Try the 3-2-1 method for backing up your digital life
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong
- Murphy's Law
Having backups of your data is crucial for getting back up and running quickly when things go wrong. With a backup and disaster recovery system in place you will have peace of mind, ensuring that when things do go wrong, you aren’t merely reacting but proactively acting to get back up.
If you haven’t already, you will likely face one of these issues: faulty software updates, accidental deletion of critical files, corrupted development environment, database corruption, malware, hardware failure, natural disasters, or power outages.
For 2024, I plan to level up my backup and recovery system by using the 3-2-1 backup rule. This method involves maintaining three copies of your data—one primary and two backups—stored on two different media types, with one backup located offsite.
For my primary local backups, I will be using Time Machine connected to an external SSD. I’m using an SSD for my primary backup because it’s faster compared to a HDD. Speed is important for my primary backups since it will be scheduled to run hourly. What I like about Time Machine is that it runs automatically once it’s setup. Just make sure to purchase an external SSD that is at least 2 to 3 times the size of the data your backing up. For example, even though my Macintosh hard drive has a maximum capacity of 1 TB, since I only utilize around 150 GB, a 2 TB external drive would be sufficient.
Speed isn’t as important of a factor for my secondary backups since I plan to manually run it only once every two weeks. However, cost and space is important therefore I went with a HDD. Making bootable clones are no longer possible on Apple Silicon Mac’s. However, we can still clone the data volume of our Macintosh HD to an external HDD and use that clone to restore our data if anything goes wrong. If your wondering, I’m currently using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) to clone the data volume but I also plan to try SuperDuper.
As part of my routine, right after I copy the clone to my external drive I will also upload it to the cloud. In case of natural disasters, it’s always a good idea to ensure you have at least one offsite backup. I will be using Proton Drive because of its strong focus on privacy and security.
By utilizing the 3-2-1 backup rule I hope to mitigate against common disasters and be ready for when things go wrong. To make the system work, I will also need to make it a habit to periodically verify my backups for corruption by scheduling time for it on my calendar. You don’t want to find out that all your backups are corrupted just when you need it the most.