RAID storage solution for photographer

Hi all
I hope this question is not out of topic here.
I am looking for a RAID solution for storing my photographs, but I have little knowledge about RAID.
So far I have been using dvds but realised that after a couple of years some are not readable any more, so this isn't the right solution. So far no disaster as I have duplicates too but I need to do this quite soon before I loose important files.
Before I go further, I only have a PB and an old and slow intel3 PC recovered from a friend throwing it out.
I did read quite a few reviews about products, but there isn't too many around.
I believe that I need a Raid1 for data safety.
One merchant told me he had this solution for me, but can't find any review about it.
It does look very similar to another brand, which had bad reviews with failure after a few weeks.
I also cannot find the max capacity details.
Is there any photographer around who have found a good solution for storage and/or backing up?
Do you work on files directly from the unit, or transfer files on the PB when needed?
My PB has a firewire 400 that I use very often and a firewire 800 which I have never used so far.
But, are these little unit a good solution, or would a server be a better solution?
Not sure the advantage of servers.
I believe these little units exist also with network connectivity, but I am not sure if there is any advantage for me. I understand it is a bit slower. Can they be accessed online or do I need a server for that?
Can I convert my old PC as a server?
Sorry for the many questions, but I don't want to start spending money on something that does serves me well in the long run.
I am looking for effectiveness, longevity, price and simplicity in that order, but I don't have too much spare cash to splash.
I am mainly concerned about Apple dropping the firewire.
Many thanks in advance.
If you have a good solution that you are happy about, please let me know.
Cheers
Laurent

Thank you both.
I am a bit unfamiliar with the term redundancy. Do you mean that I need to back-up the RAID stuff?
I though that it was already a back-up? or is is just in case the raid enclosure fails?
Smokerz, do you mean that you just duplicate your data across few drives manually?
I like the drobo concept, but my main concern is if the drobo box fails, one needs to purchase the exact same product (same firmware) to be able to recover the data, or do you have a back-up off the drobo box on a single drive? Although I like the concept of having the facility to use any hard drive lying around, and not having to purchase identical drives. Are these special drives for RAID and server or just consumer drives.
Sorry if my questions might sound a bit stupid, but all the RAID stuff is a bit abstract for me so far.
I like the idea of being able to through the drive in any type of enclosure. My experience with electronic product, is that they are great until something goes wrong and that is when one discovers the limitation. The facility to access data with maximum compatibility with any other product is a must. I never purchase an enclosure of any sort without multiple connectivity, and it has served me well so far. But I have mainly backed-up system in that way.
So, while using a RAID1 (as I understand other raid just spread the data across few drives), and in case of a enclosure failure, would one be able to put the drives in an single drive enclosure just until a new enclosure is purchased? Or are the drives formated only to work in an array? Is there a solution against all troubles or am I just dreaming?
I have noticed that DU provides RAID facilities. Is this just for internal drives?
Many thanks

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