Datto Backup NAS brings off-site storage to the little guys

Though it's not the first box we've seen built to take your local backups elsewhere, the Datto Backup NAS drive could certainly fill a gaping security hole at many small / medium-sized businesses that are currently operating without any kind of off-site storage. Said devices come in 100GB and 500GB versions, play nice with Windows, Mac or Linux setups and pipe your data to secure external servers (using AES+ SSL key-based encryption, too) in order to keep the process load off of your machine(s). Granted, the annual service fee is $99 for 100GB and $249 for 500GB (monthly plans available), but that does include free support, 24 / 7 backup monitoring and the promise of bringing you back up to speed in under 24 hours should disaster strike. Both drives are available now for $399 and $599, respectively. [Warning: PDF read link]

[John @ Apr 5th 2008 12:19AM]

Can I just say that I LOOOVE when crappy "graphic designers" try to mimic the reflective surface effect with an object in three-dimensional view, and don't realize that they have to skew the reflection to make it look believable? That thing looks like it's floating on one point! LOL.

[John @ Apr 5th 2008 12:20AM]

...And don't get me started on the drop shadow right behind it!

[thelittleleaguecoach.com @ Apr 5th 2008 12:53AM]

This is a long way from the multi-million $$ disaster recovery centers we used to build!

[Austin McChord @ Apr 5th 2008 1:22AM]

Link straight to the site:

www.dattobackup.com

[Kunal @ Apr 5th 2008 1:27AM]

How will other designers know how cool you are if you don't use a drop shadow and mirror effect? Their design team is merely indicating they've passed their courses from the Cupertino School of Design.

With the mockery aside, functionally I could see this (or a similar) product and service being great for the small firm I work for. One fire or act of religious beings to our office, and we'd pretty much be done.

[Tara @ Apr 5th 2008 1:35AM]

This is an economic "no brainer". Similar systems from "traditional" sources had estimates ranging from $5-$10k… and they didn't even consist of off site redundancy! I've been using the system for months and it's fantastic… fast, reliable, economically sound, 100% compatible and easily upgradeable. It's no longer just a wet "dream"… pass the sock.

[Mark @ Apr 5th 2008 1:56AM]

nas.

[Twitchy @ Apr 5th 2008 7:47AM]

"...that does include free support.."

If you pay for it, it isn't free then is it?

[Aubrey @ Apr 5th 2008 9:37AM]

I was a beta tester for one of these, and my job was honestly very easy. There were no bugs, a clean beautiful interface, and easy setup. Plus, if you ever cancel the service, you still have a NAS box that you can upgrade the hard drive in, it just wont upload. Its also idiot proof, so your mom can back up her photos of you in the bathtub as a kid

[Alvin @ Apr 5th 2008 10:31AM]

Aw I don't want my mom to do that

[steaminggun @ Apr 5th 2008 11:52AM]

Reflective surfaces and drop shadow? You guys sound like "comic book guy" on the simpsons.
It's been a great investment for us: tax & legal documents as well as customer records. Saved us already from a hard drive failure on one our main computers. We don't need terrabytes of data storage, just the critical stuff. (Ok, my family photos are on there too)

[Jason @ Apr 5th 2008 11:55AM]

Thanks, but I'll just use my 100 gmail accounts in JBOD.

[martinm1 @ Apr 5th 2008 12:01PM]

Just bought a 500 gig version on amazon for $350; they are $600 on the official web site--go figure?

[Austin McChord @ Apr 5th 2008 12:48PM]

Austin from Datto Inc. here,
Thats a honest mistake on our part. Someone posted the pricing from the wrong class. To be fair we will honor the price for all items bought trough amazon till midnight sunday.

Here are the links:
Datto 500 - http://www.amazon.com/Datto-500-Off-site-NAS-Device/dp/B001411HLA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1207414040&sr=8-3

Datto 100 - http://www.amazon.com/Datto-100-Off-site-NAS-Device/dp/B001411FNA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1207414049&sr=1-2

[Paul @ Apr 5th 2008 1:15PM]

Saw this on Gizmodo a little while ago - I'll leave the same comment here too: This seems pretty cool. I haven't seen anything else out there that "just works" the way datto does. I'm sure there are plenty of geeks who can do their backup by setting up rsync on the spare Linux box in their closet, but for all the photographers / videographers / graphic designers / musicians out there who create a bunch of data doing their work, being able to just copy their files to a device on their network and know that they'll be safe is definitely datto's strong suit.

[Spenser @ Apr 5th 2008 4:37PM]

What's the bandwidth hit on something like this - is it scheduled (off hours) or continual? I wouldn't want to lose bandwidth during work hours.

[Austin McChord @ Apr 5th 2008 9:39PM]

The bandwidth can be either scheduled or continuous. The box automatically checks the available upstream bandwidth to make sure there is always free bandwidth so web surfing and other activities aren't slowed down.

[dave @ Apr 6th 2008 2:15AM]

john, i see your 4 dimensional crappy shadow and illogical reflection and pedantically raise you that the 500gb product's reflection is that of the 100gb product... as other commenters have made clear, the majority of the world is visually ignorant, let alone could care less

[shelby @ Apr 6th 2008 8:02AM]

I have one! It is great. I never worry about losing my music/photos/files again. Don't have to back all that stuff up on discs anymore. Datto works flawlessly without ever thinking about it again. Just set it up once and forget! Everything is safe. Done..wish the rest of life was like that.

[Shannon @ Apr 7th 2008 1:24PM]

I got the Datto 500 for my office a month ago and it's a lifesaver! They aren't lying when they say 24 hour customer serivce either- a week ago I was still at the office 10pm and had a question... so I tried my luck and called them, praying someone would answer. A really nice guy (without an accent!) picked up and helped me right away. Talk about GREAT customer service :-) I highly recommend this product.