Which NAS? which RAID? will it restore?

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blobbyflob

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Hi,

I need to get a backup solution which will intially be 8Tb.
Having paid out back in 2005 for a recovery when a desktop drive failed, I want to be clear about my options, and I have a couple of questions.

When my crashed drive was recovered, the files that were recovered were labelled something like file0001.txt,file0002.txt,file0003.txt,file0004.txt, picture0001.jpg, picture0002.jpg,picture0003.jpg, etc. In other words the original filename was lost.

AIM
So, to try and avoid this situation, I plan to get a storage unit with 2 drives, where, if one drive fails, the information is safe on the other drive, and can be rescued complete with full folder and filename structure intact. (Or will it??)

I am not sure at this stage whether to just get a storage dual drive unit or a more comprehensive NAS unit - although depending on answers I may have some supplementary questions later...

QUESTIONS

    What RAID version do I need in order to ensure my aims are met? Is it RAID1?

    If corruption/failure etc. SHOULD happen, is there usually a light or system on the NAS or storage unit to show which one of the drives has failed? ....

    AND finally, in this situation is it just a question of replacing the bad drive, and the NAS or storage will automatically create a mirror of the good drive's information thus putting everything working properly again?

The reason behind the question is to ensure that in case of catastrophe on the NAS that I can get uncorrupted information off.

I would be grateful if some knowledgable people might help advise me.

Thanks in advance.





 
Solution
USAFRet
1. Budget. How much do you want to spend on this, including drives?

2. Consider larger than a 2 bay NAS. I have a 4 bay Qnap. 4 x 4TB, RAID 5. ~10.6GB effective drive space.
Fully functional with the loss of 1 drive.
I also do a full backup of that, weekly.
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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1. Budget. How much do you want to spend on this, including drives?

2. Consider larger than a 2 bay NAS. I have a 4 bay Qnap. 4 x 4TB, RAID 5. ~10.6GB effective drive space.
Fully functional with the loss of 1 drive.
I also do a full backup of that, weekly.
 
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blobbyflob

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Thanks (yet again :) ) USAFRet ! Appreciate your advice.
3 Questions:
I think I am going to have to start off with only 2 drives in the unit, and add 2 more later. Will that work and just increase the capacity - or do I have to start with 4 drives?
Can I clarify what will happen with RAID5 if one drive goes bad? Does that mean I would lose some of the data?
Finally, with Raid 5 Is it as simple as unplug it and slide in a new drive?

 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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1. Yes, you can start with 2 drives. However, a RAID 5 equires at least 3 drives
2. If a single drive in a RAID 5 goes bad, the software will tell you. No data lost.
3. Depending on the RAID software, yes, it is that simple. Take out the bad one, put in a new one...wait.
When I switched from 4 x 3TB drives to 4 x 4TB drives, it was that simple.
Take out one 3TB....replace it with the new 4TB. Wait 6-7 hours for the RAID array to rebuild itself with the existing ~6TB of data.
Repeat with the next drive.
With the last drive, the array size went from 7.xTB to 10.6TB.
 
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blobbyflob

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Perfect.
Thank you so much.
I shall get a QNAP as (reading between the lines) you seem to have found it reliable and fulfills its role well.
Probably QNAP TS-453A-8G and probably WD Red unless you think they are not quiet / or a bad choice.
If I have misunderstood please get back to me! :)
 
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blobbyflob

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A couple of final questions if I may...

The QNAP bundle for the QNAP 32TB TS-453A-8G uses 4 x Seagate ST8000VN0022 Ironwolf HDD, is out of stock at the moment. Not a problem, I am not in a panic over delivery, I plan to buy within a couple of months once the Meltdown and Spectre issues have settled down.

I note it is 4 drives, and using Seagate Ironwolf.
What are the drives like for noise? It is likely to be located in my bedroom. I wondered whether to fit 4 x WD Reds or even 2x8Tb Ironwolf instead giving me the ability to add 2 more 8tb drives later.

If I just initially using 2 drives, when I add the last 2 drives , would the Qnap be able to 'keep the contents of the first 2 drives' and expand the raid to use them? Or do I have to reformat all 4 drives to get Raid 5?


 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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A RAID 5 requires 3 drives at the start.
So starting with 2 drives, and wanting a RAID 5 later, will require reformatting all of them.

My Qnap + the 4 x 4TB Ironwolf drives is pretty quiet.
 
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blobbyflob

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Thank you SO much.
I won't trouble you any more. You have been very helpful.

b.
 
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