Concept Link to heading

Want to keep your important files safe without having to think about it?

This will show you how to set it up once and forget about it by using Duplicati to regularly backup files to AWS S3 at a schedule of your choice.

Cost Link to heading

Upload: Free

Storage: Depends on the storage plan (S3 Pricing)

  • I use S3 Standard for things I may need to access ($0.023 per GB per month)
  • I use S3 Glacier Deep Archive for large backups (~$1 per TB per month)

Setup Link to heading

  1. Create an AWS account: AWS Account Creation

  2. On the AWS Dashboard go to S3 under Storage.

  3. Click “Create New Bucket”. Enter a unique name and click next through the setup. The bucket can be closed to the public since we will be accessing with your AWS user keys.

  4. Download and install Duplicati, a free software for automated backups.

  5. In the web interface, select “+ Add Backup” > Configure New Backup

  6. Pick a name and passphrase.

  7. Destination:

    • Storage Type = S3 Compatible
    • Server = Amazon S3
    • Add bucket name & region
    • Storage Class = I use Standard for accessible data and S3 Glacier for backups but there are other options.
    • Folder Path = empty
    • Storage Class = your IAM user priv and public keys.

To generate an Access and Secret Key, hover over your username on the top left of the AWS dashboard and select My Security Credentials. Open the Access Keys dropdown and select Create New Access Keys.

  1. Test connection and let Duplicati create a new user and policy to access. It may say the user doesn’t have permission when testing connection again but you can ignore that it seems to be a bug.

  2. Select Amazon S3 and enter your credentials in the next window.

  3. Source Data: The folder(s) you’d like to back up. You can set filters and exclude files as well.

  4. Set a schedule then save with Backup retention set to “Keep All Backups”

That’s it, you’re all set! 👌