Hey Everyone,
I have plans to turn my previous computer into a Linux based server, but I am having trouble with other people's opinions on the best way to go about setting this up, lol.
Specs:
- AMD Athlon 64 6000+ 3.1 Dual Core CPU
- 8GB (4x2GB) OCZ 800mhz RAM
- Dell 350W PSU
- MSI K9N SLI ready MOBO
- Radeon ATI HD 4650 Video Card (mobo has no on board video)
- 60GB IDE HDD (either Hitachi or Western Digital) for Debian OS
- 2 x 2TB Western Digital Black series 7,200 rpm SATA HDDs (for data storage and RAID 1 setup)
Now, what I want to do.... It will be a relatively light weight server (hardest thing for it will be video streaming to 2-4 devices simultaneously). So I think, anyway lol.
60GB HDD (#1) - This will hold the OS and all of the packages I install. I do not care about keeping a backup / mirror of this drive. Basically, if it goes down I have no problem setting everything up again. It will keep me more involved in Linux (which I'm trying to learn) and if anything it gives me a fresh start to reconfigure the server.
2TB HDD (#2) - This will be for data storage and data storage ONLY. It will be my /home partition (so I'm thinking). It will store music, movies, documents, designs, websites, pictures, portfolios, etc.
2TB HDD (#3) - This drive will be for BACKUP of Drive #2 data. This needs to be secure enough to where if drive #2 fails, I can hook up this drive and continue on with life (and be salty that I need to buy a new drive lol).
Now, I've been told to do a RAID 1 setup with drives #2 and #3. But, now that I was actually ready to start building the RAID setup, I'm being told it is not a good solution for doing backups. I want to have automatic backups setup to where the data on HDD #2 is copied to #3 and is safe and sound if the whole system goes down or if just the #2 drive goes down. Also, if needed, I want to be able to pull the #3 drive out of the system to hook up to other computers with a USB to SATA adapter or dock station setup.
Backups will have to be done pretty often (a few times a day or more) to ensure that any newly created files or any edited files are being copied to the #3 drive. But, I also don't want to have to manually attach an external drive and manually go into the system to start the backup process every few hours or whatever.
Any ideas on the best way to accomplish this?
And, should I stick with the WD Black drives or go with something a little cheaper? I can get a 2TB Seagate Barracuda @ Micro Center for like $100. Buying two of these over the Blacks will save me like an extra $100 or a little more.
Thanks to anyone who replies!
I have plans to turn my previous computer into a Linux based server, but I am having trouble with other people's opinions on the best way to go about setting this up, lol.
Specs:
- AMD Athlon 64 6000+ 3.1 Dual Core CPU
- 8GB (4x2GB) OCZ 800mhz RAM
- Dell 350W PSU
- MSI K9N SLI ready MOBO
- Radeon ATI HD 4650 Video Card (mobo has no on board video)
- 60GB IDE HDD (either Hitachi or Western Digital) for Debian OS
- 2 x 2TB Western Digital Black series 7,200 rpm SATA HDDs (for data storage and RAID 1 setup)
Now, what I want to do.... It will be a relatively light weight server (hardest thing for it will be video streaming to 2-4 devices simultaneously). So I think, anyway lol.
60GB HDD (#1) - This will hold the OS and all of the packages I install. I do not care about keeping a backup / mirror of this drive. Basically, if it goes down I have no problem setting everything up again. It will keep me more involved in Linux (which I'm trying to learn) and if anything it gives me a fresh start to reconfigure the server.
2TB HDD (#2) - This will be for data storage and data storage ONLY. It will be my /home partition (so I'm thinking). It will store music, movies, documents, designs, websites, pictures, portfolios, etc.
2TB HDD (#3) - This drive will be for BACKUP of Drive #2 data. This needs to be secure enough to where if drive #2 fails, I can hook up this drive and continue on with life (and be salty that I need to buy a new drive lol).
Now, I've been told to do a RAID 1 setup with drives #2 and #3. But, now that I was actually ready to start building the RAID setup, I'm being told it is not a good solution for doing backups. I want to have automatic backups setup to where the data on HDD #2 is copied to #3 and is safe and sound if the whole system goes down or if just the #2 drive goes down. Also, if needed, I want to be able to pull the #3 drive out of the system to hook up to other computers with a USB to SATA adapter or dock station setup.
Backups will have to be done pretty often (a few times a day or more) to ensure that any newly created files or any edited files are being copied to the #3 drive. But, I also don't want to have to manually attach an external drive and manually go into the system to start the backup process every few hours or whatever.
Any ideas on the best way to accomplish this?
And, should I stick with the WD Black drives or go with something a little cheaper? I can get a 2TB Seagate Barracuda @ Micro Center for like $100. Buying two of these over the Blacks will save me like an extra $100 or a little more.
Thanks to anyone who replies!