Anybody using Network Attached Storage / RAID Arrays for their files?

[feppe]

I only wish there was a simple, affordable off site solution for two terabytes of data.

I've had multiple terabytes on Crashplan for a few years. Their "unlimited" offers start at $4 per month for multi-year contracts.

They have a seeding service where they send you a HDD so you don't have to upload everything. They have versioning, prioritization of folders to be backed up, and pretty decent recovery UI.

[Jim Cole]

I've had multiple terabytes on Crashplan for a few years. Their "unlimited" offers start at $4 per month for multi-year contracts.

They have a seeding service where they send you a HDD so you don't have to upload everything. They have versioning, prioritization of folders to be backed up, and pretty decent recovery UI.

Thanks, I'll check into Crashplan. Security is always a concern of mine with someone else holding my data. I probably need to just get over it.

[feppe]

Thanks, I'll check into Crashplan. Security is always a concern of mine with someone else holding my data. I probably need to just get over it.

Crashplan offers encrypted option. Given recent news I would give it exactly zero trust, though.

Alternatively you could encrypt files and put them on a HDD and store them at the office, neighbor/friend/relative.

[Corran]

Finally got done pre-clearing my drives, now the long and arduous process of copying several TB of data...

[Jim Cole]

Crashplan offers encrypted option. Given recent news I would give it exactly zero trust, though.

Alternatively you could encrypt files and put them on a HDD and store them at the office, neighbor/friend/relative.

I gave up on CrashPlan after reading user forums about extremely slow upload speeds vs what they advertise. I don't think there are any viable cloud solutions for 1-2 TB of data. The current plans may work well for those with a couple of hundred MB of data, but not for those in the TB realm.

[feppe]

I gave up on CrashPlan after reading user forums about extremely slow upload speeds vs what they advertise. I don't think there are any viable cloud solutions for 1-2 TB of data. The current plans may work well for those with a couple of hundred MB of data, but not for those in the TB realm.

I have 7TB+ backed up with them, and I didn't use a seed service. It took well over a year to do the initial seeding at 3mbps (CP consistently saturates my line).

After Mozy cancelled their unlimited plan I was forced to move to another service, and at that time CP was by far the best value. There are other options which offer better options for backup and recovery, but are much more expensive. We're talking thousands of euros per year for 1TB+.

[Corran]

I wanted to do a little update on this thread. I just added 3 more drives to my unRAID array, for a total of 10TB of storage. I bought a "Plus" version of unRAID for only $69.

The whole process was relatively easy. There are a lot of helpful online tutorials and Linux isn't hard if you are moderately computer-savvy. I am very happy with the stability and transfer rates. I am connecting via a direct network cable connection.

I used Western Digital RED hard drives, designed for these types of NAS builds. All 6 of the drives worked perfectly. I love WD drives and highly recommend them. I've had way better experiences with them than Seagate, personally.

For anyone looking for a large storage array, unRAID is perfect. I built my array with spare parts I already had lying around so my total cost was only the 6 drives and the unRAID license (about $100/drive).

Thanks Rick for the suggestion to look into unRAID!

[Bruce B]

Thanks. I think. I just have one small question. While raid products have come down below the 1 kilobuck range, why would I spend that kind of money for something that sits in my house? My current method at least gets most of my work on another set of hard drives that are more secure. And compared to the expense of on-line storage, $600 a year, my method is even less expensive. Too, whats wrong with storing the most important negatives/transparencies in a safe deposit box for $25 a year. Forgive me for sounding like a Luddite, but I'd much rather spend that money on film, scanning, and lenses. My choice, I guess.

Thanks, however, for the input. Very interesting, just not practical for a retiree....BAB

[Corran]

I'm afraid I don't know what "your method" is?

If you are putting backups on another HDD and keeping it "off-site," that creates its own problems. HDDs sitting and not spinning up are also a failure waiting to happen. I've replaced computers and copied data, and then had the HDD as a backup many times, and almost every one, if I've tried to use it, say, 3-4 years later, has been corrupted, unreadable, or at least partially messed up. I think there's a reason for this but I can't remember what, but essentially they need to be spun-up occasionally.

Storage of negatives is a completely different issue. Data is data, negatives are negatives. If my house burns down, my scanner is trashed, etc., I won't be having "instant access" to thousands upon thousands of images because I had the negatives in a fire-proof box. Realistically, an online backup of at least the "finished" jpeg images edited as appropriate and resized to ~20 megapixels is all I would really want. Anyway, I also have 5 years of digital images to think about too.

$700 is practically nothing (IMHO) for this powerful, flexible, safe, and essentially perfect backup system, and it's already saved my bacon a few times (I will mention here that I am doing quite a lot of side business with photography, and it's mostly digital, so, this is an essential business expense).

I still need to look up options for fire-proof computer safe boxes. Maybe with next year's tax return, that'll be the final piece of the puzzle. Bolt that thing to the floor and lock it up, there will be no way it's getting stolen or burned up.

[Bruce B]

I thought this thread was a reply to one I started earlier. Sorry for the confusion on my part. The off-site hard drives are rotated into use every month or two. If I were doing a good business in photography I'd want on line storage as well. But I'm not, at least yet. And to a retiree, $700 could be quite a bit.