SoftDux Technical Blog

I have to setup a backup strategy for a small Windows-only network, with no dedicated backup server.

The criteria for the backup strategy are as follows:

1. the users don’t need to, or shouldn’t have to work with the backups
2. the backup program should run automatically, without user intervention. Even if the user isn’t even logged in, but the computer is switched on.
3. I would prefer if the backup are not propitiatory, or images of the data so that the client can quickly locate a file and restore it if needed. The client should also be able to restore the backups on any PC, with or without the backup software installed.
4. The backup software should be able to backup to a networked PC, either via a mapped drive on the client PC, or via it’s own login mechanism.
5. it has to be free
6. I need incremental backups
7. It should keep a few days backups in case I want to restore something from 3 days ago for example
8. It could be a good idea to backup to FTP, or even SFTP / SSH

So, let’s get started. The list of backup programs I’m going to try out are:

1. GFI Backup Home Edition – Website
2. Syncback – Website
3. Cobian Backup – Website
4. BackupPC – Website
5. Synctoy – Website
6. Bonkey (Backup Monkey) – Website
7. Comodo Backup – Website
8. Trusafe Personal Edition – Website
9. Easeus – Website
10. Paragon Backup – Website
11. FBackup – Website

GFI Backup Home Edition