External Storage Case for Multiple Drives

J

Justintoxicated

[H]F Junkie
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Hey guys, I think I want to have a backup for each of my internal hard drives. Right now I only have 4 drives internal. However Room to expand or hold a couple extra drives would be nice.

I was htinking about getting something like this.

However I want the thing to be fairly silent and decent build quality.

I was thinking about getting something like this but I'm not sure...
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-SATA-II-3Gb...ryZ74941QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Can anyone offer some suggestions? Should I instead just go with stackable external enclosures? I will eventualy run out of Sata ports...

I think it's best to have a 1 to 1 backup, not rely on raid etc...
 
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Geez thats a lil expensive. IMO

Do you have a plan for making the backups? Windows backup, acronis, etc?
What size drives do you have? or how much space are you looking for?

some more info would generate better suggestions.
 
yea I have VisaVera for backups.

I currently have 3 TB drives (internal) one extenral and an old rappy 150 (internal).

I plan to eventualy change to 4 2TB drives and a 300 GB Raptor, but it may be a while.

So for now I need at least 4 external bays, however, I think If I go with 8 external drives, I might be able to recycle the tiny 1TB drives (double up) to use as backup drives for the 2 TB drives which will be internal when they come out.

No such thing as future proof but overkill is always safe :)
 
For the price you'd pay for that, you can get a 20-bay Norco RPC-4020. Overkill, but why not maximize your dollars? ;)
 
Link and how noisy would that be?

I guess my options are kinda limited to the external drive bay, a bunch of stackable enclosures (although powering them would be sloppy), or NAS setup which solve the interface problem but I'm not sure is NAS would be fast enough for backups of this magnitude?

How fast is a NAS setup vs esata?
 
Esata is just an internal drive that is in an external enclosure. Setup is just plugging it in and formatting the drive.

A Nas usually requires a setup utility to be run on one of your computers, and configuring some network settings. You will then have to setup a network share on each of your computers. A bit more involved, but not anything too difficult.

Unless you buy a really cheap one, a Nas should handle backups just fine. Small Net Builder is a great place to do some research if you are interested in geting a NAS. I have run one for over a year now, and recently moved up to a Thecus N5200 for top speed and future expandability. Just watch out for the really cheap ones.

Don
 
Wow NAS is too expensive...Unless I build another PC for the purpose. And Toss open Filer on it..
http://www.openfiler.com/

Run dual ethernet cables to it to help with transfer speeds and It would be one hell of a backup system.

But whatr happens when I'm up to 6 drives and need to run a backup. With the external 8 bay enclosure system I think my transfer speeds of backing up 6-8 drives at one time would be much faster than sending backup for 8 drives through the ethernet lines? I don't want mybackup to take an entire day or it will prove worthless to me sinceI will only occasionaly run it.

I'm starting to think people are either relying on Raid-1 or not runny any backups at all these days?
 
Have you taken a look at Windows Home Server?

Just backup the data, not the entire drive itself. And yes if you're using an eSATA connector, then it will be faster to transfer data over that than through the network. Then again. transfers through a properly setup gigabit network could almost be, if not as fast, as eSATA.
 
I odnt really want to setup a windows server. I'm thinking about setting up a VM ware box that will manage some network storage drive (maybe 6 TB or so) and also run a linux box for my website. Of course the problem then is that my Backup would be on 100% of the time :(
 
Justintoxicated said:
I odnt really want to setup a windows server. I'm thinking about setting up a VM ware box that will manage some network storage drive (maybe 6 TB or so) and also run a linux box for my website. Of course the problem then is that my Backup would be on 100% of the time :(
Click to expand...

could run ESXi or Hyper-v Server with Openfiler for a storage front end.

EDIT: guess I should have read your other post about OpenFiler. great minds think alike I guess
 
I have Windows Home Server doing my computer backups for me, but when I get ready to start maintaining an offsite backup of the WHS drive pool, I intend to use this:

http://www.directron.com/v7age420es.html

4 Tray-less hotswap bays via eSATA. 4 1TB or 1.5TB drives should do nicely.

As far as transfer speed, I would think the HDD itself would be the limiting factor, unless you're talking about a RAID volume. I'm also running dual, teamed Gigabit NICs though. I've yet to saturate a 2Gbps pipe.
 
Windows is never stable, never has been and never well be. I don't want my backup on a windows machine.

Windows seems like it would be way too much overhead to just run simple backups or filesharing

I'm not even sure if it would handle backups from other operating systems?

I think my question should be, why would I want to setup a windows server, and what would be the advantage over openfiler?
 
danman said:
lol, windows is never stable. OK buddy.
Click to expand...

Never been stable for me! Currently my most stabel comp is the one I have right now, but it still bluescreens mostly when watching movies. I blame the creative sound card, but more likely its windows... All laptops I have ever owned or worked on have bluescreened including lenovo. Maybe its time to go MAC!?!?! haha even All PC's I have ever owned have bluescreened. My linux box was pretty stable untill sudden death, but I just don't trust windows for this, unless I have to...

I'm pretty sure I want to go the open filer route, however I need a good case, and an AGP motherboard to do this affordably. I guess I could search for another STK-01 stacker but I think its a bit overkill for 8 drives...Plus it would take up alot of space...

Need suggestions for OpenFiler build esp on case and MB.
 
I can see this digressing very quickly, but I just have to get my 2 cents in...

I honestly haven't had a blue screen on any of my home computers for a while now, certainly not in everyday use. Maybe once or twice a year. All of my comps run windows - xp 32 and 64bit, and WHS.

To each his own I suppose. You are correct though, the WHS auto backup solution requires the Windows Home Server Connector software which I believe is Windows only at the moment.
 
I could do another stacker case, 1200 watt PSU (Motherboard + memory + Sata controller) I do not have, Id really like to have something smaller like I linked to in my first post in this thread.

I see this getting expensive fast, without even adding the cost of drives...Especialy since right now I would only need 3TB.... of backup :(

edit: I will need to also upgrade my gigabit switch, it only has 5 ports, 4 of which are in use Looks like I would need an 8 port switch. I think the origional solution is looking better and better even though most commented on how expensive it was, its looking cheaper than anything else I can come up with :(
 
Wow, how big are your backups?

I know my NAS is expensive, but assuming a mid range NAS able to generate 15 MBytes/sec will give you 54 GBytes per hour. Dual ethernet will not help that situation as all non business NAS products that I have read about are processor bound, not network bound. The theoretical limit for GB ethernet is less than 100MBytes/sec anyway.

Just remember, an Esata drive will always trump any other backup solution, but just for the computer it is currently plugged into. You will have to physically lug the drive enclosure to each computer if you have more than 1.

If price is an issue, then you can easily build your own system and run a free OS for less cash than a good NAS. It just takes a bit more effort and knowledge. I have the knowledge, but not the time right now, so I have elected to go with a NAS for my bulk storage. That may change in the future, but for now, I am set for the foreseeable future.

Don
 
I was thinking about getting that case too, primarily for hotswapping JBODs as the trayless is convenient. I'm wondering about how to get inside the case to replace the fans though, as I don't see any visible screws.

Also, you're aware this is a port multiplier enclosure, right? You'll need a cheap port multiplier card if you want to use them as JBOD, or a more expensive highpoint if you want fakeraid.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Never been stable for me! Currently my most stabel comp is the one I have right now, but it still bluescreens mostly when watching movies. I blame the creative sound card, but more likely its windows... All laptops I have ever owned or worked on have bluescreened including lenovo. Maybe its time to go MAC!?!?! haha even All PC's I have ever owned have bluescreened. My linux box was pretty stable untill sudden death, but I just don't trust windows for this, unless I have to...
Click to expand...
+
Opteron 165 CBWE 0551 VPMW @ 2700 MHZ @ 1.45v stable (running) 2800 MHZ @ 1.6V stable
Click to expand...
(per signature)
=
Does not compute.


I've used ViceVersa Pro, how much data is actually changing each day? IIRC it only syncs new or changed data, certainly not your whole 3tb of data needs to be backed up each day...?
 
Windows is never stable, never has been and never well be.
Click to expand...

Ok, I didn't realize you felt like that.

You're right, WHS will be more of a problem for you than a solution.
 
[LYL]Homer;1033465346 said:
+

(per signature)
=
Does not compute.


I've used ViceVersa Pro, how much data is actually changing each day? IIRC it only syncs new or changed data, certainly not your whole 3tb of data needs to be backed up each day...?
Click to expand...

Very true, which is why I'm thinking LAN backups would work for me most of the time.

alamone said:
I was thinking about getting that case too, primarily for hotswapping JBODs as the trayless is convenient. I'm wondering about how to get inside the case to replace the fans though, as I don't see any visible screws.

Also, you're aware this is a port multiplier enclosure, right? You'll need a cheap port multiplier card if you want to use them as JBOD, or a more expensive highpoint if you want fakeraid.
Click to expand...


Yes, my main concern with this option is noise levels the 6 bay has alot less fans than the 8-bay.

Homer, the CPU and hardware was stable, windows, not so much. Current PC passed hours and hours of burntest like 100 iterations...passed prime for over 24 hours its stable, but still bluescreens in windows vista64
 
Maybe something like your video card is overheating since it's during movies, or the video player software you have been using on all those PC's that crash. I'm just bring this up since the root of your posts seem to be about reliability and good backups. Working the core issue out might help in the short term.

Not that we all don't need a good backup system...because we do.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Hey guys, I think I want to have a backup for each of my internal hard drives. Right now I only have 4 drives internal. However Room to expand or hold a couple extra drives would be nice.

I was htinking about getting something like this.

However I want the thing to be fairly silent and decent build quality.

I was thinking about getting something like this but I'm not sure...
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-SATA-II-3Gb...ryZ74941QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Can anyone offer some suggestions? Should I instead just go with stackable external enclosures? I will eventualy run out of Sata ports...

I think it's best to have a 1 to 1 backup, not rely on raid etc...
Click to expand...
How about this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...29469&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab=Selling
 
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I've been really happy with my TR4M-B.

http://www.goharddrive.com/Sans-Digital-TowerRAID-TR4M-B-4-Bay-SATA-to-eSATA-p/g04-0073.htm

$189 for 4 Bay enclosure with multi-port eSATA PCIe card. Using server 2008, my backup of the internal 640 GB drive in the server to the external drive in the enclosure not in use by my WHS VM runs about 150-200 MB/s using the Windows server backup tool.

I have 3 1 TB drives that are my WHS VM with data duplication turned on for all storage, and 1 1TB drive I use as backup for the internal 640 GB that host my other 2 VMs.

They also have 5 and 8 bay versions.
 
[LYL]Homer;1033467838 said:
Maybe something like your video card is overheating since it's during movies, or the video player software you have been using on all those PC's that crash. I'm just bring this up since the root of your posts seem to be about reliability and good backups. Working the core issue out might help in the short term.

Not that we all don't need a good backup system...because we do.
Click to expand...

everything is liquid cooled so certainly not overheating...Pretty sure its the sound card and there is no solution. I have spent days weeks hours months trying to get windows perfectly stable and have never been able to do so. Its ok I jsut deal with it...Hell I installed some updates today and it bluescreened on reboot...

But MAC is a rip off and linux is too limiting for me. But for a backup drive I think it would be the best solution.
nessus said:
I've been really happy with my TR4M-B.
Click to expand...
That sands digital solution looks pretty good to me, so far possible the most value in that piece of hardware.. possibly the best choice. However I'm now contemplating ditching my CD rom drive and fan controller and going with 2 5 in 3 hotswap bays in my CM stacker. The ones that allow you to turn drives on and off so it would be an internal backup solution rather than external, hell I could even pull the drives out when done...

The issue however would be that automating backups would not be possible if I want to turn the backups off after they are finished. Then again I suppose I only need to do that for my really important data, and my external esata drive would work ok for that as well as I dont have too much really important data for now.
 
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