Recommend me a 4TB RAID Backup System

futureal33

futureal33

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Afternoon all,

I am looking for a backup solution for 3yrs worth of RAW files, and need something around the 4TB size, so when in RAID would be 2TB mirrored.

At the moment, I have a single drive Synology DS110j which has a 2TB drive in it, and this drive backs up to a 2TB USB drive plugged in the back of it overnight. The problem is that this drive is also used for a music server, document server, and a host of other things - so it is not purely for my photo backups.

Ideally, I would like to keep this drive and use it purely for music, films, docs, and have another system for my photos - which are now very important to my business.

My current workflow is this:

Import RAW files to PC (internal 2TB SATA drive)
Work on RAW files from internal 2TB drive.
SyncToy sync from internal drive to Synology 2TB drive, daily upon system shutdown - this is copy 2
Synology backs itself up daily to 2TB USB drive - this is copy 3

So far, this system has been faultless... but I cant shake the feeling that I should been keeping my RAW files and photos isolated from my other stuff, and it should be self maintained on a RAIDed enclosure, ideally with a USB daily backup too.

So... seems I have quite a few options, but just wondered if anyone could recommend me anything?

There is no specific need for the photos to be on my network, so a USB 3.0 enclosure would also be considered, but there seem to be many more NAS options these days..

Thanks
 
futureal33 said:
There is no specific need for the photos to be on my network, so a USB 3.0 enclosure would also be considered, but there seem to be many more NAS options these days..

Thanks
Click to expand...
So... how do you want to connect this new box into the system? Do you want a second, full blown NAS or just something that has an e-SATA/USB3 interface on it that connects to your PC and takes a second copy of your data from your PC?

How will you maintain copy 3 (or is that what the RAID 1 is for?)

This: http://www.ebuyer.com/345159-startech-4-bay-external-hard-drive-array-raid-tower-sat3540u3er is about as cheap as you'll get for external USB3/eSATA enclosed RAID system (note there are several versions that look the same at different price points - make sure you are looking at the right one!!). Basically, you put some HDDs in, select the RAID mode you want and then forget it. It appears as an HDD to the system it is attached to (eSATA or USB3).

I have the JBOD version (no RAID so slightly cheaper) as I wanted to see each disk individually. The only negative comments are that the fan ticks very slightly and there is no damping on the disk enclosure so you can hear the disks.
 
Andy,

Thanks for the reply. Saw that one before while searching around, and the problem with that is that its actually cheaper to buy one ready made!

For example, buying that and adding two 2TB WD drives into it brings the price to £297

Whereas I could buy this new for £245

I dont think I need 4 disks tbh, 2x2TB drives should be sufficient for my needs. I reckon I shoot around 500GB/yr absolute maximum, so 2TB (4TB in mirrored RAID) would do me for 4 years worth of photos - after that I get rid of the RAW files I no longer need, and archive my weddings off onto BluRay.
 
Yup.. If you only want 2 drives, and you want a RAID1 pair (so you view it as a single drive and that's all you want) you can get dedicated 2-bay units.

BTW: having just bought a couple of disks, 3TB is the best price/capacity ratio now (2TB = £70, 3TB = £90, 4TB = ~£150). BTW: the Duo and Pro Duo are different products and have different electronics.... I'd definitely go the Pro Duo looking at the specs.
 
arad85 said:
Yup.. If you only want 2 drives, and you want a RAID1 pair (so you view it as a single drive and that's all you want) you can get dedicated 2-bay units.

BTW: having just bought a couple of disks, 3TB is the best price/capacity ratio now (2TB = £70, 3TB = £90, 4TB = ~£150). BTW: the Duo and Pro Duo are different products and have different electronics.... I'd definitely go the Pro Duo looking at the specs.
Click to expand...

What disks did you go for? Im looking at the WD Reds, which seem suited for a NAS/RAID environment.

The problem with the Buffalo units is that they use Seagate drives... which I have never yet had one thats lasted longer than 2 years! Maybe Im just unlucky.... but they do seem to get more negative reviews than the WD counterparts..
 
I'd be tempted to find a second hand hp micro server. You can put your own preference of disks and setup on it then. You should be able to pick one up for a ton and then add disks.

Mine works great for media storage. Running windows home server as it was cheap and does exactly what I need.
 
futureal33 said:
Andy,

Thanks for the reply. Saw that one before while searching around, and the problem with that is that its actually cheaper to buy one ready made!

For example, buying that and adding two 2TB WD drives into it brings the price to £297

Whereas I could buy this new for £245

I dont think I need 4 disks tbh, 2x2TB drives should be sufficient for my needs. I reckon I shoot around 500GB/yr absolute maximum, so 2TB (4TB in mirrored RAID) would do me for 4 years worth of photos - after that I get rid of the RAW files I no longer need, and archive my weddings off onto BluRay.
Click to expand...

Yup, but the startech you can chuck another 2 drives in when it starts to fill up. Can't do that with the buffalo.

I've got the raid startech (got 2) and run them off the back of a microserver. find them faultless so far (over esata). Don't have the ticky fan that andy has.

Run all of my storage on normal samsungs. I can't help feeling the "nas specific" drives for home users are a bit of a money spinner..

You could go for the Microserver route but its a very manual setup and you need windows/OS licences.
 
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neil_g said:
Yup, but the startech you can chuck another 2 drives in when it starts to fill up. Can't do that with the buffalo.
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How does yours cope if you have a 2 disk RAID and then chuck another 2 disks in? Do you have to copy the data off first?

BTW: I am being super picky on the fan... it's essentially inaudible during the day and only just audible at night.
 
arad85 said:
How does yours cope if you have a 2 disk RAID and then chuck another 2 disks in? Do you have to copy the data off first?

BTW: I am being super picky on the fan... it's essentially inaudible during the day and only just audible at night.
Click to expand...

+1, would be interested to know that.

Also, im guessing it doesnt have a USB socket built in to allow backup of the data to another external drive?
 
futureal33 said:
Also, regarding the Startech, what happens when the PC powers off? Does the Startech keep the drives spinning, or does it go into a sleep mode, waking when the PC comes back online?
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You can set it to go off when the attached device goes off, set it to go off 15 seconds after the computer goes off or set it to stay on constantly.

I've not tried resuming from no power (my machines are never off...) although the manual describes the setting as "sync" it doesn't explicitly say if they power back on again - Neil?
 
arad85 said:
How does yours cope if you have a 2 disk RAID and then chuck another 2 disks in? Do you have to copy the data off first?
Click to expand...

futureal33 said:
+1, would be interested to know that.
Click to expand...

you know what I don't know.. I cant find anything on that.

Also, im guessing it doesnt have a USB socket built in to allow backup of the data to another external drive?
Click to expand...

no.

futureal33 said:
Also, regarding the Startech, what happens when the PC powers off? Does the Startech keep the drives spinning, or does it go into a sleep mode, waking when the PC comes back online?
Click to expand...

it goes to sleep.
 
neil_g said:
if I was at work this week id grab a few old 80gb drives from under my desk and test it.
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Probably worth doing the test when you are back in work anyway. At least you'll know what the disaster recovery process is then :)
 
arad85 said:
Probably worth doing the test when you are back in work anyway. At least you'll know what the disaster recovery process is then :)
Click to expand...

true, im a bit more interested in the expansion though. recovery would probably just be a case of pulling the failed drive and hot swapping in a new and waiting for the "rebuild" light to go out.
 
RAID is not Backup it's a technology that protects against hard disk failure &/or increases performance over that of a single disk.

If you need all your RAW files online all the time RAID can be convenient so even if a disk fails you don't have to rummage around to restore your backup but can carry on working (while replacing the failed disk).

For online storage I have a couple of large NAS RAID arrays (Synology DS1511+) but for backup & archive after flirting with LTO tape I now use standalone USB3 drives as the most convenient & cost effective solution. Toshiba 3TB external USB3 drives are just £91 delivered & at that price you can buy several for the price of even the simplest RAID http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-HDW...F8&qid=1368262251&sr=8-1&keywords=toshiba+3tb
 
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nigelbb said:
RAID is not Backup it's a technology that protects against hard disk failure &/or increases performance over that of a single disk.

If you need all your RAW files online all the time RAID can be convenient so even if a disk fails you don't have to rummage around to restore your backup but can carry on working (while replacing the failed disk).

For online storage I have a couple of large NAS RAID arrays (Synology DS1511+) but for backup & archive after flirting with LTO tape I now use standalone USB3 drives as the most convenient & cost effective solution. Toshiba 3TB external USB3 drives are just £91 delivered & at that price you can buy several for the price of even the simplest RAID http://www.amazon.co.uk/Toshiba-HDW...F8&qid=1368262251&sr=8-1&keywords=toshiba+3tb
Click to expand...

Only £84.99 for Seagate at ebuyer....

http://www.ebuyer.com/store/Storage/cat/Hard-Drive---External
 
neil_g said:
Agreed, and I'll be the first person normally to shout that. But in this instance the OP is looking to back the raid up to a separate drive.
Click to expand...
The OP said
I am looking for a backup solution for 3yrs worth of RAW files
Click to expand...
& then went on to talk about RAID. My point was that if he needs to have all the RAW files online then a RAID solution could be good but if he wants a backup & archive solution then it's much cheaper to use USB3 external disks. Paradoxically 3/4TB external disks are often cheaper than buying a 3/4TB internal disk.
 
nigelbb said:
The OP said & then went on to talk about RAID. My point was that if he needs to have all the RAW files online then a RAID solution could be good but if he wants a backup & archive solution then it's much cheaper to use USB3 external disks. Paradoxically 3/4TB external disks are often cheaper than buying a 3/4TB internal disk.
Click to expand...

youre preaching to the converted there bud :)
 
Iv'e got a Netgear ReadyNAS nv+ V2, it's the 4bay version so you can put upto 4 hdds in. If a drive fails you just replace it and the raid will rebuild itself and you can continue to use it whilst this is in process. It has Gigabit ethernet so great for transferring large files across network as well. Can be accessed from anywhere in the world as well. Personally I would say this is one of the best things I have bought in a long time. I got mine from dabs for £149.99 but I think they have gone up in price since then. Worth a look into.
 
I've never been a fan if netgears storage devices, I used to have a pair of readynas nv+ and following an issue I had a mare with their support do dropped them for synology who are miles better. Also our rather expensive netgear storage box at work (used for archiving) is a POS.
 
I know some of the older ReadyNAS people had issues with, but touch wood I haven't had any problems with mine. I also use mine to take a backup of my websites every night via cron job, so I can also keep a local copy after my last host decided not to renew the lease on their servers and gave me a week to get my sites transferred.
 
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