4 external HD and I need more space

[buddy4344]

OK, I don't need a lecture about how I should delete more of my images. I need help/Advice.

Currently I work off of a desktop PC with a 320GB HD. I have LOTS of photos from several years. Last year I decided to put all 2005 and before images on one 500GB drive (L), 2006 on a different 320GB drive (M), on a separate drive I have a back-up of 2006 and my 2007 images (N). Last but not least, I have my back-up of 2007 and my 2008 images on a 750GB drive (O).

Drives are getting cheaper. Today I saw a 1TB external for less than $150. One problem is that one runs out of USB connections. So, seems like I need to go to another answer - Drobo or NAS or something. I am open to opinions.

BTW - I know I need to save back-ups off site also, so considering I am soon to exceed 2 TB of images, what is the off site idea. the on-site includes overlapping prior year redundancy, so I think I can reasonably get a few 1TB externals to back-up the past and store that in my office desk.

[D Thompson]

If they are external, you don't need them all plugged in unless you're needing to get an image from that drive. I have a couple of externals that the only time they're connected is when I'm using them.

[buddy4344]

It just dawned on me that my existing externals are my answer to the off site storage for a while.

[buddy4344]

If they are external, you don't need them all plugged in unless you're needing to get an image from that drive. I have a couple of externals that the only time they're connected is when I'm using them.

True. It just seems that I am often searching for old images in lightroom. I probably should only have the 2007 and 2008 images connected now. And in a few weeks, the 2008 and "new" 2009 drive connected. That is one answer.

[thebrewer]

Drobo, there is a good deal with a rebate from J&R right now.

[rw2]

A USB hub could be used!

[tommykjensen]

When you have multiple external harddisks I prefer them to be NAS instead of USB.

If you need lots of space you could go crazy and get a Thecus N7700 (http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=11&pid=82&PHPSESSID=e846bd75bd93f238b4b238aa4e007d8d) that has room for 7 disks. A total of max 7 TB space depending on configuration.

[René Damkot]

FireWire?

[tkbslc]

USB can have 127 connections with hubs. Just make sure it is an externally powered USB 2.0 full speed hub and you are good.

Aside from that, 4-5 1TB hard drives in a RAID 5 might be handy for speed and reliability. RAID 5 lets you lose 1 hard drive without losing data. You'd need a RAID card and something that can hold that many drives. Could easily do it for under a grand though. You may consider a new PC case with lots of HD slots and in internal SATA RAID card. PM me if you need help architechting something. I'm an I.T guy so I build stuff like this all the time.

[Beau Hudspeth]

Another vote for DROBO (http://www.drobo.com/).

The safe, expandable Drobo™ storage solution protects your data against a hard drive crash, yet can expand dynamically at any time in just seconds. With nothing to configure or manage, Drobo is now the ideal solution for primary storage as well as backup.


• FireWire 800 (FireWire 400 compatible)
• Enhanced USB 2.0 performance
• Quieter, cooler operation
• Redundant data protection (self healing)
• Hot expandable up to 16TB
• Mix n’ match drive capacities (Drive speed and size can be different for each drive)

[Greg_C]

You didn't mention the OS you are using. I built a Windows Home Server system to solve my storage issue. I have 2Tb of on-board storage in it at the moment and room for another two drives (see the screen cap in the linked post) . With a couple of hundred dollars I could easily take this system to 6TB.

I use Externals as my off site backups. The server has a backup of my pc's and also has duplicate copies of all of the photos.

See this thread here for more info.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=533051

[neil_g]

The safe, expandable Drobo™ storage solution protects your data against a hard drive crash, yet can expand dynamically at any time in just seconds. With nothing to configure or manage, Drobo is now the ideal solution for primary storage as well as backup.

is there a bang your head against a wall smiley?

[tim]

Buy a 1.5TB internal disk, it'll be WAY faster. Copy all your images over, categorised by year, then either shoot (if you're pro) or month and day if you're not. Over time you can go through and delete the crap shots, and for your future work you should cull/delete as you go. Take a look at my wedding workflow (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?p=2925618) for how I do it (ratings and folders, and when I delete them).

Turn the external disks to offsite storage. Honestly though they're kinda small, replace one drive inside a case with a 1.5TB drive, so you can mirror your main drive to the external. Use a smart copy program that only copies new or modified files. E-SATA will be a bunch faster than USB.

I regularly read about RAID solutions giving people problems, they're really not necessary for either performance or redundancy so long as you have good backups.

[Sp00ks]

I agree with tim.

I run a technical support desk for medical imaging. Trust me, don't trust SATA Raid.
I currently use an older computer as a file server. Right now it has a 120gb, 250gb, and a 500gb and I am out of storage space for the most part. After the holidays with storage prices dropping like they are, I plan to purchase two 1.5tb drives and that should last me a while.

I have multiple externals like you and will use those for off site storage. I'll keep them in my office and hope one of my engineers doesn't find them and use them in an emergency :)

[buddy4344]

Thanks for all of the ideas and advice.
I looked into Drobo, but reviews on Amazon scare me a bit. Seems like about 50/50 on folks that love or hate the thing.
Background: I run a Dell Dimension E510 for my desktop today.
I have an older Dell (about 5 years old) I could look at turning into a Windows Home Server storage device. I am not sure which Pentium model it runs, but I think Pentium 4. My problem with that project is merely my lack of IT skill. The responses above encourage me to give it a go. Since this is an old PC, all I have to lose is any hard drives or software I purchase - and those would be usable on a different box if I must buy one. I have some IT friends at work I will touch base with, but may be coming back to some of you with specific questions. I definitely will use the existing external HD's for my off site storage.

BTW, I went to fatwallet.com and saw that Dell is selling some 1.5TB internal drives for as low as $110, so lots of storage fairly chap.

[Dan-o]

is there a bang your head against a wall smiley?

http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/441136455_MrtyT-X3.gif

[tim]

Get an internal Seagate Barracuda drive from www.newegg.com , i've found them reliable. I see no need for windows home server or any other device, I firmly believe in KISS - keep it simple, stupid. It's easy to mess things up, take this as an example (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=612408).

[neil_g]

http://dmunson.smugmug.com/photos/441136455_MrtyT-X3.gif

bookmarked, cheers :p

[tkbslc]

I agree with tim.

I run a technical support desk for medical imaging. Trust me, don't trust SATA Raid.
I currently use an older computer as a file server.

Sata RAID is not as good as SAS or SCSI, but I have several SATA RAID arrays here at work and none have given me any issues. And are you saying you trust the reliability of a single hard drive MORE than an array of drives, Sata or not? You still need backups, yes, but when you can lose a hard drive and not have to dig through offsite backups and figure out what to restore, you will be happy.

Honestly it is not that expensive. Just buy a $50-100 raid card and 3-5 hard drives (or 2 big ones with a mirrored set (RAID 1)). Networked storage is insanely slow compared to locally attached SATA or USB, especially for hundreds of GB worth of files. And what happens when your "old" computer bites the dust? Now you need another computer to put the drives into to get your data.

[tommykjensen]

Sata RAID is not as good as SAS or SCSI, but I have several SATA RAID arrays here at work and none have given me any issues.

Currently I don't have any RAID solutions but I will most likely add one sometime next year. However I will make damn sure I have backups of all the data on it because I have experienced that both drives died at the same time in a RAID1 not once but twice with different systems.

[thisdorkagain]

you can also always get a regular SATA drive and put it in an usb enclosure yourself to save a little money. but those mybooks and free agents are getting cheap by the month.

[neil_g]

Currently I don't have any RAID solutions but I will most likely add one sometime next year. However I will make damn sure I have backups of all the data on it because I have experienced that both drives died at the same time in a RAID1 not once but twice with different systems.

what that man said.

both times ive had major RAID issues the controller has died and nuked all attached disks. forcing a rebuild and restore from tape.

[Damian75]

Step 1 before buying any more data destroying USB drives get an eSATA card for your computer and use that for your external connections. Step to look into a blueray burner for creating backups to take off sight. Sorry for the bitterness but having worked tech support for a design and video production house I have seen the way USB can corrupt large files you don't see a problem really with pictures do to there relatively small size compared to video but I have seen too many multi GB size files get trashed due to USB bust transfer system.

[ssdang]

Have you thought about using an online storage website? That could be a possibility to shifting some of your stuff to an offsite location. Just a thought.

[smcclelland]

Get an internal Seagate Barracuda drive from www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) , i've found them reliable. I see no need for windows home server or any other device, I firmly believe in KISS - keep it simple, stupid. It's easy to mess things up, take this as an example (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=612408).

I went with the Windows Home Server for simplicity and doing multiple backups. I have two internal 500gb drives that I keep edited and unedited images on, these get backed up weekly via mirroring to 2 external WD 500gb drives and the machines will be mirrored to the Windows Home Server. From there I'll keep DVD's of the machine images as with a desktop and 3 laptops there's no telling when something may go haywire.

[tommykjensen]

Have you thought about using an online storage website? That could be a possibility to shifting some of your stuff to an offsite location. Just a thought.

The solutions available today is too expensive when we are talking about many hundreds of GB's.

[tim]

Have you thought about using an online storage website? That could be a possibility to shifting some of your stuff to an offsite location. Just a thought.

It's not practical for high volume photographers, I take perhaps 600GB of images per year. I've done the numbers on another thread, it's just not going to work for most people.

I went with the Windows Home Server for simplicity and doing multiple backups. I have two internal 500gb drives that I keep edited and unedited images on, these get backed up weekly via mirroring to 2 external WD 500gb drives and the machines will be mirrored to the Windows Home Server. From there I'll keep DVD's of the machine images as with a desktop and 3 laptops there's no telling when something may go haywire.

Sounds complex. The more complex a system is the more that can go wrong.

[Sports_Dude]

The solutions available today is too expensive when we are talking about many hundreds of GB's.


It's not practical for high volume photographers, I take perhaps 600GB of images per year. I've done the numbers on another thread, it's just not going to work for most people.

A local PC Store recommended this online storage site. It's $50 per year with unlimited storage. Haven't really done much research so check the company out if you plan to use it.

http://www.carbonite.com/

[tommykjensen]

A local PC Store recommended this online storage site. It's $50 per year with unlimited storage. Haven't really done much research so check the company out if you plan to use it.

http://www.carbonite.com/

In my opinion there is no such thing as unlimited storage. There will be a limit and if you exceed it you will get to pay.

[smcclelland]

Sounds complex. The more complex a system is the more that can go wrong.

All backups and mirrors are handled via Python, executed weekly via cron jobs. It's pretty much the exact same system I've used in CG production for 6 years now and it hasn't failed me yet.

[Sports_Dude]

In my opinion there is no such thing as unlimited storage. There will be a limit and if you exceed it you will get to pay.

FYI...Carbonite offers a 15day free trial, just in case you want to test out your theory.

http://www.carbonite.com/trial_signup/

[tommykjensen]

FYI...Carbonite offers a 15day free trial, just in case you want to test out your theory.

http://www.carbonite.com/trial_signup/

I have no intention of trying to upload 500+ GB. That will take much longer than the free trial period. And that is also why they can say "unlimited" they know that nobody will attempt to upload more than a few GB. And if someone does I am sure they will user their terms to introduced more payment for the extra storage used.

[tim]

A local PC Store recommended this online storage site. It's $50 per year with unlimited storage. Haven't really done much research so check the company out if you plan to use it.

http://www.carbonite.com/

Read this (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=6863014&postcount=11).

[Sports_Dude]

Read this (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=6863014&postcount=11).

Got it. Didn't realize you were outside of the US. Carbonite (or any similar type of service) only makes sense if you have a relatively fast upload speed and unlimited internet usage.