How do you arrange storage and backups

[bubbles]

How do you guys organize your storage?

Here's my setup:

PC: 120GB C: - OS/progs drive
PC: 300GB D: - Downloads/Files/Temp stuff
PC: 500GB external USB - nightly backup of PC
SERVER: 2TB raid5 array - Long term storage, movies, music.

Do you think there a better way to organize it? I see a lot of 750GB and 1TB drives these days but I wouldn't feel comfortable storing that much without a backup and its much more than I would need for a C: drive.

I'd like to keep things efficient as possible, maybe do away with the server?

[DonDon]

Do you have a backup for your server?

I have a 1 TB Hammer Myshare NAS box. I have it setup in Raid 1 for 500 gig of storage, and that gets backed up to 2 external USB drives. Anything important on my 5 PC's I have around the house goes on the NAS box which then get's backed up regularly.

Don

[bubbles]

I backup the OS drive of the server if I ever make changes to anything but I don't backup the array because it's too big. Otherwise I leave it as is. I use the JFS journaling filesystem, and the Samba share is read-only to windows. I transfer files over via FTP and have a script that automatically moves them to the read only share, so there is not much risk of a virus or file system problems. The only problem would be 2 drives in the array failing at the same time.

I've never seen a cheap ready-made NAS box that is fast enough. I get 30-40 MB/sec transfer, even through a DGL-4300 router. I can easily burn dvds straight off the server and unrar files on the samba share (gets processed through the PC though at ~70MB/s duplex).

I do backup important files on the USB drive, but dont have enough space to backup music and everything else.

[chrispycrunch]

What software do you use for backing up to your backup server?

I use DVDs for music and downloads, if they are worthy. DVDRWs for regular backup of important data, and I have another hard drive to copy the important data. I don't backup my downloads because I find I erase things or have no need for them after I've watched it.

[hity645]

I haven't tried/tested a raid setup, and I have misgivings about one. When I swap out a 500GB drive for a 750, I will buy another 500GB drive an try a raid. That being said:

PC:
150GB - OS/Apps/Games
750GB partitioned to 250GB - My Documents and 500GB - Storage/Bits

Server:
80GB - OS/Apps
250GB - My Docs backup
750GB - TV Shows
750GB - Movies
500GB - Stuff...

[unhappy_mage]

I find having partitions annoying, personally, and avoid it when I get the chance.

On my desktop, I have a Raptor with two partitions: data and OS, each of equal size. I'd have only one partition if I hadn't had to have XP installed at one point. One of these days I'll get around to merging them.
On my (Solaris x86) server I have an 80GB boot disk with three slices on it: root, altroot, and /export/home. Then the other disks are in a single zpool, storing stuff I don't care about. I'm hoping to find money to get that pool mirrored so I can have more confidence in it.
On my laptop I have a single 2GB CF card that stores the OS and data in compressed form. I have about 3.2GB of software on it, but the squashfs'ed image is only about 1.2GB.

[DeathFromBelow]

I don't mess with partitions. I've got a 500 GB drive as my system drive and my 3 SCSI drives in RAID 0 for programs/video editing/swap file. I have a separate fileserver with four 250 GB drives in RAID 5. It has folders for disk images, music, videos, pictures, and miscellaneous (mostly video projects I'm working on).

I use an 200 GB external drive for backing up vital stuff and I synchronize my fileserver and my parents fileserver every few months when I come home from school.

[gud4u]

My C:\System partition is about 40GB in partition size, but only about 8GB used (XP + critical apps only). Non-critical apps and games in other partitions, no backup necessary.

Currently using Acronis TI10 for backup of C:\System to another partition on same drive and to DVD media.

All critical personal data on separate partition backed up separately by Nero to DVD media periodically.