give me some eSATA/RAID ideas

i am treading on thin ice w/ my singular external drives and DVD backup strategy...what i really should get is a redundant HDD system, and i've got a machine which supports eSATA...so tell me more about you systems, and give me some suggestions...

thanks in advance!

We would need to know how many HDD's you plan to buy first.

I just use an internal and backup to an eSATA drive. I suppose you could do an external RAID1 if you have two eSATA ports and your board supports RAID on the eSATA channel (or if it's just uses a pass through cable/bracket). You could stick your drives in something like this.

Or you could get something like this or this eSATA enclosure which supports RAID.

If you have multiple computers that access the data and you want to get really fancy (expensive), you could go with a NAS device.

Either way, I would just stick to RAID1, or 1+0 if you like to spend money. RAID0 just doesn't make sense for archiving and I haven't always had the best of luck with RAID5 (lets just say rebuilding a RAID5 array isn't necessarily a sure thing).

well, how about ~2TB of capacity?

I know the drobo is really popular. You dont have to worry about RAID levels. Just stick in a bunch of SATA drives and your good to go.

I use 2 different backup solutions:

Network Attached Server (NAS) - I have an HP Media Vault that automatically performs scheduled daily backups. Before the NAS, I was using an external HD via USB.

Hot Swappable Internal Hard Drive - Once a month, I copy my pictures onto a hot swappable internal drive and store the drive offsite.

narlus wrote in post #5779319
well, how about ~2TB of capacity?

You need 2TB of removable storage?


Just get to 1TB discs in eSATA enclosures, and make sure they are well labeled.

it's not all photos i am backing up...i've got a pretty massive LP and CD collection that i've backed up to mp3s.

The Antec Veris is a DIY installation case for hard drives, it's great as it has both USB and eSATA interfaces. It's also quite cheap.

The other real option is buying a proper NAS if you going to storing a lot of data on them. ReadyNAS NV+ is one of the best on the market. A NAS is the only real solution for large data because of it's redundancy insurance. Plus 1Gbe is pretty fast for data transfers.

My back up strategy is:

2X drives inside PC which are mirrors of each other (manual not RAID)
1x external HD - Sneaker net.
Back up PC with a duplicate of the data drives this also serves as a backup station if the first fails.

I'm now in the process of getting either a 2Tb or 4Tb NAS system in the next month!

This thread is pointless until the OP explains how he intends to use the backup (to extent) and how many drives he's willing to purchase. It would also be nice to know what capability you have regarding your mobo. Everyone's going to continue suggesting 10 different ways until these basic answers are posted. I could give you a handful, but won't waste the time until I know which is best suited for what you can afford, what you intend and your limitations.

If it's mainly mp3's, just get a hotswap cradle and two HDD's and call it a day.

If you're serious about image backup, then share the answers to my questions.

well for starters, backing up data shouldn't be dependent on the actual data, right?

i mean, mp3s = jpgs = CR2 files to a machine. or am i missing something?


here's my MoBo:
Intel® P35 ATX Motherboard with DDR2, PCI Express, 1333MHz FSB, RAID DP35DP

i guess i'm pretty ignorant of what sort of URS i should state re: backups, since isn't the primary objective pretty clear? no loss of data in the event of a HDD failure.

does that help?

See, that makes a difference. You only have 1 eSATA port available, but have several SATA ports.

IMO, I would [with this mobo] build an internal RAID 1 system on the SATA ports for mirrored data/backup with a main OS HDD on an additional SATA. If you want OS/app speed, then get an additional HDD to run the OS in RAID 0. [this is assuming your processor is worthy of such an array]

Then, I'd add an external hotswap cradle backup system on the eSATA to offload a backup once every two weeks. This way, you have your data in three seperate places - mirrored inside the computer in case of failure and an external that you can guard from fire, theft, etc. The external eSATA will fly when it comes time to offload.

There are plenty of options really. This is only one based on the single eSATA availaility and speed.

Personally, I run RAID 0 OS on two Raptors, a third HDD for data/backup and an external HDD for mirroring [non-RAID] my backups. I'm swapping the external to a hotswap very soon myself. All of them are eSATA and nice and fast.

narlus wrote in post #5783783
well for starters, backing up data shouldn't be dependent on the actual data, right?

i mean, mp3s = jpgs = CR2 files to a machine. or am i missing something?

Well it means you can use different solutions for each data type.

For example having seperate HDD's for your Music and Photos.

Motherboard RAID systems are not recommended for several reasons:

1) Often software based RAID which means a performance hit on your processor and/or the sub-system.
2) Limited data redundancy checking - Most controllers have dedicated logic chips for this.
3) No cache to maintain throughput and/or data integrity.
4) Limited features.
5) Data recovery from a motherboard failure can often be impossible due to firmware changes and/or motherboard revisions.

If you must go down the RAID route buy a controller card and relevant drives. You can get a SAS controller for a couple of hundred bucks and gives you the option of using SATA or SAS drives and the price difference between the two drive systems are neglible especially when you buy enterprise/RAID qualified drives.

Also when building a RAID make sure you buy a extra drive of the same make, as you don't want different drives in your array as spindle vibrations from different drives (or even firmware) can have a detrimental effect on the lifespan of the drives.

Just some useful information to be aware of...

Very good point, although dedicated RAID cards are generally not cheap.

I'd go a NAS of some sort. Myself, I'm relying on a motherboard RAID 1 setup (2 x 500gb drives), an external drive, backing up to DVDs, and probably will invest in a NAS as well in the next six months or so.

Dave

Faolan wrote in post #5787787
Motherboard RAID systems are not recommended for several reasons:

1) Often software based RAID which means a performance hit on your processor and/or the sub-system.
2) Limited data redundancy checking - Most controllers have dedicated logic chips for this.
3) No cache to maintain throughput and/or data integrity.
4) Limited features.
5) Data recovery from a motherboard failure can often be impossible due to firmware changes and/or motherboard revisions.

If you must go down the RAID route buy a controller card and relevant drives. You can get a SAS controller for a couple of hundred bucks and gives you the option of using SATA or SAS drives and the price difference between the two drive systems are neglible especially when you buy enterprise/RAID qualified drives.

Also when building a RAID make sure you buy a extra drive of the same make, as you don't want different drives in your array as spindle vibrations from different drives (or even firmware) can have a detrimental effect on the lifespan of the drives.

Just some useful information to be aware of...