RAID/Backup HD Setup Advice Needed (Hardware & Software)

[Exdeus]

Hello -

I currently have an extra internal HDD that is 500GB that I would like to use as a backup for both my iMac and my new PC. Both are on the same network (iMac is wireless and PC is wired into modem.) My modern is it's own wireless router supplied by the ISP.

I would like to have this HDD set up to automatically back-up my iMac and my PC at the same time on the network if possible. In addition, I would like to use an additional HDD in the next few weeks that I will install for additional direct backup from the PC (basically as an extra HDD).

My questions: What type of hardware do I need for this? I've looked up a few hardware solutions on Newegg and Amazon. Are these good for this? I'd like to keep my budget at or under $100. What is the difference between the ProBox RAID and ProBox Enclosure?

ProBox Enclosure
ProBox RAID
Vantec NexStar

Lastly, in order to do this, how would I set this up and what software would I need? I really don't want something that will slow down my systems and will run in the background to create images/backups of my primary HDD's.

I know this is a broad question, but I really could use the support on what to purchase and how to set this up. Ultimately, I would like both systems to back up to this. I'll have 2 HDD's in there, a 500GB to use as a general storage drive to actively use on one PC and another one that will basically be the backup of the other 2 computers.

Thanks so much for your help and please let me know if you have any questions to help clarify this.

 

[drtweak]

1) None of the NAS Boxes you listed have networking capability so they will have to be plugged into one PC, and then shared out for the other to access it and also if the PC that it's plugged into is turned off the other can't back up.

2) When you setup RAID in these NAS boxes don't setup a RAID 0. use RAID 1, 10, 5. Those have redundancy so if one drive fails it keeps on ticking so long as you replaced the failed drive ASAP

3) RAID it self is NOT a backup! It is a way to expand storage and have fault tolerance. It is not a full on Backup Solutions.

Honestly depending on how much storage you need I would get like 1 big 2 TB Drive and be done with it and don't deal with RAID. And if you do RAID do a RAID 1 which will mirror the two drives (Which must be the same size) then each drive has the same data so if one drive fails you have another drive that is a backup. Most of my clients who backup to hard drive we always give them two drives that they swap out each week so that if the server blows up and takes out the backup drive the extra drive that is safely put away can be used to rebuild their files and never be more than 7 days behind on a backup.

Depedning on your internet speed you might be better purchasing Carbonite for each PC and be done with it and not have to mess with all of this stuff.

But as for backup programs for windows there are a few. The great thing about the built in Windows Backup is that it can restore the ENTIRE PC even the OS if there is an issue. If you just want files I use a program called GFI backup which is free for home use. I use the 2009 version and not the 2012 version.

 

[Exdeus]

I appreciate your response. So I am going to buy one of the non-RAID setups and just connect them manually to the PC and use them as hard drives instead of RAID (I know nothing about RAID honestly).

How do I connect the HDD to both the PC and the iMac when the unit has 1 USB connection?

As for Carbonite, I don't like putting my stuff online. As secure as all of these are, I would rather have them in my home on my own drives instead of somewhere else, as crazy as that may sound. I feel like often times the end user is probably less of a target than these major companies.

Is there a network capable box that would allow me to run them as two separate hard drives and work well for my purpose?

Thanks again for your time!

 

[Calculagator]

What you want to do should be simple but it isn't. I have not used an apple airport/time capsule but you may be able to use one to accomplish what you want. Of course, that will put you way over budget.
The enclosures you are looking at are all very similar and I doubt you want any of them. You don't want RAID since you only have one or two disks. RAID will just add to the cost without giving you any added security. A RAID enclosure may be fine, but you won't be using the RAID features.
None of the solutions you listed are able to connect directly to the network: they are only useful if you don't have enough space inside your computer to install the disks you need. Since you are only adding one disk, you probably have an extra internal SATA port you can just use and get exactly the same or better performance.
Here are three options:
1. Install the drives into your PC and use your PC as a backup server for itself and the imac. You can use windows backup to schedule regular backups to your extra disk. You can share the disk over the network as well so that your mac can connect. It is possible to use timemachine to backup to a network share. This is a bad option: it requires your PC to be on in order for your mac backups to be functional. If your PC gets hit by a surge it may kill both the PC and all your backups. While a Mac can backup to a windows share over the network, it is difficult to set up (It was for me, anyway, last time I tried it a few years ago) and unreliable. Backing up your entire imac over a wifi network may take hours for each backup and if it fails, it may need to start over from the beginning.
2. Buy an external drive or external usb enclosure for your spare drive. Format it with two partitions from your mac: one HFS+ for mac backups and one NTFS for PC backups. You will need to move your dive around and plug it in to the machine you want to backup. Both windows and mac can be set to follow a schedule and remind you to connect your backup drive. This is the simplest and least expensive solution but also the least convenient because it requires you to remember to backup.
3. Buy/build a NAS or TimeCapsule. Something like the Synology ds215 can hold two disks and can be used for pc/mac backup using windows backup/time machine. It can also just function as a network server for sharing documents and/or media. They aren't that difficult to setup. Some are even able to connect with cloud backup providers so that you can have an off-site backup. You may still have trouble backup up your imac over wifi because of the slow connection speed. It will also cost more, but it will do what you actually want (if I understand you correctly). The DS115 is closer to your budget but will only hold a single disk.

 

[Exdeus]

I appreciate the replies so far! Maybe I will just purchase a Time Capsule down the road for the iMac and buy a RAID enclosure to keep an extra HDD or two in for my PC.

Let me throw one more option here that would be new to me. I have an old HP desktop that the video card died in and I pulled the HDD from. I could use the onboard video and set this up as a server to store the data on my home network on. Would this be a better option that any of the above?

Thank you all very much for the information so far!

I guess my question is, when you look at major companies that backup all of their data, how do they do it, and how do I dumb it down and have an efficient method to do that for both a PC and iMac? Let's pretend my new budget was $300-$400. What would that look like then?

 

[Calculagator]

I would still vote for a synology NAS or TimeCapsule--either one can handle all of your backup and storage needs. If you prefer to DIY, however, you can install nas4free or FreeNAS on an old machine to use as a server/NAS. As long as you have gigabit ethernet and 1GB or so of RAM, you should be fine. It may be cheaper, but it will take a lot of time and if you use it long term, it will burn through a lot of power.
Major companies store all important data on file servers and back those up to multiple locations. They are unlikely to use macs.

 

[drtweak]

Here are a few things you can get for what you want to do.

2- bays

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822165642&cm_re=NAS-_-22-165-642-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822102085&cm_re=NAS-_-22-102-085-_-Product

4 Bays

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G22K5936&cm_re=NAS-_-22-165-611-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822102092&cm_re=NAS-_-22-102-092-_-Product

These are good examples of Driveless NAS's which is what you want (Network Attached Storage)

These are usually pretty easy to setup, they support RAID 0, 1, and JBOD (Just a Bunch Of Disk), which JBOD is what you want to use as that will see each drive as a drive itself.

The 4 bays are nice if you ever want to expand but will cost more. These will work with ANY OS for the most part because they can be accessed as a network drive, FTP, ect.