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looking for opinions on hotswap SATA drives as a viable backup solution
I'm in the process of putting together a new backup solution for one
of our file servers and I wanted to throw my idea out there and see what sort of flaws there are in the plan, that I can't see myself. We've got a server that has outgrown its current tape backup (40/80 dlt). The server will eventually pass 100gb of data. If I want to stay with tapes, I have to move up to a 100/200 LTO option which puts the drive cost alone at about $3000+, plus tapes. While this is definitely a viable option, it's still somewhat limited. The data we have on this server isn't going to compress much more than it already is, so basically when we hit 100gb, we have to shell out for another new tape system. My plan was to setup hotswap SATA drives and use backup to disk folders in backupexec. More specifically I would probably go with a good SATA raid controller (raidcore or 3ware), a single SATA removable enclosure (+ trays for each drive) and 10 160gb SATA drives. This would give me a ten day rotation of backups with plenty of future space as our needs grow. It also allows for easier upgades in the future, once we surpass the 160gb barrier the current drives would have. All this for under $2000. I am well aware of the potential hazards of using HD's as a backup media as far as shock is concerned. If someone accidently drops one of the drives, we could very well have lost that days backup. Beyond this, are there any other potential problems anyone can point out in this plan? Also, if anyone has a better solution, please feel free to share it. From where I sit, tape backup is a dead horse. Average storage needs in the industry has far outpaced what tape backup options can deliver on a cost/size basis. I'm trying to be as progressive as possible without making more problems for myself down the road. Thanks! |
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This sounds like it would work, but I would still look at a tape drive
solution. We use an exabyte M2 mammouth and I love the drive. I backup data in excess of 650 MB per minute. I see one on ebay for $750 (buy it now) but the going price is $400. Each tape will run about $86. This is a much better alternative. Plus, with a tape drive you can have an offsite backup (something you must do in order to have total protection). Just my two cents worth. |
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I'm in the process of putting together a new backup solution for one
of our file servers and I wanted to throw my idea out there and see what sort of flaws there are in the plan, that I can't see myself. We've got a server that has outgrown its current tape backup (40/80 dlt). The server will eventually pass 100gb of data. If I want to stay with tapes, I have to move up to a 100/200 LTO option which puts the drive cost alone at about $3000+, plus tapes. While this is definitely a viable option, it's still somewhat limited. The data we have on this server isn't going to compress much more than it already is, so basically when we hit 100gb, we have to shell out for another new tape system. Another good tape drive is the Exabyte VXA-2 drive (80 / 160 GB) for about $950 (internal) at www.pcconnection.com . The tapes are about $90 each. That is what I am using right now. I am thinking about moving to USB2 external drives. You can get WD 200 GB USB2 drives for about $290 at www.allstarshop.com . They are bulky though and do weigh about 5 pounds. We have 3 spinning daily backup hard drives that we use robocopy to make direct images of all the drives on the network. The advantage of this is that your backup can be read on any pc that supports USB (and either FAT32 or NTFS5/5.1). Thanks, Lynn |
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