Expanding Storage

[Stam]

Hi All,

 

As per topic's subject i am looking to expand the available storage on my PC. However the problem is that I am a completly inexperienced on these type of stuff and as such I would appreciate to receive some general directions on how to do such a thing.

 

So my initial idea was to invest on a NAS or try to built something like a small server using parts and stuff from old PC components available in the house however I soon realized that this might be an expensive solution which would support  storage capacities way beyond my need.

 

As of now i have a MOBO which supports 2 x M2 SSD slots plus 8 x SATA 3.0 ports (Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero) while the case (lian li pc-o11 dynamic) support up to 3 x 3.5 HDD and/or 8 x SSD of which I have utilized  only 1 M2 slot with a 1TB SSD. Therefore my idea is to simple install additional drives in order to hit a size of abt 6TB total available storage capacity.

 

Now judging by the various videos regarding raid setup and different arrangements (0,1,5,6,10) I feel like it is a rather complicated subject which is the starting point that I do need some advice / info.

 

PS : Although I am not sure if it matters my files are typically GoPro Videos and photos with max size of abt 3Gb.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

[LWM723]

You don't need RAID. Just install the drives and use as normal storage.

[Stam]

Thnx for the reply however for my better understanding can you please elaborate why the best option is to install some drives as they are ?

 

To my understanding so far multiple disks will appear and their storage will not be united while in case of a disk failure I will loose all data in that disk.

 

 

[LWM723]

If you want redundancy use raid or an external/cloud backup.

[LWM723]

Or just sync your drives in real-time with DSynchronize , a free portable software. Much easier than raid and it's free.

[Blue4130]

6 hours ago, Stam said:

Thnx for the reply however for my better understanding can you please elaborate why the best option is to install some drives as they are ?

 

To my understanding so far multiple disks will appear and their storage will not be united while in case of a disk failure I will loose all data in that disk.

 

 

Raid is not a backup. It's for high availability. Since you really don't need too much space, I would get two 6 to 10tb drives. Install one internally and put the other one in a USB dock. Every day or week plug it in and sync a backup. Unplug and store away for the next scheduled backup. 

 

It will be much cheaper, less hassle with software setup (yes, truenas and unraid are simple, but still more work than a USB drive) 

 

This goes out the window if you have multiple people/machines to backup or if you have major amounts of data to backup. 

[Stam]

21 hours ago, Blue4130 said:

Raid is not a backup. It's for high availability. Since you really don't need too much space, I would get two 6 to 10tb drives. Install one internally and put the other one in a USB dock. Every day or week plug it in and sync a backup. Unplug and store away for the next scheduled backup. 

 

It will be much cheaper, less hassle with software setup (yes, truenas and unraid are simple, but still more work than a USB drive) 

 

This goes out the window if you have multiple people/machines to backup or if you have major amounts of data to backup. 

Is there any option i could do that with back up drive being internal? Also can you revert with some software options to sync and backup?

[Blue4130]

32 minutes ago, Stam said:

Is there any option i could do that with back up drive being internal? Also can you revert with some software options to sync and backup?

You can keep the backup in the machine, but that is a big risk. If your psu decides to die it can take out your backup. If you get a virus or ransomware, it takes out your backup. If you spill your coffee on the tower, it can take out the backup. (see a theme here?) 

Keeping it air gapped when not actively backing up is the safest way to go. 

 

As for software, there is plenty that will sync and backup with easy to use schedulers. I actually just use the windows built in stuff, but will likely switch to macrium, windows can be finicky.