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melissa eX · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 6:01 am Post subject: Drobo vs. ??

What do you use for a RAID system that can back up from multiple computers - and why do you like it? Looking for something simple to use, reliable and not a fortune.

thx!

heyguido · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:30 am Post subject:

RAID is rapidly becoming old-school, as technology and storage become cheaper and more ubiquitous....

Look into some of the newer network storage drives that have hit the market in the last year or so.... Many are approaching the $200 mark, with capacities reaching multiple terabytes in some cases. They're easy to setup, and backups can be automated across multiple machines.

For a non-networked solution, Toshiba has some great pocketable, portable drives that are small enough to drop in a gearbag, purse, or briefcase. They have built-in drop protection and fast USB 2.0 and 3.0 capability. Easily moved from machine to machine, highly roadworthy, and prices begin around $70.

And, of course, there's the cloud..... many affordable options, accessible from anywhere..... and competition is bringing prices down daily.
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melissa eX · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 9:56 am Post subject:

I didn't know that. I should pay attention to the newer products coming out. $200? That's dirt cheap. I do want automated network backup. Also interested in cloud but as a backup backup.

ccpetersen · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:03 am Post subject:

Melissa, I have a 500-gig drive that's just slightly larger than a small paperback book that I carry everywhere for backups when I'm on the road. I got it a couple of years ago; right after I bought it, the same thing came out in a 1T version at the same size. Fits in my laptop bag, no probs.

Our main studio has a server with a RAID array -- we will be looking into other storage devices fairly soon; we're running out of space for our videos... again.

melissa eX · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:54 am Post subject:

I have a portable drive but at home I just have an external drive I back my main computer up to - but I'm now about to have 3 computers - including the laptop - and I need something that will auto back up all of them to one place - PC's and a MAC.

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 10:54 pm Post subject:

crashplan.com is all I use... I have terabytes worth of data from my entire home network backed up there. Of course, helps to have FiOS with 25mb/s upload speeds.
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Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2011 11:57 pm Post subject:

I swear by Synology's NAS (Network Attached Storage) solutions for their ease of setup, use and reasonable price point. Plus NAS allows multiple computers simultaneous access. I have their DS1511+ Model. (http://www.synology.com/us/products/choose/index.php) I use SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID) with 2-Disk Redundancy. This helps me in two ways:

1. More than one disk can fail simultaneously without data loss (like RAID 6)
2. The Synology SHR allows me to add larger disks later without having to rebuild the entire array. (That's handy.)

My day job is as a video editor, so I can't risk data loss. For someone in that scenario at least, RAID is still the way to go, but of course that is not a backup solution. On top of that to be truly safe, you should archive to tape periodically if possible using full, incremental and/or differential backups. (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/136621). Yes, tape is still the solution of choice for long-term or critical backup for professionals, but as others have mentioned, there are "cloud" solutions available if you have the connection speed or a lot of patience. Smile

The good thing about tape is that it has proven its resilience and longevity. The bad thing about it is that it can be pricey if you have a lot of data.

Synology has many models and some are very cost effective while others are more costly.

melissa eX · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 6:56 am Post subject:

Hmm.. I like both of those solutions. I'm on FIOS also, George - but wouldn't want my only backup to be cloud based. Terabytes huh?
Gonna check into both of them.
Thanks!

Bish · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:31 am Post subject:

If you've got the bandwidth, then any cloud-based solution is adding a perfect additional layer to a good on-site regime. However, if you're talking about a lot of data, then using the cloud can be slow (especially for initial back-u Hobo Happy

and cumbersome. It will get better if the carrier bandwidth issues drag themselves into this century, but for people who use "bulk" data (multiple terabytes), then I don't think it's ready for prime-time yet. Use it for the working back-up for current projects and critical data etc (GB not T cool

... couple of hundred GB should be fine. As you can tell, I'm not sold on the viability of cloud back-up for everything. I certainly don't want to archive 7TB up there ...probably take about six months to upload anyway Smile

As for local storage... I'm a Drobo guy. If anyone suggests RAID in a conversation, then there will always be the discussion about which RAID level, whether the Hoaky-Koaky 3027B/ta27 is better than the OMGTech93c ... Drobo just works for me. It's simple. The ability to upgrade the individual drives without worrying about size and matching is great. My original Drobo has grown in stages from 4x500GB to 2x1TB + 2x2TB ... all without pain and suffering. Connect to either your main machine or set one up as a NAS unit... and their tech support is good.

I also keep a couple of old 500GB drives in rotation with a friend down the road... that's the best off-site backup for me Smile

Backup methodology is becoming like the tech religious wars of the 20th century ... I have witnessed hordes of geeks massed on the borders ready to sacrifice all in the Token Ring/Ethernet wars... the best bottom line is always the simplest.

Cheers
Peter
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Benjamin Stovall · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:30 am Post subject:

+1 on simple, Bish.

FWIW, Drobo and Synology are fierce competitors. I hear good and bad experiences from both, but Bish can vouch for the Drobo and I can vouch for the Synology. Both offer NAS solutions (per your need for multiple machine backup) with easy setup, but YMMV if you were to visit either product's support forums.

melissa eX · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:56 pm Post subject:

Does the OMGTech93c come in purple?

melissa eX · Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys. I'll look into both of those - and I like George's solutions as a backup-backup. Just GB's