What is the best option of DIY system for storage and backup?

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yossefelbaz

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Nov 8, 2012
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Hi.

We have 2 computers at home, one is mine and one my wife's. We both storing photos, and i have also movies and other stuff that i have on the drive.

We want to have some storage, shared, that we can rely on in case of failure. It is important to have live backup if possible and fast access to files. Once a day backup is good, but we can lose data from the last day.

I was reading about RAID and i built a server (from old PC we had) with RAID 1 (2x500GB). So we have now mirror of our files and we sharing it. But, i read lately that RAID is not a backup option at all, and my files at risk somehow.

Anyway, you have experts here and i am sure you will give me the best option of how to build the best DIY for our purpose.

Ours:
AMD Phenom II x4 955
8GB RAM DDR3
SSD 120GB
Win 7

Server:
Athlon II x2
4GB RAM DDR2
2x500GB RAID 1
UBUNTU

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
F
You may look at these options:

1_ Swapping Mirror drive as your back up
Get a mobile RACK - refer-able tray-less thinggy like this:
http://www.amazon.com/5-25in-Trayless-Mobile-Rack-3-5in/dp/B000KS8S9W
http://www.amazon.com/tray-less-mobile-Bottom-support-Pending/dp/B004Q1L4BI
Get another 500GB HDD
Move the secondary 500GB to it
Copy all the important data to it
Swap out 500GB HDD in the mobile rack whenever you want to have a back up.

Pro:
- This solution will give Redundant to protect HDD failure and a off site back up in.
- Instant access your data via SATA, eSATA or USB - proper adapter is needed
Con:
This may take a bit of time to back up (mirroring) depend on your RAID engine

2 - Use the new HDD ( can be ANY size) as your...
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popatim

popatim

Titan
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Dec 2, 2009
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1: make 2 backup copies to dvd/bd-r when you import them (pics/vids) 1 for keeping offsite. Always try to keep current files on your desktops until after you are sure they are backed up.

2: make 2 optical copies of your completed edited work when you are done with them. 1 for offsite again. You can skip if you made no adjustment/edits.

3: break your raid1 and force a manual backup from disk0 to disk1 whenever you complete some server activity, like just finished adding a bunch of pics.
With raid1 if you accidentally delete a file its gone from the other disk at the same time. Raid is for keeping your system up if a drive fails, as you've learned already.

4: get 2 or 3 external drives and have your server do a backup to one of them nightly. In the morning detach the drive and plug in the next one. Rotate daily and try to keep 1 offsite if you can. Be sure you know how to eject the drive from the OS properly.

5: be sure your backups work. always try to verify your backups. Often this is just a checkbox on your backup software while others do it automatically. Definitely verify any optical disks your create and then make sure they can be read in your other desktop after they verify as accurate.

another option is to share backup space with another like-minded user. Add another drive(s) for them while he make space for you; then you store your nightly backups to his system and he stores to yours. I would definitely recommend encrypting your files in this situation.

archival quality dvd's are about a quarter each
The panasonic htl bd-r disks are like always out of stock. LoL
Making and storing a copy for offsite is up to you. It protects you from things that take out your entire system like a fire or direct lightning strike.
 
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F

FireWire2

Distinguished
Oct 30, 2006
1,304
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19,665
You may look at these options:

1_ Swapping Mirror drive as your back up
Get a mobile RACK - refer-able tray-less thinggy like this:
http://www.amazon.com/5-25in-Trayless-Mobile-Rack-3-5in/dp/B000KS8S9W
http://www.amazon.com/tray-less-mobile-Bottom-support-Pending/dp/B004Q1L4BI
Get another 500GB HDD
Move the secondary 500GB to it
Copy all the important data to it
Swap out 500GB HDD in the mobile rack whenever you want to have a back up.

Pro:
- This solution will give Redundant to protect HDD failure and a off site back up in.
- Instant access your data via SATA, eSATA or USB - proper adapter is needed
Con:
This may take a bit of time to back up (mirroring) depend on your RAID engine

2 - Use the new HDD ( can be ANY size) as your back up drive via Windows Back up utility or 3rd party back up sofware.
Schedule it as daily - incremental

Pro:
- This solution will give Redundant to protect HDD failure and a off site back up in.
- Very fast back up due in incremental backup.

Con:
- Have to use backup software to access data

 
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S Haran-1360974

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Jul 12, 2013
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RAID for your average home user may not be the best choice. As we know RAID is no substitute for backups and recovering data from a failed RAID can be complex and potentially very costly.

For these reasons I suggest to clients StableBit's DrivePool software. It is not very expensive and it gives you drive pooling ability along with file duplication. They also have a drive scanner product that monitors your drives and verifies your data. Plus data recovery if needed is easy as the pooled drives are all in NTFS format, not some complex RAID striping scheme.
 
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FireWire2

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Oct 30, 2006
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Actually RAID1 is the BEST choice for home usage... Just set it right then you would enjoy safe and speedy back up

Get a tray-less mobile rack - so you can remove the mirror drive for back up and insert the new one for rebuild...
It's simple
It's hot swap
It's fast and no headache
It can be use with OS+data drive
It's real time back up



 
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