for someone new to RAID & backup

[woodbine]

I'm an experienced Mac user, but have never used RAID. I have used backup like SuperDuper.
However, I want to set up something for my brother and his video editing storage that will really work well.
I am giving him a 2 bay storage device, that has RAID built in. Drives are in, but I'd like to deliver it to him in a way that he doesn't have to do anything but plug in.
Option1: RAID 1 via USB3. Drive failure protection, no real data protection
Option2: JBOD via Firewire, using SuperDuper on a regular basis. Drive failure protection and data protection
He doesn't have the option for RAID and backup...so one or 'tother.
Or use Time Machine instead of SuperDuper? That way he can go back to something he may have erased by mistake?
Cheers

 

[hallux]

How is JBOD any kind of protection? Are you using JBOD to make one volume of multiple drives? In that instance, a single drive failure would likely result in loss of all data on the volume. JBOD can also report each disk to the OS independently, is that the way you were planning on setting it up? That's better but still not a great backup solution.

This is still not an end-all backup plan. A GOOD backup plan includes off-site storage, to account for theft of the enclosure or loss of the building.

For my MOST important data (that which can not be re-produced such as photographs), I have it stored in 3 places - the SSD in my MBP, the external drive I use for my TM backup and using a CrashPlan account to backup to a cloud service. I could lose my MBP to fire or theft today and be able to restore my data that can't be re-created within hours.

 

[phrehdd]

I'll just say the previous poster pretty much said it all.

Important "stuff" should also be stored off site. You can move physical media or perhaps engage an on line service.

As for external backup, for every two people you'll get three opinions. Everyone had a different take on how this might be accomplished. I'll just say I am not sure that Time Machine for video files is the best approach given their size.

SuperDuper is a very nice tool as is CCC and even Retrospect. There are ways to use schedules and scripts to set up backups.

 

[glenthompson]

I'm an experienced Mac user, but have never used RAID. I have used backup like SuperDuper.
However, I want to set up something for my brother and his video editing storage that will really work well.
I am giving him a 2 bay storage device, that has RAID built in. Drives are in, but I'd like to deliver it to him in a way that he doesn't have to do anything but plug in.
Option1: RAID 1 via USB3. Drive failure protection, no real data protection
Option2: JBOD via Firewire, using SuperDuper on a regular basis. Drive failure protection and data protection
He doesn't have the option for RAID and backup...so one or 'tother.
Or use Time Machine instead of SuperDuper? That way he can go back to something he may have erased by mistake?
Cheers

Repeat after me, "RAID is for fault tolerance, not for backup." It can be useful if a drive failure causes loss of business income.

You can't really deliver a turnkey backup solution without his active participation. His internal drive needs to be backed up, any external drives with data need to be backed up, and he needs to have an off site solution.

I prefer time machine for primary backup because it is automatic and protects fairly well against stupid user tricks. Easy to go back and get a copy of that file that got mangled. I also like CCC for maintaining a bootable clone so I can be back up and running quickly.

Some may consider it overkill but I use time machine with at least two destinations, CCC clone, and Crashplan for offsite. I also test my backups on a regular basis. This is all for personal stuff, not a business.