Raid 1 vs External Drive Data Backup

[888qqq]

Are there any advantages of an external HD with Ghost, True Image or whatever software over RAID1 for data protection? From what I understand both can be infected with viruses and are prone to mechanical failure. I am putting a new computer together and want to use RAID1 because it?s easier to setup and cheaper than an external drive with the added software. I also plan on using a thumbstick and DVD data copying. Thanks for any replies.

 

[corkyg]

I keep my data files on a RAID 1 array. It is also backed up on an external drive.

RAID 1 offers some hardware redundancy, but it is not truly a backup. Any corruption, virus, malware, etc., that hits the RAID 1 array will be present equally in both mirrored drives. It is therefore prudent, especially for important data, to have the array backed up.

Further, the external drive can be disconnected and kept free of power glitches, etc., which can affect the RAID array. It can also be easily retrieved and accessed on another computer.

 

[rasczak]

raid one is NOT data protection. It's redundancy. If you want data protection, then get the external hard drive and backup your data to that. raid 1 will only ensure uptime, but if you lose the controller or both drives die, you lose your data. there's the difference. do not skimp and not get the external drive. it's definitely to your benefit.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^ right. RAID-1 does not protect against OS problems including infections; human error (deleting files); hardware problems including power supply, motherboard, RAM, disk controller; fire, flood or water leak, lightning or other power surge; theft.

To really protect files you should have a couple of external drives, one of which is kept off-site (rotate the two between on-site and off).

 

[California Roll]

I use external drives with MS SyncToy and WHS for *backup* purposes. If I ever need to retrieve lost data it will be available on either. Odds are low I'll lose data on my main pc and external drives and WHS at the same time. I don't mess with Raid for *backup* purposes.