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From: Daddy on 2 Sep 2009 09:25
Christopher Muto wrote:
> the most common hardware failures are disk and powersupply.
> this is why raid (redundant array of inexpensive disks) and redundant
> powersupplies are found in virtually every server.
> it will not prevent all types of failures but statistically will greatly
> improve uptime.
> your mileage may vary, and it is no substitute for backup.
>
> "Daddy" <daddy(a)invalid.invalid> wrote in message
> news:h7jqja$dmj$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
>> I understand the value of mirroring in RAID 1 (and RAID 5.) What I don't
>> understand is how a home user benefits from storing a mirrored copy of
>> their data right next to the original drive in a computer or NAS.
>>
>> Your mirrored copy is not going to help you if your computer or NAS
>> suffers hardware failure or gets stolen.
>>
>> I can see how RAID 1 (or RAID 5) could benefit a live system where uptime
>> is essential, say, an airline reservation system, where you don't want to
>> take the time to restore the system from a backup.
>>
>> For a home user, however, I thought backups are supposed to be stored away
>> from the source: on an external drive (that you can move anywhere or take
>> with you) or on a remote network drive, for example.
>>
>> Therefore, it seems to me that for your stereotypical home user, like me,
>> a RAID 1 (and therefore RAID 5) setup offers no real benefit over
>> traditional backing up.
>>
>> If anyone agrees or disagrees I'd be interested to hear your opinions.
>>
>> Daddy
>
>

Thanks to everyone for your help and information. I actually took notes
from this thread!

Daddy
From: Christopher Muto on 3 Sep 2009 19:41
tape rocks. it is just too expensive to use in a home.
putting 1.6tb of data at 240mb/s on a single cartridge that can be taken
off site has no rival.
online backup is nice but it is not cheap and it is very slow to get the
initial backup completed, does not provide a bare metal restore, and
miserably slow to get your data back down in the event of a catastrophic
failure. guess what the online backup people do to get you your data back
to you quickly... put it on a tape and mail it to you. external hard disks
are good, but they are not backup in the sense that i think of it; they lack
versioning and are not off site. but for a home user having a copy of your
data
on a external hard disk is probably good enough for most needs as home users
by and large are only likely to experience a hard disk failure and not
fire/flood/theft.

"Ben Myers" <ben_myers(a)charter.net> wrote in message
news:h7kt4f$nqi$1(a)news.eternal-september.org...
> Daddy wrote:
>> I understand the value of mirroring in RAID 1 (and RAID 5.) What I don't
>> understand is how a home user benefits from storing a mirrored copy of
>> their data right next to the original drive in a computer or NAS.
>>
>> Your mirrored copy is not going to help you if your computer or NAS
>> suffers hardware failure or gets stolen.
>>
>> I can see how RAID 1 (or RAID 5) could benefit a live system where uptime
>> is essential, say, an airline reservation system, where you don't want to
>> take the time to restore the system from a backup.
>>
>> For a home user, however, I thought backups are supposed to be stored
>> away from the source: on an external drive (that you can move anywhere or
>> take with you) or on a remote network drive, for example.
>>
>> Therefore, it seems to me that for your stereotypical home user, like me,
>> a RAID 1 (and therefore RAID 5) setup offers no real benefit over
>> traditional backing up.
>>
>> If anyone agrees or disagrees I'd be interested to hear your opinions.
>>
>> Daddy
>
> You're spot on with your analysis, also applicable to small businesses up
> to a certain size. An external drive makes a lot of sense. So do some of
> the remote backup services, for some. I guess that explains the
> popularity of the remote backup, and the growing number of companies that
> offer it.
>
> No matter what backup procedure or service one uses, it is always nice to
> be able to check it out to see if it actually works for restoring data.
> Then, when disaster strikes, getting back to normal is something of a done
> deal. (And that explains why I think that tape backup sucks, always has
> and always will. Tape is too damned flimsy for me.)
>
> ... Ben Myers





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