Raid 1 question

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nelis

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Hi there.

I have a question regarding Software raid 1. Let me start saying this is windows based software raid. Can I take out 1 of the drives in the raid array and plug it into another pc and read it as a normal disk
 
That will depend entirely on the software.. If you're using Windows Disk Manager to manage the array, then you might be in luck. ( If you move it to another machine running the same version of Windows, ofcourse )
 
I'm going to post another question here as I don't want to make new thread. What do you guys think of Qnap Nas solutions? They expensive but when it comes to data protection for a small company it's not a problem to spend R8k. just want to make sure I'm spending R8k for a good reason.
 
nelis said:
I'm going to post another question here as I don't want to make new thread. What do you guys think of Qnap Nas solutions? They expensive but when it comes to data protection for a small company it's not a problem to spend R8k. just want to make sure I'm spending R8k for a good reason.
Click to expand...

Save yourself some time and get a HP Microserver, RAIDZ2 ( FreeNAS, or FreeBSD ), toss 4x3TB disks in, and get 6TB of usable space out of it with a two disk failiure tolerance.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
The only reason I would remove a disk from an array is if it was broken and needed replacing :D
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I think there are temptations of using RAID 1 for removable drive as a replacement for frequent (daily) off-site backups. Remove the drive and store in the safe place for a night, then next morning plug it back. If the person come late, server will be operational on single drive, it will synchronise later. Basic system don't have to be hot-swappabable. If equipment is stolen during the night, a new server can be up and running in 10 minutes.
Simple solution for small office with little maintenance requirements. Any opinion?
 
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I have a spare pc. i3 1st gen with about 9 Sata ports that I can use for the freenas build. Do you guys think I should go with the RAIDZ2 or RAIDZ option and just start filling the server up with 4 drives and work from there?

maybe 4 of these 2-4TB drives

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=30

or 4 of these 2-4TB drives

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=810

I'm also planning on installing freenas on a Flash drive. having a cable from back of motherboard into the case letting it stay there forever.
 
sajunky said:
I think there are temptations of using RAID 1 for removable drive as a replacement for frequent (daily) off-site backups. Remove the drive and store in the safe place for a night, then next morning plug it back. If the person come late, server will be operational on single drive, it will synchronise later. Basic system don't have to be hot-swappabable. If equipment is stolen during the night, a new server can be up and running in 10 minutes.
Simple solution for small office with little maintenance requirements. Any opinion?
Click to expand...

Thought about trying something like this a couple of years ago but chickened out. Should work OK in theory but I get a bit paranaoid with any system where data syncs - there's always a failure mode where your crap data can overwrite the stuff you want to keep.

By all means use a NAS with RAID something for storing your files (or even for near line backup) but for reliable recovery like you're talking about, I'm only really comfortable with backing up to removable devices that get cycled and taken offsite regularly.
 
FlatspinZA said:
Windows software RAID should be fine. No need for hardware RAID in your instance.
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Not planning on hardware raid. I was thinking of rather going with nas4free cause freenas is not the same as the old freenass. Freenas is actually called nas4free now.
 
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