Planning to RAID some old drives for the first time and was wondering if I can use the array as a backup.

slapfactory

Prominent
Dec 2, 2017
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510
I have a pile of drives that I'm thinking of re-purposing into a RAID array and had some questions that I can't seem to find a definitive answer to;

1. I've read everywhere that you should NOT consider RAID as a backup solution. I could be wrong but I believe these sites are talking about expecting RAID to be a backup on its own. Can I make an array in my machine of some old drives for the express purpose of backing up the main drives I'm using?

To reiterate; I would be using a few new drives I have for work and other general use but the RAIDed array would be used to back up the new drives. Is this an acceptable use of a RAID array or should a RAID array NEVER be used for backup ever?

2. I've read that I CAN use drives of different sizes. Downside is that the lowest size drive will be the limit of the array. I've also read you can use drives of different speeds and it will have a performance drop but is it a similar situation to the size limitation?

If I have 5 of one speed and 1 of a different speed (higher or lower) what would the effect be?

3. Related to the previous question; I currently have 4 1TB drives and 2 2TB drives that I'm considering using for this RAID setup. They range wildly in brand and speed. Is it possible to span the for 1TB drives into 2TB drives to combine with the other 2 2TB drives (making a total of 4 2TB drives?

As you can tell I'm very new to RAID stuff so any info would be greatly appreciated!
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
1. RAID, by itself, is not a backup.
A "backup" is a second copy of your data. This may live in a RAID array, or on individual drives.

2. Different size drives.
This is simply a waste of drive space.
For instance...a 1TB + 2TB RAID 1 (mirror) = a 1TB RAID array. You're simply wasting 1/2 of the 2TB drive.
A RAID 0 with those drives = a 2TB array.

3. Different speed drives. Generally, it will run at the speed of the slowest drive.


Aside from curiosity, what is your desire for this RAID concept?
You can...the RAID array will present to you and the OS as a single drive of whatever size.
But why?
 

slapfactory

Prominent
Dec 2, 2017
3
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510
I've used RAID for storage before (never have set it up myself, though). That was a while ago when I did primarily video work. I now do 3D work and am using my own system so I was interested in backing up work related files myself. The individual files I end up working with can obscenely large.

I was also thinking since I have a pile of these hard drives (I've learned that it's actually more than I initially posted) rather than waste all of them I could reuse some of the more current ones for backup.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Using them as secondary backup drives is no problem. Everyone needs more backups.
Adding RAID to the mix does nothing of any import.
 

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