msm
Well-Known Member
Need some advise please:
In the next month or so, I plan on consolidating my home media in a single location. Already decided on a USB 3.0 external 4 disk enclosure (Nexstar HX4R in RAID 5 config) that will be connected to my Mac Mini (which is currently my media server).
My requirements:
1) I currently have about 1TB of data, which I expect to grow to around 3TB in the next 12-18 months. Can't really predict beyond that.
2) I can use either RAID 5 or RAID 1, so that I can tolerate at least one disk failure. Only considering NAS type drives and pricing below is based on TakeAlot for now.
3) After 12-18 months, I don't mind throwing out all the drives and re-looking at this again, based on what the new price points will be for drives. Old drives can be re-used as off-line backup, so won't really go wasted.
Need some advise on options, to effectively give me the best bang for back now (I'm rounding up a bit in my calcs).
Here are the options:
1) 4 x 1TB drives (RAID 5), which gives me around 3TB . Cost per drive is around R720 (Toshiba NAS), which effectively gives 3TB for R2880 (R0.96/TB).
2) 3 x 2TB drives (RAID 5), which gives me around 4TB. Cost per drive is around R1250 (WD Red), which effectively gives 4TB for R3750 (R0.94/TB).
3) 2 x 3TB drives (RAID 1), which gives me around 3TB. Cost per drive is around R1550 (WD Red), which effectively gives 3TB for R3100 (R1.03/TB)
I'm leaning towards option 1 because 1TB NAS drives appear to be discounted most at the moment and are offering the cheapest price point. Option 2 is also logical because I have a bit of growth (4TB vs 3TB), but realistically won't use the additional space now. Option3 is also attractive because I can buy another 2 x 3TB drives in a year or 2 and change to RAID 5.
Any good drive specials between now and early December will obviously affect my price assumptions.
Suggestions, comments and advise welcome. Anything I'm overlooking...
In the next month or so, I plan on consolidating my home media in a single location. Already decided on a USB 3.0 external 4 disk enclosure (Nexstar HX4R in RAID 5 config) that will be connected to my Mac Mini (which is currently my media server).
My requirements:
1) I currently have about 1TB of data, which I expect to grow to around 3TB in the next 12-18 months. Can't really predict beyond that.
2) I can use either RAID 5 or RAID 1, so that I can tolerate at least one disk failure. Only considering NAS type drives and pricing below is based on TakeAlot for now.
3) After 12-18 months, I don't mind throwing out all the drives and re-looking at this again, based on what the new price points will be for drives. Old drives can be re-used as off-line backup, so won't really go wasted.
Need some advise on options, to effectively give me the best bang for back now (I'm rounding up a bit in my calcs).
Here are the options:
1) 4 x 1TB drives (RAID 5), which gives me around 3TB . Cost per drive is around R720 (Toshiba NAS), which effectively gives 3TB for R2880 (R0.96/TB).
2) 3 x 2TB drives (RAID 5), which gives me around 4TB. Cost per drive is around R1250 (WD Red), which effectively gives 4TB for R3750 (R0.94/TB).
3) 2 x 3TB drives (RAID 1), which gives me around 3TB. Cost per drive is around R1550 (WD Red), which effectively gives 3TB for R3100 (R1.03/TB)
I'm leaning towards option 1 because 1TB NAS drives appear to be discounted most at the moment and are offering the cheapest price point. Option 2 is also logical because I have a bit of growth (4TB vs 3TB), but realistically won't use the additional space now. Option3 is also attractive because I can buy another 2 x 3TB drives in a year or 2 and change to RAID 5.
Any good drive specials between now and early December will obviously affect my price assumptions.
Suggestions, comments and advise welcome. Anything I'm overlooking...
