LaCie 2big Quadra USB 3.0 vs WD My Book Duo

[qcmacmini]

I've decided that I want a hardware raid setup to use for my Time Machine backups. I know the Airport Extreme only supports USB 2.0, but if I ever restore my Mac I can direct connect and make use of the USB 3.0 interface.

Which product is better? I want to avoid NAS, as it's not officially supported for Time Machine and I don't want to waste an Ethernet port as I have lots of devices connected to my router.

 

[jdphoto]

I've decided that I want a hardware raid setup to use for my Time Machine backups. I know the Airport Extreme only supports USB 2.0, but if I ever restore my Mac I can direct connect and make use of the USB 3.0 interface.

Which product is better? I want to avoid NAS, as it's not officially supported for Time Machine and I don't want to waste an Ethernet port as I have lots of devices connected to my router.

I chose the WD Duo as I've had good experience with Western Digital in general and Red Drives specifically. We support a few LaCie external arrays in my office and while they have good customer service we've had frequent failures with these devices.

 

[qcmacmini]

I chose the WD Duo as I've had good experience with Western Digital in general and Red Drives specifically. We support a few LaCie external arrays in my office and while they have good customer service we've had frequent failures with these devices.

Thanks, I am also reading good things about the WD Red Drives.

I've since learnt I can get education pricing on the WD Duo, making the 8TB the same price as the LaCie 2big 4TB.

While the LaCie looks great, I think the WD is a better deal for a backup solution.

I went LaCie for my Thunderbolt external though, because they seem to have the best performance right now.

 

[qcmacmini]

I chose the WD Duo as I've had good experience with Western Digital in general and Red Drives specifically. We support a few LaCie external arrays in my office and while they have good customer service we've had frequent failures with these devices.

How do you manage RAID with the WD Duo on your Mac? It says the software is Windows only. There doesn't seem to be a switch on the back like the LaCie to select RAID 1.

 

[theSeb]

How do you manage RAID with the WD Duo on your Mac? It says the software is Windows only. There doesn't seem to be a switch on the back like the LaCie to select RAID 1.

It's all software raid, so you manage it via Disk Utility in OS X.

 

[qcmacmini]

It's all software raid, so you manage it via Disk Utility in OS X.

So that means I can't use it as RAID without having it hooked up to a computer?

 

[theSeb]

So that means I can't use it as RAID without having it hooked up to a computer?

EDIT: One moment. I didn't understand your question at first, because I hadn't read your original post. I have never tried to do what you're thinking of doing, but thinking about it logically, no, you will not be able to use either of these enclosures in RAID connected to a USB port on a router.

 

[qcmacmini]

EDIT: One moment. I didn't understand your question at first, because I hadn't read your original post. I have never tried to do what you're thinking of doing, but thinking about it logically, no, you will not be able to use either of these enclosures in RAID connected to a USB port on a router.

Well, according to online reviews both devices are Hardware RAID, not software.

The LaCie has buttons on the back to configure it, the WD My Book Duo is software controlled.

Are you sure it won't work?

 

[theSeb]

Well, according to online reviews both devices are Hardware RAID, not software.

The LaCie has buttons on the back to configure it, the WD My Book Duo is software controlled.

Are you sure it won't work?

I have a Lacie 2 Big, but the more expensive Thunderbolt version that I bought a couple of years ago. It is definitely software RAID. However, I have just double checked and it seems that the more current USB 3 version does have hardware RAID, so my apologies.

https://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?id=10598

The hardware RAID controller ensures sustained performance and prevents dropped frames.

In that case I see no reason why the Lacie would not work for your intended use case.

I am also surprised by your research that says the WD MyBook Duo also has hardware RAID. I am 100% sure this wasn't the case the last time I was considering buying one. Man, have I not been paying attention for that long?

Edit: Damn, it looks like I have not been paying attention for too long. The new one does have hardware RAID

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1260#Tab2

True hardware RAID provides an independent CPU to manage RAID volumes and maximize bandwidth for reduced bottlenecks and improved data throughput.

I am shocked. Please ignore my responses in this thread.

Personally I would go for the Lacie. Just a word of caution : the WD utilities for OS X have a history of breaking badly when OS X is updated by Apple. Again, this might have changed, but I would still be wary. Even if I bought one of the WD drives, or enclosures, I would not use their bloatware.

 

[qcmacmini]

I have a Lacie 2 Big, but the more expensive Thunderbolt version that I bought a couple of years ago. It is definitely software RAID. However, I have just double checked and it seems that the more current USB 3 version does have hardware RAID, so my apologies.

https://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?id=10598



In that case I see no reason why the Lacie would not work for your intended use case.

I am also surprised by your research that says the WD MyBook Duo also has hardware RAID. I am 100% sure this wasn't the case the last time I was considering buying one. Man, have I not been paying attention for that long?

Edit: Damn, it looks like I have not been paying attention for too long. The new one does have hardware RAID

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=1260#Tab2



I am shocked. Please ignore my responses in this thread.

Personally I would go for the Lacie. Just a word of caution : the WD utilities for OS X have a history of breaking badly when OS X is updated by Apple. Again, this might have changed, but I would still be wary. Even if I bought one of the WD drives, or enclosures, I would not use their bloatware.

Yup, even though the tech is not new, it seems it is finally just now at the retail/prosumer level.

Well on price, reliability and functionality, the WD My Book Duo seems to be the better option.

That was my query above though, it seems their Mac software support sucks, unless you buy the more expensive Thunderbolt version, which I don't need in this case considering I want to connect to an Airport Extreme and use RAID 1, which doesn't need the speed of Thunderbolt. Also they are HDDs not SSDs so I don't need TRIM either, which Thunderbolt would support.

 

[theSeb]

Why do you particularly want RAID 1 for TM backups though? Personally I would rethink the backup strategy. All of my Macs have their dedicated stand-alone drive for TM and then each one has one or two smaller ones for clones using Carbon Copy Cloner on a schedule. I feel that this is a much safer approach and will get me back to work much faster.

 

[qcmacmini]

Why do you particularly want RAID 1 for TM backups though? Personally I would rethink the backup strategy. All of my Macs have their dedicated stand-alone drive for TM and then each one has one or two smaller ones for clones using Carbon Copy Cloner on a schedule. I feel that this is a much safer approach and will get me back to work much faster.

Because we will soon have three Macs in the house, two MacBook Airs and my Mac mini, and an integrated solution is just easier than drives hanging off everything. I toyed with getting another Mac mini as a server, but it's an expensive exercise, they hold their value second hand. Airport Extreme is just cheaper, more elegant, and easier, plus gives us more Ethernet ports in the house which I'm currently short of and AC wifi for the MacBooks.

Having RAID 1 means I can still read off the drive if one dies, at the same speed, then I can restore the RAID bundle at my leisure. It just seems to be a nice easy solution.

Also, what's the chances of a backup drive giving up when I need to restore? Chances are fingers crossed I'll rarely need to restore anything.

I guess the only thing that sucks is that if a RAID HDD dies under warranty, WD or LaCie would repair the unit, but I would need to copy my data somewhere in the meantime.