Hard drive for backup/Time Machine

[Ttap]

I'm setting up a backup plan for my iMac. So far, I'm thinking of using a hard drive dock plus three hard drives - 1 hard drive for Time Machine and 2 for clones.

From poking around here on the forums , it seems that high-speed drives wouldn't be necessary, but that low-noise drives would make sense.

Is that right? If so, any recommendations for HD's in the 1-2 TB range?

While I'm at it, any opinions on the NewerTech Voyager Q Quad (HD dock)?

I'm somewhat of a newbie tech-wise, so please use small words

 

[nyGiants]

Have you looked into NAS (Network-attached storage
) Enclosures?

They have great features such as RAID, ftp (access files from remote locations), http (to server a website), and hot swappable.


Check this link out:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4431440&CatId=2670


http://www.techbargains.com
has deals on them at times.


Personally, I am looking to get this one:
http://www.amazon.com/TS-410-Deskto...2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1311694179&sr=1-2

 

[Ttap]

I had seen the term NAS, but hadn't really looked at it. Time to do some investigating...

At first glance, it seems to be more than I need - but, maybe I'll be surprised.

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Tydog07]

I'm setting up a backup plan for my iMac. So far, I'm thinking of using a hard drive dock plus three hard drives - 1 hard drive for Time Machine and 2 for clones.

From poking around here on the forums , it seems that high-speed drives wouldn't be necessary, but that low-noise drives would make sense.

Is that right? If so, any recommendations for HD's in the 1-2 TB range?

While I'm at it, any opinions on the NewerTech Voyager Q Quad (HD dock)?

I'm somewhat of a newbie tech-wise, so please use small words

Do you really need three backups of a drive?

 

[Ttap]

Do you really need three backups of a drive?

Not absolutely sure. The thinking is:
1 hard drive for Time Machine for day-to-day small emergencies
2 hard drives for bootable clones (1 on-site, 1 off-site) for big disasters

Does that sound like over-kill?

 

[sumone]

Does anyone know whether the lack of third party NAS support for Time Machine has been fixed in lion?

 

[Cynicalone]

Do you really need three backups of a drive?

Not absolutely sure. The thinking is:
1 hard drive for Time Machine for day-to-day small emergencies
2 hard drives for bootable clones (1 on-site, 1 off-site) for big disasters

Does that sound like over-kill?

No it actually sounds very smart.

If I understand your plan correctly you just need two disks to use at home that will be more or less permanently attached to the iMac. And one disk you can move to a safe location.

In that case I would recommend 3 simple USB 2.0 WD 1TB drives. No need for speed if they will only be backups.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=200

 

[nyGiants]

Do you have a old PC collecting dust? If so try FreeNAS. Great Open Source product.


http://lifehacker.com/5822590/turn-an-old-computer-into-a-networked-backup-streaming-or-torrenting-machine-with-freenas

 

[Tydog07]

Do you really need three backups of a drive?

Not absolutely sure. The thinking is:
1 hard drive for Time Machine for day-to-day small emergencies
2 hard drives for bootable clones (1 on-site, 1 off-site) for big disasters

Does that sound like over-kill?

If you are using a 3 drive dock, how will one be off-site. I like your proactive thinking though.

 

[Ttap]

If you are using a 3 drive dock, how will one be off-site. I like your proactive thinking though.

The dock would hold only one drive at a time. The Time Machine drive would be in the dock most of the time. Then I'd update and swap out a bootable drive maybe once a week.

 

[Ttap]

Do you have a old PC collecting dust? If so try FreeNAS. Great Open Source product.


http://lifehacker.com/5822590/turn-an-old-computer-into-a-networked-backup-streaming-or-torrenting-machine-with-freenas

I considered trying to use my old imac somehow (didn't know about NAS at the time), but it would take up more room than the hard drive dock. We're trying to unclutter the house, so I discarded the idea.

 

[icanboogie]

I would get a slim solution if backing up is the main task: Any HDD docking station should do the trick. just plug in the hdd you want to backup to (TM or clones) and you're all set.

Safes space, room and money. And works like a charm for me.

Just to illustrate what I mean:http://www.amazon.de/Cabstone-Docki...e-schwarz/dp/B002UIX8OA/ref=pd_cp_computers_0

 

[Ttap]

I would get a slim solution if backing up is the main task: Any HDD docking station should do the trick. just plug in the hdd you want to backup to (TM or clones) and you're all set.

Safes space, room and money. And works like a charm for me.

Just to illustrate what I mean:http://www.amazon.de/Cabstone-Docki...e-schwarz/dp/B002UIX8OA/ref=pd_cp_computers_0

That's a neat little dock - do you know if they sell it in the U.S. ?

 

[icanboogie]

That's a neat little dock - do you know if they sell it in the U.S. ?

I don't know – but I won't bother too much, as they function quite the same.

Here's a quick overview what Amazon offers in US:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=hdd+dock&x=0&y=0

I would get the cheapest one you can find that doesn't hurt your aesthetic eye...

Oh, btw, you were asking for suitable HDs: I like the WD Green Caviar. Fast, Silent, Cheap. Available as 2 TB for about 65 Euros over here.