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Anyone use 3.5" HD docking stations for massive data backup?
Alex Witkowicz, Photographer
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Denver | Co | USA | Posted: 12:28 AM on 07.09.10 |
->> Specifically this set up: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/voyager
I'm doing an increasing amount of video work, and the amount of storage required is insane. My latest short film is only 6 minutes long, and the final project size is 75GB's. I'm working on one now that is well over 150GB's. So I need lots o' storage.
With the HD docking setup, I like the idea of being able to swap out 3.5" drives at will, and to easily be able to store a copy of the raw files off-site while the project is in motion. Once it's complete, I can store the final project permanently on a ~200GB drive, and hopefully never have to use that drive again. Drives are cheap so that seems like a reasonable cost to build into production.
What do you all think? Are there other affordable options besides buying an endless supply of external hard drives? I'm using a FW800 2TB RAID1 setup now, with a bunch of smaller slower external drives, which is a pain, and is usually on-site. Thoughts? |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 12:37 AM on 07.09.10 |
->> That seems pretty reasonable... As long as you have the right cases to protect the drives after they've been unplugged and are in transit/storage - desktop HDD's don't like static and shocks! The methodology seems reasonable too - as long as there's another copy, one drive failing isn't the end of the world.
I'm actually watching Chase Jarvis's backup/data management video right now - it's at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-6EQo6it7Y |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer
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Denver | CO | USA | Posted: 2:09 AM on 07.09.10 |
| ->> I have two internal removable hard drive bays that I use for archiving my files. When I need to access them I put the drive in need into an external bay like the one you linked to. Works great. |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 9:30 AM on 07.09.10 |
->> Alex I have used a docking station similar to the one that you linked. My experience was that as the transfers increased in size the drive generated more heat than could be shed by convection. Two of my WD drives would overheat and start throwing errors. I actually had to aim a desk fan onto the docking station to allow the rig to work for more than 45 minutes.
For me I went with a Drobo Pro and also installed two hd bays that allowed for hot swapping drives on the fly. The case that I built the current computer in has more fans than an 80's boy band and everything in there stays frosty AND I get the 3/gb speed of the drives instead of USB speeds.
If you have to go with a docking setup look for something with active (fan) cooling. Convection cooling leaves a lot to be desired.
E |
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Jack Kurtz, Photographer
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Phoenix | AZ | United States | Posted: 10:12 AM on 07.09.10 |
->> I have that unit and it works well. I use it to back up photos (my main archive lives on a OWC Mercury 1TB drive (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_...) and I back those up to drives in the Voyager dock. Then I lock those drives up when not in use. I can't speak to the heat issue - mine is only on for a few minutes a day, when I'm copying photos to it. So far there haven't been any problems.
jack |
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Keith Simonian, Photographer
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Butch Miller, Photographer
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Lock Haven | PA | USA | Posted: 11:49 AM on 07.09.10 |
->> I use the USB2/FW800/eSATA Voyager to backup my main working drives ... never had a heat issue either as the backups are short duration ... the Voyager does cost a little more but with the options for connectivity are quite nice and worth the investment.
I use the Anti-Static Drive Case from Wiebetech to store all off-line or off-site backup drives. You can get a case of 10 with free shipping for a little over $55 on ebay.
http://www.wiebetech.com/products/cases.php |
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James Broome, Photographer
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Tampa | FL | US | Posted: 3:56 PM on 07.09.10 |
| ->> I also use the BlacX that Keith uses. Nice product. |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 1:56 AM on 07.10.10 |
| ->> Had a couple of similar units and both have crapped out on me after a year or so. Bit the bullet and bought larger, enclosed, 4-drive, fan-cooled RAID bays. Much happier now. |
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Harrison Shull, Photographer
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Fayetteville, WV | Asheville, NC | | Posted: 7:59 AM on 07.10.10 |
| ->> I had a BlacX by Thermaltake and it just quit working one day. As a workaround, I just bought extensions for my SATA power and data ribbon cables and ran them outside the case on my tower. Now I just plug and unplug bare drives in seconds and do my backups. This almost works better than the BlacX with the exeption that it is not portable. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 8:01 AM on 07.10.10 |
->> The heat issues wouldn't be hard to solve - a small desk fan would work.
Or, you could use a small enclosure that has a few extra features (fans, extra connections, a little more protection, etc) - like this one: http://www.cooldrives.com/qucosaiienes.html
Still cheaper than a RAID array, but a much more long-term solution. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 8:08 AM on 07.10.10 |
| ->> Or maybe the second link is to one just like it without a fan... I'm clocking out... |
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