Hey Everyone:
I currently have three 2TB drives and was thinking of grabbing an additional two drives and putting them into a RAID5 array. I currently employ an ad-hoc approach to backing up my different drives and it is my hope that setting up an array will not only simplify this process but will also be more effective, viz. there will be fewer gaps where newer data isn't properly backed-up).
As I began to read a few articles and forum posts -- from both here and elsewhere -- there was some suggestion that a live RAID array was not needed if the principal purpose of the array was to simply backup data. A few posts I came across noted that with RAID arrays not only is there the potential that an array failure could be compounded -- usually on account of user error -- into a complete loss of data but also that the mere existence of an array did not obviate the need to backup the files as the integrity of the data could be compromised and the parity provided by the array would do nothing to guard against those risks. Given my relatively inchoate grasp of the use of RAID, I figured it best to seek out a second opinion on some of these concerns.
Thus, I hoping you all might be willing to provide your thoughts on whether I should proceed and look to setup a RAID array or should look to other alternatives. As well, since I don't need the performance gains that certain RAID arrays afford, would it make more sense for me to look into a snapshot-based redundancy solution such as FlexRAID or SnapRAID?
Thank you, in advance, for any advice or insight you all might be able to provide.
Regards,
I currently have three 2TB drives and was thinking of grabbing an additional two drives and putting them into a RAID5 array. I currently employ an ad-hoc approach to backing up my different drives and it is my hope that setting up an array will not only simplify this process but will also be more effective, viz. there will be fewer gaps where newer data isn't properly backed-up).
As I began to read a few articles and forum posts -- from both here and elsewhere -- there was some suggestion that a live RAID array was not needed if the principal purpose of the array was to simply backup data. A few posts I came across noted that with RAID arrays not only is there the potential that an array failure could be compounded -- usually on account of user error -- into a complete loss of data but also that the mere existence of an array did not obviate the need to backup the files as the integrity of the data could be compromised and the parity provided by the array would do nothing to guard against those risks. Given my relatively inchoate grasp of the use of RAID, I figured it best to seek out a second opinion on some of these concerns.
Thus, I hoping you all might be willing to provide your thoughts on whether I should proceed and look to setup a RAID array or should look to other alternatives. As well, since I don't need the performance gains that certain RAID arrays afford, would it make more sense for me to look into a snapshot-based redundancy solution such as FlexRAID or SnapRAID?
Thank you, in advance, for any advice or insight you all might be able to provide.
Regards,
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