A RAID card is also DAS (DAS = Direct Attached Storage).The USB card is not critical. If I ditch the FC card, I also ditch the XServe RAID.
For this purpose, what box would you use for NAS and DAS, knowing that current data uses 6TB NAS (movies and music served to the house) and 3TB working files (photo and video files, some docs as well). And you need to grow at least 1TB/yr on the NAS and DAS, each.
That means I need at least one 8-bay NAS and one 10+ bay DAS.
At any rate, I'd sell off the existing FC storage, as it's too small for your listed capacity requirements, and use the funds towards the equipment you currently need.
Working Data:
- Areca card (still not sure of the port count yet, as I still need an idea of capacity growth)
- MaxUpgrades internal HDD connect kit (works with up to 4x disks via the HDD bays)
- Past that, use Sans Digital MiniSAS enclosures (i.e. TR8X = 8 bay enclosure that will attach to the card; you will need internal to external cables to connect it to the RAID card if you need one or more of these; here, but only if you need them). It takes 1x per internal port = 4x disks for direct connections. Distance is limited to 1.0 meters due to SATA disks.
Backup:
- 4 port eSATA card or 2x 2 port cards (just don't use them simultaneously if you go with 2x cards). Least expensive 4 port card that has OS X drivers I'm aware of (here).
- 2x Sans Digital TR8MP enclosures (each will come with a 2 port eSATA card).
NAS:
- You can buy, or you can build (DIY, such as an unRAID system). A reasonable PC, and some PM enclosures running Linux (Z-RAID) would suffice as well (unRAID is just software).
- Buy if you're interested in buying a ready-made unit, you can look at a tNAS from DAT Optic ($900 cheaper, and has 12 bays).
The NAS won't be a problem. As per eSATA, you're able to use 2.0 meter cables (will come with the Sans Digital TR8MP enclosures).The NAS and DAS will be located in my basement, directly beneath my office, so I will only potentially hear the MP RAID, not the NAS or DAS (I only need about 3' of cable, potentially less but I prefer not to make things too tight for maintenance purposes).
For the primary RAID, you're limited to 1.0 meters due to running SATA disks (runs a much lower voltage than SAS).