External RAID backup

Would it be possible to have two External Hard Disks and make them work as a RAID Mirror, for backup purposes?

If you have FW800, then look for a dual drive case with mirror RAID capability.
http://www.macsales.com/firewire has some.
but normally you want two drives on a bus with enough bandwidth to write to both at an acceptable performance, and interface.

Similar Messages

  • External RAID 0 with multiple Time Machine backups

    I have a Macbook Pro (late 2012) and would like to utilize it to its fullest potential. I recently bought a 2TB time capsule, and I have an external WD my passport (2tb usb 3.0). I am a photographer and am starting to delve in HD video editing. I bought an external 2 drive usb 3.0 Raid controller. All my photos are on the WD myPassport and that's were pretty much all of my data is that the macbook accesses. The 128gb ssd that the os and programs reside on has around 30gb left.
      I want to transfer all my photos and videos to the external raid enclosure (two 1tb drives) in a raid 0 for quick access of my data over the usb 3.0
    I plan on formatting the myPassport and use the time capsule and the myPassport for dual time machine back ups and leave the myPassport at work and bring it home once a week to update the back up.
      Does this sound like a reasonable backup solution to my external raid 0? Btw I will be using the WD Red drives in the raid array.

    @FreddieMurry
    All my photos are on the WD myPassport and that's were pretty much all of my data is that the macbook accesses.
    1. Mistake number #1 anytime "all of ..." and "are one (a single)...."  are used to describe someones priceless data
    You dont need dual TM backups, ....you need a TM backup and a data archive, and a final optical archive (and more if possible)
    use your WD HD for your TM and your  2 X 1TB RAID0 for perpetual data (your pics and vids as you indicate and all other vital data) secondary backups.
    and third, a routinely connected and removed HD(s) archive stored away in a fireproof vault, box (40$ Walmart) etc.
    and fourth optical storage on professional grade DVD media that is not prone to ferromagnetic degradation and rated for 100+ years  (Taiyo Yudun DVD pro-grade blank media or other mfg.)
    explained here:
    Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection
    Data redundancy (copies) makes all HD crashes inconsequential, an irrelevancy.
    Compartmentalize your system (OS) hub backup vs. that of your data hub archives, in so doing any failure in your computer (system [OS], data, computer) becomes quick to recover from!
    Never consider any computer a data storage device at any time under any circumstance, rather a data creation, sending, and manipulation device. Anyone who thinks data is safe on any computer, even copied upon multiple partitions is making a mistake that will, without fail, strike.
    Never backup your data exclusively upon magnetic hard drives or flash storage, nor consider same since magnetic storage degrades over time, roughly 3-8 years, even under ideal storage conditions.
    Burn important data onto multiple copies of professional grade archival DVDs (Taiyo Yuden or likewise) and store them in cool dark fireproof safes, a safety deposit box, or multiple places.
    Most importantly know that 2 copies of your data is 1, and 1 is none, and 100 copies stored in one place or building is also the same as none due to fire or natural disasters.

  • Portable external raid - should I get 5400 or 7200 rpm?

    Hi,
    I'm in need of a portable external raid 1 for live data protection. I do illustration work in photoshop and I use bridge to access and view files and reference. I would like to write all my files and read all my files from an external raid 1 and I am wondering if I should get a 5400 or 7200 rpm setup.
    My concern is read and write speeds.
    My portable setup is a mbp 2.16 intel core duo. I'm thinking of getting the g raid mini 2.
    Thanks in advance

    Thanks for the response.
    To clarify my question though -
    1. I'm wondering if either will be fast enough to work off of - I'm planning on keeping the internal drive clean and all data would reside on the raid(so no incremental backups will be needed).
    2. will the difference between 5400 and 7200 be worth the difference in price - ie. lag time or a noticeable speed difference.
    Thanks

  • HDD setup - Internal RAID, External RAID or single discs

    I know variations on this question have been done to death on this forum, but I'm still struggling to understand how to apply it to my specific requirements and hardware.
    I am looking to optimise the performance/speed of my Hackintosh for video editing on Premiere and grading on Resolve Lite, Colorista and AE.
    I work mainly with Pro-Res files, sometimes with AVCHD, and occasionally with raw.
    My Hackintosh specs are as follows:
    Part
    Component
    Processor
    4th Generation Haswell Core i7-4770 - Quad Core 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo Boost)
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE 8 Series GA-Z87N-WIFI
    Memory
    16GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical 1600MHz
    Primary Graphics
    Zotac Nvidia GTX 770 - 2GB Video Memory, 1059MHz Core Clock, 7010MHz Memory Clock
    Secondary Graphics
    Intel HD 4600 Graphics
    Maximum Video Resolution
    2560x1600
      Hard Drive
      240GB CRUCIAL SSD 32MB Cache (OS and Programs)
    Hard Drive
    1TB TOSHIBA SATA III 7200RPM 32MB Cache
    Network Card
    Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
    Wifi
    Atheros AR9287 802.11BGN 300Mbps
    Sound
    High Definition 7.1 Channel Audio
    Power Supply
    Corsair CX600M 600w Modular PSU, 80 PLUS Bronze
    Chassis
    Bitfenix Prodidgy
    External Ports
    1 x PS/2 Keyboard/Mouse Port
    3 x HDMI Ports
    3 x DVI Ports
    1 x Display Port
    2 x Antenna Connectors
    6 x USB 3.0/2.0 Ports
    2 x USB 2.0/1.1 Ports
    2 x Ethernet Ports
    1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Connector
    5 x Audio Jacks
    Operating System
    OS X Mavericks
    I have also purchased a USB3 Lacie 4Big Quadra 8TB external RAID.
    I currently run the OS and programs from the SSD, and have partitioned the 1TB SATA III HDD, using one partition for scratch and the other for projects, media and exports.
    My question is, what would be my best solution for optimising performance?
    1. Buying a couple more HDDs, installing them internally and striping along with the existing disc as a 3-disc RAID 0, using the Lacie as backup/storage only?
    2. Buying a couple more HDDs, installing them internally as single discs (SSD for OS & Apps; HDD1 for Scratch; HDD2 for Media and Projects; HDD3 for Exports), again using the Lacie for backup/storage only.
    3. Using the Lacie as an external 4-disc RAID 0, and the existing internal HDD as storage. Buying further HDD(s) for backup.
    Also, if RAID is the answer, what is the best configuration in terms of which disc(s) to point Premiere to? i.e does Premiere treat the RAID as a single disc for i/o purposes, creating a bottleneck with high bandwidths, or does it act as it would if different file types were pointed at separate individual discs?
    Many thanks in advance for helping the IT dunce!

    Start here: Tweakers Page and continue reading all the articles there.

  • External RAID-1 storage providers?

    I'm looking for suggestions and providers of RAID-1 (mirroring) storage solutions. I work in-house for a corporate video company and we think that an external RAID-1 storage would be best. I'm also very open to hear what other people think would work for us as i'd rate my technical knowledge at intermediate.
    All our work is currently DV25. We may switch to HDV in 2 years or so. Currently we're working off various single drive Firewire or USB 2.0-based hard drives. Thus, I don't believe read speed is a concern for our needs. Also, I read alot about the drive speeds of technology like SATA III, so maybe read speed is a null issue?
    We like RAID-1 for it's simplicity, it's very easy to understand how it works . It also feels like the right 'place' we'd like to be on the backup spectrum. We could be more intense with the backups (e.g. multiple backup drives at off-shore locations) or less intense (simply burn project files to DVD), so RAID-1 feels like a nice balance.
    Cost is almost a null issue. But we're looking for a solution that provides for some portability. So we're not looking for some intense multi-server rack solution, but more something like a typical LaCie drive that we can put into our backpack and move to a different location. We definietly don't mind paying extra for the 'backup' drive as it pays off for us in piece of mind and ease of use.
    How we're basically looking to do this is that when we're done a project and the RAID-1 is near full, we would simply catalogue it (whole different discussion lol), then place it on a nice looking shelf for clients to gawk at. We don't generate a ton of data. With the availability of 1+ TB hard drives, we would probably only be putting one or two RAID-1 drives into our storage space per year.
    In terms of a RAID-1 drive/provider, we'd prefer to deal with a company that would still be around and relevant ~10 years down the road. Great customer service is also key. Internal build quality is important, and i'd be very happy to have an ugly ugly chassis if the internal parts were top notch. We also live in Canada incase that's an issue. We bought a G-Tech drive a while back and had to pay an extra 20% on it due to import duties .

    Thanks Shane for the reply! My last experience with 'hot swap' was ~5 years ago with a server. It required a bunch of special trays, and I had extra hard drives pre mounted into these trays for hot swap daily backups. What is hot swapping a drive like now a days? Is it simply plug and play?
    How durable is the CalDigit FirewireVR? The front grill looks delicate :S. As I may bring the drive to different locations (though it would be reasonably cushioned), durability is important to me.
    Would you recommend that I buy spare hard drives directly from the enclosure manufacturer (e.g. CalDigit)? Do you know why they are so expensive (250 GB drive from CalDigit ~$120), higher quality? Since i'm doing RAID-1, would it be ok for me to buy drives from Best Buy (could get 500 GB for ~$100).
    Also to clarify my previous post, our intention would be to use multiple enclosures. So once the RAID-1 is filled, we would NOT take out both hard drives and put them on the shelf. Rather we'd prefer to simply put the enclosure, WITH the hard drives inside, onto the shelf.
    But if hot swapping IS simply 'plop in the naked hard drive and you're good to go', then maybe I'd be open to simply storing the RAID-1 hard drive pair on the shelf...
    Message was edited by: Phillip Roh

  • Stability of Internal/External RAID

    Hello, I was curious to know if you were going to set up a RAID, is there a choice between going with internal drives or external? I've been looking at some external RAID set-ups (G-Technology, Lacie) and they look pretty good. But would a internal drive be better or is it more suceptible to failure?
    Also, if I did go internal, is setting up the RAID done in the OS or would I have to buy some software to do it?
    thx

    I meant, are you interested in RAID because you are seeking automatic backup, greater throughput or some other benefit?
    If automatic backup, you will be better off with offline backup rather than RAID. Mirrored RAID only provides a degree of protection against one of the two drives in the array failing ... but most failures (i.e. loss of critical files) occur because of user error or a software glitch, and mirrored RAID is not going to protect you from that. Hence my emphasis on offline backup rather than RAID.
    If greater throughput, you would need an external enclosure with an eSATA interface and SATA-II drives to have any chance of achieving greater throughput than you could achieve with a single SATA-II drive. If the external interface is FW400 or FW800 or if the external enclosure uses IDE drives instead of SATA-II drives, you won't get any greater throughput with RAID than if you had a single external hard drive. (The FW400/FW800/IDE interfaces are the limiting factors.) And if you're shooting DV, HDV or AVCHD, RAID isn't going to make any difference anyway because their data rates are well within the throughput capabilities of FW400 and FW800. The only way RAID would benefit is if you are comparing a pair of striped 5400 rpm drives against a single 7200 rpm drive ... and the single 7200 rpm drive would probably still win the throughput contest.
    As for recommendations on drives themselves, I'd suggest either WD Caviar SE16 drives or Seagate 7200.11 drives. Both are excellent. Hitachi drives perform great but they run hot, and heat is the primary enemy of hard drive life; the drives that have failed me without warning have all been Hitachi drives. And i've never been a fan of Maxtor drives. One man's opinion (and experience).

  • Timemachine, Groups and an external RAID

    I'm using Timemachine and an external RAID to backup the entire server each night. But when I want to use Timemachine to retrieve a previous version or deleted file I have to change permissions on the folder to access it. Ideally I'd like to be able to enter Timemachine in an easier manner.
    I have tried creating a user in Server Preferences that corresponds to the user for the server and logging in using a server user. Neither worked.
    Any ideas?
    thanks
    Gideon

    Try un-mounting the drive from the Linux computer and see if you can access it as NAS.

  • Unable to capture to external RAID drive FCP 7

    Here are my specs:
    Model Identifier: MacPro1,1
    Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
    Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
    Number Of Processors: 2
    Total Number Of Cores: 4
    L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
    Memory: 4 GB
    Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
    Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B08
    Running:
    OS X 10.5.8
    Final Cut Studio 3 (recently upgraded from Studio 1)
    At the end of last year I had a problem with capturing and upon research it seemed to be that the most recent update of QuickTime was not compatible with Final Cut Pro 5, which was causing my machine to not be able to capture at all. So we upgraded to Final Cut Studio 3 (FCP7) and part of the problem was solved but an issue still remains.
    For over 3 years we have been using an external Raid drive as a capture scratch and we still have over 5 TBs free. The Raid is connected by SCSI. Earlier last year I was able to capture to the Raid drive without any problems but now the capture will freeze whenever that is set as the capture scratch. If I set the internal drive as the capture scratch it captures without any issues.
    The problem is that using the internal as the capture scratch can only be a short term solution. The drive is only so large and I have a problem with finder if I try to move files from the internal drive to the external. Finder freezes up and I can't even force quit properly. So being able to once again use the external as the main capture scratch is the only real solution. The external is fully functionally and communicating with the Mac.
    Any help with resolving this would be appreciated!

    Off the top of my head, because I haven't worked with SCSI in years--
    "The problem is that using the internal as the capture scratch can only be a short term solution. The drive is only so large and I have a problem with finder if I try to move files from the internal drive to the external. Finder freezes up and I can't even force quit properly. So being able to once again use the external as the main capture scratch is the only real solution. The external is fully functionally and communicating with the Mac."
    Are you trying to move files while you have FCP open? The fact that simply moving files is giving you finder issues and freezing you up, says that all is not well with the scsi raid. You should not see that at all.
    You might try powering down the mac and the raid, unplugging and letting the machine sit for a while to discharge the capacitors. Then try reseating the scsi card. (pull it out carefully and plug it back in.)
    On another note, when you upgraded fcp, did you do a clean install?

  • Lost External RAID 5 after upgrading to Windows 8.1

    I have a Proavio EB4FR External RAID 5 connected through the eSATA port. It worked with my Windows 7 Pro and Windows 8 Pro no problem, tonight I've upgraded to Windows 8.1. I can no longer see the RAID 5 drive.
    It is detected as an "Other" device with question mark. Cannot see it in Disk Management at all.
    Proavio is very bad in returning back to customers so I'm not expecting any response back from them, I was hoping that somebody here can suggest some good ideas that I can chase...
    Thanks in advance,
    Akin

    Hi Kate,
    Copying below from setupapi.dev.log;
    >>>  [Device Uninstall (Device Manager) - SCSI\DISK&VEN_&PROD_EXTERNALRAID\4&2F621F8A&0&050000]
    >>>  Section start 2014/02/02 12:54:07.432
          cmd: "C:\Windows\system32\mmc.exe" C:\Windows\system32\devmgmt.msc
         dvi: {DIF_REMOVE} 12:54:07.447
         dvi:      No class installer for 'ExternalRAID'
         dvi:      No CoInstallers found
         dvi:      Default installer: Enter 12:54:07.447
         dvi:           {Remove DEVICE}
         dvi:                InstanceID = 'SCSI\DISK&VEN_&PROD_EXTERNALRAID\4&2F621F8A&0&050000'
         dvi:                Query-and-Remove succeeded
         dvi:           {Remove DEVICE exit (0x00000000)}
         dvi:      Default installer: Exit
         dvi: {DIF_REMOVE - exit(0x00000000)} 12:54:07.463
    <<<  Section end 2014/02/02 12:54:07.463
    <<<  [Exit status: SUCCESS]
    External drive still working when I boot from my Windows 7 drive. 
    Thanks a lot for looking into this...

  • Hi, I have a macbook pro with a new hard drive installed. My WD external drive backup on time machine now wont let me access the files. I get a prompt saying 'you do not have permission to access the files'

    hi, I have a macbook pro with a new hard drive installed and restored. My WD external drive backup on time machine now wont let me access the files. I get a prompt saying 'you do not have permission to access the files' After my new drive was installed I plugged in time machine and it started backing up. I paused it when I realised that it was running for more than a few minutes. I now realise that it probably started backing up the new hard drive all over again. Which makes me think that the original back up must be on the WD back I cant seem to access it. Any ideas would be helpful.

    See E-10 in the first link.
    Time Machine Troubleshooting
    Time Machine Troubleshooting Problems

  • External RAID not recognized

    I put together a 2x200 gb external RAID drive several months ago that has been working like a charm over FireWire to my Mac Mini. Galaxy Metal Gear enclosure with a pair of identical Western Digital 200gb drives, all of it brand new from newegg less than a year ago. I store my iTunes library and all my photos, plus documents and stuff like that -- basically the only thing I keep on the Mini's internal HD are applications and the system software (it's the boot disk, not the external).
    I recently got a MacBook and wanted to put my iTunes library onto it so I could have some music on the road. The external drive was mounted on my Mini, so I tried to eject it but it wouldn't eject after several minutes. I had quit out of iTunes and anything else I could think of, but it still wouldn't eject. So (and here's where I'm an idiot) I just pulled the FireWire cable out of the back of the Mini.
    Now all the drive does is spin and make random sounds, won't mount, won't get recognized in Disk Repair, won't get recognized by System Profiler, nada. I even downloaded Data Rescue II and ran it in the demo version just to see if it would work, but that won't recognize the drive either.
    Any solutions? Is the drive dead? Can I disconnect one of the RAID drives and see if that will mount or would that hopelessly mess up my data?
    any advice would be most welcome, thanks!

    Hi Mark Ankcorn-
    It sounds like one of the drives in the RAID is bad. Don't overlook the obvious and be sure to try a new USB or firewire cable.
    The problem with a 2 drive RAID is when one drive goes bad there goes the RAID. Your data is already hopelessly messed up.
    Luck-
    -DP

  • HT1178 Time Capsule used as External Hardrive Backup

    If I want to use a Time Capsule as an external hardrive backup for my MacBook Pro, how do I do it?
    What cords do I need and can I get it to back up wirelessly?  I don't want my own wireless from it,
    because we already have it in the house - I just want my own storage unit and I have one, but no
    cords to go with it.  Need to get cords - which ones?

    This is out of my area of expertise, but I believe you can set the Time Capsule up so it doesn't generate a network, but is on the existing network.
    Then you can back up to it wirelessly.
    You should still do the first backup via an Ethernet cable if at all possible, as it will be 2-3 times faster than WIFI, but then backups can be done without having to connect the cable.

  • Is the latest iMac compatible with external raid 1 drive setups?

    I'm considering different new Mac options to replace my first gen Mac Pro. The new and most outfitted iMac seems like a good solution for my mostly Photoshop work. But, is the new iMac compaticle with Thunderbolt external RAID multi drive enclosures?

    Sure, why not contact OWC (www.macsales.com) where they sell RAID solutions for Macs. Because they specialize in Macs they test every product they sell.

  • External RAID not mounting

    Hi,
    I am using an external RAID drive (with eSATA connections) and have found that it won't mount on my desktop. There isn't a deathly clicking associated with it failing, so I'm wondering why it won't mount.
    In DISK UTILITY, it finally shows up in the list of drives, but I can't do anything with it.
    Any suggestions to help get this back online. It's my archive back up drive, so very important.
    Thanks
    Using a MAC PRO with 10.6.4

    I have run the Disk Warrior repair disk and the RAID drive returned to the desktop. I repaired the Permissions of my main HD, and corrected a number of errors. There seemed to be problems with the structure of the RAID drive but Disk Warrior managed to fix them.
    Now I find I have a kernel panic. It ONLY happens when I click on this RAID drive. The screen darkens and an official dialog box scrolls down. Somewhat like this (link below)
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1392?viewlocale=en_US
    Any suggestions now, since I cannot click on the drive without a Kernel panic occuring.
    Update to 10.6.5??
    M

  • AP3 collaboration, referenced files on external RAID

    We are a small photo-studio with three photographers working together.
    Here's how we work now:
    - we import into AP3, unreferenced.
    - when we finish the project we export as new Library and save it to an external RAID-solution (Synology) for all to have access to the project(s)
    problems with this:
    The weight of the exported projects, hence the time to copy and import
    what we would like to do:
    - use referenced for the RAW images
    - keep these on a shared drive
    - pass around projects which weigh less and speed up the process
    Will the Libraries pick up the correct referenced files after importing them into each users Library or after opening them as a stand-alone Libary?
    Any problems we can expect?
    Any good references or help on the subject is welcome and appreciated.
    many thanks
    Henk

    Yes it may work but also yes you can expect problems. Aperture is a single-user application not designed for the collaborative workflow you describe.
    Apple badly needs a pro single-user laptop/desktop Apple-supported synch workflow. Badly needed and requested since v1. Here we are years later still dealing with workarounds, some flaky. Filemaker, Apple's other database app, has had this capability for decades.
    Hopefully other folks will post solutions that may work, but remember that multi-user workarounds of this single-user app are prone to being flaky. Plan accordingly, including most importantly to back up original image files on and off site prior to import into Aperture or any other images management app.
    Good luck!
    -Allen Wicks

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