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Cheapest External Raid 1+0 2tb For iMac? Other Suggestions?

knemonic said:
Total $783 (plus a kick in the nuts, since that is what it felt like when I clicked the submit order button, I got that for free)
Click to expand...

Haha... Now that was funny.

I just logged in an read through all your notes. Looks like you are going to have a pretty good system. I wouldn't mind getting an Airport Extreme, myself since currently I don't have a GB switch - looks like you did well!
 
He is right. The WD Share is similar in style but price wise it is better. I get a 2TB raid 0 for $490 and can add up to 8 TB in the long run.

Sounds like the media server is nice though, a mini server for a reasonable price.
 
Anyone heard of this issue with raid 5 in '09. It is very interesting. The way some see it, hard drives are getting so big that in the case of raid 5, if one hard drive dies, you replace it not losing the raid. Well, they say it takes a long time to rebuild the raid, like if you were using (4) 2TB, it could take up to 72+ hours. The problem, there is a 72+ hour window for another drive to fail, which would break the raid and you would lose all your data. They say Raid 6 is the next logical step, since it allows the failure of 2 drives before breaking the raid.

I dont think I have to worry since this sounds like an issue where some people use the externals at a crazy rate. Pretty much once I dump some audio or video onto my externals, thats it, it stays there and I access that data maybe once in a month if that. I mean, we all have music that we will never get rid of, but have not listened to since we were 15.

So I feel that i should be ok, since I am not a enterprise user. I definitely use my system way more than most, I have done tons and tons of video and audio editing and web and graphic design, so I go way further than the common "I check my email and surf the net" guy. Raid 5 for me just gives me a little assurance that I have some sort of security in hand.
 
Oh ya, the problem with the dns 323 is that to achieve the needed 2TB in that device in a raid 1, I would need two 2TB drives. Those puppies are currently going for $290 on new egg.

So 2 of those would be $580, plus the msrp of the dns 323 is $200, your talking $780. I paid about the same price, get an airport extreme included, the ability to increase my capacity from 2TB to 3TB using raid 5 by only buying a 1TB HD, which will come down considerably by the time I need it. Also, some of the things I can do with the WD Share is amazing. Like FTP it out so I can access my files on the net. I am sure there are many ways to do this, but to have it built in makes it easier for someone who really has never had the need to do this. Also, I have the possibility to go to 6TB with the Share down the line. dns 323 can only achieve this when 3TB hard drives become common, by that point, I am sure there will be something cheaper and better for us all.

Dlink has a good product on their hand for the common guy that buys two 500gb drives and wants a simple external redundant network storage, I am looking for something a little more robust that sucks the oxygen out of the room.

My nuts still hurt from when I clicked the submit order button on BnH.com.
 
I have heard the same problems with RAID 5 as well. If the rebuild time is long, and with the disks churning away trying to rebuild the striped data, then there is a window where you are vulnerable (and that window is at a time when the disks are very active). So yes, that would be a concern.

I know you have already ordered your gear - but since you decided to get an Airport Extreme anyway - what would be the harm in doing it the old fashioned way and just hanging a bunch of 1 TB externals off of it. I haven't had issues with video at 480mbs speed, and with that solution you could get off pretty cheap. Not to mention, you would have one huge advantage - keep a copy of your data off site. This way, barring cataclysmic circumstances, your data is secure and redundant. Adding storage would be as simple as adding disks.

One other solution, if you want fw800 speed - though not as 'cool' would be to pick up one of those Voyager Hard Drive docks from OWC. I think they are around $95, and allow you to hotswap SATA drives (both 2.5" and 3.5") into them. This way you could possibly store pictures on one drive, music on another, and then movies on a third (or eventually break them down by category once you are way above 1TB). When you need something, you just swap it in the drive.

The link to the voyager is:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/FWU2ES2HDK/

And the obligatory pic:

voyagerq.jpg


I don't know, maybe we complicate things sometimes and increase the costs by trying to go with better tech like hardware RAID. My only concerns is that cheaper, non enterprise level, hardware RAID solutions may end up being worse than low cost single drive solutions...

Don't mean to complicate this or anything - just giving you some more things to think about while your return window may still be open!

Good luck...
 
See this thread:

http://www.123macmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22654

"If I were to get 2 enclosures with 4 x 1 TB drives and stuck 2 drives in each enclosure, if they were both in JBOD mode, could I make a 4 TB RAID with all the drives in Disk Utility?

Because later I want to take those drives out and put them in another Mac Pro, and then get 4 x 2 TB drives and then just use the built-in RAID mode they offer, and then each Mac Pro could have a 2 x 2 TB (4 TB) volume for backup. But right now I would want them as a 4TB Volume for my Mac Pro, that has 4 x 1 TB inside."
 
OldMike said:
I have heard the same problems with RAID 5 as well. If the rebuild time is long, and with the disks churning away trying to rebuild the striped data, then there is a window where you are vulnerable (and that window is at a time when the disks are very active). So yes, that would be a concern.

I know you have already ordered your gear - but since you decided to get an Airport Extreme anyway - what would be the harm in doing it the old fashioned way and just hanging a bunch of 1 TB externals off of it. I haven't had issues with video at 480mbs speed, and with that solution you could get off pretty cheap. Not to mention, you would have one huge advantage - keep a copy of your data off site. This way, barring cataclysmic circumstances, your data is secure and redundant. Adding storage would be as simple as adding disks.

One other solution, if you want fw800 speed - though not as 'cool' would be to pick up one of those Voyager Hard Drive docks from OWC. I think they are around $95, and allow you to hotswap SATA drives (both 2.5" and 3.5") into them. This way you could possibly store pictures on one drive, music on another, and then movies on a third (or eventually break them down by category once you are way above 1TB). When you need something, you just swap it in the drive.

The link to the voyager is:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/FWU2ES2HDK/

And the obligatory pic:

voyagerq.jpg


I don't know, maybe we complicate things sometimes and increase the costs by trying to go with better tech like hardware RAID. My only concerns is that cheaper, non enterprise level, hardware RAID solutions may end up being worse than low cost single drive solutions...

Don't mean to complicate this or anything - just giving you some more things to think about while your return window may still be open!

Good luck...
Click to expand...

I think I am satisfied with my purchase at this point. As much as I worry about the raid 5 issue, it is currently the simplified way to secure things and I as much as I consider myself a poweruser, these drives will probably end up lasting my the great portion of the warranty. The 1TB I have is going strong from WD, had that just over a year.

I have seen those cradles, Micro Center sells something similar. The way I see it, there is no full proof way, there is risk in everything. The system I hope will end up being the current best way for me. In a year, maybe raid 6 will take hold.

See, the interesting thing is I personally have never had a drive fail on me, being 25 and using computers for over 12 years, purchasing my own IBM desktop when I was 14, I have seemingly been able to not push my hardware further than it is capable. Knock on Wood!

If I add another drive to the array sooner than later, that will also decrease my chances of losing everything during a recovery, since The more drives, the more secure the raid 5. So maybe in the next month or two, I will keep an eye out for good prices on the 1TB WD.

Everything arrives tomorrow, I am giddy.
 
@emoore

dns-323 has a brother, dns-343 which has four bays, if you read the reviews, they're one of the fastest, WD are slow as hell.
also you can always buy 2 dns-323 :D

for the hp, server, its way better than drobo, drobo has issues with OSX, e.g. time machine corruption etc.
 
bajee said:
@emoore

dns-323 has a brother, dns-343 which has four bays, if you read the reviews, they're one of the fastest, WD are slow as hell.
also you can always buy 2 dns-323 :D

for the hp, server, its way better than drobo, drobo has issues with OSX, e.g. time machine corruption etc.
Click to expand...

Checked reviews on newegg regarding the dns 343

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16822155010

Seems like about 33% of people are not happy with it, one guys says it has very little mac support. Other guy says itunes server crashes a lot.

It also states on dlinks site that you must have 4 drives in the 343 to use raid 5, in my WD SHare I currently have 3 which are running at raid 5.

I also ended up saving about $50. I appreciate the tip. It looks like a nice machine.

I agree performance it important, but mainly what I will be using this for is watching movies and tv shows and listening to music. I cant see performence being an issue since the bulk of products out there can sustain the bandwidth needed for this.

Thanks!
 
its actually a pretty popular device, though you have to install custom firmware to really squeeze out its performance, there's a whole community for that, again this is intended for enthusiast, since it involves tweaking.

anyway no need to convince you anymore since you already bought the system, and I'm glad you're happy with it. However, I'm just saying there are many setup there are far faster solutions, and more efficient than WD's

Kudos
 
bajee said:
its actually a pretty popular device, though you have to install custom firmware to really squeeze out its performance, there's a whole community for that, again this is intended for enthusiast, since it involves tweaking.

anyway no need to convince you anymore since you already bought the system, and I'm glad you're happy with it. However, I'm just saying there are many setup there are far faster solutions, and more efficient than WD's

Kudos
Click to expand...

I agree, to be honest, the problem was really finding a lot of those other setups. I looked at a few websites and it seemed since they are not as popular as normal external drives, it is harder to find good leads on which ones to get and on top of that, reasonably priced too. After looking at western digital's site, it seemed like that was what I was looking for. I wish I would of known about some of the other systems out there, so hard to find a site that consolidates these items into a manageable and understandable fashion.

So far the WD Share is doing well. I am happy with my purchase.

Here is a good question if anyone knows, with raid 5, is it possible to swap out a drive with a bigger one without loosing the raid 5, or is this specific to each unit in if can or cannot do it?

IT would be very convenient if I could add a 2TB hard drive over time in the coming years.

Thanks!
 
Alright, I am pissed. Look what OWC just came with.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/RAID/Desktop/

qx2_front_angle.jpg


qx2_open_angle.jpg


qx2_back_angle.jpg



I am so mad I could spit. I just ordered one 3TB. In raid 5 it will be 2.25tb. Upgradable, firewire 800.

I am actually saving around $30 after I return the WD to BnH. I had paid $780 for the WD 2TB, added 1TB to the order and the airport extreme and then bought another 1TB HD for the WD, so total of $885. The OWC was $857.

BnH does not charge a restocking fee and I pay for the shipping back.

This sucks. I have to rebuild the raid again and then transfer all my crap, again.

Bleh. At least I am getting what I really set out two weeks ago for.
 
I've been reading your storage odyssey with a lot of interest. You're doing essentially what I probably should do as well. I've temporarily purchased the WD My Book Studio ll 2TB set up with RAID 1 on my Mac for my 900gig of music. I wanted to know how is the OWC much different than the Drobo if they are equipped with the same storage drives? Price and mechanics? Also, does anyone know if I am able to hook up the WD to my Airport Extreme?
 
As far as I know you should be able to hook up your WD to your AE, assuming it is formatted in the fashion Apple requires it to be.

There have been recent developments in why I am sending back the WD ShareSpace for the OWC 4 bay external.

Two reasons, and I know the guy above warned me about one of these reasons. The ShareSpace is pretty slow. Raid 5 is decent in terms of performance but over the network, it sucks nuts.

The second is Time Machine is not capable of using NAS as a storage unit. I was kind of pissed when I found this out. This is both direct on looking in apple's forums and WD confirmed it too.

When I decided to go with the NAS, I assumed based on all the bable it was the end all backup system. Seems odd that Apple has not built in support.

There is a way to do it, I read and article on Apple's forum showing you how, but I should not have to go through all these loops to use Time Machine.



Now here is the situation. More or less, I hear the drobo was made to be a NAS, even though you need to buy the ethernet jack separate, which is a Hefty price from what I read. You also need to add your own drives too. I think I remember the Drobo being like something like $400 with no drives.

Now the OWC 4 bay is pretty much straight up a raid external. Simple, elegent, firewire 800.

See, when I went searching on newegg and others, I could not find a 4 bay external raid 5 with built in firewire 800, everything was esata, useless on an iMac. The Drobo was the only solution available at the time. That thing looks plasticy and I have heard it has some heavy glitches.

Then out of no where, OWC comes out with this 4 bay external, has drives, can be upgraded , completely brushed aluminum, firewire 400 800 usb 2.0 and esata.

I ordered it right away cause it was the all in one package I was looking for, and did raid 5.

I might have been able to save hear or there if I went with something else, but I will be honest, im pretty ***** tired and just want something to work fine and be secure.

Comparing the technology to OWC and Drobo, I thought Drobo was new to the scene where OWC has a long history of their devices, specifically externals. So I have a feeling I am going to be happy with my purchase, for both performence and security reasons alike.

It comes tomorrow. A bonus of raid 5 is on the 3tb OWC 4 bay for $850, you end up getting 2.25tb after the raid 5 is setup.

The advantage I see is the 750gb hard drives are going to be cheap real soon, probably like end of summer, under $70 or less (I found the hitachi used in the OWC for like $85). So replacement drives are going to be easy to come by and I get a ton of space.

I dont blame you for using those WD Studios, for the price, you cant beat them, I mean, 2tb for like $280, I mean, crap! My raid 5 is nearly 3 times the price than that, so WD is really trying to cut out the fat on that one.

I am really happy this thread took fruition cause I could not find anything like it. Everyone has given a lot of great ideas and support, more than any site could consolidate (that I have found) into one chunk.
 
Are you hooking up the OWC to your iMac via FW800? I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on performance, noise, etc. Please keep up the information flow!

Also, I think I can connect the WD to AE, it didn't see it. I'm so used to things that "just work" that maybe I need to pay a bit more attention and troubleshoot it. I easily could have screwed it up.
 
I had a similar situation last year. Eventually chose to build a pc with a motherboard that supports raid 5. I used to use a hacked Windows XP to support software raid 5. I wasn't so much concerned with performance as I was with surviving hardware failure.
 
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