Nas as back up and for sharing??

[drsingh]

Hi All,
I have been looking to get a ReadyNas NV+ for the following situation:
3 computers networked at home, each with local storage of 60GB to 200GB (Total possible currently is 420GB) -

What I plan is to keep data locally and then back it up to the NAS(running in Raid 5 or xraid). This way it is backed up and available as a complete share to all PC's. I also am considering streaming music directly from the NAS to a Sonos music system.

My question is regarding all the advice that raid is not a back up solution rather an availability solution, while I do understand this, would not having a copy of the 3 data sources locally on the 3 computers plus consolidated data on the NAS serve as a back up? If a drive fails locally, I have the NAS, if the NAS loses more than one drive at the same time I have the local stores.

this would work no? The NAS as a back up and it would still serve as a share for the info not on the particular local computer, right?

thoughts? am I missing something obvious?

cheers
Ken

 

[MerlinRML]

You're not using RAID as a backup for your data. You're using a NAS as a backup for your data, and your NAS happens to be running RAID. So you've got a highly available backup solution.

The problem with RAID and backups comes from the belief by some that having a RAID array means you do not need to make backups. Your solution sounds quite reasonable.


I do have 2 additional observations. Your NAS should never host a primary data source unless it is also backed up in some form. Your NAS does not provide an obvious way to take your backups offsite if this is a concern for you. You might look into a removable media format for this or a way to replicate your NAS to another site.

 

[drsingh]

thanks for the support. I guess it will be fine then.
I amy use an external USB drive for really critical data backup and take this offsite.

thx
Ken

 

[drsingh]

Anymore validation? Sorry new to all this. Is there any issue (synching etc) with the PC's sharing the info on the NAS as it is really a backup of all the PC's?

 

[oynaz]

If you use good backup or syncing software, your solution seems very good. I use a Synology NAS in a similar fashion. I use SyncBack for software, but there are many others.

I would not bother with the RAID solution, however, unless you have a specific reason for it.

 

[drsingh]

thanks, but without RAID will the NAS not appear as seperate disks?

 

[drsingh]

bump, sorry, hoping to make a decision on this today

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: drsingh
thanks, but without RAID will the NAS not appear as seperate disks?

Yes without the RAID the separate HDD's will appear that way...there will be no striping of the volumes. Stick with your RAID-5. Fault Tolerance in a Backup system + Increased I/O ops = :thumbsup:

-Kevin

 

[Madwand1]

I say "RAID is not a backup" about as often as anyone here, so I'll say -- in this case, when you have a RAID array hosting a duplicate of the data, and not holding any original / non-duplicated data, then this RAID is a backup.

I'd go with a redundant RAID solution. Even though it's a backup, additional redundancy of the HDs doesn't hurt, and can be a good thing.

Just understand that it's very tempting to use a file server to host original data, and in this case, you do need to make a copy elsewhere, otherwise you don't have a backup.

Sorry, I can't validate / endorse this particular device myself, as I wouldn't buy such devices until they got a fair bit faster, and would build something myself which would perform better. However I understand that building is not for everyone, and such a device, within its limitations, can be a good choice for many people.