Need Help Choosing DAS Backup Solution

[midiman]

May as well have not bothered backing up then... you don't know the actual brand or model of hard drive being used inside it, or where it was sourced from


Good luck with that from a brand no one has ever heard of.

What does that matter? The point that it is being backed up is better than nothing and like I said, it comes with a 2 year warranty.
I'm backing up my most valuable data to it and it is working like a charm.

And if it fails I will simply get it replaced.

The chances of me losing my PC and External Drive are probably around 1 in a 10 billion or more.

I think it's a really good choice for those that don't need a NAS and want something that they can easily get to and transport around.

 

[Armageus]

What does that matter?

Because you've just said that you're backing up your most valuable data. Surely if it's that valuable it deserves more than a generic hard drive enclosure that potentially contains a drive of unknown origin (could be a 2nd drive that's been used by one of the big chia farms that are now winding down). Unless you open the case and verify what drive is in it, it could be a fake for all you know.
I assume you've a way of verifying the written data?

and like I said, it comes with a 2 year warranty.

That means nothing - no one has heard of the company and they won't exist in 6 months time, let alone 2 years.

The chances of me losing my PC and External Drive are probably around 1 in a 10 billion or more.

Overconfident much? And yet we wonder why people still manage to lose their data.

 

[midiman]

Because you've just said that you're backing up your most valuable data. Surely if it's that valuable it deserves more than a generic hard drive enclosure that potentially contains a drive of unknown origin (could be a 2nd drive that's been used by one of the big chia farms that are now winding down). Unless you open the case and verify what drive is in it, it could be a fake for all you know.
I assume you've a way of verifying the written data?


That means nothing - no one has heard of the company and they won't exist in 6 months time, let alone 2 years.


Overconfident much? And yet we wonder why people still manage to lose their data.

Even if the company vanished, I could simply buy something similar.
I am very confident that I will not lose my PC and the External Drive at the same time.
Therefore I will have one or the other if something does happen.
It would require a site disaster for me to lose both mediums. i.e. Flood, Fire, Act of Terrorism etc..
Thanks for your views but I think that this solution will work really well for me and I still have around 12TB of data extra space for other data.
It's a bit of a win-win in terms of price and functionality.

 

[Armageus]

Even if the company vanished, I could simply buy something similar.

So why make a big deal about it having a 2 year warranty
May as well have just bought something even cheaper and more generic from AliExpress with no warranty.

 

[ChrisD.]

You've spent 25 years in IT, you think there are the type of NAS's being spoken about in this thread in datacenters, and you're happy backing up your most valuable data on an unknown HDD? Something doesn't add up.

 

[midiman]

You've spent 25 years in IT, you think there are the type of NAS's being spoken about in this thread in datacenters, and you're happy backing up your most valuable data on an unknown HDD? Something doesn't add up.

I know what we are using in the DCs and the kit and the tech is in the region of $1Million+ but I don't need that for my own data
I don't need the expense of a NAS, either. What make the drive is doesn't matter to me, as I don't expect the drive to fail.
I deal with drive failures in huge data-intensive RAID arrays and I don't need that reliance here.

Like I said, if the drive fails, I will still have my original data and zero data loss.
I will simply provision a new drive and back it up again.
It would take two simultaneous failures for me to lose everything and the chances of that in a home setup are virtually impossible.

It just doesn't happen even in a large RAID array in a DC.

Thanks for all the replies but the option that I chose to go down was the best for my needs in terms of prices and ease.

 

[wonko]

Drive failure isn't the only reason for data loss. Drives don't always suddenly stop working either, for example they can develop bad sectors that you don't necessaily know about until you're trying to restore from your one and only backup.
It's your data and your decision of how much risk you want to take, but your "1 in 10 billion or more" and other comments make me think you're massively underestimating the risk.

 

[nightwish]

virtually impossible

Fire? Flood? Theft?

 

[Gabby]

The quality of drives in datacentres are way better than the stuff we normal mortals buy.

I really don't think you are that worried about your data. A backup in the same room/building as the PC is NOT a backup. You have been advised on this already but chose to ignore the advice as you "appear to know better". On your own head be it.

 

[ChrisD.]

The quality of drives in datacentres are way better than the stuff we normal mortals buy.

I really don't think you are that worried about your data. A backup in the same room/building as the PC is NOT a backup. You have been advised on this already but chose to ignore the advice as you "appear to know better". On your own head be it.

25 years in IT remember, don't try to tell OP what a backup is, he knows best.

 

[Gabby]

25 years in IT remember, don't try to tell OP what a backup is, he knows best.

TBH What he seems to be looking for is a COPY of the data and not a backup.