NAS? RAID? SSD? Help! rImac external backup solution

[nrubenstein]

Backblaze.

 

[robgendreau]

BTW, I mentioned I was a fan of the Plugable caddy, and was asked for the link. Here it is: http://plugable.com/products/usb3-sata-uasp1

These folks have good support and good prices; way better than so much of junk I've been through over the years.

I wouldn't recommend the caddy for extended heavy use, mainly due to heat. But I've left a drive in for my regular TM backups, which don't require much access to the drive, so heat isn't much of an issue. The utility comes in the ability to swap out.

Everyone's backup needs are different. For me, theft is probably the biggest hassle after drive failure. This caddy makes offsite and secure storage easy, and easy is important. Otherwise you won't get around to it, and you're hosed.

And I'm not sure anyone mentioned it, but a second computer can be part of a backup plan. It removes the need for a clone, which you should have since being computerless can be a big problem. And drives attached to, or within, that second computer can be used for backup as well as serving files. Some find it as easy to manage as a NAS setup, and it certainly is a good use of an older computer. I have a G4 with Snow Leopard that's still doing that duty after all these years.

 

[UKingdom]

NAS sounds intriguing to me but a little bit overkill for basic needs coupled with the fact that I am the only user, but if one setup could be built for cheap, I would definitely consider it. Isn't Apple's Airport Time Capsule something similar?

My needs are a Time Machine to backup both my internal SSD + external overflow HD, and the intermittent backups of that Time Machine for safety.

I DO have a lot of external overflow HD's, thinking of consolidating them onto one overflow HD, then pairing that with my Mac for day to day use. Time Machine would then back that up.

If NAS is too much, anyone recommend a good Time Machine capable HD at least 4TB in size? Time Machine is mainly for backup and storage so Thunderbolt is probably unnecessary right?

Any thoughts on this for starters? WD Thunderbolt RAID Drive 4TB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0JXE0Y/ref=psdc_595048_t2_B006W3ZWXE

Or WD My Cloud Mirror WDBZVM0040JWT - NAS server - 4 TB Personal Cloud
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cid=283316&lid=5384073&acd=12309207277460810

Hi

In a previous life I have built hundreds of freeNAS servers and 50 or so synology enterprise NAS solutions.

The benefits of a NAS (many listed above by the previous poster) cannot be overstated. Nor the ability to have ONE network drive appear in finder thanks to ZFS or RAID, rather than 6 single external drives. Nor the ability to have redundancy...one drive fails you replace it and all your data is fine (redundancy does not equal backups however). It will also take care of backups of your devices via rsync, mercurial and duplicity, or Time Machine if you insist.

If you have a serious desire to go this route I am happy to work out the requirements and help you spec the right solution for you. Or any others.

If not enjoy this emergency solution of several externals until you yet again outgrow this and come back in a year or two knowing you want a NAS. Rarely are people happy in six months when they deploy a new service in an emergency situation, let alone one as important as your data.

Sorry for the brevity and any typos, I'm on my iPhone.

 

[joema2]

NAS sounds intriguing to me but a little bit overkill for basic needs coupled with the fact that I am the only user...
Any thoughts on this for starters? WD Thunderbolt RAID Drive 4TB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0JXE0Y/ref=psdc_595048_t2_B006W3ZWXE...Or WD My Cloud Mirror WDBZVM0040JWT - NAS server - 4 TB Personal Cloud

I have the 6TB version of the WD Thunderbolt RAID drive. It works well in RAID 0 for that price point. It's not quite as fast as the G-Tech G-RAID, but it's a little cheaper. I like the G-RAID's form factor and metal case.

There are pro/con arguments for backing up to RAID0. Backup and restore is faster, but either drive failing will lose the backup.

The problem with the WD MyCloud is it's much slower than a direct attached Thunderbolt RAID0 array. If you're a single user and you don't absolutely need NAS, I don't see how the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. You are transferring data at network speed vs hard drive speed.