So I started thinking this past week, that its time to start putting some thoughts and $$ into backing up data.  But where do you start?

Windows Vista home server is just around the corner and would be awesome to perform backups with.  But then you have to have at least 2 computer running all the time.  You could have a NAS and have it raided.  That takes less power and is easy to set up.  All these solutions can all be Raid.  But sure which raid to choose from?

The latest thought was a couple 750GB drives raided.  (mirrored)  too bad you could validate their data all the time too?

Another new thought would be to pay for online storage.  The problem is which one to use?  Online storage can be pretty pricey and it can take a long time to perform a backup.  Many have new features that can compare every file and only update bits instead of the whole files if need be.

So what’s everyone opinion?  Where do they start and what are some of their solutions?

My main purposes will be to back up photos that I have laying around EVERYWHERE.  I want one central location and I want it protected.