Storage Devices Poll and Discussions

[K3N]

I usually copy the data to an external harddisk and make backups on DVD-R. I haven't checked my CDs in years. Its quite possible that they might have read errors already. The other promising technology is write-once flash with claimed 100+ years of archival. So far, Sandisk hasn't brought it to the market yet. http://www.dpreview.com/news/0702/07022601sandiskwriteonceflash.asp

I'm considering online backup with sites like smugmug, flickr, photoshelter. The data is stored in data centers so they're off-site and they also have lots of redundancy. While travelling you can make a backup from any Internet WIFI hotspot/Cafe/Satphone(if you're rich) so your data is safe even if stuff gets stolen or broken. This is also useful if you're a PJ and have sensitive photos etc.

If I'm not wrong Smugmug is the only one that allows RAW and they charge extra for it (per mb), its fixed rate/unlimited for Jpegs. There was another online backup site (Digital Railroad) that shutdown while giving photogs only 24 hrs to get their data off so I guess online storage may not be the end all solution.

 

[drenboy]

I used to use a few external HDD's for my backup as well as some DVD's
After a while it gets really messy and searching becomes an issue, so I saved
up and got a Drobo. Been happy with it ever since. It's not cheap but it's more of
a set-up and forget about it (mostly lol)

 

[microcosm]

Drobo is a sexy storage solution... is it noisy?

 

[urban]

Drobo is a sexy storage solution... is it noisy?

It is quieter than my Stardom 3620.

 

[tangoinquestion]

i use raid 1 to mirror my "data" drive on my mac (swallows up to 4 drives)... i should get another drive for periodic backups via time time machine

i used to have a d-link dns-323 ext raid enclosure but sold it off... in retrospect i should have just kept it as you can't really have too much storage hehe

 

[nex100]

Raid is a high availability solution.

if you want a drive then does not fail or less chance of failing as a working drive, Raid is your solution. Do not get fooled by salesman asking you to buy expensive RAID enclosures as your backup device. Keeping 2 drives in separate volumes is better than keeping them in a single volume with RAID 0.

If you want a backup and access the backup as an achieve, usually a NAS or USB storage will be such a backup system.

If you want to backup and do not access them unless absolute necessary then you can opt for tape drives.

Never go for optical disc solutions be it dvd/vcd/blu ray. These are never going to be forever.

In cases do not let your drives get moldy or whatever technology you have cannot bring your data back. Nothing is for sure even if backup you got to check them to see if they work once in a while.

 

[theITguy]

I am bumping this thread since I am rebuilding my storage system.

My system now has:

1. 36GB boot drive
2. 2x 640GB in RAID 1 for daily used applications (e.g games)
3. 2x 1TB in RAID 1 for daily used storage (e.g. MP3, photos, video recordings etc)
4. 180GB for downloading of stuff
5. 60GB for downloading of stuff

I used to store my stuff in DVD-Rs, but too time consuming to burn and transfer. Moreover, the price is not attractive now with the cheap HDD.

A 100x DVD-R at 4.39GB (take it as 400GB in total given the free space on how we arrange the files) costs $40 from Verbatim/Mitsubishi. A DVD burner costs $40. Assuming that a burner lasts 200 burns before it breaks down, cost per 1GB is:

[($40 x 2) + $40] / 800 = $0.15


If I am going the RAID 1 way, a Dual Bay Vantec RAID 1 external enclosure (eSata + USB 2.0) will costs about $150, Hitachi 2TB drives is at $175 each (net drive size is 1862GB due to the way computer calculates). Costs per 1GB is:

[($175 x 2) + $150] / 1862 = $0.27


If I do not use the external enclosure, but use the internal RAID 1 on my computer, it will be: $350 / 1862 = $0.19



Advantage of DVD-R:

1. Low starting costs
2. Spreading of risk to many discs
3. Suitable for smaller amount of storage
4. More durable than a HDD

Disadvantage of DVD-R:

1. Time consuming to burn or transfer (cannot burn at top speed or risk data corruption)
2. If HDD down and DVD-R spoiled at the same time, can say bye bye to data
3. Durability depends on quality of disc and where it is kept.
4. Need to label them neatly for storage.
5. Slow to retrieve (e.g. Max read speed of 30MB/s, average 20MB/s)
6. Takes up more space if data is a lot (e.g. 1TB or more)
7. Needs a DVD reader.


Advantage of External RAID 1:

1. "Mirroring" in real time, hence data can still be retrieved if one disc fails
2. Less real asset space taken up if volume is huge (e.g. >1TB storage).
3. Fast to Extremely fast in retrieval (30MB/s for USB 2 to 130-140MB depending on the HDD models).
4. Allows same storage labeling with in-system discs.
5. Can be easily transferred to other system via USB ports.

Disadvantage of External RAID 1:

1. Costly setup
2. All eggs in one basket (if both drives fails, that's it)
3. Mechanical HDD are vulnerable to knocks and drops.

 

[miniz]

Has anyone used online data backup site to back up photos (not online photo storage like flickr), such as Mozy, SpiderOak?

e.g. Mozy charges US$4.95 a month for unlimited storage.

e.g. Snapfish.com.sg can store photos (unlimited storage) for free provided you order print from them once a year.


I have not used any of them, except Mozy (2GB space only, free) for personal data/files.

 

[microcosm]

I am bumping this thread since I am rebuilding my storage system.

My system now has:

1. 36GB boot drive
2. 2x 640GB in RAID 1 for daily used applications (e.g games)
3. 2x 1TB in RAID 1 for daily used storage (e.g. MP3, photos, video recordings etc)
4. 180GB for downloading of stuff
5. 60GB for downloading of stuff

I used to store my stuff in DVD-Rs, but too time consuming to burn and transfer. Moreover, the price is not attractive now with the cheap HDD.

A 100x DVD-R at 4.39GB (take it as 400GB in total given the free space on how we arrange the files) costs $40 from Verbatim/Mitsubishi. A DVD burner costs $40. Assuming that a burner lasts 200 burns before it breaks down, cost per 1GB is:

[($40 x 2) + $40] / 800 = $0.15


If I am going the RAID 1 way, a Dual Bay Vantec RAID 1 external enclosure (eSata + USB 2.0) will costs about $150, Hitachi 2TB drives is at $175 each (net drive size is 1862GB due to the way computer calculates). Costs per 1GB is:

[($175 x 2) + $150] / 1862 = $0.27


If I do not use the external enclosure, but use the internal RAID 1 on my computer, it will be: $350 / 1862 = $0.19



Advantage of DVD-R:

1. Low starting costs
2. Spreading of risk to many discs
3. Suitable for smaller amount of storage
4. More durable than a HDD

Disadvantage of DVD-R:

1. Time consuming to burn or transfer (cannot burn at top speed or risk data corruption)
2. If HDD down and DVD-R spoiled at the same time, can say bye bye to data
3. Durability depends on quality of disc and where it is kept.
4. Need to label them neatly for storage.
5. Slow to retrieve (e.g. Max read speed of 30MB/s, average 20MB/s)
6. Takes up more space if data is a lot (e.g. 1TB or more)
7. Needs a DVD reader.


Advantage of External RAID 1:

1. "Mirroring" in real time, hence data can still be retrieved if one disc fails
2. Less real asset space taken up if volume is huge (e.g. >1TB storage).
3. Fast to Extremely fast in retrieval (30MB/s for USB 2 to 130-140MB depending on the HDD models).
4. Allows same storage labeling with in-system discs.
5. Can be easily transferred to other system via USB ports.

Disadvantage of External RAID 1:

1. Costly setup
2. All eggs in one basket (if both drives fails, that's it)
3. Mechanical HDD are vulnerable to knocks and drops.

I have always believed in HDD storage. And always backing them up and changing HDD every year regardless of condition because they are IDE/SATA HDD. This is a discipline that my IT savvy friends have cultivated me since the late 90s. Coming from a SCSI era, I benchmark reliability based on SCSI and the only one that can equal SCSI of yesteryear is the new solid state technology, but that is insanely expensive at the moment... until it becomes mainstream, it is still a yearly HDD renewal for IDE/ESATA HDD. Something I thought I should share.

 

[elgkh]

I'm still using 2 USB drives as backup. Not that keen on RAID after hearing stories of RAID controller failures.

Also considering upgrading my laptop and PC hard drives to SSD, but they require Windows 7 to get the maximum performance.

 

[theITguy]

I have always believed in HDD storage. And always backing them up and changing HDD every year regardless of condition because they are IDE/SATA HDD. This is a discipline that my IT savvy friends have cultivated me since the late 90s. Coming from a SCSI era, I benchmark reliability based on SCSI and the only one that can equal SCSI of yesteryear is the new solid state technology, but that is insanely expensive at the moment... until it becomes mainstream, it is still a yearly HDD renewal for IDE/ESATA HDD. Something I thought I should share.

I am a poor man's son.... cannot afford SCSI.... Now not working in the bank cannot afford such luxury. But MF analog still a reality

 

[microcosm]

I am a poor man's son.... cannot afford SCSI.... Now not working in the bank cannot afford such luxury. But MF analog still a reality

Don't think SCSI is easily available anymore too even if you want it, and why anyone would want SCSI when Solid State Storage Devices are now available? Moreover, SCSI harddisks were standard in Macs pre-1998. But Macs back then were quite pricey though.

Just have the discipline to change your consumer harddisks annually or every 18 months and I am sure anyone will hardly have any problems with losing data from harddisk crashes.

 

[albertri]

I do manual mirroring meaning I sync the two dirve evey week or twice a month. I have my main drive and backup drive

oh I have three actually just remember My temp/staging storage is my photo disk I carry this during photo shoot or travels copies my CF card then at home dumps them to my two HDD

I've stop doing DVD long time ago

 

[theITguy]

Don't think SCSI is easily available anymore too even if you want it, and why anyone would want SCSI when Solid State Storage Devices are now available? Moreover, SCSI harddisks were standard in Macs pre-1998. But Macs back then were quite pricey though.

Just have the discipline to change your consumer harddisks annually or every 18 months and I am sure anyone will hardly have any problems with losing data from harddisk crashes.

There is SAS.

BTW, I do not know if there is any commercial means to retrieve data from SSD currently. So if SSD spoiled, good luck?

18 months to change is ok lah.

 

[spidey89]

I do manual mirroring meaning I sync the two dirve evey week or twice a month. I have my main drive and backup drive

oh I have three actually just remember My temp/staging storage is my photo disk I carry this during photo shoot or travels copies my CF card then at home dumps them to my two HDD

I've stop doing DVD long time ago

I haven't chosen a solution for backup yet :bsmilie: the shop that I frequent,the auntie said to me "You seem to have bought a lot of hard disk from me" which is kinda true, I don't even know how many hard disk I've bought:bsmilie:

 

[albertri]

I haven't chosen a solution for backup yet :bsmilie: the shop that I frequent,the auntie said to me "You seem to have bought a lot of hard disk from me" which is kinda true, I don't even know how many hard disk I've bought:bsmilie:

You tell untie is it good I give you business? Hehe I too don't really have this backup solution I even just do robocopy command lols this to ensure both drives have the same data in it.

I always wanted to have my own external storage bay. I work in a data center there are times when we decom a server I am tempted to bring home one and use that as my data server lols.

 

[microcosm]

I haven't chosen a solution for backup yet :bsmilie: the shop that I frequent,the auntie said to me "You seem to have bought a lot of hard disk from me" which is kinda true, I don't even know how many hard disk I've bought:bsmilie:

Get a welding machine and you can build a small garden shed with the old harddisks you do not use anymore... LOL!

 

[spidey89]

Get a welding machine and you can build a small garden shed with the old harddisks you do not use anymore... LOL!

Probably,my home away from home when my future wife kicks me out of the house :angel:

 

[microcosm]

Probably,my home away from home when my future wife kicks me out of the house :angel:

I cannot imagine anything on this planet that can literally kick you out. Really cannot imagine. Put you on a trolley and roll you out, I can imagine. Kick you out literally... heck, I don't even think Roberto Carlos can do that.

 

[spidey89]

I cannot imagine anything on this planet that can literally kick you out. Really cannot imagine. Put you on a trolley and roll you out, I can imagine. Kick you out literally... heck, I don't even think Roberto Carlos can do that.

how about elephants?:bsmilie: