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RAID 1 (drive mirroring) or not?

I

imported_Sincity

Senior member
I hope this is the right forum to post this. I have a file server for my wife's accounting practice. I am using Nero Backup to make daily full data backups (no programs-only accounting/Excel/Word data) so I have complete daily dataset. I rotate the DVD+Rs on a weekly basis. How critical is it for me to setup a redundant mirrored drive setup? I am using a Seagate Barracuda 160 gb 7200 RPM drive for the file server. Aren't HDs nowadays very reliable running 24/7?

Thanks!
 
RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one. if you can live with the time it takes to replace the failed harddrive(s), then you don't need RAID1.
 
Originally posted by: tyanni
RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one. if you can live with the time it takes to replace the failed harddrive(s), then you don't need RAID1.
Click to expand...

Sure it does.

Hard drives are generally very reliable nowadays (many come with 5 yr warranties now) so you should be good to go. The important stuff to keep is already being backed up, so if you did have a hard drive failure, you'd have some downtime while you got a new drive, reinstalled windows, reloaded your programs, and then copied over the data from the latest DVD+R. All in all, probably about a day's work.

With RAID-1 she could just continue as per usual during that day, and you wouldn't have to reload all the information from DVD+Rs. The downtime would be for an hour or so while you took out the failed drive and replaced it with a new one.
 
Thanks guys. It is clear to me now. Basically, my tolerance to risk is whether I want to take the time to swap a bad drive and reload OS or just swap out the bad drive. I see.

No programs are on the file server. Just the OS (XP Pro), Nero, and data files. The programs (Peachtree, Quickbooks, Tax software, Excel, Word) are on the individual PCs. This way I have one centralized location for all of the data to worry about. Also makes accessing data files from the road much easier as well. No budget for IT personnel here. Just myself when time is available.

Merry Christmas!🙂
 
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
 
RAID 1 is great to minimize possible downtime of either Server or Desktop. Nowadays, it's cheap and easy to implement. Just be sure to continue making backups, too.

If you are using Windows Server 2003, another great way to avoid data loss is to enable Volume Shadow Copy. It will automatically keep Previous Versions of your shared data folders. So if somebody accidentally deletes or overwrites something important, you can restore the previous version in a few seconds.
 
You may also want to consider off-site backup of those important accounting data. I don't have a recommendation, but you surely should do a little homework on the host. Also use the best encryption and most complex password before uploading it to a trusted server somewhere. Store the password or decryption key somewhere safe. You can also do this for other important documents.
 
what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...

Backups are not a purpose of RAID in any way at all, it's only purpose at all is for hardware redundancy.
 
RAID 1 is for hardware redundancy, DVD+R/RW's are for backups. RAID 1 will let you have less downtime in the event of a drive failure is all. If you're doing daily backups and can live with downtime in the unlikely event of hard drive failure you can get by without RAID. If you're worried about failure cool the hard drive better... 🙂
 
Originally posted by: tyanni
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...
You were crystal clear. :laugh:
RAID 1 does no good if your data becomes corrupted for some reason.
Like you stated... "RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one."

 
Originally posted by: Blain
Originally posted by: tyanni
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...
You were crystal clear. :laugh:
RAID 1 does no good if your data becomes corrupted for some reason.
Like you stated... "RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one."
Click to expand...

guess I should have stood by my original statement... 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Blain
Originally posted by: tyanni
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...
You were crystal clear. :laugh:
RAID 1 does no good if your data becomes corrupted for some reason.
Like you stated... "RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one."
Click to expand...

Actually, hardware redundancy is data backup if the only place that the data is stored is on the HDD (this of course does no good if your data gets hosed on the main install, but does a lot of good if the HDD crashes). More properly, RAID 1 shouldn't provide a data backup solution, but it does in fact do so for many people.
 
Originally posted by: tyanni
Originally posted by: Blain
Originally posted by: tyanni
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...
You were crystal clear. :laugh:
RAID 1 does no good if your data becomes corrupted for some reason.
Like you stated... "RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one."
Click to expand...

guess I should have stood by my original statement... 🙂
Click to expand...

Yeah, you really nailed the common misconception on the head with your first statement. RAID is not data backup!
 
Originally posted by: masteraleph
Originally posted by: Blain
Originally posted by: tyanni
Okay, perhaps I wasn't clear enough - what I meant was that the PRIMARY purpose of RAID is not data backup, but hardware redundancy.
Click to expand...
You were crystal clear. :laugh:
RAID 1 does no good if your data becomes corrupted for some reason.
Like you stated... "RAID doesn't provide a data backup solution, but a hardware one."
Click to expand...

Actually, hardware redundancy is data backup if the only place that the data is stored is on the HDD (this of course does no good if your data gets hosed on the main install, but does a lot of good if the HDD crashes). More properly, RAID 1 shouldn't provide a data backup solution, but it does in fact do so for many people.
Click to expand...

wrong....why is it not a backup? Because you CANNOT RESTORE from it...so if Suzy Secretary deletes your accounting database on accident...guess what, raid1 deleted it from BOTH DRIVES. Replace Suzy virus/mistake/malware/etc


Raid is not a backup
Raid is not a backup
Raid is not a backup
 
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