Netgear SC101 NAS

[OatMan]

Thinking of using this as none of the noob-ish cheapies seem to have very good reviews...
Netgear SC101

I plan to rotate three identicle HDD. Every month or so I'll swap one out and place into a Safe Deposit box.

I then hope that the newly inserted drive will then be "mirrored" and good to go. Does this make sense?

Hoping to get some feedback on my thinking here (or lack there of

TIA

 

[Goosemaster]

While that device is not perfect, the main issue for me would be the heat. It is said to run pretty hot.

As for your solution, using raid 1, it would sound fine, but you would have to reinitialize the array each time. I would say that you consider NOT using Raid, set the hard drives as separate entities (if that is possible) and just copy the data over.

The key is, I saw someone complaining about it using a proprietary files system (maybe they meant linux's ext3?) so I would check that out. Also keep in mind that performance on these little things is pretty bad.

 

[JackMDS]

All of the Entry Level NAS devices have variety of problems.

You can read this as a frame of reference, Network Attached Storage (NAS) for Home/SOHO Networks.

Read very carefully the specs of the units that are within your budget, and search for user?s feedback (notice that NewEgg user feedback that is usually on the optimistic side rates 34%. at level 1 for the sc101).

It seems that it is better of to go with a mid price unit ($500), then the sub $250.

 

[Kaido]

My friend has that. He says that it is very slow, even across the wired network. From what I have researched, you are most likely better off building your own using a cheap computer, a RAID card, and a few hard drives. FreeNAS is a great free OS for easily turning a spare computer into a NAS box:

http://www.freenas.org/

If you're really set on getting a NAS box, here are two that I've heard good experiences with:

http://www.thecus.com/

http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=97

 

[nweaver]

you would be better off buying a large HDD for your computer, and a good backup solution (such as an older SDLT drive). That would be a BAD backup solution, just rotating drives. I really want to see a good 40-80 GB tape drive for home use, as DVD's just don't cut it.

 

[OatMan]

Originally posted by: nweaver
you would be better off buying a large HDD for your computer, and a good backup solution (such as an older SDLT drive). That would be a BAD backup solution, just rotating drives. I really want to see a good 40-80 GB tape drive for home use, as DVD's just don't cut it.

This brings me full circle. I started out with thinking tape. My problem is I'm setting this up for my borther. He's a lawyer working for himself out of his house. Funds are real tight. He wants something removable that he can store off site as "disaster recovery".

I'm fine with setting up a tape solution, I just haven't worked with them in almost 10 years and then only in the enterprise...

Wher migh I find an "older SDLT" tape drive? I looked on Newegg for these and they seemed somewhat expensive. The amount of data for BUP is very small. Less than 20 Gigs for sure...

 

[RebateMonger]

I agree with nweaver. It's much simpler and just as effective to put a single large hard drive in an existing PC. Then back up the data to tape or removable hard drives.

Many of my smaller clients are now using removable hard drive trays for their backups. We just backup their ENTIRE server nightly. That way, we can get their whole server back up again quickly if disaster strikes. We typically keep several copies of their server state on each hard drive. Obviously, they keep at least one (preferably more) removable drives offsite.

You can buy a pair of Seagate 7200.10 320GB or 400GB drives, a hot-swap-capable SATA controller, two trays and a corresponding bay, all for less than $350. Additional hard drives in trays are about $130. The initial investment is pretty low.

Tapes work fine, too, as long as you can afford a tape drive that can hold all your data. The problem is that many small offices have TONS of data nowadays, and tape drives and tapes get pricey.

 

[networkman]

How about an IOMega Rev drive? 35 Gig native storage(ie. no compression). Catridge style, so easy to eject and store off-site. Quite a bit faster than tape as well.

It's just a thought - I haven't picked one up yet, but am looking at it myself.

 

[netsysadmin]

I use a Iomega REV drive for backup and it works great. It will interface with most backup programs such as Veritas/Symantec BackupExec. I am using BackupExec with it to backup my servers.

John

 

[netsysadmin]

Oh and they also have a larger REV drive available now. I am using the 35gb model for my backups.

John

 

[nweaver]

watch E-Bay. I have several Onstream ADR-50's that I use (I got them free though)

finding an older DLT that is 40/80 is going to run you a hundred or two, and getting a 3 sets of tapes (3 tapes per set) is another hundred or so (iirc, haven't purchased media for thos in forever)

so for $300, you can save burning a couple hundred gigs of data to DVD's....

If DVD's are 10 cents each, and hold ~4gb, you are looking at $40 for the drive. If you are doing weekly fulls, daily incrementals, and talking 40Gigs of data, that's about 10 (full) + 1-3 (incrementals) per week, say 12 per week, 1.20 per week looks really cheap.

Until you realize you are spending friday night putting DVD's in every 20 minutes all night long....


of course, I don't like to swap tapes either, that's why we bought a library

 

[Slowlearner]

In case of hardware failure restoring from tapes can be problematic - they need a working computer configured with the same tape drive and software. So unless this is done in a systematic way, it will take time. Why not consider an external hard drive. First take a look at how much data needs to backed up - 1gb, 10gb what? First do a full data back up, then an incremental one every day automated using free ware like Karen's replicator or Cobian backup (google for them).

The component most likely to fail is the hd. Most OSs installs (W2k,XP,W2Kserver) including office software (without data) is usually kess than 20GB. So it is quite cost effective to clone the hd after installing everything and keep them in a anti static bag as spare; When the hd fails, you plug in the spare hd, and update the data from external hd, and you are up and running in a very short time.

 

[OatMan]

Thanks again... Not interested in a DVD solution.

Is there a compelling advantage of IOMEGA REV vs. DLT? Capacity isn't an issue. Con for Iomega is its proprietary, but is proven and not more expensive. It also semms faster. I can get a firewire or internal SATA version.

So is there a compelling reason to get tape?

Also can I just use a simple free BUP software of perhaps NERO with either or both? Thanks again gents!

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: OatMan
Thanks again... Not interested in a DVD solution.

Is there a compelling advantage of IOMEGA REV vs. DLT? Capacity isn't an issue. Con for Iomega is its proprietary, but is proven and not more expensive. It also semms faster. I can get a firewire or internal SATA version.

So is there a compelling reason to get tape?

Also can I just use a simple free BUP software of perhaps NERO with either or both? Thanks again gents!

I would say that tape technologies are pretty bulletproof and although the iomega is new and probably untrustable in some circles, it is probably fine.

but hot damn are they expensive for the home user.

 

[nweaver]

for quick/easy stuff I would just use windows backup.