Hello people,
I don't have much data, I also try to keep it from growing, but the data is slowly overtaking.
A desktop PC I use is outdated (although powerful enough for my needs), but I’m still unsure if I want a desktop (full-size or small form factor) or a laptop as my next machine. Also, I tend to feel that "modular" setup is more flexible in any of these two futures. So I believe it makes sense to have only working files (system, apps and projects) physically inside the PC, but all the synced mirrors, backups and not-so-important stuff should be outside.
The datasets are:
“Stuff”
2.1TB of not-so-important data (mostly videos, recorded live shows and movies), however, losing it will cause an unwanted inconvenience to me.
“Archive”
700GB of data that I can't afford to lose, updated rarely.
“Work”
35GB of data that I can't afford to lose too, must be highly available (in case of drive failures), updated frequently.
“System”
500GB of OS with apps.
How they are stored currently:
“Stuff”
single instance on 2x software-mirrored drives.
“Archive”
3 instances (synced folders), 2 of them on 2x software-mirrored drives.
“Work”
3 instances (synced folders), 2 of them on 2x software-mirrored drives.
“System”
just a single instance.
None of them has backups.
How I think it should be:
“Stuff”
single instance on RAID 1 (2 or more drives) or 2 or more instances on different drives. Just to lower chances of losing it. I think it doesn’t worth a backup.
“Archive”
2 or more instances (synced folders) on different drives, probably primary on RAID (if my setup will have one); must be backed up.
“Work”
2 or more instances (synced folders) on different drives, primary on SSD; must be backed up.
“System”
images must be taken.
Required storage:
For “Stuff” it could be NAS with at least two 4TB drives in RAID 1, or a DAS, or just a bunch of external single HDDs. Here I’m just completely lost on what’s the best option.
“Archive” could also reside on the same storage as a primary location, then duplicated (synced) to other (usual external HDDs).
NAS is the most expensive and seems to have too many features I don’t need. I just want to use it as an external storage with an out-of-the-box RAID. On the other side, it’s the only option which allows connecting from/to multiple computers (e.g. laptop and desktop) without physically plugging the cable around. This also helps with laptop because you just reuse the same WiFi (auto)connection you already always use for Internet.
DAS seems super easy and straightforward, but it’s less flexible, isn’t it? And am I right that only few models support built-in RAID?
Or maybe just a bunch of single external HDDs (like WD MyBook) with simple copying/syncing to them? I don’t like external drives because of their strange power management features, e.g. it turns off, but later, when I want to quickly access something (even on the other drive), it suddenly spins up. On top of that, drives spin up one after another instead of simultaneous spin up (WD MyBook Duo). I want an external drive to be functionally as close to the usual internal drives as possible.
“Work” and “System” will live on SSD-s, “Work” will be synced to at least one more drive.
Not clear what storage should be used for backups. Also a NAS if I choose one as a primary storage or it must be external HDDs? In either case, mirrored or single?
Backup system:
I don’t know what’s the best way to do backups and system images. Full vs differential vs incremental. Will figure it out hopefully. Also, it’s not clear what software is the best. I think it should be one of the paid options as it implies it is more reliable.
The question:
I’m sorry if the “question” is too big, but I’m completely lost here. I’m afraid to invest in something that will be suboptimal, overcomplicated, unconvenient etc. On the other hand, I’m more concerned of having too unsecure and unreliable setup. What do you guys think? Is the idea of storing the data externally? What kinds (and quantities) of storage would you choose?
EDIT:
I don't trust software mirroring because currently software-mirrored disks in Windows are “Resyncing” too often. Doesn't look like something good.
