Attaching two 3.5" hard drives to mini PC

Whiffle · 24 Feb 2023 at 11:20

Hi there.

Thanks to some really helpful advice on another thread, I have just ordered a new mini PC for my home server.

I have, however, the issue of connecting my two hard drives - two WD 3.5" WD Reds. One is used for storage and the other is for backup.

Is it better to buy individual enclosures or a dual bay? Dual bays seem to be much more expensive (and noisy, given that there is usually a fan) but have the advantage of a single power lead.

joey1211 · 24 Feb 2023 at 11:33

Individual as the backup drive should be offline when not in use.

Whiffle · 24 Feb 2023 at 11:40

Thanks for that - great point. Had not thought about that.

I was thinking of leaving both plugged in and use Rsync.RSnapshot for automatic backups. However, now, I might be able to use home assistant, and a smart plug, to only power the drive up for backups and then take it off line again, after.

Murphy · 24 Feb 2023 at 16:48

joey1211 said:
Individual as the backup drive should be offline when not in use.

Safety wise it should also be off site but that really depends on whether losing the data in the event of a fire is something that's important enough to go to all that faff.