Data Backup and Archival Strategy

[lunaticitizen]

My current data backup strategy involves using 4 internal HDDs in my desktop PC and a cheap Buffalo storage server I bought off Yahoo! Auctions a few years ago. I'm trying to get rid of my internal HDDs and move them to a separate storage server.

Since the current storage server doesn't support high availability (redundancy), I'm thinking of buying two Synology storage servers and install them like the diagram below. I already have the wireless router and the two Cisco switches so I will only have to add the Synology servers. I will also re-use the HDDs from my PC and my current storage server.



For data archival solution, I have 3 options:

1. use Blu-ray media
2. use magnetic tape
3. use cloud service

I'm thinking of using cloud service (Amazon Glacier) for practical reasons since I don't really fancy using yet another physical media to archive my data, and the cost is actually relatively inexpensive.

The above solution is maybe not perfect for a serious business since it lacks another internet link for redundancy (that is, there is only one modem and one wireless router) but for amateurs or people just starting their business, I think it's good enough.

If there is any questions or comment I'd be happy to answer them.

[Manfred M]

I use a similar approach to yours Leo.

I have my working files on my computer and use a very fast m.2 drive for my active edits. I have a couple of mechanical drives that I use as intermediate storage and two Data Robotics 5N (networked raid - each unit is mirrored with each other and redundant so that I can lose one of the hard drives on each and still have data redundancy) drives located in two different locations in the house. I use Dropbox for cloud storage of critical files.

I do all my backups manually.

[NorthernFocus]

If the storage media are in the same physical location as the PC, what is the advantage of a separate server as opposed to redundant internal drives in the PC itself? And is there any advantage other than speed in using a server vs portable HDD?

[Manfred M]

If the storage media are in the same physical location as the PC, what is the advantage of a separate server as opposed to redundant internal drives in the PC itself? And is there any advantage other than speed in using a server vs portable HDD?

1. The redundant drives in a desktop will use proprietary raid drivers so unless you are very lucky, these cannot be read by another computer should you have to replace the motherboard.

2. Placing the NAS drives in different locations in the house are risk mitigation. If disaster strike - fire, flood, etc. having them in separate areas improves the likelihood that one of the the units survives a localized "disaster".

3. Raid provides redundancy, so if the HDD fails, replacing it will automatically restore redundancy. A portable HDD failure will mean loss of all of your data. The reason I have redundant RAID drives is I've had a RAID drive fail and was unable to recover the data on the disks. Having a separate drive meant it was easy to recover. That is the advantage of going with well known backup solutions like Synology or Data Robotics is that they have an upgrade path if you replace their units. Other solutions may not; which was the problem with my old D-Link RAID drive.

[lunaticitizen]

If the storage media are in the same physical location as the PC, what is the advantage of a separate server as opposed to redundant internal drives in the PC itself?

The idea here is to separate storage element from computing element (PC).

If we use internal drives as our main storage, when the PC fails then we suddenly don't have easy access to the storage. If it takes a week to fix the failed PC, then even if you have another PC to do your work, you'd have to contend with only one storage (your backup storage). If the backup storage also failed before you could bring your failed PC back to life (a likely scenario), that would be a total disaster for your business.

And is there any advantage other than speed in using a server vs portable HDD?

Well, the main advantage of using a dedicated storage server is that it can serve many people at the same time. For example, if the photographer and the retoucher are different people then it would make more sense to make files accessible through a local area network so that collaboration can be done smoothly.

If you are a one-man operation then direct-attached storage (DAS) such external HDD can do the job as well provided they are also redundant. A better solution would be, for example, using a pair of Drobo 5Cs or Drobo 5DTs as two separate, direct-attached RAID arrays.

Dedicated storage servers are not necessarily faster than DAS. For example if the DAS supports Thunderbolt 3 then it would be much faster than most of dedicated storage servers out there.

[lunaticitizen]

Manfred, I heard that software RAID implementation in Windows is portable; you can upgrade your operating system and still having the redundant disks recognized.

A hardware RAID using motherboard is a different story though, just like you said.