Backup Setup--Suggestions Wanted

[Val-kyrie]

I am backing up my Mac Mini Server and through it also a MB, MBA, iPad, and 3 iPhones. I have an OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual 2 x 4TB setup as independent disks and a 4TB WD My Book.

Here is the situation:

Would it be better (1) to set up the OWC as RAID [1] (redundant) and place all of our family's media (music, photos, videos) and archived software on one disk and use the WD as a TM backup

or​

Would it be better (2) to leave the OWC as independent disks and back up the family media and archives to one OWC disk and TM to the other and use the WD drive as a backup of the family media and archives using a program like Prosoft Data Backup?

The first setup seems simpler (RAID [1]) with a separate TM drive, but the risk is if data corrupts one drive it will pass to the other.

The second setup is a little less elegant and relies on third party backup software (which I own), but reduces the risk of corruption transferring in a RAID [1] setup if the backup software is set up for versioning.

Thoughts? Other suggestions?

[Edited because I confused the two types of RAID]

 

[barbu]

I am backing up my Mac Mini Server and through it also a MB, MBA, iPad, and 3 iPhones. I have an OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual 2 x 4TB setup as independent disks and a 4TB WD My Book.

Here is the situation:

Would it be better (1) to set up the OWC as RAID 0 (redundant) and place all of our family's media (music, photos, videos) and archived software on one disk and use the WD as a TM backup

or​

Would it be better (2) to leave the OWC as independent disks and back up the family media and archives to one OWC disk and TM to the other and use the WD drive as a backup of the family media and archives using a program like Prosoft Data Backup?

The first setup seems simpler (RAID 0) with a separate TM drive, but the risk is if data corrupts one drive it will pass to the other.

The second setup is a little less elegant and relies on third party backup software (which I own), but reduces the risk of corruption transferring in a RAID 0 setup if the backup software is set up for versioning.

Thoughts? Other suggestions?

The second option sounds better mostly because running your Merc in RAID 0 would be very risky. I guess it depends how much total data you need to manage. I would personally use RAID 1 on the Merc drive.

 

[ocabj]

RAID 0 is a stripe, such that both drives are seen as one single volume that is twice the size of the individual drive (in your case, the 2x4 TB is seen as one single 8TB volume). If you lose one drive in a RAID 0 stripe, you lose the entire volume. No data is recoverable. There is no parity.

I think you want RAID 1 for the OWC enclosure, which is a mirrored setup. In your case, the 2x4TB will be seen as one single 4TB volume. If you lose one drive in a RAID 1 mirrored set, you still have the other drive with the same exact data.

 

[Val-kyrie]

RAID 0 is a stripe, such that both drives are seen as one single volume that is twice the size of the individual drive (in your case, the 2x4 TB is seen as one single 8TB volume). If you lose one drive in a RAID 0 stripe, you lose the entire volume. No data is recoverable. There is no parity.

I think you want RAID 1 for the OWC enclosure, which is a mirrored setup. In your case, the 2x4TB will be seen as one single 4TB volume. If you lose one drive in a RAID 1 mirrored set, you still have the other drive with the same exact data.

Yes, I confused the two types of RAID. I meant RAID 1. My only concern is corruption which if it occurs on one drive will automatically transfer to the other drive. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that.

 

[barbu]

Yes, I confused the two types of RAID. I meant RAID 1. My only concern is corruption which if it occurs on one drive will automatically transfer to the other drive. Maybe I shouldn't worry about that.

That is an inescapable possibility with backups and current data filesystems of any kind, sadly. Bit rot/flipped bits can certainly happen. You could make archival DVDs in order to take snapshots over time. I guess that's why Tape drives are still a thing!
http://arstechnica.com/information-...-and-atomic-cows-inside-next-gen-filesystems/

 

[hallux]

No file backup solution is complete without consideration for off-site backups. Should something happen to the single physical location where all the drives are located, you still have no data.

 

[Val-kyrie]

No file backup solution is complete without consideration for off-site backups. Should something happen to the single physical location where all the drives are located, you still have no data.

I agree. I am trying to figure out what to do. My ISP upload speed is insufficient for online backups and I have no offsite location available to store a hard drive.