Is your photo backup routine good enough?
Enter how many copies you keep, on what media, whether one is offsite, and how often you back up. The tool scores your routine out of 100 and lists what to fix first.
How the tool works
The score follows a 3-2-1 style approach: three copies, two types of media and one copy offsite. It adds points for how recent and how frequent your backups are, whether you have tested a restore, and how old your drives are. Every rule and its points are shown on the page, so you can see where the score comes from.
The tool also gives the date your next backup is due and estimates the storage you will need in 12 months, using your library size and monthly growth. Figures use 1 TB = 1000 GB. The spare space percentage is an example that you can change.
RAID is not a backup. A NAS with RAID can survive a disk failure, but not deletion, corruption, malware, fire or theft. Count it as one copy and keep another backup elsewhere. The score is an estimate and a guide, not a guarantee.
Questions
What is the 3-2-1 rule?
Keep three copies of your photos, on two types of media, with one copy offsite.
Is RAID a backup?
No. RAID helps a system keep running if a disk fails, but a mistake or a fire can still lose everything on it. Keep a separate backup.
Why does restore testing matter?
A backup you have not restored from may be incomplete or unreadable. Copy some files back and open them to check.
More photography tools: Photo storage calculator, Photoshoot permissions checklist, Invoice and deposit calculator, Landscape photography packing list