HDDs/Data Storage Solutions.

[FenFox]

I require more storage but I'm not sure what direction I should be heading.

1.) Looking to buy an always-on drive that will likely be in use day and night.
a.) 8-10 TB's minimum.
b.) Can't buy 8 TB EasyStore's in my area or online.
c.) Some recommend HGST drives, while others recommend enterprise. HGST drives are difficult for me to obtain locally and I generally prefer to buy local in case there's a problem and I need to return the drive. Also, HGST and enterprise drives are very loud. So I'm thinking on this one. Currently I use a 10 TB IronWolf in my desktop and it can get kinda loud at times depending on the activity level.

2.) I need an archive drive. Basically looking to fill it up with data and throw it in a corner some where until I need to use it--which may be years. I may need to delete/replace data occasionally, but once It's full I probably won't be using for a long time or very infrequently.
a.) Minimum 8-10 TB. Seagate external SMR drives are pretty cheap, so I was looking at those.

Ok, now you know my requirements, but here's my dilemma... Currently I have 10 external hard drives ranging from 2 TB to 8 TB. I preferably don't want to deal with anymore cords and power bricks for obvious reasons. So I'm wondering if there's a better solution than continuing to buy more and more externals for my backup storage requirements. I already have a 4 Bay NAS that's filled up. I can buy an expansion unit for it, but I don't think I want to go that route--I see no point in using it to store archival drives.

So, should I be looking at investing in a 4 bay hard drive docking station instead? A rack of some sort? I like the idea of being able to hot swap too. The always-on drive I can install inside my desktop PC, but I guess I just don't want another loose external HDD laying around. Basically, I want to compartmentalize better so there isn't so much clutter/won't have to find a free plug/cords etc. I've seen in some videos where people have 4 drives hot-swappable in the front of their desktop, but I assume that required some modding or a specifically designed case. Either way, It's appealing to me because I hate having to take my case off to unplug/unscrew my drives.

On another note, when buying HDDs for a NAS, I've read that they should preferably all be the same brand and same type of hard drive--does that even matter? Like can I use a Seagate IronWolf with a WD Gold in a NAS? Size differences can matter as well, but this can be dealt with to some extent depending on the RAID configuration you're using.

These are some of the potential solutions I've been looking at when trying to avoid more external HDD clutter, but maybe you guys can come up with something better.

 

[sinisterDei]

Hrm. I'll try and hit all your points here.

Firstly, I wouldn't just buy a drive; You say you want to buy an 8-10TB drive for additional capacity, and additionally you have 10 external drives that already exist and hold between 2 and 8 TB each, and you have a 4-bay NAS that is full. In my professional opinion, when one has 14+ hard drives you've moved a bit beyond the "just buy another drive" kind of solution because, as I'm sure you've noticed, that... creeps, over time.

You also say you don't want to buy a NAS, which I can understand, because while they are handy and easy to use they are relatively expensive for the utility they provide if you don't need any of the fancy features.

From the solution you're considering, and the situation you've currently described and the manner in which it was described, I'm also assuming you're 'budget conscious' here. That means no off-the-shelf solution for monetary reasons.

I think the best *real* solution to your problem is a DIY storage server/NAS, in a chassis that can hold as many drives as you should practically want to throw at it.

I, personally, like RAID cards and running Windows natively, so that's what my storage box is built on - it's an inexpensive RAID card (9265-8i) combined with an inexpensive SAS expander, in a 24-bay chassis that I got second hand. Alternatively to that is a software-based solution like FreeNAS, where you don't need the RAID (or Windows) part.

If I was in your situation, I would be looking to both add storage and retire the army of external drives, while simultaneously adding data redundancy. If this is a direction you want to go, I can provide more specific guidance or answer questions or whatever.

Now, some other points:

1- I would avoid the SMR type drives if possible; the price delta isn't that huge, and having them is just something you kind of have to 'think about' for the rest of forever, versus buying a normal drive
2- As long as you avoid the SMR drives, most drives 8TB or larger are more-or-less equal to each other. They should all work in a RAID array or NAS with little issue. If you dip below the 8TB line, you might run into some drives with characteristics that make them dislike RAID setups (barracuda drive power management, I'm looking at you!)
3- I can't speak for NAS devices ability to handle mix-n-match setups of hard drives, but RAID cards generally don't care. My 9265-8i has 12x 3TB drives in it comprised of 6 different models from 4 different brands.
4- Enterprise vs Consumer vs NAS drives; who cares, buy with your wallet. There isn't anything wrong with any of them, so don't pay extra for someone calling it a NAS drive or whatever. That said, above 8TB they're almost all enterprise or NAS drives, because pure consumer drives kind of top out at 6TB for now.

 

[jordan12]

Or plug all of those mis matched drives into your motherboard, (if you have enough Sata ports), and buy a program called Drive Bender or Drivepool. Either of those will combine them all, and you can set up protection so if a drive goes, you do not lose your data.