nMP Storage conundrum

[theSeb]

I currently have various external boxes that I would like to consolidate, because I am not too happy with the amount of cables and power adapters that I need to keep everything plugged in.

The slight complication is that I work from two different physical locations. Let me illustrate the current set up:

Location A: 5 x 2 TB 7200 RPM Seagate - NAS RAID 5 - 3 TB left -
Location A: 4 x 1 TB 7200 RPM Seagate - Pegasus R4 - RAID 5 - 1 TB left

Location B: 2 x 2 TB 7200 RPM Seagate - Lacie 2big TB RAID 1 - 700 GB left
Location B: 2 x 2 TB 7200 RPM Seagate - cheap USB 2 enclosure JBOD - full (backup of important stuff on the NAS and out of space)
Location B: 3 TB G-tech drive (USB2, FW800, eSATA) - Time Machine

The problem is that I am simply running out of space, but would like to avoid more boxes. So I am thinking of just going with a rack for location A. This would be great as I can put everything in the cabinet and would be the neatest solution. However, this plan poses new challenges as most rack-mounted storage comes with 16 drive bays at least and is a bit beyond my needs.

The simple solution is to purchase some larger drives, but I would like to still utilise the older drives in an efficient manner for backups/archiving.

So I am looking at stuff like this:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silv...dd-rackmount-usb-30-and-esata-interface-black

or this

http://www.rentaraid.co.uk/stardom-...mount-system-with-esata-fw800-and-usb3-0.html

However, that does not really solve my problem and I am not too confident about the quality of the stuff I have listed above. Let's say that I upgrade the Pegasus R4 to 4 TB drives and do the same for the Lacie 2Big and run the R4 in RAID 10 and the 2Big in RAID 1. I still won't have a backup. Trying to create a backup solution with the drives I do have seems like a waste of money and my brain is saying that I should get rid of the 1 TB drives at least, instead of trying to buy boxes to keep them in, but I also cannot get myself to just throw away drives that still work or put them away in the drawer. It feels wrong.

Is there a simple and elegant solution to this problem?

 

[funwithdesign]

I would think about selling the stuff you have, and start from scratch with a solution that works rather than trying to shoehorn your existing drives into something.

That way you don't waste equipment and end up with something that is elegant and tailored to what you actually need.

 

[theSeb]

I would think about selling the stuff you have, and start from scratch with a solution that works rather than trying to shoehorn your existing drives into something.

That way you don't waste equipment and end up with something that is elegant and tailored to what you actually need.

I feel like this is the right answer, but I hate the thought of it, mostly because I hate the hassle of selling stuff to strangers.

 

[mikepj]

Tough call on that setup.

I would buy 3TB or 4TB disks for the Pegasus unit and use that in RAID 5 for your primary storage.

Then, since you are already familiar with having a NAS system, buy a Synology 1813 or similar 8 drive NAS unit to put all your current disks into and use that as a backup:
http://www.synology.com/en-us/products/overview/DS1813+

I don't know where that puts you for your second location though. Also keep in mind that Toshiba is finally rolling out their 5TB drives into production right now (available in 30-60 days), and 6-7TB drives are not far from the market at this point. Even if you didn't buy one of the higher capacity models, it should push down the cost of 3 and 4TB drives.