Nada Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I want a simple solution for storing my music files. Internal SSD are too small and expensive for a growing collection of high definition downloads (beware Bootcamp). Would connecting an external HDD via a LAN cable be a good idea? I understand LAN transmission is electrically isolated at each end so the computer shouldn't get contaminated by spinning disc hash? Would this work: Notebook- LAN cable - WD My Book Live 3TB ($219 from Officewanks) ? I'm superbly clueless so any guidance and better options are appreciated thanks
Jake Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 An external multi-HDD NAS running RAID would be the go, offering some protection against HDD failure. 1
Nada Posted June 7, 2013 Author Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) An external multi-HDD NAS running RAID would be the go, offering some protection against HDD failure. Thanks. Are there simple plug in options? Just the word RAID has me diving under the couch. Is there any truth in the idea that WIFI is naughty for computer audio - too many bad vibes man. Edited June 7, 2013 by Nada
Jake Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 An external multi-HDD NAS running RAID would be the go, offering some protection against HDD failure.Thanks. Are there simple plug in options? Just the word RAID has me diving under the couch. Is there any truth in the idea that WIFI is naughty for computer audio - too many bad vibes man. I'm not really up to speed with the latest offerings, but mine was bought as a box, and I purchased 4 HDDs separately, then it was quite simple to setup RAID through the web-based menu.As for wifi and hifi, I have no idea. That's a completely different subject and no doubt a can of worms!
Dolphy Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I use a two bay QNAP NAS, it's attached to a router and I can access my media files wirelesly and wired. It's never let me down. 1
Batty Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) I use a 2 disk NAS connected to a router via Ethernet to a SBT also connected to the router via Ethernet, all works very well. Edited June 7, 2013 by Batty
gavtron Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I have a basic "netgear Stora" connected by 1gbps lan. Works ok - except it goes to sleep to save power when not in use, so it can take maybe 10 seconds to wake up when accessed. As far as SQ is concerned a few people on the jplay forum recommend a NAS - connected to PC via direct cable (no router in between) obviously this isn't practical for most normal setups Opinions on wifi sq seem mixed - best to try it for yourself I think..
Addicted to music Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Correct me if I'm wrong, RAID to me means you require 2 HDD for it to operate, I have never endorse this kind of arrangement because it splits the data to be stored in the separate drive. The gear I work on used RAID and has now gone back to single drives. If one HDD in RAID fails, all data is Lost and the recommendation is that both HDD must be replaced with the same type!
mrdave Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Correct me if I'm wrong, RAID to me means you require 2 HDD for it to operate, I have never endorse this kind of arrangement because it splits the data to be stored in the separate drive. The gear I work on used RAID and has now gone back to single drives. If one HDD in RAID fails, all data is Lost and the recommendation is that both HDD must be replaced with the same type! I think you are referring to RAID-0 (striping), which provides no fault tolerance. I don't think that configuration was being suggested in previous posts... 1
Addicted to music Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 So how do you set up a RAID, using minimal drives to guard against drive failures?
mrdave Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) So how do you set up a RAID, using minimal drives to guard against drive failures? If you have two drives, use a mirror (RAID-1) instead of doubling your likelihood of data loss by spreading it across two drives. Take a peek at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID for more info. Edited June 8, 2013 by mrdave 1
mrdave Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I want a simple solution for storing my music files. Internal SSD are too small and expensive for a growing collection of high definition downloads (beware Bootcamp). Would connecting an external HDD via a LAN cable be a good idea? I understand LAN transmission is electrically isolated at each end so the computer shouldn't get contaminated by spinning disc hash? Would this work: Notebook- LAN cable - WD My Book Live 3TB ($219 from Officewanks) ? I'm superbly clueless so any guidance and better options are appreciated thanks Nada, my $0.02 is - avoid the WD NAS thingos. I had one a while back when 500gb was still a biggish drive. They were woefully underpowered. Check out a Synology or QNAP as suggested. 1
acg Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Nada, I use a Netgear ReadyNAS Pro Business edition. It has dual gigabit LAN, teaming (let's you exceed gigabit speed if you ever wish to), automatically runs a raid 2 or 5 or something that duplicates your data so that it is stored on more than one drive (it is not a backup, rather a fail safe), a celeron processor with heaps of power for the purpose. There is some degree of isolation provided by the Ethernet cable, but some audiophiles run an additional LAN isolator to complete the job. I've not tried one so cannot comment. Anthony
Addicted to music Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 If you have two drives, use a mirror (RAID-1) instead or doubling your likelihood of data loss by spreading it across two drives. Take a peek at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID'>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID for more info. Our gear have RAID setup that has up to 4 HDD, I have never seen a failure on a RAID setup that doesn't require all 4 disc to be replaced! everytime a disc failure occur where the procedure is to replace that failed disc it doesn't work! All 4 disc must be replaced and the setup had to be wiped clean and reloaded. However the manufacturer do not advised on how it has been setup apart from following a setup procedure in initializing the system. Possible due because RAID require disc to be identical, because by the time you encounter a failure you can no longer obtain the same type.
aechmea Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 A career in the industry leads me to suggest this backup scenario... One disk containing the real music files. Another disk, copy of the original, not connected except when taking the backup. A third disk copy kept at your mother's place. Use them interchangeably on rotation so they all get their turn at spinning. Very much safer than any form of RAID. 4
Dolphy Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Yes, remote storage is the best method of back up. I keep a hard drive with the family photos at work in my locker. 1
acg Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 RAID is not backup...never has been...never should be used as such. 3
Addicted to music Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 A career in the industry leads me to suggest this backup scenario... One disk containing the real music files. Another disk, copy of the original, not connected except when taking the backup. A third disk copy kept at your mother's place. Use them interchangeably on rotation so they all get their turn at spinning. Very much safer than any form of RAID. this is what I called the old fashion way, there is nothing better than to do this, considering that SATA and USB 3.0 has data transfer of up to 5gb compared to USB 2.0 that is 480mb and and a 1tb USB 3.0 at Office Works is around $70 on special. 1
Addicted to music Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 RAID is not backup...never has been...never should be used as such. Thnxs
Keith Anderson Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Raid as a backup is a fallacy, it is not. Don't care whether it's Raid 1, 5 whatever it is not a backup. I used to use a Drobo unit, pieces of crap, and I'm not the only one that thinks that, if a the units have a hardware failure you cant just get the drives out plug them into you computer and read the HD's. In fact if the Raid units have hardware failures they will usually corrupt the drives but even if they don't you need to get another unit the same to read the drives, as far as I'm aware this is the same for all Raid Units as they all use a propriety format for the drives. I shoot Weddings and Portraits so my backup is rather full on, in my main system I work of a stripped Raid for speed, which the images go onto, from that it is backed up every hour to another internal HD using Carbon Copy, from that it is backup up to another external drive every day, and from that once more every week to a offsite drive. And finally they are also stored on blue ray disk just for another safe keeping, My music files are also on the stripped drive, backed up up to another internal drive and also the backed up top the external drive I use for playback in the lounge. So even my music is backed up 2 times. HD failure is not something you ever want to have and even though it's only music would be a pain in the ...... to have to redo it all. HD space is cheap.
Demondes Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 Correct me if I'm wrong, RAID to me means you require 2 HDD for it to operate, I have never endorse this kind of arrangement because it splits the data to be stored in the separate drive. The gear I work on used RAID and has now gone back to single drives. If one HDD in RAID fails, all data is Lost and the recommendation is that both HDD must be replaced with the same type! As stated by Mrdave already only stripping and JBOD offer no redundancy. Traditionally RAID has required multiple disks of the same size and type, but many of the prosumer products offered by QNAP and Synology offer Hybrid RAID that allows you to mix and match disk sizes. They also very easy to configure with a web interface, you do not need to be a techy. It is almost set and forget For home use this means you can replace disks as they fail, or when you run out of space you can replace existing disks with larger one's (when they become cheaper. The Golden Rule of RAID is that it provides degrees of redundancy but that is not the same as a Backup. Always keep at least 1 other copy of your treasured music elsewhere. 1
Batty Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I have my music files copied to another disk that is not connected to my NAS box
Demondes Posted June 7, 2013 Posted June 7, 2013 I used to use a Drobo unit, pieces of crap, and I'm not the only one that thinks that, if a the units have a hardware failure you cant just get the drives out plug them into you computer and read the HD's. In fact if the Raid units have hardware failures they will usually corrupt the drives but even if they don't you need to get another unit the same to read the drives, as far as I'm aware this is the same for all Raid Units as they all use a propriety format for the drives. Hardware reliability is another issue. If the design is buggy or the RAID controller fails there is a possibility that you could lose all your data (hence the backup copy). There are a number of ways you can recover from hardware failures, the data is not always lost. If the hardware is fixed you can often restart the disks and RAID or in some case you can recover the data. For example for Synology RAID you can recover the data from a pc and a linux boot cd. http://www.synology.com/support/faq_show.php?lang=enu&q_id=579
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