Please help with Backup solution

[gnnbtrn]

Hi everyone!
This is my first post....

I ran out of disk space (again).

I have a lot of pictures and I add about 500 GB a year.
Currently, I have internal SATA disk of 500 GB and external USB drive of 320 GB.
Both of them will be filed up in a month or so...

My idea is to buy an enclosure and another disk,
and when the new disk is full - put it back to the box and keep it this way.
Then I can get another disk and use the same enclosure until the next disk is full.
I have only one PC and I don't think I need RAID.
And I don't want USB connection.

Is it a good idea? Is there a better way.

Is there enclosure that has a simple way to replace disks?

What eSATA card and cable do you recomend?

What aluminum/fan enclosure would you recommend?


Thanks!

 

[supremelaw]

The Antec MX-1 is a good external SATA enclosure:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...71008&Tpk=Antec%20MX-1


Addonics makes several expansion cards with eSATA ports out the rear panel
for both PCI and PCI-Express buses:

http://www.addonics.com/produc...oller/default.asp#pcie

http://www.addonics.com/produc...roller/default.asp#pci



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

 

[gnnbtrn]

Thanks,Paul
I think I have empty SATA ports on my motherboard, I probably don't need the expansion cards,
the eSATA bracket in the enclosure kit will do.

do you know is it easy to install and replase the HDD with Antec MX-1 enclosure?
does it support hot swap, or I will have to turn off the PC if I need to replace the HDD?

 

[RebateMonger]

Consider one of the external SATA drive holders that allow you to slide a drive into a vertical slot. It takes about ten seconds to swap hard drives. They actually hook up using USB, which is just fine for your use, and avoids having issues with the eSATA port. You plug this adapter into the a USB port and then drop a SATA drive into the slot and you are good to go. No need to spend a bunch of money on drive housings.

Here's one for less than $50 that even has an eSATA connector
But I would use the USB connection, personally.

A better picture of how it holds a hard drive.

Note that I'm not necessarily recommending this particular model. I've never used it. But it seems ideal for your application.

 

[supremelaw]

"Hot swap" works best with enclosures that utilize an integrated back-plane
and a removable "sled" which permits the HDD to move in and out
without disturbing any other HDDs in that enclosure, and
without disturbing any cables that are connected and "hot".

Some of the latest Lian-Li cases have internal SATA backplanes: very cool!

Also, check out the Quadra-Pack Q14, which integrates 4 x 2.5" HDDs
into a single 5.25" drive bay:

http://www.enhance-tech.com/pr...ts/multidrive/q14.html


> do you know is it easy to install and replace the HDD with Antec MX-1 enclosure?

Not very easy, as "ease-of-use" goes:

A long screw must be removed first;
the top cover must slide away; then,
internal screws must be loosened.


> does it support hot swap, or I will have to turn off the PC if I need to replace the HDD?

No, it does not support "hot swap" if you mean removing the HDD from the MX-1
and replacing it with a new HDD, while the data cable is connected to a running system
and while the DC power is ON.

I wouldn't advise it, because of the mechanical setup of the MX-1:
you might damage either the HDD or the MX-1, or both!


On the other hand, if your eSATA controller supports "hot swap" functionality,
you should be able to switch the MX-1 OFF and disconnect the eSATA data cable --
either from the MX-1 connector, or from the motherboard or chassis eSATA port.

Then, after replacing the HDD, you should be able to re-connect the eSATA data cable
and, after switching the MX-1 power switch to ON, your eSATA controller should
detect this new device and add the drive letter to "My Computer" in XP systems.

When I have forgotten to switch our MX-1 to ON before a routine startup,
I have been able to switch it to ON after a routine startup, and our
eSATA port and controller on the ASUS P5WD2 Premium detect that
HDD just fine.

Only problem is that such an HDD is not "shared" for network purposes
if I switch it ON after a routine startup: this appears to be a glitch in XP.


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

 

[faxon]

to be honest, if you are filling drives that fast you might want to buy a dedicated RAID encosure with a 4 disk capacity that can do RAID5. at the rate you are filling disks, if one were to fail on you you would loose months and months of data, and a redundant setup would make sure you dont loose anything. it could cost quite a lot depending on what size drives you use, but a netgear system without drives is like $250 for a 4 drive enclosure, including a network OS and mananagement software for the drives. personally if i were filling drives that fast i would get 4 of the 1TB ES.2 Barracudas seagate offers and call it a day. only downside on this option is the upfront pricetag which would be upwards of $1000, but when you considet how much it will cost for data recovery ($5000+) it is more than worth it, not even including the added bonus software for managing and networking the drives.

 

[taltamir]

500 GB/year is really not that much. not considering that the size of drives keeps on increasing. Do you expect to have the size of your data keep increasing as well?

If not. I would say, get a pair of 750GB or 1TB drives today and run in raid1 (for data security, drives fail, that is a fact. Can you afford to loose the data on them?).
1.5TB drives will be out soon, and then larger drives. By the time you fill up your 1TB mirror, you would be able to upgrade to something larger.

I would not use a hard drive in a box as a method of permanent storage, the data could degrade or otherwise lost without your knowledge. It makes more sense to have more drives inside the computer.
External enclosures ONLY make sense if you need their mobility (transfer data to another computer easily), otherwise internal drives are much, much better for a variety of reasons.

 

[gnnbtrn]

thanks everyone:
I've read your comments very carefully.
this is what I think, and please, correct me if I'm wrong.

1. My initial idea to keep the backup in enclosure is NOT GOOD...
because:

- I do not need enclosure for mobility

- the backup HDD will be filled up eventually and I will need to look for the solution every so often


2. Is the RAID I need to look at instead?

If so...
- What kind RAID would I need: 1 - 0 - or 5?
- I need identical drives?
- If I decide to buy 4 or 5 bays box, can I use 2 HDDs and add more later?
- What else would I need? (controller cards, etc)

sorry, I have no experience with RAIDs....
(Where I can read more about RAID set up?)

this is something I looked at:

I really appreciate all your answers, guys,
but can you please also give here links to the product I need to look at
THANKS!!!

 

[supremelaw]

If I were you, I would upgrade to a modern and relatively inexpensive case
that has lots of drive bays. The one that comes to mind -- because I've built
several PCs for friends using this case -- is the Cooler Master CM 690:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119137

For that price, it's very well engineered: it has 2 fan grills in the bottom panel
and another 2 in the top panel: the internal 3.5" drive bays are very easy to access,
as long as you realize that you must remove the right-side panel to connect HDD cables
-- SATA preferred, of course.

The left-side panel comes with 1 x 120mm fan, and it has another intake grill
for a second 120mm fan.

The CM 690 also has a fan grill directly beneath the CPU socket, which
is a relatively rare feature in the current chassis marketplace.


Then, you can move all your components into this chassis,
and have plenty of room to add HDDs in the coming years:

Remember also that PMR (perpendicular magnetic recording)
will mean huge increases in recording densities down the road
e.g. Hitachi will soon be selling their 1.5 TB HDD, and
that one HDD will fit into a single 3.5" drive bay in the CM 690.

Finally, the CM 690's 5.25" drive bays can also be used to install
hard drive coolers like my favorite from Antec:

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=75011


Good luck!



Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice

 

[gnnbtrn]

I like your idea very much,
but what else I need to buy?

 

[supremelaw]

> I like your idea very much, but what else I need to buy?


For a fully functional backup server, you'll need:

inexpensive chassis e.g. CM 690 (if you decide to expand)
low-wattage power supply e.g. Antec Earthwatts
micro ATX motherboard, LGA775, integrated graphics, GbE LAN
lowest cost Intel Core 2 CPU e.g. Celeron 420 (if still available)
2 x 512MB of relatively slow DDR2, matched pair e.g. Corsair "ValueRam"
modern OEM optical drive e.g. Samsung, ASUS, Lite-On
1TB SATA/3G HDD e.g. Western Digital "Green", Seagate, Hitachi
OEM copy of Windows XP/Pro Service Pack 3
a quality battery backup/UPS is also highly recommended

You know the rest: keyboard, monitor, mouse etc.

I hope this helps.


Sincerely yours,
/s/ Paul Andrew Mitchell, Inventor and
Webmaster, Supreme Law Library

All Rights Reserved without Prejudice