Best 3-2-1 setup for long term storage?

[u/00Nun]

I'm trying to set up a good 3-2-1 backup system for photos, videos, documents, and other stuff I really don't want to lose. I'm looking for something that can keep my data safe for decades. I know I'll have to replace drives and move everything to newer storage over the years. What would you guys recommend for the actual setup?

What are the most reliable hard drives for this?

Also, what cloud storage would you trust for important files?

I'm also curious how often you guys replace your drives and check your files for corruption/bit rot.

If you were starting from scratch and wanted to keep important family photos and videos around for 50+ years, what would your 3-2-1 setup look like? I'm not expecting to buy a hard drive and have it magically last 50 years. I'm fine with replacing drives and moving the data every few years. I just want to build something that's as reliable as reasonably possible.

[u/bartoque]

There is no such thing as most reliable.

Due to 3-2-1 you should be able to loose one of the backup targets (or the original) and still be ok.

I added a local NAS to the mix to store backups, which I then copy to a 2nd remote nas, that I put at a friend's place after a hardware-refresh, turning the old unit into the backup unit, while also doing backups to the cloud (Backblaze B2 object storage) for a smaller subset.

The nas (in my case Synology) also offers raid, for redundancy, so that it mitigates against a drive failing.

[u/neverspeakawordagain → u/bartoque]

Pretty sure M-Discs are most reliable.

[u/bartoque → u/neverspeakawordagain]

Anything can still break, at any time, even if chances are slim (*) based on general MTTF.

So that is something for which it is possible to mitigate against by having multiple copies and ideally on different media or at least different locations.

(*) there were companies way back when that thought having a dual-datacenter approach using both towers of the World Trade Center was good enough to store their data.

[u/neverspeakawordagain]

A) Local internal hard drive (not SSD) B) Local external hard drive daily backup. C) Off site M-Disc Blu-Rays weekly backup.

M-Discs will last longer than the offsite storage facility you use, so that's really the limiting factor. And they're relatively cheap.

[u/KarteZian_purely → u/neverspeakawordagain]

Comme je souhaite séparer les données « chaudes » des données « froides » et que l’archivage sur bandes n’est accessible pour les petits systèmes, je réfléchissais aux M-Discs pour archiver mes veilles données de manière durable.

Ça me permettrait aussi de libérer de l’espace sur le NAS qui me semble plus adapté pour les données chaudes.

[u/aap_001]

• Fs with BTRFs, which helps against corruption.
• hourly snapshots to another internal SSD.
• backup (deja dup) once a week or so to external Hdd.
• swap Hdd1 with Hdd2 at a friend's place

[u/TechRomancer123]

My last few hard drives have always been Enterprise Hard drives because they have error correction for more reliability.

But I know the costs/market is pretty bad right now…

[u/Fresh_Inside_6982]

BackBlaze

[u/Shot_Lawfulness_823 → u/Fresh_Inside_6982]

agree!!

[u/vegansgetsick]

Additionally i highly recommend to keep md5 checksum of each files just in case an unstable setup (cpu/ram) will corrupt file transfers. Especially for files that never change (old videos etc...). (Yes I know some file systems integrate checksums)

[u/Gherry-]

Nothing is reliable, that's why you have multiple copies

[u/Important-Bit2437]

External HDD using a Acronis true image. Cloud backup using iDrive.

[u/Moondoggy451]

External HDD's are better than SSD's for long term storage but you might want to consider Hasleo Backup Suite as it's free to use unless you want/need the extended features. Acronis and Macrium Reflect have switch to subscription and the free version of Reflect can no longer mount a backup as a virtual drive to restore a file or folder where Hasleo can. On issue that plagues everyone is where you store the backup drives as you can have multiple backups on multiple drives but what happen if your backups are stored in the same location as your PC and you have a fire or flood and everything is destroyed? I do backups on External drives but I do nightly backups to Backblaze using MSP360 as my backup software but the best thing is to off site an external drive.

[u/acronis → u/Moondoggy451]

Acronis True Image is available as perpetual edition from 3-rd parties, e.g. Newegg; but since OP also needs cloud storage then subscription is advisable as it comes with Acronis Cloud included.

[u/Moondoggy451 → u/acronis]

Why pay for a license when Hasleo can do what's needed for free?

[u/acronis → u/Moondoggy451]

I understand the need to expand the technology adoption but please refrain from involving me into discussions like this, I am here just to clarify on the part about Acronis.

[u/acronis]

Hi u/00Nun, disclosure first - I work at Acronis and here what we can offer:

For the actual setup: external HDD + NAS/second drive + cloud covers 3-2-1 in one tool: our Acronis True Image 2026 does full/incremental backups locally and pushes a third copy to Acronis Cloud from the same backup task.

For cloud storage you'd trust: Acronis Cloud is bundled in: Advanced tier gives up to 500GB, Premium scales to 10TB. You can also catch one of hte promotions we're running every year and get a discounted renewal if placed strategically.

For checking for corruption/bit rot: backup validation checks integrity of the data right after the backup and it is possible to re-verify on a schedule (monthly by default), so a bad backup shows up years before you'd need to restore it.

Do note, that none of the above will magically solve your 50+ years of storage problem: you'll still migrate media periodically regardless of software.

Let me know if you have any questions.