I've just installed HP Storage D2600 Disk Enclosure that is filled with 12x 3 TB disks, to be used as backup server. Mostly the file size will be very large greater than 1 GB up to 4-6 TB. The File system will be NTFS, so I wonder here if anyone can assist me with the best practice for configuring the LUN for the RAID stripe size as per below. We spent 41 hours to find a best option for you is a Inateck Aluminum USB-C RAID HDD Enclosure Dual Bay with a Portable Stand for 2x 2.5″ SATA SSD/HDD Hard Drive Enclosure – USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C Port with 10 Gbps Superspeed (FE2101), which comes with amazing features you've never heard before.It is the best raid enclosure 2016 available. If so, then what is the best affordable (under $200) RAID enclosure that can hold at least 4 or 5 4TB+ drives? Or, if not, what do you suggest to do? I am open to ideas and opinions on what to do as long as you know what you're talking about. UPDATE: I would also be open to some sort of controller card since I have room inside my PC for many. StarTech.com S3520BU33ER 3.5' Black SATA III 2-Bay RAID Enclosure with UASP. Dimensions: 6.9' x 4.4' x 3.3' (L x W x H) Fan: Yes; Specifications: The S3520BU33ER 2-Bay RAID Enclosure with UASP enables you to build a secure external RAID array with two 3.5'SATA hard drives, connected to your computer through an available USB 3.0 or eSATA port. For fast performance and efficient data transfers the enclosure. Software RAID: A software RAID enclosure also increases speed and performance of a computer at a lower level. The advantage with this device is that it is less expensive than its alternative. It is often chosen by home computer users that plan to use the device with a single laptop.
My question is: How can I back up the entire 12TB to external hard drives?
Here's what I'm thinking would be best. Correct me if any of this doesn't seem right, because I am a newbie at this. This is going to be my first FreeNAS build..
What I'm thinking of doing is buying two external esata hard drive enclosures (JBOD). Each enclosure would be used to connect directly with and backup the FreeNAS machine. Each enclosure would contain a ZFS filesystem, so that I can use scrub and ZFS replication. I would connect them, perform the backup, and then disconnect them and take them off-site.
Each esata enclosure would contain exactly the same number of terabytes as the main FreeNAS system. So if my FreeNAS system had 12TB of usable hard drive space, then the backup esata enclosure would contain 12TB of usable hard drive space also. That way, I don't have the issue of having to manually split up my data onto more than one hard drive individually.
So the plan would be: I plug in the first enclosure, backup everything to it, disconnect it, and then take that enclosure off-site (to my work office). Then a week later, I run another backup using the second esata enclosure that's at home still. Then I take that 2nd enclosure to my office (off-site). And when I return home, I take the first esata enclosure back home with me. This cycle repeats once a week or so. One enclosure stays at home, while the other is off-site, and I rotate them. I can maybe even leave the esata enclosure plugged into the main FreeNAS machine all the time while it's at home, receiving regular backup snapshots in real-time.
Does this sound reasonable? Do esata enclosures work with FreeNAS? Do they work well? I guess it just depends if your motherboard has an esata port on it?
I'm not sure how ZFS replication would work in this case, or if I'd need to use rsync or something instead. I think I'd prefer using ZFS snapshots.
This should make recovery easy. If I lose my pool, I could replace the drives in my main FreeNAS box and then copy from one of the esata enclosures to my FreeNAS box. In the worst case scenario, I lose a week of data, which is acceptable.
I considered backing it up using individual USB attached hard drives, but people generally say that that ZFS isn't reliable with USB attached hard drives.
Also, using single hard drives (as opposed to some kind of JBOD enclosure which contained multiple hard drives) means that I would have to manually split up my backup. In other words, if I want to back up 12TB, I can't use a single, 6TB hard drive to do that. Even if it was possible with compression, my pool could grow eventually to 24TB. I just don't see a way forward with individual external hard drives. I'd much rather use a RAID enclosure with esata.
What do you think? Is that something people do? If not, what's a better way? Are there any technical issues that I'm not seeing which will make this not work like I want it to?
Using Crashplan or some off-site backup service seems wrong for this purpose. It's too much data. Ends up costing money. And I'd rather not use them as my main backup method. Though, I might use Crashplan to backup really important parts of my data like my pictures and home videos.
Thanks for the help.
In the world of data storage, RAID is very common and mostly used by data specialists. Proper management of data helps in many ways and one of them is storing content for future references. But what is RAID and which level is the best?
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What is RAID?
Table of Contents
RAID, which is the Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, is a technology used to enhance the performance and reliability of data storage. A typical RAID system will come with two drives that work in parallel. The drives in the RAID can be hard discs or SSD (solid-state drives).
Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks come in different levels, and each level is optimized for a certain situation. The RAID levels are not standardized by a standardization committee or an industry group. That is why some companies will choose to have their unique numbers and implementations when working with the RAID levels.
But which level should you go for? That depends on your priorities. We will be looking at the main types of RAID and how applicable they are. Best free office suite for ipad.
Levels/Types of RAID
A. RAID 0: Striping
A RAID 0 system entails the split-up of data into blocks that can be written across all the available drives in the collection. When two or more disks are used at the same time, the RAID will deliver an impressive I/O performance. The I/O performance can be improved even more by using different controllers. In most cases, it will be a single controller per disk.
The Pluses of RAID 0
- It offers incredible performance in both write and read operations. You won't experience any overhead caused by the parity controls.
- RAID 0 is the simplest to implement
- The storage capacity is used completely. No room for an overhead
The Minuses
- Whenever a single drive fails in RAID 0, all the data in the collection is lost.
Where is it applicable?
First off, RAID 0 is not the best choice for mission-critical systems. Instead, it should be used in non-critical data storage that needs high read/written speeds. A video editing operation would do well with RAID 0.
B. Raid Level 1: Mirroring
RAID Level 1 system is where data is stored twice by writing them to the data drive and the mirror drive. Suppose one of the drives fails, the data drive or mirror drive will be used for data recovery. This then allows them to proceed with the operation. A RAID 1 array needs at least 2 drives.
The Pluses
- Excellent read/write speed
- There is room for recovering data from a different drive if one drive fails
- RAID 1 is easy to operate
The Minuses
- Only half of the total drive capacity is considered effective storage. The entire data is rewritten twice
- You cannot hot-swap a failed drive with RAID 1 systems. You'll need to power down the computer attached to the failed drive when you want to replace it.
Where Applicable
This is the perfect option for the mission-critical storage like in an accounting system or small servers that use two data drivers.
C. RAID Level 5
Raid 5 is considered the most secure RAID and it needs at least 3 drives. This RAID level can work with a maximum of 16 drives. The data blocks are lined across all the drives. However, a parity checksum of every block data is written on one drive. Plus, the parity data are spread across all the available drives, and not to a fixed drive.
The Pluses
- Super-fast read data transactions.
- You can access any data even if one drive fails and it is being replaced
- Secure storage option
The Minuses
- Slow write speed due to the calculated parity
- The technology is complex
Where is it applicable?
This is a great option for an all-round system. It offers efficient storage, along with top-notch security and reliable performance. RAID 5 goes well for file and application servers with limited data drives.
If you will be going for the RAID 5, ensure that you choose the best raid enclosure for it.
D. RAID Level 6: Striping With Double Parity
RAID 6 and RAID 5 are similar. However, the parity data on RAID 6 are written to two drives. In other words, RAID 6 requires not less than 4 drives. Plus, it can survive even when two drives fail simultaneously. While you might lose all your data when a driver fails as you try to rebuild an already dead drive in RAID 5, your data in RAID 6 will remain safe even during a second failure.
Pluses
- RAID 6 offers super-fast read data transactions
- It is more secure than RAID 5, especially in the event of drive failures.
Minuses
- Slower write data transactions at 20% lower
- Complex technology
Where is it applicable? The final cut 1996 download.
RAID 6 also offers excellent security, reliable storage, and good performance too. It is the best option for file and application servers that use several large drives for data storage.
E. RAID Level 10
RAID 10 typically combines RAID 1 and RAID 0. It is a hybrid RAID configuration that offers different opportunities. So, this RAID will offer security by mirroring the entire data on secondary drives while using the striping across every drives set to boost data transfer speeds.
Pluses
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- Fast rebuilding time if something goes wrong with any of the disk. You can copy 1TB storage files in just 30 minutes.
Minuses
- You only get half of the storage because the other half is for mirroring. This makes it an expensive option for redundancy.
Which is the Best RAID Level?
All in all, each RAID level offers protection from a single drive failure, except RAID 0. But if you want a highly secure RAID, consider going for the RAID 5 or RAID 6. But RAID 6 is the most secure of all because it can survive even when two disks fail at the same time. Remember that you will still need to back-up your data from a RAID system for the sake of security. Before choosing the RAID level to use, ensure that you understand what you will be getting in return.
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Be cautious of the causes of RAID disk failure and know how you can go about them.
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