Options for mass storage?

Bergkamp · 6 Mar 2014 at 20:33

Ok, my dad is a photographer and has thousands and thousands of very high quality pictures with large file sizes. He wants a way of storing and backing up while keeping quick access. He will probably need in excess of 10TB to allow for future expansion, so what are the most cost effective options?

I'm not adverse to building something if that saves money.

Thanks

Edit: Budget is flexible, so pitch ideas and we can go from there.

OracIe · 6 Mar 2014 at 20:55

Consider cloud storage, the azure platform is quite cheap for storage. If you want a local solution I would go with a Raid 10 array with 4 or 5 4TB disks in a NAS box.
Maybe have an LTO4 tape backup put in a fire proof safe or off site.

Things start to get tricky when your talking about 10TB of 'critical' data for a home user.

MagicBoy · 6 Mar 2014 at 20:57

HP Microserver, FreeNAS, add RAM and HDDs.

Kreeeee · 6 Mar 2014 at 21:04

4 drive NAS. Synology or QNAP get my vote, and I personally have a 12TB Synology 413j.

LFletcher · 7 Mar 2014 at 09:52

Would also recommend a HP Microserver or QNAP/Synology NAS.
HP will be cheaper of the 2 options.
Neither option is a backup (no matter what RAID level is employed), so looking at something like Crashplan or Backblase may be suitable for offsite backup.

Dieseldes · 7 Mar 2014 at 15:08

Yep Google hp microserver and Unraid. Expandable and cheap.