Raid or Non-Raid USB3 Enclosure?

lumencreative

lumencreative

lumencreative

Associate
Joined
19 May 2014
Posts
290
Ok, I've decided to stick with the Mac Mini Server option for now as the NAS enclosure that I like (The Synology DS414) is going to cost almost as much as the Mac Mini would sell for anyway but the Mac Mini would give the added bonus of being another computer if ever needed.

I have narrowed the DAS options down to 2 IcyBox enclosures - the IcyBox IB-3640SU3 and the IcyBox IB-RD3640SU3 (Raid Version).

Both enclosures are identical but one has hardware RAID and one is just JBOD. The JBOD only option is about £30 cheaper than the RAID version.

There's also a 2 Bay version of the RAID model available for another £30 saving over the 4 Bay JBOD model.

What I'd like to know is which of the following makes more sense:

1. RAID Enclosure for data store with 2 x 2TB Drives (with 2TB available) plus another 2TB USB Drive to backup the contents of the RAID Enclosure.

2. Non-RAID Enclosure for data store with 1 x 2TB Drive (with 2TB available) plus another 2 x 2TB USB Drives to backup the contents of the main data store.

If I got a 4 bay Enclosure and just put one drive in for now, am I right in assuming that the JBOD system will be easier to 'upgrade' than a RAID system?
 
leigh_boy said:
i presume you want to use raid 1, mirror and not 0 , or 5?
also usb will really slow you down.
Click to expand...

Well that's kinda what I'm asking :)

Do I go with RAID1 (and have 2 x 2TB drives showing as 2TB usable)

or

Do I go with JBOD (and have 2 x 2TB drives showing as 2 x 2TB usable)

I'm just not sure if it's worth the additional expense of RAID given that the drives will be backed up elsewhere anyway.

My long term goal will be to have a NAS located off site for remote backups as well as cloud backup.
 
RAID is about the uptime. If you don't have RAID and the main drive fails, will you be ok with the few hours that it may take you to be up and running again? If you don't have a spare drive, what will you restore the backup to? It will probably take you 2 weeks to get a replacement drive under warranty, or overnight to buy a new one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom