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Storage solution suggestions?

M

MatreX

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
287
Hello everyone,

I'm helping a photographer friend of mine and need some input.

Her current storage method for all her photography is:

Dump all photos from photo shoot to USB storage, when storage is full, buy new drive and repeat. All the USB drives are plugged into usb hubs and simply store images and are accessed sparsely a few weeks after the photo event is over.

As you can assume, this is not fault tolerant. She understands the necessity of data protection, but needs it to be as dead simple to use as possible as my schedule doesn't always allow me to be around to help at a moment's notice.

Now, if Microsoft had kept the WHS series going, I'd have suggested this route (as I have an HP EX470 and love it.) WHS v1 and WHS2011 are, in my view, dated since they've been dropped as a niche product. I'm not current on server 2008 products/features etc. so if things like drive extender or a variation of it are reintroduced, please enlighten me.

I'm not opposed to going NAS solutions either (it doesnt have to be Microsoft based.) It just has to be simple to use for a non-technical person.

I'd like it to be an appliance setup so far as size (similar to the HP MediaSmart servers/or Thecus NAS boxes, etc) It will need to be expandable as you know, RAW images take up space. 4-bay minimum I'd guess and be able to handle 4TB per bay. I think RAID-5 is a good compromise for space/performance/tolerance.

Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thank you for your time.
 
I would suggest and off the shelf RAID/NAS system that supports eSATA. Connect this to her system as a drive.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QUVDL4/?tag=extension-kb-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004JQNKVC/?tag=extension-kb-20

Then install WD Red series drives.

This is expensive, yes. But if you added up the cost of USB drives, I'm sure she has spent that much already. Anything above this type of storage is better handbuilt with something like FreeNas or other variants.

Edit - you mentioned a 4-bay min. What's the price range? QNap has units up to 5 bays at OK prices. Other wise it's just as much as building your own system.
 
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At the moment, price is not fixed yet as I'm currently researching what's available at any price points. I realize this situation can bring with it a wide variety of price ranges, so I see her going somewhere in the middle of what is found. Not dirt cheap, not crazy expensive. A reasonable, solid solution for her business.

I mentioned 4 bay min. since I'm trying to make this last as long as possible (just add drives when needed). And agreed, the larger NAS boxes get pricey quick, but home built usually (not always) means that you are now supporting the system and need the technical background. So, I guess simplicity, data protection and capacity are the true needs above performance.

Thank you for your suggestions, I'll look them up.

Also, does anyone offer 5yr warranties on large drives anymore?
 
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I believe the WD Black and RE series drives are 5 year. Otherwise no. Seagate has 1 year warranties on some of their drives, which is just absurd.
 
For someone who needs it as an appliance, take a look a the QNAP or Synology devices. Not the cheapest but they work and are reliable. I love DIY stuff but if it is her livelyhood sitting on those drives I would want something that has a warranty and support

5+ Bay with a Raid 6 setup (2 drive redundancy) is what I would do myself.
 
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