RAID enclosure

[robrose20]

I want to get a external RAID enclosure for secure backup of my digital content. Any recommendations? Thanks

[slater-k]

I'm currently looking at these NAS enclosures which look good and aren't expensive (great reviews around too)
http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=11&pid=48
http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=10&pid=52
but does anyone know where a 1000base-T ethernet network would be in the speed stakes when compared to USB2, firewire800 or eSATA?

Cheers

[errol]

I want to get a external RAID enclosure for secure backup of my digital content. Any recommendations? Thanks

Are you sure you want a RAID drive for backup? I assume you mean a stripped array, which means two drives being combined for faster speeds (RAID 0). I wouldn't recommend this for backup since the drives have twice the likelihood of failure.

I'd recommend RAID 1 for backup, which mirrors the two drives.

I'd recommend the Western Digital My Book Premium Edition II. They are a bit pricey, and like 1TB costs $400 (1.5, and 2 TB also available), but it has fw800,400, and usb 2.0.


EDIT: I found a great enclosure for you: NewerTech Guardian Maximum

[robrose20]

Are you sure you want a RAID drive for backup? I assume you mean a stripped array, which means two drives being combined for faster speeds (RAID 0). I wouldn't recommend this for backup since the drives have twice the likelihood of failure.

I'd recommend RAID 1 for backup, which mirrors the two drives.

I'd recommend the Western Digital My Book Premium Edition II. They are a bit pricey, and like 1TB costs $400 (1.5, and 2 TB also available), but it has fw800,400, and usb 2.0.


EDIT: I found a great enclosure for you: NewerTech Guardian Maximum

I want Raid 1 for backup, not Raid 0. The Guardian Maximum is very expensive.

[robrose20]

I would like something that is Raid 1 capable, and will give me at least 1 TB of storage. Thanks.

[prostuff1]

How much are you looking to spend??

You can buy pre-built NAS boxes or you can just as easily build your own. I am a huge fan of the second option as it allow the storage to grow as you need it to. And you can usually put on together for less then buying a pre-built decent NAS.

Head over to the Home Theater PC section of AVS forum and they should be able to get you on the right track.

You rally don't need high end hardware to build a good home made NAS.

[errol]

Here's a OWC drive that's cheaper, but it's only for IDE drives. http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/MEFW912AL2/

I don't know of any 1tb IDE drives though.

[-hh]

I'm currently looking at these NAS enclosures which look good and aren't expensive (great reviews around too)
http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=11&pid=48
http://www.thecus.com/products_over.php?cid=10&pid=52
but does anyone know where a 1000base-T ethernet network would be in the speed stakes when compared to USB2, firewire800 or eSATA?

Cheers

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths in Megabytes per second...but do note that these do NOT include overhead:

USB2: .......................... 60 MB/s
Firewire 800: ................. 98.3 MB/s
gigabit ethernet: ........... 125 MB/s
Serial ATA (SATA-150): .. 150 MB/s
eSATA (SATA 300):....... 300 MB/s


Pragmaticallly, most HDs today can't saturate a SATA-150 interface. As such, the step 'up' to eSATA is really reserved for RAID 0's (speed), and at this point, gigabit ethernet is still fine...unless you have a lot of network overhead or traffic to contend with, it should be within 80-90% of the effective I/O speed of an internal HD.

FWIW, I've just upgraded my home network to gigabit ethernet in anticipation of finding just the right NAS later this year. I'll be looking at your URLs shortly.

And for a point of reference:

Wireless 802.11n ............ 31 MB/s


-hh

[slater-k]

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_device_bandwidths in Megabytes per second...but do note that these do NOT include overhead:

USB2: .......................... 60 MB/s
Firewire 800: ................. 98.3 MB/s
gigabit ethernet: ........... 125 MB/s
Serial ATA (SATA-150): .. 150 MB/s
eSATA (SATA 300):....... 300 MB/s

FWIW, I've just upgraded my home network to gigabit ethernet in anticipation of finding just the right NAS later this year. I'll be looking at your URLs shortly.

-hh

Thanks
I think it would be worth you checking them out - the 3200 you can set up as RAID5 too. It all looks good, i think i'll be getting one in the next week or so.

[GregE]

I want Raid 1 for backup, not Raid 0. The Guardian Maximum is very expensive.

Too bad because it is really a nice drive. I like mine. I also want a Drobo (http://www.drobo.com) once they get firewire.

[jcvmf214]

Too bad because it is really a nice drive. I like mine. I also want a Drobo (http://www.drobo.com) once they get firewire.


That is what I was thinking at first. a drobo. to keep my itunes files on.

[robrose20]

Too bad because it is really a nice drive. I like mine. I also want a Drobo (http://www.drobo.com) once they get firewire.

Drobo looks nice ... needs firewire ...

[Sesshi]

You're talking wire speeds there, not NAS device speeds. Gigabit doesn't always mean gigabit.

Check out this list for how pathetic some devices can be.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_nas/Itemid,190

Most of the NAS's I bought have been tossed aside, although I've run the Thecus N5200 for a while - one of the best of a mediocre bunch - but I've since transitioned back 100% to silenced PC's running Windows Server 2003. A refurb Mini + FW drive in many cases will perform better than even midrange NAS enclosures which are probably only a couple of hundred away from a refurb Mini.

If it's just an enclosure you want, this looks good:
http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-to-firewire-enclosure-raid.html Looks like hardware RAID0 only though, so you'd have to RAID1 in software.

[robrose20]

You're talking wire speeds there, not NAS device speeds. Gigabit doesn't always mean gigabit.

Check out this list for how pathetic some devices can be.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/component/option,com_nas/Itemid,190

Most of the NAS's I bought have been tossed aside, although I've run the Thecus N5200 for a while - one of the best of a mediocre bunch - but I've since transitioned back 100% to silenced PC's running Windows Server 2003. A refurb Mini + FW drive in many cases will perform better than even midrange NAS enclosures which are probably only a couple of hundred away from a refurb Mini.

If it's just an enclosure you want, this looks good:
http://www.cooldrives.com/sata-to-firewire-enclosure-raid.html Looks like hardware RAID0 only though, so you'd have to RAID1 in software.

That is what I am looking for but I want Raid 1, it doesn't need to be a NAS (although that would be nice). I just want a secure place to store my files.

Thanks!!

[supercooled]

That is what I was thinking at first. a drobo. to keep my itunes files on.

It doesn't offer anything unique or revolutionary for a $499 enclosure. I rather spend that money on something with greater expandability.

[UltraNEO*]

That is what I am looking for but I want Raid 1, it doesn't need to be a NAS (although that would be nice). I just want a secure place to store my files.

Thanks!!

If you need to make secure backups and store huge quantity of files, I'd recommend investing in a BluRay Writer, at least this way even if the drive does fail, you'll still have your data. Currently, media coming in at 25GB a disc, at the low end. In time they'll probably hit 100GB mark, pretty soon. Just my suggestion.

[jturn00]

I had a cavalry 1 TB drive that did raid (2x500 drives)but it seemed to cause me problems and I couldn't read some of the files. I was using it as Raid 0 as I had about 550gb of data. Eventually, I got worried that the whole thing would die and I would be left without any access to my data. I ended up buying a Infrant (now netgear) readynas. It has the ability to hold 4 drives (i got mine with 3 and then added a fourth). It has realtime monitoring and sends me an email if there are any errors. It also has the ability to stream music through itunes (using firefly) so if you store you music on it you can share it. Pretty good support as there is an active message group at www.infrant.com/forum.

I back up my critical documents from the NAS using idrive.com which is offsite should something happen to the NAS

Jeff

[jcvmf214]

It doesn't offer anything unique or revolutionary for a $499 enclosure. I rather spend that money on something with greater expandability.

So besides an internal raid what did you have in mind?
I need to be able to stack hard drives 4-6 at most is all I will ever need

[Sesshi]

That is what I am looking for but I want Raid 1, it doesn't need to be a NAS (although that would be nice). I just want a secure place to store my files.

Thanks!!

You did look at the rest of the site, right?

[jcvmf214]

I have been hearing a lot about fire wire and that drobo does not have it. For give the newbie question . is it faster than usb?

would an internal raid card for the mac be faster?

[gazfocus]

I would recommend an ICY BOX NAS4220.

It has RAID0 and RAID1, it's a NAS enclosure, and has a ftp server, dhcp server, print server, and a bittorrent server built in. And it can be accessed from anywhere in the world due to the FTP server.

[Sesshi]

I have been hearing a lot about fire wire and that drobo does not have it. For give the newbie question . is it faster than usb?

would an internal raid card for the mac be faster?

Yes (for the most part), and yes.

[supercooled]

So besides an internal raid what did you have in mind?
I need to be able to stack hard drives 4-6 at most is all I will ever need

Apple's Xserve Raid without the astronomical price tag.

I just don't think it's possible to get it at any sensible price point unless you built it yourself and that's what I'm looking to do. Unfortunately you'll have to sacrifice a few things along the way; aesthetics being one. Look over at Hardforum.com and they have a few people running crazy setups.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l81/dbz33/DSC01287.jpg

Whoa, Nelly!

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1146317

[JockItch43]

Drobo looks nice ... needs firewire ...

Firewire 800 or especially eSATA and I'm all over a Drobo. I really hope they come to market with this eventually.

[jcvmf214]

um I dont need anything that serious.

[supercooled]

um I dont need anything that serious.

Nonsense! Every body could use a 10TB storage unit. You'll never know when you need to download the entire internet.

[firestarter]

I want to get a external RAID enclosure for secure backup of my digital content. Any recommendations? Thanks

So, do you want to store your files on your computer AND this RAID box, or are you treating a mirrored drive as your storage and backup?

Mirrored RAID is NOT a backup. If you want a backup think of the following situations:

- What happens if you delete a file?
- What happens if your house burns down / someone steals all your hardware
- What happens if a file gets corrupted?
- What happens if a virus or OS upgrade corrupts all attached disks (like OSX did a few years back with Oxford chipset firewire drives)?

If you're going to buy mirrored storage, you're buying an expensive box containing two drives. Better to buy those two drives separately and back up to each one in rotation, leaving the other somewhere safe outside your house (encrypt the backup if you must, remember the risk of identity theft if it was stolen).

I do this, and leave a disk in my desk at work.

If you rotate backups in this way - you're protected against almost all the above problems. A mirrored drive only protects you from a single drive failure.

[jcvmf214]

Nonsense! Every body could use a 10TB storage unit. You'll never know when you need to download the entire internet.

Some day perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised if in the future people kept their entire video libraries on one of those things. I see that as a the next victor in the format wars. which by the way is over for now.