Re: OT external hard drives for photo work

Bill Funk <BigBill@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:11:45 +0200, Wolfgang Weisselberg
<ozcvgtt02@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Bill Funk <BigBill@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Wed, 11 Jul 2007 22:43:40 +0200, Wolfgang Weisselberg
Bill Funk <BigBill@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

RAID 1 is done for security, but offers no added speed at all, and is
available with most dual-drive enclosures.

Actually, RAID1 does offer increased reading speed, as two

The home user very seldom uses servers.

He uses servers all the time (NNTP server, Mail server, Web
server), but these servers usually won't run on *his* desktop.

Having access to a server does not make it under your control.
You know what I meant.

There is a large difference between what you meant and what you
wrote, and I wanted to make sure what I _thought_ you meant was
what _you_ did mean.

As I said before, *ANY* backup solution is better than a better one
not used.

RAID is *not* a backup solution in any way. RAID is a method
to survive some cases of a single disk hardware failure and to
build (virtual) disks that are larger than the physical units.
It will under no circumstances protect you against corrupted files,
deleted data or getting back older versions.

-Wolfgang

The point of a backup is to help prevent the loss of data.

True.

That's what RAIDs (except for RAID 0) do.

Wrong.

Do an rm -r / and show me how much data you can rescue from the
RAID. Or even better yet, have a lightning or a fire destroy
your computer and RAID and all connected hard disks. A backup
will only cost you restoring and maybe a day's loss (assuming a
daily backup regime).

The only thing RAID protects you is a hardware fault of a single
disk, nothing more. A backup is different. (And trust me, I
know the difference. Even I manage sometimes to shoot into my
own foot, and then I want a backup, not 2 HDs, both with the data
deleted on them.

The average user won't go fsr out of his way to protect his data;
offsite storage of backup drives, disks, tapes, etc., are not going to
be done. A RAID is an excellent way to prevent the most common form of
data loss: hard drive failure.

The most common cause is not HD failure, it is software
errors, viruses, trojans --- and most common, user error.
None of which a RAID protects against.

Yes, I have had HDs die under my fingers, but recovered all data.
I _have_ however, from time to time, lost data from stupidity,
and was glad my backups were there, limiting or negating the data
loss --- RAID would never have helped there.

And it's a heck of a lot easier to do, once implemented; it takes no
effort at all.

True.

ANY backup method is bettere than a better one not used.

True, but RAID is not a backup method, it's at best a small part of
a fault tolerant system (the RAID controler is still a single point
of failure, as is the connection between RAID controler and main
board --- and let's not even start on PSUs and UPSses and so on.)

-Wolfgang
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: RAID newbie...can I have several partitions on a RAID 1 array?
    ... With current backup ... argument for raid in those cases goes beyond the protection mechanism. ... against any & every kind of failure or failing media. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)
  • Re: RAIDING different size drives
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    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage)
  • Re: Sensible backup approach?
    ... There is always the risk that the entire RAID array can be destroyed by some event such as a fire. ... I accept the potential loss of recent data and only update my offset backup every few weeks. ... Then delete them from your disks to recover space if needed. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)
  • Re: Minimal configuration, suggestions wanted.
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