Hard Drive / External Drive + Backups Configuration?

[smee]

Hey all,

So I'm thinking of changing around my hard drive configuration on my main comp.

At the moment I've got:
1 Internal 500GB (OS, programs, file storage)
2 External 500GB (not really doing much)
1 External 320GB (for my Lightroom photo library)

What I'd like to do, is ditch the 320gb photo drive (its a 2.5").
I'd use one external 500GB for Video files, the other 500GB for Photo files.
Then I'd want two more to backup those files, and have them backed up on our NAS Server.

I'd also have an external 1-2TB drive for OS hard drive backups and such, but thats not part of what I'm going to ask.

So my question for you guys is this:
Should my 500GB Video and 500GB Photo drives be internal? Or External?
If I put them inside the computer, will I get faster speeds?
If they're external, is eSATA/USB 2.0 going to be sufficient for Video editing? (Using full HD video files, editing in Adobe Premiere Pro)

Either way I will have two backup drives (one for video, one for photo) and they'll both be backed up on the server.

So, to have 4 External drives or to have 2 internal and 2 external? That is the question.
What are the benefits of having them internal? What about having them external?

For me, being able to bring my Photo or Video drive with me isn't really a big deal, I probably will never do it. If I would need to though, I could just take one of the external backups.

Also, second question. What kind of backup software do you recommend that would basically make a complete clone of my HD's?

Does any of this make sense?
Any help is appreciated.
~Smee

 

[Wirth'sLaw]

USB is going to be slower than internal - eSATA is nice and fast, but you need to be sure you have enough eSATAs for 2 enclosures.

If you have the space internally, I'd just put them there. Less clutter and they'll be plenty fast. Videos are something you will want the speed for.

Typically I run the image using Win7's build in imaging utility. You can keep more than one image if you rename the folder prior the next image running (that's assuming you run it via scheduled tasks). If you run the image on the schedule via the GUI, it trims old backups to make space for new ones.

This also allows you to virtualize it down the road if you want and since it creates a VHD file it is possible to connect it to another Win7, 2008 R2, or to XP, Vista, and 2003 if you use the tools from the old virtual server. Even if for some reason the image fails (I've never seen it yet) you can pull the data from the VHD. If you store this on a NAS and have to restore win7, all you need to do is drop in the DVD, supply a network driver, and browse to the image's location on the network.