- Apr 1, 2008
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I am building a WHS 2011 server. Its primary job will be as a DLNA media server and its secondary role will be as central storage & backup of client PC's in my home. The OS drive will be a 120GB SSD that backs up to a 2.5" 500GB external USB powered drive, so the system storage is covered.
What I need help with is how to best setup the media & data/backup storage. Below is what I have to work with...
2x HGST 3TB NAS drives
2x WD RED 3TB drives
2x WD Green 3TB drives
1x External Seagate 3TB USB 3.0 drive.
1x External 2-bay Raid enclosure USB 3.0, currently empty.
My current plan is to setup both HGST drives in a 6TB RAID-0 array using the motherboard(Intel) and that will be my Media storage partition as they are the fastest drives I have. Speed is key here as I will be streaming HD video from these drives. As for their backup, I will put both WD Green drives into the external RAID enclosure as a 6TB RAID-0 array and use it to backup the HGST drives. I think I will just preform manual backups of my media collection since it wont change that often. This way, I don't have to keep that RAID enclosure on 24/7 as I coubt it is very efficient.
I will use both WD Red drives in a 6TB RAID-0 array using the motherboard(Intel) and that will be my Data storage partition. I don't forsee using a lot of this partition, so for now, the 3TB External drive will be its automatic backup and I will buy a larger backup drive when it goes beyond 3TB of data.
Here are a couple of the options I am wrestling with...
1. Should I setup the Data partition as a 3TB RAID-1 array instead to help give me extra protection for my data?
2. Should I use Windows for one or both of the RAID arrays instead of using the motherboard?
3. Should I use the WD Red drives in the external RAID enclosure and leave it on 24/7 and use the WD Green drives for the Data partition?
4. Should I split the Data partition into two separate partitions, ie not use RAID, and just have one 3TB drive for client backups and one 3TB drive for centralized storage?
Options 3 & 4 do make a lot of sense as the system doesn't need to manage a 2nd RAID array and the WD Green drives are not that great for RAID. Plus if either drive fails, I could always upgrade it to a larger drive. The 3TB external drive should be able to back up both drives as long as the total storage doesn't exceed 3TB and when it does, would just need to buy a 2nd 3TB external drive so both drives would have a 1-1 backup solution.
Any opinions on my current setup or suggestions on how to best utilize the hardware I have to accomplish my goals would be welcomed!
*UPDATE*
I forgot to add that all of my storage equipment is brand new except for one of the WD Green drives(slightly used) and the 3TB external drive(heavily used).
What I need help with is how to best setup the media & data/backup storage. Below is what I have to work with...
2x HGST 3TB NAS drives
2x WD RED 3TB drives
2x WD Green 3TB drives
1x External Seagate 3TB USB 3.0 drive.
1x External 2-bay Raid enclosure USB 3.0, currently empty.
My current plan is to setup both HGST drives in a 6TB RAID-0 array using the motherboard(Intel) and that will be my Media storage partition as they are the fastest drives I have. Speed is key here as I will be streaming HD video from these drives. As for their backup, I will put both WD Green drives into the external RAID enclosure as a 6TB RAID-0 array and use it to backup the HGST drives. I think I will just preform manual backups of my media collection since it wont change that often. This way, I don't have to keep that RAID enclosure on 24/7 as I coubt it is very efficient.
I will use both WD Red drives in a 6TB RAID-0 array using the motherboard(Intel) and that will be my Data storage partition. I don't forsee using a lot of this partition, so for now, the 3TB External drive will be its automatic backup and I will buy a larger backup drive when it goes beyond 3TB of data.
Here are a couple of the options I am wrestling with...
1. Should I setup the Data partition as a 3TB RAID-1 array instead to help give me extra protection for my data?
2. Should I use Windows for one or both of the RAID arrays instead of using the motherboard?
3. Should I use the WD Red drives in the external RAID enclosure and leave it on 24/7 and use the WD Green drives for the Data partition?
4. Should I split the Data partition into two separate partitions, ie not use RAID, and just have one 3TB drive for client backups and one 3TB drive for centralized storage?
Options 3 & 4 do make a lot of sense as the system doesn't need to manage a 2nd RAID array and the WD Green drives are not that great for RAID. Plus if either drive fails, I could always upgrade it to a larger drive. The 3TB external drive should be able to back up both drives as long as the total storage doesn't exceed 3TB and when it does, would just need to buy a 2nd 3TB external drive so both drives would have a 1-1 backup solution.
Any opinions on my current setup or suggestions on how to best utilize the hardware I have to accomplish my goals would be welcomed!
*UPDATE*
I forgot to add that all of my storage equipment is brand new except for one of the WD Green drives(slightly used) and the 3TB external drive(heavily used).
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