Raid 1 Questions

[Aereldor]

I plan to buy two 2TB drives- one for mass storage and the other as a backup of mass storage. I need them to be mirrored, and I understand this is what RAID 1 is for. 

 

What's the best way of doing this? Do I connect them via USB and use them in RAID 1? Or do I just periodically back one up to the other (and keep it offsite in case my entire room is compromised). Or do I invest in a RAID enclosure and simply invest in cheaper 2.5" drives?

What's some software you use to 'clone' your drives? Are there programs that can do so incrementally so it gets done faster? 

Edit: I'm using a laptop.

I look foward to your recommendations.

[KuJoe]

You can setup mirrored drives in Windows using Disk Management, it's super simple and very reliable.

 

Here's a simple guide: https://www.maketecheasier.com/set-up-raid-windows/

[Swealteek]

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

I plan to buy two 2TB drives- one for mass storage and the other as a backup of mass storage. I need them to be mirrored, and I understand this is what RAID 1 is for. 

 

What's the best way of doing this? Do I connect them via USB and use them in RAID 1? Or do I just periodically back one up to the other (and keep it offsite in case my entire room is compromised). Or do I invest in a RAID enclosure and simply invest in cheaper 2.5" drives?

What's some software you use to 'clone' your drives? Are there programs that can do so incrementally so it gets done faster? 

I look foward to your recommendations.

Raid is done by 3 tings , The bios , Software raid and Raid cards.

 

I dont get wat you mean white

3 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

one for mass storage and the other as a backup of mass storage.

 

[Aereldor]

Just now, Swealteek said:

Raid is done by 3 tings , The bios , Software raid and Raid cards.

 

I dont get wat you mean white

 

I buy two drives that are 2TB each.

One contains all my media, footage from project, photographs. This is backed up to the other drive, so in the event that I lose a drive, I don't lose any data.

[CyberneticTitan]

RAID 1 is NOT a backup solution.

 

For RAID 1, hook them up with SATA and follow @KuJoe's recommendation.

 

For backup, keep one attached to SATA, and depending on the periodicity of your backups, a USB-to-SATA enclosure may be more beneficial than shutting down your PC and attaching the drive via SATA.

[KuJoe]

Just now, Aereldor said:

I buy two drives that are 2TB each.

One contains all my media, footage from project, photographs. This is backed up to the other drive, so in the event that I lose a drive, I don't lose any data.

That's not RAID, if you want to just do backups then that's another discussion all together.

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

You can setup mirrored drives in Windows using Disk Management, it's super simple and very reliable.

 

Here's a simple guide: https://www.maketecheasier.com/set-up-raid-windows/

But does this work with the majority of modern or even premium Windows laptops? Also, what are the downsides of doing this? What if I add files to one HDD from ANOTHER PC? Will it automatically detect that one HDD has new files and transfer them?

[Aereldor]

1 minute ago, CyberneticTitan said:

RAID 1 is NOT a backup solution.

 

For RAID 1, hook them up with SATA and follow @KuJoe's recommendation.

 

For backup, keep one attached to SATA, and depending on the periodicity of your backups, a USB-to-SATA enclosure may be more beneficial than shutting down your PC and attaching the drive via SATA.

Wait, shutting down my PC? SATA? I'm going to use these with a laptop...

[KuJoe]

Just now, Aereldor said:

But does this work with the majority of modern or even premium Windows laptops? Also, what are the downsides of doing this? What if I add files to one HDD from ANOTHER PC? Will it automatically detect that one HDD has new files and transfer them?

Setting up RAID to USB devices is a bad idea. Since you will be using a laptop, then setting up a backup solution is your best bet.

[AshleyAshes]

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

But does this work with the majority of modern or even premium Windows laptops? Also, what are the downsides of doing this? What if I add files to one HDD from ANOTHER PC? Will it automatically detect that one HDD has new files and transfer them?

Wait, laptop?  Like you want to put two USB HDDs on a laptop and put them into RAID1?  No, that's nto going to work.  You'll have to use drives that are permanently connected to a computer.  RAID doesn't really do hot plugging.

[Aereldor]

Just now, KuJoe said:

That's not RAID, if you want to just do backups then that's another discussion all together.

If they're in RAID 1, my understanding is that it's a perpetual backup. Every file written to one drive also gets written to the other drive. They're effectively clones. This is opposed scheduled backups or even manual backups.

[KuJoe]

Just now, Aereldor said:

Wait, shutting down my PC? SATA? I'm going to use these with a laptop...

Why did it take you this long to provide key information like this?

[An angry badger]

I don't really see the point of setting up a RAID 1 here. I would use one for mass storage internally and have another external that you regularly back up to 

[Aereldor]

Just now, AshleyAshes said:

Wait, laptop?  Like you want to put two USB HDDs on a laptop and put them into RAID1?  No, that's nto going to work.  You'll have to use drives that are permanently connected installed.  RAID doesn't really do hot plugging.

 

Just now, KuJoe said:

Setting up RAID to USB devices is a bad idea. Since you will be using a laptop, then setting up a backup solution is your best bet.

 

2 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

That's not RAID, if you want to just do backups then that's another discussion all together.

So this is new info to me. 

Would you recommend just backing up one drive to the other periodically? This way, I can keep the backup offsite in case something horrible happens, like an accident, an electrical anomaly, or just the whole building burning down.

[AshleyAshes]

Just now, Aereldor said:

Would you recommend just backing up one drive to the other periodically? This way, I can keep the backup offsite in case something horrible happens, like an accident, an electrical anomaly, or just the whole building burning down.

Yes, do that, it's simpler and it's what you're looking for.

[Aereldor]

Just now, An angry badger said:

I don't really see the point of setting up a RAID 1 here. I would use one for mass storage internally and have another external that you regularly back up to 

Laptop's only got M.2 slots- no SATA, so mass storage is incredibly expensive. And I already have 750GB worth of files that I want to keep with me. 

This is why I'm going to use an external drive for mass storage, and another drive to back it up to. Seems like regular backups is the consensus.

[KuJoe]

4 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

If they're in RAID 1, my understanding is that it's a perpetual backup. Every file written to one drive also gets written to the other drive. They're effectively clones. This is opposed scheduled backups or even manual backups.

Like @CyberneticTitan said, RAID is not a backup solution. RAID is designed for fault tolerance meaning hardware failure. If you overwrite a file with a corrupt file on a RAID1 setup you don't have a backup of the good file. If you lose a hard drive in a RAID1 setup then yes, you still have your files but it's not considered a backup solution (just hardware redundancy). So I guess the question is, are you preparing for hardware failure or do you want backup copies of your data?

[Aereldor]

2 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

Why did it take you this long to provide key information like this?

Damn it. I thought it was in the original post. Edited.

[CyberneticTitan]

5 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

Wait, shutting down my PC? SATA? I'm going to use these with a laptop...

Sorry, I assumed you had a PC.

2 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

So this is new info to me. 

Would you recommend just backing up one drive to the other periodically? This way, I can keep the backup offsite in case something horrible happens, like an accident, an electrical anomaly, or just the whole building burning down.

Yes. If you cannot have these disks internally, you can:

 

- Keep one drive perpetually connected to your laptop and periodically attach the other as backup.

- Use RAID 1 if you buy a NAS enclosure.

[Mira Yurizaki]

You can get a USB enclosure that can do RAID1: http://www.vantecusa.com/products_detail.php?p_id=45&p_name=+NexStar+MX&pc_id=2&pc_name=3.5"+Enclosure&pt_id=1&pt_name=Hard+Drive+Enclosures

 

I have the enclosure, but I haven't used the RAID1 feature.

[Aereldor]

Just now, CyberneticTitan said:

Sorry, I assumed you had a PC.

Yes. If you cannot have these disks internally, you can:

 

- Keep one drive perpetually connected to your laptop and periodically attached the other as backup.

- Use RAID 1 if you buy a NAS enclosure.

No, that was on me. My mistake. My signature doesn't have a laptop and I forgot to mention it (I thought I did).

I can't keep one drive perpetually connected to my laptop. I'll only connect it when transferring files to and from it. I'll have to connect both to my laptop whenever I want to back it up.

[KuJoe]

2 minutes ago, CyberneticTitan said:

- Keep one drive perpetually connected to your laptop and periodically attach the other as backup.

This is what I recommend. To make it even easier, I would create a simple one line batch file using RoboCopy to automatically sync the two drives so all you need to do is plug in the second drive, run the batch file, and unplug the drive once it completes. No manual steps.

[CyberneticTitan]

Just now, Aereldor said:

No, that was on me. My mistake. My signature doesn't have a laptop and I forgot to mention it (I thought I did).

I can't keep one drive perpetually connected to my laptop. I'll only connect it when transferring files to and from it. I'll have to connect both to my laptop whenever I want to back it up.

In that case, you'd probably be set with a HDD dock. The drives are then independent of each other and you can attach them to your laptop when you please and perform mirroring or independent backup.

[Aereldor]

3 minutes ago, CyberneticTitan said:

In that case, you'd probably be set with a HDD dock. The drives are then independent of each other and you can attach them to your laptop when you please and perform mirroring or independent backup.

 

6 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

This is what I recommend. To make it even easier, I would create a simple one line batch file using RoboCopy to automatically sync the two drives so all you need to do is plug in the second drive, run the batch file, and unplug the drive once it completes. No manual steps.

Keeping one perpetually connected is not a solution. I bought a laptop so I could carry it around. I'll take it to school and back.

Couldn't I just buy two USB external HDDs, plug one in whenever I want, and plug both in to back it up whenever I want to back it up? 

 

[CyberneticTitan]

2 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

 

Keeping one perpetually connected is not a solution. I bought a laptop so I could carry it around. I'll take it to school and back.

Couldn't I just buy two USB external HDDs, plug one in whenever I want, and plug both in to back it up whenever I want to back it up? 

 

That's what I'm saying. Buy one of these guys: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hdd+dock+2+bay&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahdd+dock+2+bay