[SOLVED] Hard drive for OS suggestions

koslaw

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I'm finishing up building a home server computer for myself. But my question is, am I better off installing the OS and other programs on a separate hard drive than the other ones that I'm using for data storage? "I'm going to have my storage drives setup for RAID but wasn't sure if a separate boot drive would be a good idea?



Thanks for your help!
 
Solution
RAID 0 is the very antithesis of and redundancy or backup.
One burp, and all data cross all drives is gone.
And for this use, a RAID 0 is really really not needed.


All the other types of RAID (1, 5, 6, 10..) are only for continued uptime in case of a physical drive fail.
Not a true backup.
Accidental deletion, corruption, ransomware, virus....RAID does nothing for any of that.

Hence, a real backup routine.

Have you already built this system? What are the specs?
I ask, because this sounds like the perfect use for a prebuilt NAS. QNAP or Synology.

koslaw

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I was thinking of going with a RAID 0 or 5 setup but am open to suggestions.

Part of this server is going to be used for streaming videos and music through the PLEX program, and the rest, (majority) is going to be for data storage of large files. The movie files I'm not too worried about being lost if something happens. The larger data files are mostly going to be large video files that need to be kept as a backup for around 6 months before I would be able to delete them. My wife does video editing and needs to keep finished files as a backup for the clients in case they request them. These only need to be kept for up to 6 months. I would like some redundancy in case something fails but it's also very rare, if ever that she needs to send a backup file out.
 

USAFRet

Titan
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RAID 0 is the very antithesis of and redundancy or backup.
One burp, and all data cross all drives is gone.
And for this use, a RAID 0 is really really not needed.


All the other types of RAID (1, 5, 6, 10..) are only for continued uptime in case of a physical drive fail.
Not a true backup.
Accidental deletion, corruption, ransomware, virus....RAID does nothing for any of that.

Hence, a real backup routine.

Have you already built this system? What are the specs?
I ask, because this sounds like the perfect use for a prebuilt NAS. QNAP or Synology.
 
Solution

koslaw

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It is pretty much all built. I just used some old hardware I had from previous computers. (minus the drives). I have a MSI 760GM-P33 mobo w/very low hours and use, AMD Athlon II X2 250 CPU, 8GB RAM, 600watt PSU, and a Cooler Master N200 case.



I should add that I do plan to try and use this for remote storage outside of my personal network at home too, if that makes a difference.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
It is pretty much all built. I just used some old hardware I had from previous computers. (minus the drives). I have a MSI 760GM-P33 mobo w/very low hours and use, AMD Athlon II X2 250 CPU, 8GB RAM, 600watt PSU, and a Cooler Master N200 case.
OK, yeah.
If you have all the parts, then use what you have.

I was in this same place a few years ago. Wanting to 'upgrade' the house server from a low end Windows PC.
Looking at ALL the options, including the OS $, a QNAP NAS won easily.
4 years later, it has proven itself over and over.
 

koslaw

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I think at some point id like to get a NAS server, just trying to watch the budget right now. Since I had 95% of the components I decided to build this for now to save some money, and use it as somewhat of a learning experience.



I've played around with computers here and there and built some desktops, but I'm more of a mechanical person. I do a lot of small engine work and rebuilds. I'm trying to get more into computer stuff too as I do enjoy doing stuff like that as well.
 
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USAFRet

Titan
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BTW thanks for your help and input, and for now would you recommend a RAID 5 or something? I do understand it isn't the best for backup though.
That depends a lot on the drive size and consumed space.
What drives are going in this?

Again, a RAID is only for physical drive death, and if you need the actual continued uptime.
A RAID 5, the data will survive the fail of one drive.

Drive size and data is an issue for rebuild time.
Replacing a dead drive in a RAID 5 might take 1+ hours per GB to rebuild the array.

And it still needs an actual backup. A second (or third) copy of any data.
There are far more ways for your stuff to go byebye than just a dead drive.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I have 3 4TB hard drives and 1 3TB hard drive for storage and I'll probably use a low storage capacity SSD for the OS.
OK....you can't put all 4 of those in any RAID array.
They need to be equal sizes.

3 x 4TB + RAID 5 = 8TB actual space.
3x 4TB + RAID 1 = 4TB actual space.
3x 4TB + 1x 3TB + RAID 5 = 9TB actual space.

I'd just have them as individual drives and drive letters.
Movies on this one, video projects on that one, etc, etc.
 

koslaw

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Ahh ok well that makes sense then, thank you for your help! I'll probably do as you suggested keeping them separate. At some point I'll buy a NAS drive when I get some extra coin. (If there is such a thing). :unsure: