Advise on large data storage

[CrisR82]

Currently, I have 14 external HDDs (34TB total, one of which is a 16TB drive) and I'm looking into purchasing something with will allow data redundancy.

While I was originally looking into a NAS, I think my specific need is more leading me towards DAS instead - I don't plan on having it powered on 24/7 or accessible from anywhere other than a single desktop PC, and it will be used for data storage only, with either 20TB or 22TB Seagate drives in raid.

 

A local store has a discount on QNAP TR-002 (https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/tr-002) which seems nice based on the page description, but as someone who has no idea on how NAS/DAS devices work, I'm not quite sure if this is a good option, or if I should be looking into something with 3-4 slots instead of 2.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[cekcons]

drive slot count is totally up to you and how you want to set it.

If you plan to use all of them sepratly number really doesnt matter.

If you gonna use some kind of rait - it matters much.

Nas is basicly a low tier computer with glorified software on it with plenty hdd mounts.

Das is basicly glorified usb hard drive.

 

Even if you dont need to reach the storage base 7/24 still you can use a nas with 8 slots with raid 6 which makes you go on even at two drive failing.

Or if you want to risk all your data you can suicade bomb with raid 0. 

 

LTT has plenty of video about nas you can go check them out for more info. 

[whispous]

Do bear in mind that a RAID array does not mean you have a backup. This array should not be thought of as anyhting more than a single place of storage - You'll want this RAID array AND you'll want a backup solution.

[OhioYJ]

Nothing says a NAS needs to run 24/7. I only turn mine on when I need it. I use backup scripts on my PC that use WOL to turn the NAS on and then shut it down when they are finished. Since I don't leave it on all the time I run scrubs manually every so often. 

 

My only thought on the 2 bay model is you really haven't given yourself much room to grow. It seems to only cover exactly what you need now.  i know in my NAS I started out with 4 drives, then 8, and now 16.  Your storage needs don't tend to decrease. 

[CrisR82]

42 minutes ago, whispous said:

Do bear in mind that a RAID array does not mean you have a backup. This array should not be thought of as anyhting more than a single place of storage - You'll want this RAID array AND you'll want a backup solution.

yeah, I'm aware of that part - actually critical stuff is backed up on multiple drives and cloud storage (and cataloged), this is more of a "I want to make sure if a drive fails, I don't need to hunt-down stuff for months/years again".

13 minutes ago, OhioYJ said:

Nothing says a NAS needs to run 24/7. I only turn mine on when I need it. I use backup scripts on my PC that use WOL to turn the NAS on and then shut it down when they are finished. Since I don't leave it on all the time I run scrubs manually every so often. 

 

My only thought on the 2 bay model is you really haven't given yourself much room to grow. It seems to only cover exactly what you need now.  i know in my NAS I started out with 4 drives, then 8, and now 16.  Your storage needs don't tend to decrease. 

I actually have 2 questions here:

- once shut down and powered back on, do NAS drives have any boot-up/go-online time? I assumed DAS devices are basically on the same principle as USB HDDs where you get a few seconds of power-on time and then they are ready to go (mostly interested since often I need to connect them, move some data around and disconnect again within a single day)

- assuming I have a 4-bay NAS/DAS with 2 drives in raid, if I was to add another 2 drives in raid, would that be as simple as setting them up without touching the existing ones, or I have to wipe everything and start over clean?

[aggie113]

Don't forget to at least look at options for NASs.  I find deals whenever I go looking at used units on eBay.  Synology offers a few 12 bay units (DS series) that could sit in a home office without making too much noise.  

[Bersella AI]

5 hours ago, CrisR82 said:

- once shut down and powered back on, do NAS drives have any boot-up/go-online time? I assumed DAS devices are basically on the same principle as USB HDDs where you get a few seconds of power-on time and then they are ready to go (mostly interested since often I need to connect them, move some data around and disconnect again within a single day)

- assuming I have a 4-bay NAS/DAS with 2 drives in raid, if I was to add another 2 drives in raid, would that be as simple as setting them up without touching the existing ones, or I have to wipe everything and start over clean?

1. Spinning up drives and fans is not time consuming, but the operating system is. Most pre-built solutions take 2~3 minutes to come back online, and so is my custom TrueNAS setup. They seem to take a series of self-check and service establishment, about which I did not really care. Leaving them 24/7 would make them "always" ready to go.
2. There have been solutions like SnapRAID that support drive reassignment after pool creation. Unraid has this feature included, and may be considered first. While ZFS pools in TrueNAS are expected to support this feature in the upcoming release, I doubt there will be any one-key solution for migration from a mirrored (RAID 1) array to a RAID Z1/Z2 array.