RAID 1 for backup?

[TheDj408]

Can I use two different brand HDD for RAID 1 ? [both 1TB]

Having 2 same brand HDD is better?

Is it a better option for backup instead of having nothing? I cant really upload files coz they are in GBs many times!

What experience do you have with RAID 1?

 

**System is on SSD**

[daniellearmouth]

RAID should never be used for backup if it can at all be avoided.

[Altecice]

RAID should never be used for backup if it can at all be avoided.

 

This. Any data you care about have it in 3 places (ideally 1 place is off-site)

[TheDj408]

RAID should never be used for backup if it can at all be avoided.

Why? Any particular reason ?

[daniellearmouth]

Why? Any particular reason ?

 

With RAID, you open yourself up to failure much easier than you would otherwise.

 

It's also more expensive, with the bigger downside to that being you get less for what you pay for.

A RAID 1 set-up consisting of 3 drives, each 1TB, will give you 1TB for three times the cost, though the bonus is you get redundancy if one of the drives fail. The problem there, however, is that in most RAID configs, when a drive fails, it's a pain to get sorted out, unless you are using a NAS, in which case it's set-up and go.

 

Whereas, a 3TB external drive would be much simpler and safer as far as backup strategies go. Since an external drive has a casing on it and can be transported somewhere, you can give it to a friend or relative as an off-site backup when everything is saved onto it.

[TheDj408]

With RAID, you open yourself up to failure much easier than you would otherwise.

 

It's also more expensive, with the bigger downside to that being you get less for what you pay for.

A RAID 1 set-up consisting of 3 drives, each 1TB, will give you 1TB for three times the cost, though the bonus is you get redundancy if one of the drives fail. The problem there, however, is that in most RAID configs, when a drive fails, it's a pain to get sorted out, unless you are using a NAS, in which case it's set-up and go.

 

Whereas, a 3TB external drive would be much simpler and safer as far as backup strategies go. Since an external drive has a casing on it and can be transported somewhere, you can give it to a friend or relative as an off-site backup when everything is saved onto it.

Why 3? 2 HDD would be enough? Thanks for the insights

Is data recovery difficult if one HDD fails ?

[daniellearmouth]

Why 3? 2 HDD would be enough? Thanks for the insights

Is data recovery difficult if one HDD fails ?

 

Using three was just an example. A two drive array would still work, even if only one drive still worked, but in my opinion, a single drive is always much safer an option than multiple drives in an array, especially since you can have drive recovery performed at some IT shops.

[michrech]

I think what folks are trying to say here is that RAID is for data redundancy / system availability (except for RAID0), *not* backup.  With a RAID array, you could lose all of your HDD's (in your case, two), and you'd have no backup of the data.  With a RAID 1 array, if you had corrupted data written to the array, it'd be mirrored to both drives.  This is what backups (separate from the array) are for.  

 

To answer your question -- yes, you can use differently branded HDDs in your array, so long as they are of similar size.  Just keep in mind that the array will only be as fast as the slowest drive in the array.

 

If you want an actual backup, you can accomplish this in a number of ways, the simplest / cheapest probably being connecting an external HDD to your computer.  Once this is done, you can either manually copy your data to your external, or use software (like Macrium's Reflect, or a number of others) to perform backups on a schedule.

 

 

Can I use two different brand HDD for RAID 1 ? [both 1TB]

Having 2 same brand HDD is better?

Is it a better option for backup instead of having nothing? I cant really upload files coz they are in GBs many times!

What experience do you have with RAID 1?

 

**System is on SSD**