HDD advice for Time Machine / Work Server

[TheRedSoldier28]

Hey Guys,

 

Ive got a server set up with some really old components I had lying around (E6750 core 2 duo xD)

 

Im using ZFS to make datasets for each different Mac I have for time machine backups, and I also want to have around 1tb available to back up and use all my projects in Logic (there's 100s, and now I also do audio production for work, so its good to have the storage, damn apples small SSDs)

 

so my 2 storage ideas where either:

 

2 x 2tb drives (cheap ex server drives from French equivalent of craigslist, mirrored, giving 2tb for time machines) and 2 x 1tb drives (1 old laptop drive I have, and will also get a cheapo from craigslist, also mirrored, for Logic Projects & work files)

 

side bar: if anyone has solutions for better storage than mirrored drives with this config im open to ideas)

 

OR

 

2 x 4tb drives (yet gain from craigslist, mirrored, giving 4tb useable)

 

 

Are there any advantages or disadvantages to using a certain drive setup, and yet again would love to know any other solutions you guys have, either different setups all together, or other ideas than just mirroring drives. I am on an extremely tight budget, so please keep that in mind, unless that E6750 didn't already give off that energy lol

 

Thanks,

 

Will

[DrMacintosh]

One thing I caution, Time Machine auto backups every hour. So if you're doing projects on the same drives your Mac is making a back up to, you're gonna start crawling. Also, if you ever need to restore your Mac, having Time Machine on a separate drive that isn't tied to an array of other drives is really convenient. 

 

One super easy solution is to see if your router has a USB port and supports SMB file sharing. If it does, get a USB HDD enclosure, hook it up to your router, and add that drive to Time Machine. That way you can free up your other HDDs to just do your projects.

[TheRedSoldier28]

2 minutes ago, DrMacintosh said:

One thing I caution, Time Machine auto backups every hour. So if you're doing projects on the same drives your Mac is making a back up to, you're gonna start crawling. Also, if you ever need to restore your Mac, having Time Machine on a separate drive that isn't tied to an array of other drives is really convenient. 

 

One super easy solution is to see if your router has a USB port and supports SMB file sharing. If it does, get a USB HDD enclosure, hook it up to your router, and add that drive to Time Machine. That way you can free up your other HDDs to just do your projects.

I like the idea, and that's great for my MacBook Pro where I work of, but I also have a MacBook Air and an iMac that I want to keep backed up, not because they're full of important data, but you know, just in case

[DrMacintosh]

9 minutes ago, TheRedSoldier28 said:

I like the idea, and that's great for my MacBook Pro where I work of, but I also have a MacBook Air and an iMac that I want to keep backed up, not because they're full of important data, but you know, just in case

Time Machine supports multiple bundles (multiple mac backups) on the same drive automatically. You could get 3TB drive and each Mac would have about a TB of available backup space before any automatic deletion occurs.