Storage VPS Guides: Backups, Media, File Sync and Archives

This section covers one kind of server: lots of disk, modest CPU and RAM, and a flat monthly price. It’s where we write up what to put on that disk and how to run it well.

What belongs on a storage VPS?

Workloads where capacity matters more than compute. An offsite backup repository for restic, Borg or rsync mostly receives data, deduplicates it and waits. A Jellyfin or Plex library is mostly read in long sequential streams. Nextcloud, Immich and Syncthing keep files and photos in step across your devices. MinIO and Garage give you an S3-compatible bucket you control. Footage from Frigate or an NVR needs somewhere offsite to land. Logs, datasets and cold copies need somewhere to sit for years without anyone touching them.

Over time you’ll find setup guides, sizing notes and working commands for each of these, written for Debian and Ubuntu by default. You’ll also find plain explanations of the tradeoffs: when transcoding is worth the CPU, how much RAM a sync server wants, how retention policies make a backup repository grow, and how much transfer a month of restores or streaming can use.

How is ADTAQ’s Storage VPS priced?

The Storage VPS is $10/TB/mo. The presets run from 1 TB with 1 vCPU and 1 GB RAM at $10/mo up to 8 TB with 8 vCPU and 8 GB RAM at $80/mo. If no preset fits, dial it in: custom configs are priced per resource. Annual billing is 12 months for the price of 10.

Transfer is an allowance. Over it, the port is throttled, never billed, and extra transfer is $1.50/TB. 1 Gig is standard; 10 Gig is a $15/mo add-on, which helps when you’re pushing a large initial backup or restoring one. The servers run in the IDACORE Boise data center in Boise, Idaho, with dual Idaho Power feeds, N+1 UPS and N+1 cooling, per IDACORE.

See the Storage VPS plans and pricing for every preset.

Part of the ADTAQ blog.

Topics in Storage

  • Backups

    Offsite backup targets with restic, Borg and rsync, plus Proxmox Backup Server and Veeam repositories.

    No guides yet

  • Media Servers

    Running Plex or Jellyfin on a VPS to stream your own media library.

    No guides yet

  • File Sync

    Self-hosted file and photo sync with Nextcloud, Immich and Syncthing.

    No guides yet

  • Object Storage

    Self-hosted S3-compatible object storage with MinIO and Garage.

    No guides yet

  • Security Cameras

    Offsite storage for NVR, Frigate and security camera footage.

    No guides yet

  • Archives

    Cheap long-term storage for logs, datasets and cold copies of your data.

    No guides yet

Latest in Storage

No guides here yet. The first ones are being written now.

Frequently asked questions.

A storage VPS works well for Plex or Jellyfin when your clients can direct play the files. Direct play mostly reads from disk and sends the stream out, which is light work for the CPU. Transcoding is the expensive part, so the more of your library that plays without conversion, the smaller the server can be. Encoding your library in formats your devices already support keeps the CPU load low.

On an ADTAQ Storage VPS, going over the transfer allowance means the port is throttled. You aren't billed for the extra. If you'd rather keep full speed, extra transfer is $1.50/TB. That matters for storage work like restoring a large backup or streaming a media library, where a month can move more data than usual.

Yes, you can run MinIO or Garage on a storage VPS to expose an S3-compatible API that your backup tools can write to. Many backup programs, including restic, can use an S3 bucket as a repository. If you don't need S3 at all, restic and Borg can also write straight to the server over SSH, which means one less service to run and update.