Storage/NAS Advice

beejjacobs

beejjacobs

beejjacobs

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Hi Guys,

My Mum has a relatively large collection of pictures and video, currently filling 1TB HDD. It is also backed up on another 1TB HDD. These are both external USB ones. However, they are full now!

I'm not sure the best route to go. Ideally I want something which I don't have to back up all the time manually. My thought was to get a 2TB NAS drive with 2x2TB HDDs in RAID 1/Mirroring. Is there anything I should be aware of, or any better ideas people have? I just need a solid way to have her stuff easy to get to/back up and of course more storage than currently she has.

Cheers
 
RAID isn't a backup, it only serves for protection against hardware failure. Currently she can accidentally delete her collection and have a form of backup since its on a unconnected HDD. If you were to move to RAID she could delete it and it'll be gone for good. I would go for the NAS solution with RAID 1 as well as periodic manual copies to another hard drive say every month or so. That is if you value this data, if its not really important just go with the NAS
 
Thank you. Sorry yes I wanted RAID to protect against hardware failure I was planning to use the current 2 x 1TB externals as back up too. I believe some NAS can back up to USB?
It is very important, hence I'd like to get the best system.

I will do as you suggest - NAS + manual back up.

Do you know if it really matters if you use hard drives not listed as compatible by the NAS manufacturer? It's frustrating I was going to go for something like the Seagate Barracude 2TB: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-255-SE&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1955 but only the lower [or higher, I can't remember] capacity one is listed as compatible.
Was planning on the Synology DS213j
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=NW-018-SY&groupid=46&catid=2125
 
The DS213j is a fantastic encloure that will serve very well. My preference for drives are WD red's. The 2 tb ones are not much deaer and they are fast/quiet and come with good warranty. And they are designed for 24/7 use in nas and raid arrays etc

And you can hook up an external usb for backups.
 
Oh good - I had read some good things about it and the price isn't bad. The WD reds seem popular too, trying to keep costs down but will try and get those.

Looking forward to playing with the synology. They seem to have plenty of features!
 
You should also consider some off-site backup as you say it's very important data. Have a look at some of these different options. But be careful, some of the services only backup internal drives.
 
DoubleCheese said:
You should also consider some off-site backup as you say it's very important data. Have a look at some of these different options. But be careful, some of the services only backup internal drives.
Click to expand...

While I wish we could do this as well a combination of money and terrible Internet mean it's not really possible. Looks like there's some good services out there though. I will make sure the usb back ups are separate to the NAS drive to be safe.
 
Has any one has experience with the "D-Link ShareCenter Pulse"?
It's significantly cheaper than the 2-bay Synology/QNAP alternatives. I realise this is because it lacks many features, but for my Mum it seems to do what I'd want: RAID 1, USB for backup and 2 bays! That's all she needs.

Anyone know any more about these?

I'm hopefully getting a NAS soon and will go for the Synology, as I'd like some of the extra features but for my Mum it really does just need the basically functionality of a NAS and be as cheap as possible!
 
Can't comment on their overall reliability but i have one that i've backed up all my Office/Windows Licenses, client software and licenses etc..stored at my parents place. Seems to be working fine after 3 years maybe? not a 24/7 machine but never experienced any issues.
 
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