RAID for home use

6

Read so far most of RAID-related posts on this site, but still several points remain shaded so far.

First, my mode of working: I am writing music / doing graphical works, so the RAID is kinda semi-backup solution, that is supposed to be very helpful in case of HDD failure (I constantly experience HDD fail nearly every three years and it's pretty annoying). I am not pretending to look for a solution when a file is deleted by accident.

I've thought about the NAS option so far. So, the questions:

  1. RAID controller: from what I know - if the controller is gone - then I need to find exactly the same type of controller to access the data. Is that correct? If yes - what will be my options three years after buying any top sale contemporary RAID solution? Are there any RAID solutions that just mirror the "Traditional" (like NTFS) file system, so when a single HDD is gone, I can just take the other and plug it as a "normal/regular" drive? Or... every RAID is maintaining a proprietary file system which is controller-specific?

  2. If one HDD is gone - do I need exactly the same HDD or only the one identical in capacity? In other words, in three years if one HDD is gone - those of its type might not be available to find on the market.

  3. Should I prefer an out-of-the-box solution or a computer with RAID on motherboard?

  4. Will be happy to hear any kind of vendors recommendations - if it is a motherboard then which one is considered as a reliable, if it's a box - then perhaps I would take the solution where I can buy a box and hard disks separately from warranty considerations. I'll clarify: when buying a box with disks inside - the warranty is global, meaning that if something in the box itself is broken (for example it was damaged during relocation), then the warranty will be void for the entire product. I would prefer if the hard disks will be still covered by an (independent) warranty.

  5. Are there any kinds of boxes that support both Ethernet and other (USB3/Firewire) connection options?

Appreciate your advices/references a lot!

BreakPhreak

Posted 2011-05-18T15:11:40.627

Reputation: 930

Answers

3

1) This is kind of true. RAID doesn't maintain file systems. It only maintains the way bits get written to the drives. The file system is further up the chain. But you're mostly correct in that if the controller itself died, you'd need a similar (but not necessarily identical) controller to rebuild the array.

2) Typically its just another HDD, of greater than or equal capacity, but I have seen instances where the controller was more picky. If you're running RAID1 on a 3-5 year old array and a disk dies, you are going to want to replace both disks anyway, simply because the odds of the second older disk failing are much much greater.

3) Get a NAS device. A ReadyNAS, a Drobo, something. Not for nothing, but if you are just getting into it and you need to ask these types of questions, you're better off sticking with something that's going to do the heavy lifting for you. Keep your focus on your work, not on the technology, leave that to the nerds like me and others.

4) See above, I have deployed ReadyNASes and I know many people who have and love Drobos. There are other options as well, I wouldn't be afraid of anything from QNap, Thecus, Buffalo, Synology, Promise, Lacie, or even Cisco/Linksys, Western Digital, or Seagate. They all have their merits and weaknesses, but all would most likely do the job you're looking to accomplish.

5) There are plenty. You just have to look around. Newegg, as much as I hate shilling for them, has a ridiculous selection, it can take a while to sort through.

Pick your capacity, pick how much growth you might need, and pick what interface you want, then start looking around. I'm a fan of ReadyNAS and Thecus over most others, but do some research and pick the one that's right for you. Its your data, do you really want to trust it to the opinions of some random nerds (or trolls) on the internet? :)

peelman

Posted 2011-05-18T15:11:40.627

Reputation: 4 580

I am a fan of Drobo since there is almost zero setup time. Unbox it, install the drives, plug it into your computer, turn it on, and you are 90% done. There is a little bit of configuration to initialize the array but they walk you through it. You do pay a bit more then a beige box that you build yourself. – Doltknuckle – 2011-05-18T15:41:54.277

Thanks for the so elaborated answer. I do trust specialists (reputation matters :). I'll try to google the vendors you've mentioned also to see if there is an option that can accept another pair of HDDs in the future.

As about (1) - what are my options when controller goes to heaven? How much should I worry about it? – BreakPhreak – 2011-05-18T15:48:23.700

2If you are in to DIY, check out the HP Proliant microserver - it comes with 4 drive caddys, a 250GB ('Operating System') hard disk and - best of all (in the UK at least), it currently has a £100 cashback offer (making it about £130 including tax) so throw in your choice of a pair of drives and a copy of Linux and you have a very low-cost server/NAS system – Linker3000 – 2011-05-18T16:25:23.953

Yes, I am slightly being inclined to the DIY solution (peelman, I am a very very veeeeery lazy nerd, though holding M.Sc. in computer science in my sleeve only for emergency cases - maybe this is one of them).

I think I'll need a software RAID (so a controller will NEVER be gone) AND an integrated backup. IF there are any ideas on that - please share. – BreakPhreak – 2011-05-18T17:42:38.077

PS: actually, this question is answered and regarding my derived questions another thread will be open. Many thanks! – BreakPhreak – 2011-05-18T17:47:25.483

PPS: here we are: http://superuser.com/questions/285387/software-raid-and-backup-altogether

– BreakPhreak – 2011-05-18T18:01:47.657

@Linker3000 I'm actually looking at that very machine to replace my current file server. But for a non-geek, its a bit overkill and overly complex. – peelman – 2011-05-18T18:57:25.650

@BreakPhreak If the controller dies you're typically SOL, its one of the pitfalls of hardware RAID. But after a decade of toiling in this crap, I've seen ONE RAID controller die, and I'm still not convinced it wasn't user error. – peelman – 2011-05-18T18:59:02.640

@BreakPhreak I too am the lazy nerd. Long ago I concluded that after a long day of IT crap the last thing I wanted was to come home and do more IT crap. My current solution is a pair of 100GB 7200RPM 2.5" drives in a hotswap enclosure in a 3.5" bay in my file server, in software RAID1 running Ubuntu. That is reserved for critical stuff. The files on there get rsynced nightly to another box (500GB 5400RPM drive) and weekly to a box off-site (at my parents'). – peelman – 2011-05-18T19:01:25.773

@peelman: your solution sounds to be pretty similar to mine (though I'd wish I could get enough with 500 GBytes of disk space with all audio+graphical material of me and my girlfriend). I also understand that the only benefit of the enclosure is hotswap (not that necessary for my needs though). Huh, going to buy all the stuff tomorrow. Thanks for helping me to decide which tools I should choose and why :) – BreakPhreak – 2011-05-18T23:33:47.690

A bit late comment, but if the controller is gone then I need to find exactly the same type of controller to access the data. Is that correct?. No. In most cases a similar (e.g. same line, newer model) controller of the same brand will do. – Hennes – 2012-12-16T23:34:09.620