Soliciting suggestions for reliable storage

Hi,

I am a novice with RAID and could use some advice on how to make my data more secure and still maintain access.

I want to store about 2 TB of data (family pictures, projects, etc). Currently I use 6 500 GB Maxtor external drives and a couple of 300 GBs. These mirror they data and can be kept disconnected from the network. I am running XP.

But I find that the drives fail frequently, that the mirroring is asymmetric (and data difficult to find / access). I am looking to spend ~ $2000 and have been considering RAID 5 or maybe RAID 6 solutions. This would be my only database when done. Can anyone suggest a stand alone plug in box (? Terasyn) that would fit the bill. Would an Apple setup be better to ward off viruses.

Thanks,

Eye_Candy

There are many many way to do this. First make sure you understand that redundancy and backup are 2 different things. Redundancy will keep you alive with a mechanical drive failure. Backup will keep you alive when something corrupts your data and you need to restore it. Its a good idea to have both when possible. I have a RAID array in my main machine and a dedicated home server. I also have REALLY important stuff burned to DVD.

Like I said there are a ton of options to choose from to keep your data safe. I would first have a RAID array in my machine. You could even take 2 of the drives you have and RAID them inside your machine you have. For backup I will give you a low end example. Get an older machine and install the rest of your drives in it. Load an OS on 1 drive and create another RAID array on more drives. For a file server it is not necessary to have a super powerful machine. If you like this example I can give you more details if you need them.

Another option would be to use a NAS option. You can use a platform called freenas http://www.freenas.org/ . It would use the same low end computer and make a NAS out of it.

This is just 2 options and you can get much more expensive with this concept.