Advice on how best to store my data

Mike_J_Smith

Mike_J_Smith

Mike_J_Smith

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25 Oct 2005
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492
I do astrophotography, which basically entails taking lots and lots of images over the course of a night. The next day I then download the images from the mini-PC that is doing the imaging, and copy and paste them into 3 locations.

The first is an SSD where I do the image editing, sometimes bringing in imaging sessions from several nights. I don't have any issues with this drive. Once I've done the image editing and saved final files, I delete the working files.

The second and third are the long term storage, currently 2 x 2TB 3.5" drives located in my case. All I do is copy and paste onto the drive and unless I want to copy and paste back to my working SSD to do more image editing, they just need to sit there until called upon again.

An average night can be 10GB of data, so I am beginning to think I'll need a different long term solution.

The easiest would just be to replace the 2TB drives with larger ones - Maybe 8TB?

But before I do that, is there anything else I should consider first?
 
I’d honestly keep it simple to start with and just increase the storage capacity. 2 TB is quickly used up at 10 GB a night, but when buying, I’d consider not just the size but also the risk of failure. In my view, having two copies on the same PC is better than one, but it’s still just a single device – if it gets stolen or the power supply fails, your day is ruined. That’s precisely why, for long-term data, I’d want a local copy and one in a different location. It wouldn’t matter to me if that ‘different location’ was just an external hard drive that you plug in, sync up and put away. In short, I’d think about a backup strategy first before.
 
becks said:
I’d honestly keep it simple to start with and just increase the storage capacity. 2 TB is quickly used up at 10 GB a night, but when buying, I’d consider not just the size but also the risk of failure. In my view, having two copies on the same PC is better than one, but it’s still just a single device – if it gets stolen or the power supply fails, your day is ruined. That’s precisely why, for long-term data, I’d want a local copy and one in a different location. It wouldn’t matter to me if that ‘different location’ was just an external hard drive that you plug in, sync up and put away. In short, I’d think about a backup strategy first before.
Click to expand...
SSD Vs HD. Which is better these days?
 
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becks said:
I’d honestly keep it simple to start with and just increase the storage capacity. 2 TB is quickly used up at 10 GB a night, but when buying, I’d consider not just the size but also the risk of failure. In my view, having two copies on the same PC is better than one, but it’s still just a single device – if it gets stolen or the power supply fails, your day is ruined. That’s precisely why, for long-term data, I’d want a local copy and one in a different location. It wouldn’t matter to me if that ‘different location’ was just an external hard drive that you plug in, sync up and put away. In short, I’d think about a backup strategy first before.
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Good idea. Maybe I’ll replace one internal drive and then get an external one too.

Possibly one I could hook up to my router? I’m guessing that’s an option.

Just to clarify, I don’t image anywhere near every night, as it requires clear skies. But the storage is getting filled steadily either way. I think 10TB will last several years.
 
koolpc said:
SSD Vs HD. Which is better these days?
Click to expand...
On OCUK, 4TB SSD are more than double the price and there are no 8TB ones, so for large storage volumes they aren’t really an option.

When I’m doing the image editing, using an HDD is incredibly slow vs the SSD though, so I use both
 
Considered a NAS? Pretty much ideal for this sort of thing, once set up it's much less faff than manually copying stuff onto other drives.

If you have decent upload bandwidth storing a copy in the cloud might also be worth considering.
 
Brun said:
Considered a NAS? Pretty much ideal for this sort of thing, once set up it's much less faff than manually copying stuff onto other drives.

If you have decent upload bandwidth storing a copy in the cloud might also be worth considering.
Click to expand...
Ive looked at NAS drives, but the cost has always put me off. I used to have a WD external drive that connected directly to the router I think. Something like that would be good. I’d like a NAS and then put my own drives in, but I wouldn’t know where to start. Any suggestions for budget options?

Cloud storage is definitely an option, I have the usual OneDrive, but would probably look at a standalone option. Again, no idea what would be a good provider, but can have a google.
 
What about blu-ray?
A single layer blu-ray disc takes 25Gb, so you could save the images you already worked there.
I made backup of my external harddrives in blu-ray disks, so in case the HDD fails, I still have everything saved.
 
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Drangueos said:
What about blu-ray?
A single layer blu-ray disc takes 25Gb, so you could save the images you already worked there.
I made backup of my external harddrives in blu-ray disks, so in case the HDD fails, I still have everything saved.
Click to expand...
I didn't even consider that, but sounds overly complicated - :D Many years ago I was using DVDs to back up photos, but it took so long and was a hassle with folders being too large. I guess Blu Ray would fix that, but still feels kinda messy.

I think simple larger drive internal and then a large external drive may be the best solution.

I'd be interested in a NAS, so will investigate that too.
 
Mike_J_Smith said:
Any suggestions for provider? I don't really need that much right now, probably 2TB then scalable up from there. I'm working on an assumption I'll probably add 1TB a year.
Click to expand...

IDrive® pricing plans

IDrive Online Backup offers various pricing plans, which can be selected by users based on their backup needs
www.idrive.com www.idrive.com

google one premium is £80/yr for 2tb
 
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No worries. If the data is truly mission critical then its always good to have offsite backups.
Usually the hierarchy would look like this:
SSD on the pc for immediate use
Raid 1 hdd backup on the same pc
NAS backup on the network
Physical backup in the same location but not always directly connected (EG external portable hdd)
Cloud storage
 
Stick Unraid on an old PC, put your drives in and then buy some new ones. You get a partity disk and can use odd sizes of disks in your array.
 
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