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Question about Multi Bay Storage Enclosure

I wouldn't get that one if you just want a enclosure for your HDs.

That said, yes, you can mix brands & sizes. If you are doing RAID, then, it isn't wise to mix brands. It is also a no-go for RAID, if you have different size HDs (well, there is a exception to that, but I won't get into it here).

BTW, if you don't want to lose your data, then you need multiple backups of the important data.
 
Elixer, thanks for your reply. I can use it as an enclosure with all of my separate drives mounted as long as don't set up a RAID configuration, correct?

Why do you not recommend this product? I just used that one as an example.
I am looking for a multi bay enclosure with firewire 800 and USB3 interface that is tray less and supports up to 4TB per bay.
 
You can probably do what you want with a eSata multibay and a controller that supports a eSata multiplier as the OS will see each drive as if they were connected to individual SATA ports. You'll have to do some homework to see if your motherboard supports it. If you purchase a NAS or a USB/Firewire bay it will "likely" require a reformat whether you use it as JBOD or Raid...the only way to know for sure is to find a manual online.

The particular enclosure you linked is only Raid 5 so it is unsuitable for what you are trying to do. If you were to put your drives in it and initialize it would wipe them all and build a new Raid 5 array.
 
Just to add to my earlier post, if the drives you are talking about using contain the only copy of the files you plan to access, I would prioritize getting a proper backup in place before moving them into a drive bay. Depending on which solution you choose, the risk to the original data is variable but there are absolutely no guarantees.

You are probably trying not to "waste" harddrives, but it actually might be better to buy one or more large external hard drives (3-4TB) to use instead of a multibay unit. Just a suggestion.
 
Anteaus said:
Just to add to my earlier post, if the drives you are talking about using contain the only copy of the files you plan to access, I would prioritize getting a proper backup in place before moving them into a drive bay. Depending on which solution you choose, the risk to the original data is variable but there are absolutely no guarantees.

You are probably trying not to "waste" harddrives, but it actually might be better to buy one or more large external hard drives (3-4TB) to use instead of a multibay unit. Just a suggestion.
Click to expand...

I have (3) 2tb and (2) 1tb of storage and there are no back ups to them. So I'll probably need a few 3-4tbs.
I'll have to do some research about the multipliers.

If I get a device such as the Drobo 5D, will i have to format the drive?

I might just have to buy more drives for a real backup. Thanks guys for the replies!
 
produc3rboy said:
I have (3) 2tb and (2) 1tb of storage and there are no back ups to them. So I'll probably need a few 3-4tbs.
I'll have to do some research about the multipliers.

If I get a device such as the Drobo 5D, will i have to format the drive?

I might just have to buy more drives for a real backup. Thanks guys for the replies!
Click to expand...

Virtually all devices that rely on either raid or software raid will require reformat because it has to create a new array with the drives you install in them.

If you are planning to spend a little money a different route would be to buy something like this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...35&ignorebbr=1

and buy matching hard drives for it such as

4X http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236344.

With the built in Raid 5 that should give you around 6TB of redundant storage. Buying 4TB drives will give you 8TB.

Note I say "redundant". You still need a proper backup, but since you already have all those hard drives with data on them you could just keep them as they are, copy all the data to the NAS, and just store them.

There are numerous solutions that you can look at, including just building a cheap server and just putting your hard drives in it.
 
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