i think i nearly have my data storage and backup problems figured out. i'd love some input, i'll try to keep it brief.
the problem:
desktop also doubling as a media file server over home LAN, have WoL set up which works great. i personally like sleep mode to save a little power.
although older,
i currently have:
1x 250GB samsung evo 850 for OS and current software/games strictly
1x WD 3TB for mostly stuff i don't care if it loads fast, my documents, digital pics, etc
1x 3TB and 1x 4TB WD USB external drives for media files.
my solution:
keep in mind that speed and downtime in case of a failure is not of concern. i currently do backups with 25GB blu-rays....it's painful and costly. when i started it was actually the most cost effective without a large initial investment. that's no longer true.
what i'd like to do is purchase a 8TB drive (probably HGST) and use a USB drive dock for backups. the new 8TB will be the backup drive for now. external drives are 7TB, gives me an extra 1TB to back up my pics and documents (currently 407GB, lots of room).
so i'd like to pool the two USB external drives together in some sort of software RAID. i don't need redundancy, speed, just straight up pool them as one drive. only catch is i'd like the ability to add another drive to that in the future. i understand that the storage spaces built into windows 10 might be able to do this? are there other options that might be better?
simple and cost effective as possible here is what i'm thinking. yes i've considered a NAS or USB RAID box but it just seems unnecessary. i went with a simple drive dock because i can disconnect it and store the backup drive when not in use. if something catastrophic happens to the desktop, i don't rightly care.
any thoughts before i pull the trigger on the 8TB HGST drive? thanks guys.
edit: and if you guys can think of any limitations to my solution that i should know about, please tell me.
the problem:
desktop also doubling as a media file server over home LAN, have WoL set up which works great. i personally like sleep mode to save a little power.
although older,
i currently have:
1x 250GB samsung evo 850 for OS and current software/games strictly
1x WD 3TB for mostly stuff i don't care if it loads fast, my documents, digital pics, etc
1x 3TB and 1x 4TB WD USB external drives for media files.
my solution:
keep in mind that speed and downtime in case of a failure is not of concern. i currently do backups with 25GB blu-rays....it's painful and costly. when i started it was actually the most cost effective without a large initial investment. that's no longer true.
what i'd like to do is purchase a 8TB drive (probably HGST) and use a USB drive dock for backups. the new 8TB will be the backup drive for now. external drives are 7TB, gives me an extra 1TB to back up my pics and documents (currently 407GB, lots of room).
so i'd like to pool the two USB external drives together in some sort of software RAID. i don't need redundancy, speed, just straight up pool them as one drive. only catch is i'd like the ability to add another drive to that in the future. i understand that the storage spaces built into windows 10 might be able to do this? are there other options that might be better?
simple and cost effective as possible here is what i'm thinking. yes i've considered a NAS or USB RAID box but it just seems unnecessary. i went with a simple drive dock because i can disconnect it and store the backup drive when not in use. if something catastrophic happens to the desktop, i don't rightly care.
any thoughts before i pull the trigger on the 8TB HGST drive? thanks guys.
edit: and if you guys can think of any limitations to my solution that i should know about, please tell me.