled at home with my desktop as the server. Will likely build a NAS one of these days for the remote listening and local backup/storage.

[Jud]

13 hours ago, AudioDoctor said:

I have 1 backup here and I have it mirrored on my brothers NAS as well. I’m not tech enough, nor willing to learn, to build one. Plus the iosafe/ Synology NAS is as disaster proof as one can get. 

 

Not trying to persuade you because you already have a preferred solution, but any kind of computer building, including a NAS, is a very prosaic thing. It's pretty obvious which pieces click or screw together where. Putting together a kid's bike might be more difficult.

[Jud]

19 minutes ago, jabbr said:

The two things are very very different

 

I went through this a while back with @AudioDoctor. As I recall, his home server is duplicated at his brother's, reasonably fire and flood-resistant, and bolted to concrete to prevent theft. So it may not be Google but it's reasonable backup. 🙂