Storage Solutions for our OUT-OF-CONTROL iTunes Libraries

[prostuff1]

unRAID concerns me because of the dedicated parity drive. What if that drive fails? Don't I lose everything? I'm also confused about the ability to dynamically add capacity. Is it like Drobo where the volume size is fixed at startup?

No, if the parity drive goes bad you will only lose the ability to rebuild a disk should one fail. Parity basically does an XOR on all the bits/sectors of the drive to compute the parity. Should the parity drive go bad then you would only need to pop in a new one and start a parity build.

If you want to add a new drive to the array all you have to do is shut the server down, hook up the new drive, start it back up, load up the web management interface, go to devices tab and assign the disk to the array. Then go back to the main page and hit the format button. unRAID will format the drive by writing zero's to the entire drive, setting the Rieser FS and telling unRAID that there is a new drive available. Simple as that.

The forums there are one of the best I have ever been a part of and if you need help you are almost certain to get an answer.

 

[mmccaskill]

It uses ReiserFS? Not a great choice for large video files.

 

[prostuff1]

It uses ReiserFS? Not a great choice for large video files.

Were do you get that from? I would love to see a link that describes the ReiserFS having problems with large video files.

Frankly, I have nothing to say but good thing about the ReiserFS. It does a very good job at file allocation and keeping files together to minimize fragmentation. I accidentally erased some of a drive once and had to run a reiserfsck --rebuildtree (or something to that effect) and I was able to recover ALL the files. I rip my DVD's as complete .iso files and those all come in a little short of 8GB and have never had a problem.

 

[ascender]

Well, the time has come to upgrade things again. Internally in the Mac I have 4 * 1TB drives as a single iTunes volume for my library. Externally I had the exact same 4 drives in a Drobo.

Recently I replaced the drives in the Drobo for 1.5TB models and its looking like I now have to do the same internally as there's only a few hundred gig left and I'm still adding content, particulalry video, all the time.

Just wondering, what are the best 1.5TB drives to get now in terms of price v reliabillity & performance?

And secondly, what's the best way to move all the data to the new drives? I was thinking, wipe the Drobo, manually copy the iTunes folder to the Drobo. Then replace the internal drives with the new ones, create a new volume and copy everything back.

Or am I better to use the iTunes method of choosing the new location once, then doing the same again when ready to move it back?

 

[Shuttleworth]

Or am I better to use the iTunes method of choosing the new location once, then doing the same again when ready to move it back?

I just moved my 300Gb library the 'iTunes method', from a direct attached NAS, onto a direct attached USB backup drive then back to my NAS (I'd increased the storage on the NAS) and it worked nicely but took a while, perhaps 4 or 5 hours, so with your library it may take a few days.

 

[starcat]

The iTunes method of moving files moves only the music files. No other files like jpeg, text, etc are moved. Consider this when choosing what to do.

 

[starcat]

I tried CCC but it does not recognise the NetworkShares provided by my SynologyNAS (the 2 TB WD Disk). If i try to use "Other location" CCC creates a install package that has to be run on the other "computer", and this can not be run because it's a NAS.

I had success using "arrsync" but there is no option for scheduling...

CCC can't be used with general NAS volumes. The only option for doing so is creating a sparsebundle (or sparseimage), clicking on it (and making it look like a regulard harddrive) and making CCC backing up in there.

 

[ascender]

The iTunes method of moving files moves only the music files. No other files like jpeg, text, etc are moved. Consider this when choosing what to do.

Thanks, never realised that. I'll just do a manual COPY job then.

 

[DAMAC3]

It uses ReiserFS? Not a great choice for large video files.

I have several 25GB+ Blu-ray rips on my unRAID server and have yet to notice any playback problems related to unRAID. Any problems I have ever had are duplicated when playing the same file back from the desktop's hard drive. I've not had a single problem with ReiserFS.

 

[geoffreak]

Will someone fix the first post of this thread? The Drobo uses BeyondRAID, not unRAID.

 

[starcat]

Thanks, never realised that. I'll just do a manual COPY job then.

Welcome!

MusicBrainz Picard is an excellent program which can be used to move files *including* other supplementary files (you name based on file extension) from one place to another including renaming the files based on tags (can be turned off), creating Artist/Album structures, etc. Highly recommended so take a look at it and give it a try on a sample structure first.

 

[penguins01]

I am new to RAID setups but understand the basics. I have a music library, mostly ALAC files right now totaling 550GBs. I have my library managed by iTunes on an external Lacie 1TB drive (fw 800) and then manually back up to another Lacie 1TB drive about every 10GB in growth to my library. Usually I just delete the contents of the backup drive and then copy over the latest version of my music files.

I am looking at upgrading my primitive back-up practices and thought about getting the Lacie 3TB 2big drive (the one with the 2 hot swappable drives 2x 1.5TB). I would prefer not to spend more than $500 but this music collection is my baby and I would cry if I ever lost it. Any thoughts/suggestions?

(Running a G4 MDD 1.25)
Thanks!

 

[benlangdon]

is it ok to leave my externals kinda hot.

i just moved all of them (finally got my 1tb) to a not super well ventilated area. Only one of them is running 24/7 and is always hot. the other are on but not constantly running.

 

[ortuno2k]

Not sure if anyone has asked - didn't read through the 26+ pages of this thread...but how do people with laptops handle this issue?
My iTunes library contains music and a few music videos, and I'm only at 60GB. I have way more music stored on an external HD but I don't listen to it, due to the fact that it's not easily accessible. I could easily double or triple the size of the iTunes library if I rip all my DVD's and add my already-ripped movies...but I don't want to lose my remaining available HD space (100gb).

How do you have a large iTunes library on your portable? I would hate to lug around an external hard drive, or split my media between the internal HD and an external HD.

Any suggestions?

 

[randy98mtu]

I have a 2009 iMac 2.93 with the 640 gig drive. I recently started gobbling up space encoding my DVD's (I have about half of my movies done and I just started on TV shows). So I pulled my 500 gig My Book out of retirement to expand my iTunes storage. I also have a 1 TB My Book for Time Machine. My current plan is to get a 2 TB My Book in the near future to start using for Time Machine and the 1 TB drive will become an "off site" Time Machine (getting paranoid about losing pictures and home movies of my daughter.) Eventually I'll get a second 2 TB for off site and probably shift the iTunes expansion to the 1 TB.

Right now my 640 has about 110 free and I'll continue to use it for iTunes store purchases, all music, pictures and home movies. I already has about 200 gig of DVD rips that I may move to the expansion drive if the iMac dips below 50 or so. The 500 only has 100 used and I'm only using it for DVD rips. The 1 TB has under 50 free. Looks like some old backups are about to get dumped. I changed cover art on a bunch of movies, so they got duplicated in the Time Machine .

 

[penguins01]

is it ok to leave my externals kinda hot.

i just moved all of them (finally got my 1tb) to a not super well ventilated area. Only one of them is running 24/7 and is always hot. the other are on but not constantly running.

I too have a few of my back-up drives that run hot. They are all LaCie drives w/o internal fans and rely on the external enclosure w/ heat fins to help keep cool. I asked LaCie's tech support and they told me running hot is normal so long as they are not too hot to touch. Nevertheless, I run a fan over them to keep them cooler. I would recommend a USB fan that you can use your computer to power and just have it blow air over part of the enclosure.

 

[benlangdon]

I too have a few of my back-up drives that run hot. They are all LaCie drives w/o internal fans and rely on the external enclosure w/ heat fins to help keep cool. I asked LaCie's tech support and they told me running hot is normal so long as they are not too hot to touch. Nevertheless, I run a fan over them to keep them cooler. I would recommend a USB fan that you can use your computer to power and just have it blow air over part of the enclosure.

ya i have a fan on them right now
totally forgot about usb fans.
ya im not to sure whats hot to the touch anymore really. i worked for a while as a pastry chief and my hands are used to really hot stuff so its hard to tell sometimes. on my computer i have put my hand where its hot and my computer was running at 160 deg and i left my hand there for a while and then was like dam thats kinda hot. o and i had my mom touch it and she said it was hot in the same place.

Ya that last sentence and pretty much that whole last thing, don't take that out of context


ugh, i have to post a nice little pic of my set up right now, it awesome, not raid or drobo awesome but still awesome.

 

[tbayrgs]

Not sure if anyone has asked - didn't read through the 26+ pages of this thread...but how do people with laptops handle this issue?
My iTunes library contains music and a few music videos, and I'm only at 60GB. I have way more music stored on an external HD but I don't listen to it, due to the fact that it's not easily accessible. I could easily double or triple the size of the iTunes library if I rip all my DVD's and add my already-ripped movies...but I don't want to lose my remaining available HD space (100gb).

How do you have a large iTunes library on your portable? I would hate to lug around an external hard drive, or split my media between the internal HD and an external HD.

Any suggestions?

I also have only a laptop but as I'm presently not lugging it around much (other than around the house), I'm not sure my setup would work for you but thought I'd offer my $0.02. I just added an TV to the house so I'm in the process of ripping my DVD library and encoding for use on both the TV and our iPhones--realized that I would quickly use up the 250 GB HD on my laptop. I also have a Time Capsule so I picked up a 1 TB WD My Book Studio and hooked it up to the TC. Since the laptop is right now almost always on and hooked up to my home network, I just point iTunes to the external HD and stream media to my TV. Since my portable media needs are fulfilled via the iPhone, I can keep all of my media on the external and not eat up space on the laptop.

 

[ginopiazza49]

I am thinking of purchasing a ReadyNAS NV+. You mention that the drives aren't silent enough to have in a living room. You also mention fan noise. Can you tell me just how noisy is the fan and how noisy are the drives?

If there is anything more that you can tell me about the ReadyNAS NV+, I would appreciate it.

I have a Netgear ReadyNAS NV+. I manage the library through my iMac, but the ReadyNAS has an iTunes server and can serve everything in the house except for my Apple TV (rediculous BTW).

I sometimes use my PS3 to watch movies or listen to music. I have my router / AEBS / ReadyNAS in my attic, so the fan noise isn't a deal breaker. The NAS drives aren't silent enough to have in a living room. They do offer x-raid, the ability to use mixed sized drives and a host of other features.

It was a little expensive, but now I don't worry about space (at least for a while). When the 1TB drives come down in price, I'll fill it with those.

 

[pprior]

I am thinking of purchasing a ReadyNAS NV+. You mention that the drives aren't silent enough to have in a living room. You also mention fan noise. Can you tell me just how noisy is the fan and how noisy are the drives?

If there is anything more that you can tell me about the ReadyNAS NV+, I would appreciate it.

I have had a readynas NV+ for a couple years. I don't think any major changes in that timeframe.

The fan is definitely too loud IMO for living room use. The drives are very quiet.

I'm more sensitive to most for noise, but the fan moves a fair amount of air, and it's mostly air noise not so much the fan itself.

My readynas has been very reliable, easy to admin, and better performance over ethernet than my drobo has over FW800, which is sad for the drobo. I would recommend it except for the noise (I have mine in a closet in tjhe basement).

 

[spue2001]

just got my new drobo in the post yesterday , just waiting for the drives , i cant wait to test this bad boy out

 

[pprior]

I actually just gave up today and ordered a new lacie 4big quadra (6TB version). The drobo has been trouble free and it's a nice concept but 1) it's too dog slow and 2) it's too loud - the thing will grind away for sometimes an hour at a time or more doing who knows what.

The 4big is supposed to be very quiet, and as eSATA I should see probably 10-20x the speed that I'm getting now.

EDIT: got the Quadra:

Initial impresions of 4big Quadra:

Much faster than drobo (AJA shows 120mb/sec in RAID5 with hot spare - using 3 active drives). This using eSATA. My drobo as I posted routinely got 10-12mb/sec using same system on FW800.

Not much quieter, if any. Fan so far has made a varying level of noise which is actually more annoying than the constant drone of the drobo. I'm disappointed in this part which was a major reason for the purchase. I'm majorly annoyed by computer noise, but this is much louder than the mac pro I run below my desk. Not impressed with the silence factor.

 

[srexy]

Hi all. Just re-visiting this thread because I'm soon to be the proud owner of a Mac Mini and am going to retire my ecotragic XP media server greybox very soon!

Unfortunately my budget does not currently extend to a Drobo or HP Media Server style solution for storage (especially in view of my Mini expenditure!)

A quick question for you all - I've already bought the 4gb ram and 500gb drive to upgrade my Mini. I'm planning on using the Mini's drive for my media storage needs which should be sufficient for the foreseeable future and although I'm not 100% sure - a 1.5tb NewerTech stackable drive for time machine backups of the whole network (1 MBP, 1 iMac and the Mini itself).

My question is - when my media collection outgrows my 500gb drive could I add and then daisy chain several NewerTech drives together for additional storage and could I then back up the storage drive using time machine?

Comments/suggestions greatly appreciated!

So my collection is rapidly outgrowing the 500gb drive I shoved in the Mini and I've come up with a cunning plan to maximise my resources.

I had already purchased a WD Green 1.5tb drive which against all advice I'd stashed in a mini-stacker enclosure. In addition I already have a Mercury Pro-Elite JABOD/Raid 0 enclosure with a single 320 gb drive in it to back up my MBP.

towhit:

• purchased Seagate 2tb drive which will go in the Mercury Elite enclosure along w/the WD Green 1.5tb
• the 1.5tb drive will now store my media, the 500gb in the Mini will be for works in progress (rips/encodes etc)
• the 320gb drive is now in the mini-stack fitting perfectly under my Griffin Elevator ready to back up the MBP
• my Mercury Elite will now be able to back up the 1.5tb drive AND the 500gb in the Mini
• when finances permit I'll pick up a Drobo and shove my large capacity drives into it

With the rebate a Drobo is now $299 on Newegg - it's making a very compelling case for itself these days...

 

[ascender]

Looking for some advice on where to go next. Current setup is as follows:

• Mac Pro, 4 * 1TB drives internally as single iTunes volume holding entire library.
  
• This is backed up to a FW800 Drobo which has 4 * 1.5 TB disks in it.

The internal library is nearly full, so I was thinking of swapping out the 1 TB drives for 1.5s. The problem them comes with backing this stuff up.

Also, there's also the old issue that in order to share the library, the Mac Pro needs to be switched on. A NAS of some sort would get round this problem, but how would I then sync my iPods to the library?

Secondly, what is everyone using to back up their libraries once they get in to terabytes of size? I guess once people have ripped their collections, the majority of the data doesn't then change, so ideally, you could write the collection off to a massive DVD and store it, then just have a 1TB external drive running an incremental backup to take care of the new stuff you buy and rip.

Any ideas?

 

[prostuff1]

Looking for some advice on where to go next. Current setup is as follows:

• Mac Pro, 4 * 1TB drives internally as single iTunes volume holding entire library.
  
• This is backed up to a FW800 Drobo which has 4 * 1.5 TB disks in it.

The internal library is nearly full, so I was thinking of swapping out the 1 TB drives for 1.5s. The problem them comes with backing this stuff up.

Also, there's also the old issue that in order to share the library, the Mac Pro needs to be switched on. A NAS of some sort would get round this problem, but how would I then sync my iPods to the library?

Secondly, what is everyone using to back up their libraries once they get in to terabytes of size? I guess once people have ripped their collections, the majority of the data doesn't then change, so ideally, you could write the collection off to a massive DVD and store it, then just have a 1TB external drive running an incremental backup to take care of the new stuff you buy and rip.

Any ideas?

As I have mentioned earlier in the thread I do my storage and backup to an unRAID machine on my local network. you can check out there site with the link above, but also check the unRAID wiki and the unRAID forum to get an idea of how the server works. If you have any questions feel free to ask me or post on the forums and the community will help as much as we can.