mass storage

[_SNOWMAN_]

Not sure what to title this. Anyways..

 

I want to have one HDD for each - Movies, Videos, pictures, other. So 4 HDDs for those. Currently I have everything stored on a 1T HDD and its almost full. I would like to split it up. 

 

I was thinking I might use small drives. Fill them up, pull them out, label, store in a safe and then put in a new one. 

 

or I just get large drives and leave them in but im worried about losing stuff. My pictures and videos are from when my kid was born until now!

 

SO my question is, whats the better storage solution? or is there something better? At some point im sure they will be full and ill have to change them anyways. 

 

Other question is,    can I have one other drive that I can use for recovery media (instead of disks) and backup? Maybe something I can load up and keep in a safe. Not sure how that stuff works and I would like to be prepared for the worst. 

 

 

[Oshino Shinobu]

The way I'd do it is get something like 2x 4TB drives, put them in RAID 1, then partition them into the categories you want. That way you have redundancy (one drive can fail and you'd lose no data), and each partition will show as an individual drive in Windows, but you don't have to have 4 individual drives. 

[_SNOWMAN_]

The way I'd do it is get something like 2x 4TB drives, put them in RAID 1, then partition them into the categories you want. That way you have redundancy (one drive can fail and you'd lose no data), and each partition will show as an individual drive in Windows, but you don't have to have 4 individual drives. 

I know what RAID is but have no clue how to do it. 

[rhyseyness]

The way I'd do it is get something like 2x 4TB drives, put them in RAID 1, then partition them into the categories you want. That way you have redundancy (one drive can fail and you'd lose no data), and each partition will show as an individual drive in Windows, but you don't have to have 4 individual drives. 

I agree.

Think this is the best solution.

[_SNOWMAN_]

Im sure I can figure it out.... maybe.   So would I get rid of the 1T drive and just use the 2 4T drives?   I probably should have included that I have a 120G SSD for boot

[Oshino Shinobu]

I know what RAID is but have no clue how to do it. 

If you're doing hardware RAID (best option normally), it is done through the BIOS if you're not using a dedicated RAID card. 

 

You may have to have a look through the BIOS or read the board's manual to find out how to get to the configuration. It changes from board to board. 

 

 

Im sure I can figure it out.... maybe.   So would I get rid of the 1T drive and just use the 2 4T drives?   I probably should have included that I have a 120G SSD for boot

Well, you can move everything that you want over to the 4TB array, then wipe the 1TB drive and have it as a scratch disk (one that doesn't matter if it loses data), or just another storage drive. 

[_SNOWMAN_]

 

Ok. I have a hot swap bay too. Maybe I can use the 1T for backup. Can backup be done that way?

[alpenwasser]

Are we talking about a regular setup here (like, Desktop PC with internal drives)? If so, do you just wish to access the data from that machine, or would you like to be able to access it from other devices as well (laptops, mobile devices)?

 

I was thinking I might use small drives. Fill them up, pull them out, label, store in a safe and then put in a new one. 

or I just get large drives and leave them in but im worried about losing stuff.

Just because an HDD isn't running doesn't mean it can't be damaged or the data on it corrupted (although I would estimate that the risk is lower). So you can lose stuff even when you have your HDDs in a safe.

 

My pictures and videos are from when my kid was born until now!

Whatever the solution ends up being, for really important stuff, I'd keep at least three copies: One in the machine so you can access it at any given time, one on a backup (external drive, another machine, depends on your budget and how paranoid you are) and one off-site in case you get robbed, your house burns down, that kind of stuff. Keeping everything off-site is usually not cheap, and upload bandwidth restrictions can make it inconvenient, but it'd be the ideal solution (at least when we're talking about uploading it).

Most people mention the cloud these days when it comes to off-site, but you could also do something as simple as keeping an external USB drive with copies of your most important data at a trustworthy friend's or relative's house. Or set up a NAS at their location, in which case you wouldn't need to take the drive back to your house for updating the backup. There are several options, depends a bit on how much work you're willing to invest and how much money you're willing/able to spend.

My golden rule of backups is something like "You can never have enough, but at some point you run out of money and time."

EDIT: And of course, RAID is not a backup. It is merely redundancy so you can keep accessing your data when you've suffered a drive failure (or several, depending on specifics).

Edited January 15, 2016 by alpenwasser

[Oshino Shinobu]

Ok. I have a hot swap bay too. Maybe I can use the 1T for backup. Can backup be done that way?

It can, yes. If there's some things in particular that you can't afford to lose, then backing them up to the 1TB drive, then storing the drive outside of the PC can be a good idea. (In the case that a power spike takes out everything in the PC, you still won't lose that data). 

[_SNOWMAN_]

 

 

 

 

 

Ok. Thats what started all this. I was uploading to Google Photos and Dropbox but im limited to .95Mbps. Thats all we can get here. Might take a day to upload 100 photos.  

[_SNOWMAN_]

As far as Windows recovery, do I just put that on a flash drive?

[alpenwasser]

Ok. Thats what started all this. I was uploading to Google Photos and Dropbox but im limited to .95Mbps. Thats all we can get here. Might take a day to upload 100 photos.

Okidoki, no problem. I have a few terabytes backed up remotely, and uploading that took me a few months. But once it's there, I only need to upload changes, which is fairly quick. But if you'd prefer something faster, I would suggest the USB drive solution as an off-site backup. Get an external HDD, load your important data onto it, keep it in a safe place (as said, trustworthy acquaintance, bank vault, whatever you feel comfortable with). Then take it to your house and update it as needed, put it back. At least that's what I'd do. As said, it's up to you how much money and time you're willing to invest.

As for local backups: The fancy solution is as said doing something like a RAID1, and having a local backup on top of that (either in another computer, or on external drives). I would definitely advise that said local backup be mostly offline. RAID won't protect you from things like software bugs (like when a software accidentally corrupts your data), user error (when you accidentally delete something), or malware (when ransomware encrypts your data and then blackmails you to decrypt it again), and probably a few other things which don't come to mind at the moment. Especially ransomware can be very tricky and dangerous as it might also encrypt any data it can find on network shares (so having a backup on a second computer which is accessible from the infected computer won't protect you, it really needs to be offline most of the time).

Bottom line, my (ideal, and expensive) strategy would be three-tiered:

• original data on the machine, maybe with RAID, depending on budget
• local backup, usually offline
• remote backup in case of fires, floods, theft etc.

Have you considered investing in a NAS? They often offer RAID capabilities and some neat data management options, plus you can access the data from your entire network easily (of course, you can also set up network sharing from the original machine if the drives are in there). Not a requirement, just a thought.

[_SNOWMAN_]

 

I quickly looked into NAS but dont know much about it. I only have the one PC though. If its better ill go with it. Ill get a safety deposit box today. I need one anyways. Most important stuff ill put on drive and at the bank.   

[Oshino Shinobu]

I quickly looked into NAS but dont know much about it. I only have the one PC though. If its better ill go with it. Ill get a safety deposit box today. I need one anyways. Most important stuff ill put on drive and at the bank.   

If there's only your PC, then a NAS might not be worthwhile for you. They're good for using as shared storage in a household, as well as being able to be used to stream to various devices (Plex, SONOS and similar products/software), but don't offer a lot of benefits to individual users. 

 

Storing your most important stuff on a drive, then putting it in a deposit box is about as safe as you can get, from a physical protection point of view. Not exactly practical to access, but it ensures you have a safe copy. 

[alpenwasser]

I quickly looked into NAS but dont know much about it. I only have the one PC though. If its better ill go with it. Ill get a safety deposit box today. I need one anyways. Most important stuff ill put on drive and at the bank.

Well I don't want to be the guy telling you to spend money on something you don't really need. A NAS is cool and all, but not a requirement, especially if you don't have more than one machine. So having a copy in the machine, a backup somewhere in your house/apartment and a backup somewhere else sounds like a sane plan to me.

The primary advantage which you'd get from RAID1 in your machine is that you could just carry on as if nothing had happened if one of the two drives fails (naturally you'd need to replace the drive and rebuild the RAID in good time). If you only have one internal drive and it fails, you'll just need to fall back to your external drive which you keep in your house (and which is hopefully up to date). If you can just pop that drive in and be done with it (ordering a new one and then making a new backup of course), RAID might not be worth the additional money and complexity, especially if you've never worked with it. It offers an advantage, but in your case it might not be that big. Either way, the crucial part is having offline backups IMHO.

[Oshino Shinobu]

Well I don't want to be the guy telling you to spend money on something you don't really need. A NAS is cool and all, but not a requirement, especially if you don't have more than one machine. So having a copy in the machine, a backup somewhere in your house/apartment and a backup somewhere else sounds like a sane plan to me.

The primary advantage which you'd get from RAID1 in your machine is that you could just carry on as if nothing had happened if one of the two drives fails (naturally you'd need to replace the drive and rebuild the RAID in good time). If you only have one internal drive and it fails, you'll just need to fall back to your external drive which you keep in your house (and is hopefully up to date). If you can just pop that drive in and be done with it (ordering a new one and then making a new backup of course), RAID might not be worth the additional money and complexity, especially if you've never worked with it. It offers an advantage, but in your case it might not be that big. Either way, the crucial part is having offline backups IMHO.

I would say that the RAID 1 is worth it in this case. Depending on what he's backing up (photos, mainly by the sounds of things), then he doesn't need large drives for the backups. Even USB sticks would do. However, for things like videos and larger files, the RAID 1 offers the redundancy for those files, even if they aren't backed up. In the event that a drive fails, he'll at least have time to backup the files while the remaining drive is still operational. 

 

It may end up being a cheaper solution than backing up everything onto large drives, while still offering a good level of data security. 

[alpenwasser]

I would say that the RAID 1 is worth it in this case. Depending on what he's backing up (photos, mainly by the sounds of things), then he doesn't need large drives for the backups. Even USB sticks would do. However, for things like videos and larger files, the RAID 1 offers the redundancy for those files, even if they aren't backed up. In the event that a drive fails, he'll at least have time to backup the files while the remaining drive is still operational. 

 

It may end up being a cheaper solution than backing up everything onto large drives, while still offering a good level of data security.

Yeah, it does offer a bit of an upside, true. I reckon in the end it comes down to personal decision (how much effort and money OP is able/willing to invest).

[_SNOWMAN_]

So im going to need

 

1. 3+ 4T HDDs

2. possibly a RAID controller

3. thumb drive for backup to keep at bank

4. anything else im missing

 

   Recommendations for parts? Any recommendations at all really

 

 

I cant agree more. If I could, I would store everything everywhere. Massive piles of storage. As an auto tech, I dont trust any hardware. Im half tempted to print all my pictures but that would cost wayyyy too much money

[Oshino Shinobu]

So im going to need

 

1. 3+ 4T HDDs

2. possibly a RAID controller

3. thumb drive for backup to keep at bank

4. anything else im missing

 

   Recommendations for parts? Any recommendations at all really

 

I cant agree more. If I could, I would store everything everywhere. Massive piles of storage. As an auto tech, I dont trust any hardware. Im half tempted to print all my pictures but that would cost wayyyy too much money

If you want to backup the entire 4TB RAID 1 array, then yeah, 3 4TB drives. 2 for the RAID 1 array, then one for the backup. 

 

The board has an integrated RAID controller. For a simple RAID 1 setup, a dedicated RAID card isn't worth it IMO. To get a good one, you'd be looking at a fair bit of money, but they're only really good for the more complicated levels of RAID, or huge arrays. 

 

As for the USB sticks, you could get a pair of them and store both at the bank. In the unlikely event one of them gets corrupted, you have a backup of a backup, in a sense. They're not expensive, so it's not really an extra cost. 

 

For the 4TB drives, my personal choice would be WD Red drives. They're designed for NAS/RAID operation, and are about as good as consumer drives get. Not as fast as a WD Black, but better suited for this situation. 

[_SNOWMAN_]

Sounds good. Its a bit of money but not bad. Seems worth it to me.  Thanks. Will follow up later

[Oshino Shinobu]

Sounds good. Its a bit of money but not bad. Seems worth it to me.  Thanks. Will follow up later

Well, it's down to you to weigh up the benefits of it. The extent you go to will have to depend on how valuable the data is. 

 

I've followed this thread, so I'll get notifications if you post in it with any questions. 

[alpenwasser]

If you're going to go with the motherboard's RAID1 option, I would highly recommend testing out how you need to recover from a drive failure before having any data on it. So, build the array, disconnect a drive (I'd recommend while the machine is off), start it up to test if the data is still accessible, then rebuild, check if everything worked. If need be, document your steps along the way so you remember what to do if you actually have a drive failure at some point.

And I presume you're going with a thumb drive because you don't need to keep everything at the bank, just the most important stuff? You could also look into 2.5" external drives. Also pretty cheap, but more space.

EDIT:

I cant agree more. If I could, I would store everything everywhere. Massive piles of storage. As an auto tech, I dont trust any hardware. Im half tempted to print all my pictures but that would cost wayyyy too much money

You could print out all the bits (ones and zeroes) onto paper. Just tens of thousands of pages of 1110001010001011100010101010001010000<etc.>

Edited January 15, 2016 by alpenwasser