How to build a 3-2-1 backup of Google Drive with cloudHQ

  1. Introduction
  2. The setup
  3. Step-by-step
  4. Add a third copy
  5. Good to know
  6. Next Steps

Introduction

Under the 3-2-1 rule you keep 3 copies of your data, spread them over 2 different types of storage, and put 1 copy off site. cloudHQ can back up Google Drive to another cloud provider and save the older versions of your files. That takes care of the part of the rule that matters most.

The setup

  • Copy 1: Google Drive holds your files. This is the primary copy.
  • Copy 2: cloudHQ copies Google Drive to Amazon S3 in one direction, as a backup. Your files now sit with a second provider, so this copy also counts as your off-site one.
  • History: turn on the Archive files before they are changed or deleted by sync option, and the older version of each file stays around when a sync changes or removes it. Removed files stay too, all inside a folder called cloudHQ_archive in the backup. If you change or delete something by accident, you can still get it back.

Step-by-step

  1. Authorize your cloud accounts. Go to the Cloud Accounts tab and connect both your Google Drive account and your Amazon S3 account.
  2. Create the backup pair. Run the sync wizard, then set Google Drive as the source and Amazon S3 as the target. You’ll find the whole procedure in IT Admin: How to back up Google Workspace Drive accounts to Amazon S3 / Glacier. There’s also a video you can watch.
  3. Choose a one-way backup. Once that’s set, changes move in one direction only: from Google Drive to Amazon S3.
  4. Keep the archive option on. Open the options for the pair and leave Archive files before they are changed or deleted by sync switched on. This option must be enabled for a backup. More details are here: About the archive option.

Add a third copy

If a third copy is what you need, set up one more backup pair from Google Drive, this time to a different cloud account such as Box or Dropbox. The steps don’t change. The only thing that’s different is the target you pick.

Good to know

  • Amazon bills the S3 storage separately from cloudHQ.
  • Run one test restore. Copy a file back out of the backup, and check that you can open it.
  • About licenses, read What is a user in cloudHQ Business Plan?

Next Steps

Tagged: