Does such device exist?

[Raymond Lin]

I want an enclosure that does RAID 1 like this for SSD.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=630

It can be even USB 3.0 too if a thunderbolt one don't exist.

Thanks.

 

[Raymond Lin]

It need to be specifically :

USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt (preferred)
2.5" (so it can take SSD)
RAID 1

3.5" is no no since like you said, it might not line up.
USB 2.0 is no no since that would defeat the point of SSD.

Don't need a NAS, already have one.

This enclosure is basically going to be a temp drive for working on photos. Think of a set of photos go in, get worked, then I archive it. Next job goes in, repeat and rinse.

The NAS will be where the Archive is stored.

I need RAID 1 because it is a self back up solution on the fly while I work on the photos. 128G SSD is not that expensive so it is easily affordable.

I am using a USB 3.0 HD now to work on, it is fine but I still find lag when the HD accessing the data from photo to photo. I am hoping to minimise the lag.

 

[Raymond Lin]

While you say you don't need a NAS the Synology 213 still ticks all the boxes of your requirements so it would be silly to discount it purely because it has additional functions.

Raid 1 - Check
USB 3 * 2 + SD Card - Check
Hot swap bays - Check
Supports 2.5" or 3.5" drives - Check

Ok, I am almost sold. But how does it take 2.5" drives? Do I need to buy a caddy?

 

[Raymond Lin]

What about the Drobo Mini?

I don't really want the Drobo Mini for 2 reasons

1 - it is expensive, so expensive that I might as well get the Drobo 5D which I can add a mSATA SSD in to make it function like a Drobo Mini speed
2 - it defeats the purpose of getting RAID 1 in the first place. The Drobo is nice that it has beyond raid which is clever but any data contained within is limited to that enclosure. If the enclosure dies then the drive are unreadable from another caddy unless I get another Drobo Mini

Raid 1 remove that pitfall, RAID 1 is not dependant on its enclosure so it is the beauty of it.

The Drobo Mini would be a great choice to utilise the full speed of SSD's and for small file read/write performance.

The Synology DS213 has removable trays which come with 2 sets of screws for 3.5 and 2.5 inch disks, no conversion caddy required.

3.5 - side mounting
2.5 - underside mounting.

This can be seen at around the 1.20 mark with this unboxing vid. The 212 and 213 have the same trays.

So it works out just under £400 for 128G in RAID 1. or £500 for 256G. Kinda wish it had Thunderbolt though, USB 3.0 will be the bottleneck here with 5G/s but not by much I guess.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Yup, I even contemplated at a Drobo 5D point. My options basically consist of

1 - 3TB USB 3.0 HD - £120

What I am using now.

Pros - I already have it, its cheap
Cons - There is no on the fly back up, although this isn't really a problem as such as the way Lightroom functions, the settings is held on the HD in my OS which is time machine every day to my Time Capsule. It just mean I have to make sure I put a copy of any work in my Drobo FS. Slowest of all the options.

2 - WD Thunderbolt Duo in RAID 1 - £430

Pro - Thunderbolt, large storage (3TB for £430 including enclosure), RAID 1
Con - It probably won't be notibily faster than USB 3.0, lag will be evident in HD writing and accessing

3 - Drobo 5D - £1,000 +

Pro - Fast (with internal SSD), expandable, enormous storage (5 x 4TB), Thunderbolt, UPS battery, all the Drobo features, Beyond RAID, hot swap, easy access etc
Con - Expensive (£660 + drives costs = £1500 for a full 5 bay with SSD), nothing to prevent unit failure and subsequent access of data.

4 - SSD via USB 3.0 with Synogy - £500

Pro - Fast (probably fastest or second fastest if USB turns out to be the bottleneck), enclosure reusable for 3.5" HD later on. RAID 1
Con - Small storage, at most I can only access 2 weddings at a time if I get 256G SSDs, most expensive per Gigibyte of all the options.


I already am using Option 1.
Option 3 is too expensive.
So it is between Option 2 and 4, they cost similar...decisions decisons...

 

[Raymond Lin]

We are talking about around/under 100G per job when it starts, final Jpeg will be under 4G which is delivered to the client.

It needs to be that size because I am not working on the odd photo, it is a set of images, the 100G is a set and if 1 moves, the whole goes with it.

When everything is done, the best of the lot will go to a portfolio drive.

Drive 1 - OS (iMac)
Drive 2 - Working Drive
Drive 3 - Archive (Drobo)
Drive 4 - Portfolio (USB/online - my website)
Drive 5 - Cloud Back up (Crashplan)

I have the others all set up, it is the Drive 2 that I am trying to find the best solution. If I am working like 200 images at a time that you cut down to like 5 for a magazine then I don't need this method, but when the volume is 10/15 times bigger per job then every extra second spent loading the next photo soon add up.

Currently I am using Drive 3 as purely a back up, so if Drive 2 goes down, I get another one and copy the content from Drive 3 (Drobo) back and keep working. This new method is basically all about speed.

 

[Raymond Lin]

No....lol you got the numbers wrong.

100G is raw
4G is jpeg

Each raw files is around 30mb.
The archive files will be DNG.

The copying across can be done whilst I do something else or sleeping, which is what I do when I export them in my old iMac. 500 images at 90 seconds each is an overnight job.

I did pre-render 1:1 on my holiday images yesterday on the old system took 4 hours. I did that while I was doing something else. I can go do something else if the time is like in 1 lump, I can't when it's 2 seconds here, 3 seconds there.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Raymond, this looks like it might do the job:

http://www.raidsonic.de/en/products/soho-raid.php?we_objectID=8162

Sorry I missed this! Amazing!

How about the LaCie Little Big Disk?

It comes pre-configured with 1/2TB normal disks, or you can get it with the SSD's in 512GB/1TB (more expensive). All are Thunderbolt as you requested.

I'd just drop £240 on the 2TB version, strip out the hard disks, which you can sell for £50 each, and then pop in 2x 256GB SSD's - £whatever and you are all done.

Make's it a £140 enclosure, but if you must have Thunderbolt with RAID support then that's it really.

http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10549

Now I need to see what difference between the above and this LaCie and crunch some numbers.

 

[Raymond Lin]

So...

1.
Raidon Raidon 2420-B3 + Two x Samsung 830 SSD 256G = £408.32

2.
LaCie 512GB SATA III SSD Thunderbolt Little Big Disk = £549.00

Just saw this on Youtube, it is LOUD...

3.
Synology Diskstation DS213 Air Network + Two x Samsung 830 256G = £540.90

Option 1 is the cheapest as expected, but unknown enclosure and its reliability, can't find any solid info online.

Option 2 is the easiest out of the box plug and play solution but most expensive. Fastest.

Option 3 is most versatile but slightly slower. I do love the option of I can use the enclosure later with 3.5" HD. Just no Thunderbolt.

 

[Raymond Lin]

This is the speed via USB 3 on a external 7200rmp HD.



I want faster....lol it is the random access speed that I want.

What is the bandwidth limit over ethernet?

 

[Raymond Lin]

The SSD one seems quieter too.

 

[Raymond Lin]

USB3 is quicker.

But the convenience of something available on the network counts for a lot.

I don't need that though, the files are seen through Lightroom only. If you look at the same file outside lightroom the photos are unedited, like photo negatives.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Did you look at the Helios from OWC in my last post too?

Yeah, it seems expensive and can't see it do RAID? and can't see a UK seller though.

I think the Lacie is the best bet atm.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I don't think WD Duo are SSD.