External Storage Recommendations

[bandit385]

I'm seeking external storage recommendations (hardware/software setup, manufacturers, etc).
Priorities are:
1. Reliability / longevity,
2. Speed
3. Security
4. Ease of installation.

Current setup is an internal raid (2 ea - 1.5 GB HDs) driven by my motherboard (Asus) for documents, files, desktop, etc. used on daily basis (drive D)

Program files are on a SSD (drive C)

Also, use an external hard drive to backup my D drive from time to time.

Considering a: NAS, separate stand-alone computer, Portable/external Raid storage.

I looked several years ago at NASs, but then I discovered that my motherboard at on board RAID, so I ended up using that. Now, do to aging equipment, I'm looking again at external storage. I also will probably be upgrading my desktop computer in the near future, so the on board internal raid may not be an option.

 

[gangrel]

How much are you looking to back up, and to what level of protection? That is: if you want to back up everything, fine...but there may be files you want to save to the cloud as well.

And what's your budget? Newegg is showing several 4Gb external Seagate drives for $110-$140. A 4-bay NAS lets you go RAID 5, and that's going to be much more reliable...but even with smaller individual drives (2Tb might be the sweet spot), the overall cost is gonna be pretty high.

And for the important files, I installed SpiderOak recently, for saving certain files I do NOT want to lose. It lets me set up shared folders that are syncronized (across 4 machines) AND backed up to the cloud. It's free, BUT with only limited cloud storage...but that's plenty.

 

[soldier5637]

Toshiba external HDD's are what I like. USB 3.0 connectivity, super transfer rates. I got a 1 terabyte drive, looks good and it was affordable. Had it for quite some time.

 

[bandit385]

I have about 400 GB of files on my D drive which is managed in a RAID 1 configuration by my motherboard. I use this as my master document/desktop drive for storage (not exclusively as backup storage as I also backup to an external HD periodically.)

I am looking for a similar setup, but using external storage medium for my document storage. I'm not looking for cloud storage, but maybe it could supplement in my storage strategy somehow.

My budget is around $400-$500. I want something more than a single external hard drive, but not as much as a RAID 5 server.

 

[gangrel]

Then your best bet is likely a 2-bay NAS, and most of them should support RAID 1 with no problem. Newegg has several examples running around $100 to $150, without disks, and 2Tb WD Red drives are about $100 each, so that's within budget. Once you say you want more than a single drive, this feels better. You could go with a disk docking station, which would be a good bit cheaper, but I don't really think they're intended for long-term connectivity.

 

[bandit385]

I am leaning toward an external desktop HD in a RAID 1 configuration with either a USB 3.0 or e-sata port (ie. WD My Book Duo) over a NAS. I know with a NAS, I could get remote central storage for multiple devices, but I feel it wouldn't be as fast as what I'm use to with the internal setup I currently have with the on-board RAID. Are there any other advantages a NAS would have over the external HD? Also, are there any tools that I can use to test the speed of my current setup? (My OS is Windows 7, 64Bit)

 

[AJammy]

I am leaning toward an external desktop HD in a RAID 1 configuration with either a USB 3.0 or e-sata port (ie. WD My Book Duo) over a NAS. I know with a NAS, I could get remote central storage for multiple devices, but I feel it wouldn't be as fast as what I'm use to with the internal setup I currently have with the on-board RAID. Are there any other advantages a NAS would have over the external HD? Also, are there any tools that I can use to test the speed of my current setup? (My OS is Windows 7, 64Bit)

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[bandit385]

Here are the setups I'm considering:

1) 2 bay external desktop HD in a Raid 1 configuration connected directly to my computer via USB 3

2) 2 bay external desktop HD in a Raid 1 configuration connected directly to my computer via eSATA

3) 2 bay external desktop HD in a Raid 1 configuration connected directly to a wireless router via USB 3

4) 2 bay external desktop HD in a Raid 1 configuration connected directly to a wireless router via eSATA

5) 2 bay NAS in a Raid 1 configuration connected directly to a wireless router / remote RJ45 jack via cat 5


Speed test on my current HDs are as follows:

A) internal SSD SATA II(Drive C): 248 MB/s W, 262 MB/s R

B) internal HD onboard RAID 1 ASUS p5Q Deluxe SATA II( Drive D): 49 MB/s W, 72 MB/s R

c) external HD USB 3: 84 MB/s W, 84 MB/s R

Any recommendations on which set-up/ hardware models would get speeds at least 84 Mb/s based on my external USB hard drive?

It looks like some NASs may work (i.e. Synology DS214+, WD EX2100), but I don't have any experience with real life transfer speeds on a NAS. Also, as an alternative, would an external USB 3.0 hard drive connected to a router via USB 3.0 give the same or better speeds than a NAS connected to a ethernet jack? Any advantages of one vs. the other?

Thanks.