Help: WD MyCloud Overnight Backup Using Cron

I need to replace an aging Buffalo Live 500GB.

I don't need anything fancy or fast and looking around the WD MyCloud looked to fit the bill.

But I would also like to backup the contents to an external USB drive.

Looking at the WD MyCloud, whilst there is a backup utility you have to manually run it. I would really like something that I could leave connected and the backups would just happen overnight.

I had just about ruled out the WD MyCloud when I heard someone say that you could do this with a Cron job. Although pretty IT literate I don't have much unix experience so I don't know what I would need to do nor what it would be capable of.

So a few questions if I may

1 - Can anyone point me at some resources that might explain what I need to do.

2 - Would this do a back up or a file copy - I see the difference as this. Say I had 100 files and during the day just one had changed. A backup would copy just that file whereas a copy would copy all 100 files.

Many thanks for the help.

Cheers,

Nigel

No automatic backup? Huh?

Can't you just start a full backup and let it run? But don't use a proprietary format.

The good NASes (Synolgy/QNAP) have several ways to backup - including differential. Mine also has a "time backup" that keeps the last x months of all versions of files in folders I rate VIP.

By all means, avoid WD for NAS. They make good disks.

Okay, so changing the question.

I want a simple NAS - I only use it for filestore- I know I will get extras whether I like it or not but I don't want to pay a premium for them.

But I want to be able to leave a portable drive connected to the NAS USB and have an incremental backup done automatically overnight.

What NAS can do that for me.

Cheers,

Nigel

Most all. Many of us recommend a 2 bay Synology or QNAP.
I do a USB3 backup from my Synology 2 bay --- incremental. Takes an hour or so.
I choose to have 2 bays, two independent volumes, rather than the pair in RAID configuration. So volume 2 gets an automated backup from volume 1. And the Time Backup as well, for the last x months' versions of VIP folders. If the file system gets hosed up on volume 1, I can go to volume 2. RAID will not protect from that.
I also keep a 64GB SD card plugged into the NAS and auto-bakcup VVIP folders to that.