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I'm planning to start working from home for less than a year, only a plan by now; I would like to study (prior taking any decision) what should I need there to work safely.
I know I'll need a UPS system, but I'm more worried about the version control system and the backups. Being at home I won't be able to use the tape system in my company neither I'll be able to use subversion.
What would you recommend me?
My work environment will be Visual Studio 2012... would a NAS be a good solution? in case it would, how would you interface it through a version control system and which one would you use? raid? of course the solution should not be expensive, I'm planning to work at home and send the job to the company each week (when I'll be there physically).
What would you recommend me?
Thank you in advance! 
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Best answer is to use your company's source control remotely, then you'll get all their backup technology for free. However you suggest that's not possible.
Set up a SVN server locally (either on the dev machine or, better, on another machine on your network). That will cover you for the 99.9% case of either nothing going wrong, or something going wrong with 1 out of 2 hard disks.
To get an off site backup, leaving a copy of your repository with your company once a week (could just be a USB stick with it on left in your desk) should be sufficient. You could arrange an automated backup-swap with a friend though (you back up their files, they yours) through SFTP.
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Yes, that remote access would be the best (and in order to do that I would need only to set up a VPN to our server) but our internet connection is so slow that I would probably be faster sending trained pigeons to our company... 
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The fail ratio due to hunters and predators is too high for me...
Anyway, being in the automation market I could create a robot that would free automatically a new pigeon after the first one has died...
And this is how my world control started!!!! MUHAHWHAHAHAHA!
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That's certainly one version of SkyNet I'd not considered.
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First, there were the carrier pigeons, soon after would come the warrior pigeons...
There were many that thought the idea would never get off the ground.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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SkyNet. Pigeons. :groan:
Please hold still. We're going to have to hurt you now.
Software Zen: delete this;
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:submits to impending punishment:
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I'd use cloudForge.com (nothing in the recommendation for me- I'm just a happy user)
They do free hosting if your a lonely single user.
Assuming your internet is reasonably reliable and not stupidly slow (and you're not making huge file changes every day) it's a winner.
Locally I would just have a backup to some device you can take off site just in case - even if that is just a USB you can leave at a friends house every week, or even leave at the company you're going to each week.
worst case (you lose your home PC completely and couldForge aren't available) you have a week old backup.
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If you are looking for cheap, secure off site backups then take several memory sticks and backup the system on Monday with one of them, put this memory stick in a self addressed envelope with the lowest possible postage and drop it in the mail. Tuesday perform the same and Wednesday again the same, keep doing this and by Friday/Saturday Mondays memory stick might be back with you. Depending on the postal services speed and rotation you should be able to achieve several off site backups with a daily retrieve rate with each mornings mail. 
J/K over:-
Some ISPs offer a cloud backup solution mine offers 50GB in the price which might be worth looking into.
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I've been working from home for 20 years now. I use (and pay for) a dedicated server that hosts my SVN, which I use for personal projects and for projects where the client doesn't have an SVN (there's lots of those, because the client often isn't in the business of software development -- that's what they hire me for.)
That said, there's a lot of free version control hosting systems. Git, SVN, etc. I prefer SVN because of its simplicity, but I use Git for public projects and for certain clients that are already using Git. For one client, I've recently started using assembla[^] which offers a lot of other nice features, like task tracking.
Because I use version control for everything, I do work on both my desktop and laptop. Sometimes I like to work on the laptop because it's portable and I can work in whatever room I want.
I've never used a UPS. I am rather aggressive though about unplugging everything when a thunderstorm is coming my way - physically unplugging the power strip from which everything is attached and the ethernet cable attached to the DSL modem. My "UPS" is therefore my laptop if I need to be working.
Hope that helps.
Marc
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Whatever you do I would go for a NAS. 2-disk Raid 1 boxes are now quite reasonably priced and the better ones have their own built-in "Time Machine". Stick to know makes such as Netgear, QNAP, Synology etc. and avoid cheap Chinese stuff like IcyBox etc.
I have just bought yet another Netgear ReadyNas RN31200 for 99€ (Amazon special offer) and plugged a couple of 4TB disks into it (far more expenssive than the box). It runs an open source Linux and as a result there is a plethora of free plug-ins including several SVN server solutions. Netgear also supply a (free) cloud-like service so you can access the data on your NAS when elsewhere.
I would get a UPS even if you are not in a stormy area, you never know when the electricity could fail or brown-out. For example, when our deep freeze gave up the ghost it tripped the main breaker. I have had reasonable service from APC and Belkin but by far the best has been Eaton (ex Merlin Gerin) - note that the batteries NEVER last the 5 years that they claim. Most domestic UPS use a pair of standard 12V 7Ah batteries that cost about 15€ each, usually quite easy to change.
The VPN solution proposed by others can be very useful for accessing something that you have forgotten, but unless both you and your employer have a decent upload speed (e.g. better that the standard 800 kb/s) it soon becomes a frustrating experience.
As far as actually working is concerned I have found it useful to have a distinct reserved space for my work computer (laptop) and physical files, your home computer can be a considerable source of distraction.
Hope this helps.
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VPN connection, somewhere on their server you can dump stuff so they back it up.
A good internet connection, a good phone connection, and high quality phones (important for conf calls)
All the hardware and cables you will need to do the job.
A lot of discipline. You need to motivate yourself, you wont have the work environment to do it for you. This is the hardest thing.
Be very careful communicating by email, m9isunderstandings are easy.
"The whole idea that carbon dioxide is the main cause of the recent global warming is based on a guess that was proved false by empirical evidence during the 1990s." climate-models-go-cold
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I'd strongly recommend that you invest in a pair of hardware VPN boxes - one for work, one at home - and use the company resources just like you would in the office. It's a little slower because of the crypto stuff, but it's secure. You'll also have to be very diligent about keeping anti-malware updated and running on the home machine in order to protect company assets. Go ahead and spend some money if you have to! You won't be needing to waste it on clothes or bathing or any of that personal hygiene stuff you need in the office, so you can afford to do it right.
Will Rogers never met me.
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Roger Wright wrote: bathing or any of that personal hygiene stuff you need in the office,
You never worked with some of the folks I have worked with. They had zero budget for personal hygene. 
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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I sometime do some work from home. Here are my personal preferences.
1. Either VPN to your companies Source Control system, or set up a free Bit-Bucket account online, and sync your files with your companies source when you can. Fortunately we use bit-bucket already, but I also have a personal account for private code.
2. Next you need to make sure you have a stable internet connection.
3. Peace and quiet. You need to make sure you have a environment that is not distracting. Spouse watching TV, Children making noise, Neighbors doing construction. All these can interrupt your productivity. Dogs Barking.
4. You need self dedication and control. Its easy to get distracted at home. So make sure you set yourself strict work schedules.
I hope this helps.
[edit] Oh as as others have said, if you are on a laptop, and backup your source regularly (as you should!!!!) then a UPS isn't really necessary [/edit]
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1)Fast internet connection. This is of paramount importance. Your machine(s) should be directly connected, not using WiFi, if at all possible.
2)Have both a laptop and a desktop. Use the desktop for most work, shadow copy everything to laptop for client site visits.
3)Invest in a hosting service like Dreamhost. Use svn there and host your webpage there and anything else you might be tempted to host at home. I even run bugzilla there (god help me).
4)Subscribe to cloud backup. Your choice, I like BackBlaze. Here, be selective about what goes to the cloud to avoid excess traffic.
5)Subscribe to DropBox, and use it for file exchange with your clients if at all possible, and as a synchronization mechanism with your machines. I use this to automatically back up all my accounting files between machines.
6)Set up your router to report log statistics weekly or monthly to try to ensure you are not being hacked.
7)Do not implement traffic controls on your router unless you absolutely must. See (1) above.
8)Do not self-host anything i.e. www, ftp, etc. Nice to play with but do you really need somebody wandering around on your machines?
9)Write all this stuff down somewhere and tell somebody where it is. I print out all my internet configuration stuff periodically and give it to my wife and kids, as well as all my accounts and passwords. You never know.
10)Somebody mentioned anti-virus. Yes, please and something credible. Many organizations you might work for may audit your machine for adequate AV or may require you to sign a binding statement of compliance.
11)Invest in something like VmWare Workstation or equivalent. This permits you to pretend to be any sort of host or database server that you need to be for a client. Otherwise, switching project server configurations is beyond painful.
12)I don't know about the UPS thing. Wiser minds than mine have already commented. My fear would be buying something pitiful that won't do the job, or worse, buying something that proves to need a new battery too soon, leaving me to figure out how to dispose of the battery. Seems like other investments might be more critical.
Allen
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things to remember:
- You're saving your employers money and costing yourself money (coffee, heating, etc)
- If you can, get your employer to provide hardware. I haven't bought a desktop in years!
- Leave source control to your employer. access files remotely using git, hg, svn or whatever they use. Commit regularly, branch liberally, merge frequently. rsync can work for some tasks..
- Remember to 'not be at work' for some of the time you spend 'at home'
good luck! 
modified 8-Apr-14 3:33am.
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* 20+ inch monitor connected to your notebook
* 1 main hispeed Data line.
* + 2 back up data lines through 3G/4G from Mobile-USB tethering, or USB Data dongles. (cheap ones are good enough)
* 4 different places from where you can work. Keep you work set up totally mobile. It just takes 10 seconds to move my System Vehicle from one spot to another. I get bored working from one corner. And the 5th spot is over the bed. But after 30-40 minutes, your neck, hands everything develop some stress.
* And long enough power cables
* USB Hub
More importantly,
Don't choke your TFS clients & online services by consuming bandwidth for videos.
Rather go for a box full of P0rns DVD collections.
Starting to think people post kid pics in their profiles because that was the last time they were cute - Jeremy.
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If you have a desktop or server at the company site, you could always use VPN+RDP or PCAnywhere type of solution to work on the company hardware from home. You just need a decent connection for this, 56K dial up is bearable as long as you are not doing graphics editing with a mouse or something like that.
Adjust the graphics settings on the compay's hardware to turn off Windows aero or other advanced graphic settings.
On the RDP, figure out the best resolution and color depth that allows you to work without being too laggy.
Learn the keyboard short cuts for everything!
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Yes a version control system is good but also you can use AJC Active Backup for peace of mind while you are working. This backs up into very compact archives (that only store the changes) every time you save a change to your work allowing you to go back to any version and see what you have changed. This protects you from mistakes and file corruption. It works very well on its own and also when you use version control because you can go back to any edit rather than just the last check in. It effectively is version control for your hard drive. There is now a Visual Studio add in to make it even easier to use. These days I would not program without it:
http://www.ajcsoft.com/active-backup.htm[^]
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This has nothing to do with security, but a second monitor is a must for me. It doesn't even have to add to the overall cost -- I hook up my laptop to an old monitor I salvaged from the spare bedroom closet!
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