Awesome. Thanks....what would you recommend for brands for parts. You mentioned the ARC 1222. I would use that to connect to the SDD correct in the the optical bay spot? I assume I can use my current esata from the mother board for the back up? What mini sas enclosure would you recommend? Is it quiet?
In an '09, I'd use the 2nd ODD bay and cable for the SSD (uses the logic board = ICH controller in the chipset).
Then use a RAID card to attach to the internal HDD bays (
a $165USD adapter is needed for an '09 with any 3rd party internal port card;
here).
As per card maker, I'd go with Areca, followed by Atto. Highpoint's RR43xx series is also a posibility, but the low cost is a bit of a misnomer in some cases, as they don't come with cables (Areca's do, which combined with the feature set and lower cost vs. Atto, is the best bargain for EFI bootable RAID cards). Fine for what you want to do as it happens (the Max upgrade kit has the correct end to plug into the card, and if you go with an 8 port card to take 4x drives external, you'll need a different cable that never comes with a card; kit only if it exists).
But Highpoint doesn't design or manufacture their own gear, so the support is lacking (it really sucks, especially getting the EFI firmware if you wanted to boot from it - you won't need this in your situation, just the OS X drivers to gain access to the card).
The ARC-1212 is a good 4 port card, and the ARC-1222 is the same unit with an additional port (handles 8x drives). There's also the ARC-1680 series that can offer additional features (i.e. some have faster processors - 1200MHz vs. 800MHz that comes in the 1212/1222, and can use a DIMM for cache, which allows you to upgrade it, and finally, this line also supports SAS expanders, but I seriously doubt you'd need this).
I'm not sure how heavy you are into FCP, but am under the impression that you do need throughput to improve workflow. But at 4x drives, this will be your limitation, not the card. Even then, I think the
ARC-1222 would be just fine, and it's less expensive.
For an external enclosure, I typically go with an
Enhance E4-MS (MS = MiniSAS). They come in
silver or black BTW, and the silver version will match the MP's asthetics.
This is the cable you'd need (the length matters, so do NOT exceed 1.0 meter with SATA). Sometimes they're quiet, other times, not so much (it seems they get a wide variance in fan quality, which might be due to multiple suppliers). Fortunately, they can also be replaced for a quiet unit (Noctua or Noise Blocker would do well).
Sans Digital's TRX4 is another one you could take a look at, and is comparable (also a silver model). I'm not sure about noise, and would expect to have to swap out fans in this one as well.
Ultimately, I'd go with what ever you can find that fits the bill for the lowest cost (I am presuming that asthetics are important to you, and have stayed away from the units available from pc-pitstop.com; they're ugly as heck, but less expensive and work).
Also note, that you need to use enterprise drives with Areca's RAID cards, and this is doubly important with SAS units (those mentioned are, as the SATA versions are actually more expensive). Check the
HDD Compatibility List (.pdf file). Personally, I use WD RE3's for primary arrays right now. Use the WD RE4-GB for backup disks (cheaper, and 2TB).
This would give you up to 8x drives to be used between the primary array and backups (split is up to you). As your capacity needs grow, you can eventually go to eSATA for backup, and it's not too expensive without the need to swap out the RAID card or buy additional enclosures for it, unless you require additional ports (12/16/24). It saves you money and aggravation in the long run (online expansion is your best friend to increase capacity
).
Hope this helps.
