I'm going to attempt to recover my computer on Dec. 13th from a full (simulated) hard drive meltdown. In preparation, I've developed a plan as to how I'll recover everything from my local and remote backups. I could do everything from the local backup, but I want to make sure the remote backup is working too. So here's my current recovery strategy.

Local Backup

As I've stated many times before, I use a Drobo for my local backups. I backup everything in my local user directory, where all my documents and user settings files are stored, and some applications that I've had to install myself. I plan on not using this right away when I recover, to prove to myself that I can get back on my feet with just my remote backups.

Secure Key Backup

I have a local memory card in a fire-proof lock box that's encrypted via TrueCrypt and has most of my passwords on it, including what I need to access my remote backup, JungleDisk.

First Remote Backup

The first thing I'll need to recover are files off of Dropbox. I have my TrueCrypt volume with all of my passwords on Dropbox as a redundant backup of my local encrypted memory card and I'll need those to get at my JungleDisk passwords. This should be simple using Dropbox's web interface, which will give me access to everything on my Dropbox without having to install the software right away.

Second Remote Backup

My main remote backup is JungleDisk. Once I get my passwords from the TrueCrypt volume, I'll be able to install and start JungleDisk to get my files back in order. After that, it should be smooth sailing (I hope).

Why?

The main reason I have it all set up this way is redundancy. I want local backups that are easy to access and with less hoops to jump through to get them working, but I also need remote backups because local backups won't cover me in case of a fire or other natural disaster (like a spilt can of pop!)

The key is, I need to be able to access everything from remote backups because I might not have anything local to recover with. I have my passwords locally in a lock box, but also strongly encrypted on Dropbox so that I can get them if the lock box is gone. (They're also on the Drobo and JungleDisk, because I really don't want to lose my passwords.)

Any plan you create should allow you to recover a new computer back to your current computer's working state even if you don't have access to your local work area. In fact, I would say that a remote backup is way more important than a local backup because with a remote backup, you should be able to recover from anywhere. A local backup is really just for convenience and speed, not to be depended upon for the really important stuff.

So that's my plan. What's yours?