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I should perhaps preface this by saying that I am not a sysadmin but rather a user. The reason I'm asking this question is because I and other users at my company have experienced accidental deletion of files on our network drive, for a variety of reasons. While we do have nightly backups (so that if a file exists for more than one day, it is recoverable if accidentally deleted), we don't have an "undelete" function for files created the same day, like the functionality available for Windows desktop. So, we asked our tech folks to see if this could be implemented for network drives. The response that came back is that yes, it could be done by implementing shadowing, but the cost to do so would be in the mid five figures. Not much detail was provided, but apparently the costs were for the licensing of additional software and the purchase of an additional storage unit. From what I understand, we currently have a 2 TB unit for all user files, which is close to capacity and so can't currently accommodate shadowing.

While I love our tech folks, the figure came as a bit of surprise. The question I wanted to ask is whether that figure seems right and, additionally, if there are cheaper or less complicated ways to achieve this functionality.

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user132946
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  • The costs may be valid - depending on the used software stack. If you want it cheaper - it gets more complicated... – Pascal Schmiel Jun 05 '13 at 14:50
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    The cost they stated could very well be valid for whatever solution they have in mind. That doesn't mean it's the right or best solution for you. How much should it cost to build a car? The answer depends on the kind of car that's being built. – joeqwerty Jun 05 '13 at 14:56
  • This is really a conversation you should be having with your "tech folks" -- with no knowledge of the solution they're proposing we can't even tell you if we think their design is sound, much less what it should cost. (Cost is also so localized a factor that we try to avoid it on Server Fault -- What costs $50 in the USA can cost $500 in Australia.) – voretaq7 Jun 05 '13 at 16:29

1 Answers1

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This has been covered well previously. Please check this out.

Why is Enterprise Storage so expensive?

Edited to add:

Without knowing more about the total environment, it's impossible for any of us to say what the "right" answer is. The aforementioned link helps to explain why it's more complex than just buying another 2 TB HD from Best Buy. :)

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  • I realize its probably because I referred to the need for another storage unit. Perhaps I could revise my question as follows: Assuming: (a) there is at least 500 MB free space on an existing 2 TB storage unit; (b) a sys admin that has reasonable knowledge of Win 2K8 Server and can go through the steps set out here: http://www.techotopia.com/index.php/Configuring_Volume_Shadow_Copy_on_Windows_Server_2008, would one expect to incur, would one reasonably expect there to be out of pocket costs incurred to enable VSC? – user132946 Jun 11 '13 at 20:39
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    500MB free on a 2TB volume is **nothing**. Seriously. This site is for professionals, not for end users. What your IT staff is telling you is reasonable. Sorry that you don't like the answer, but it is what it is. I doubt they tell you how to do your job, why do you insist on trying to tell them how to do their job? – MDMarra Jun 12 '13 at 01:04