RAID for backup?

[getz76]

What's your budget? What are your speed requirements?

I have a similar setup to -hh.

I have a Time Capsule and let Time Machine do its thing. I just remember to turn it off when I am working on a project. This provides daily backups.

For my data archive, I have a ReadyNAS Ultra 6 with 6x2tB drives. It is in a RAID 5 configuration and provides 10tB of storage. Right now, it has all of my creative archive as well as some family stuff. The archiving is a combination of ad-hoc and a minimum of a monthly manual move I do (which I have a calendar entry to remind me).

However, RAID is not an alternative to a backup, so the big NAS is Rsync'd to two different NASes, a ReadyNAS NV+ with 4x1tB drives and an Intel SS4200-E with 4x1tB drives. Both are RAID 5.

However, proximity matters. I keep a quarterly backup on a pair of 3tB drives in my office.

Disk space is cheap. If you do not need it to be a working disk, gigabit ethernet with jumbo frames is not that bad to deal with.

 

[nanofrog]

BTW, the above is bundled with RocketRAID 622 controller. Is this one compatible with OSX / Lion?

They work with OS X (may have issues with Lion, as it's not playing well with RAID right now).

For my data archive, I have a ReadyNAS Ultra 6 with 6x2tB drives. It is in a RAID 5 configuration and provides 10tB of storage.

I hope you realize that the ReadyNAS Ultra series is all software based (small computers, likely on an ITX format, built off of Intel Atom series), so it has no provisions for the write hole issue associated with parity based arrays.

You'd be better off with a small RoC based unit if you want to run a parity based array (inexpensive hardware RAID controller), such as the OWC Qx2. There are NAS units that have this as well, but they are more money than the Qx2 (though they may not be that much different than what you paid for the ReadyNAS you're using).

Just thought it worth mentioning.

 

[Honbe]

They work with OS X (may have issues with Lion, as it's not playing well with RAID right now).
.

nanofrog - you are really great, I believe we all appreciate all the informed advise you are giving here.
I am running Lion, but plan this backup unit to be configured just as JBOD (individual disks, no RAID). Should I expect problems here?

 

[nanofrog]

nanofrog - you are really great, I believe we all appreciate all the informed advise you are giving here.
I am running Lion, but plan this backup unit to be configured just as JBOD (individual disks, no RAID). Should I expect problems here?

NP.

Configured as single disks, I shouldn't think so.