Sometime ago I posted a request for recommended Raid and backup configuration and settled on the following:

Boot Drive (Programs): Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 150, 10,000 RPM, 8MB Cache (WD740GD)

Data Drives: Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB SATA, 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache (WD4000YR) 2-Configured as Raid-0

Backup Drive: 1-Western Digital Caviar RE2 400GB SATA, 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache (WD4000YR)

As expected, I've run out of backup drive space. After giving this considerable thought I've come up with a few possibilities to remedy the problem:

1. Re-use the Backup Drive (3rd 400GB WD4000YR) by combining it with the other Data Drives as a Raid-5 -
Downside: Redundancy would help in the event of single drive crash but might slow system too much?

2. Replace the current Backup Drive with a larger Seagate Barracuda 750GB Hard Drive? -
Downside: Pricey but doable. I recall previous issue with Maxtor drives and the Asus mobo, is this an issue with Seagate as well?

3. Replace the Raid-0 setup with the Seagate Barracuda 750GB drive and use the 3-400GB WD4000YR drives as a Raid-5 for backup? -
Downside: Again, pricey and possibly more vulnerable due to complexity of having several drives as backup. Although, Raid-5 should be more tolerant in the event of a single drive crash?

BTW, using the current arrangement and compressing files down to fit the 400GB drive will take 16+ hours so I pretty much ruled this out.

Obviously, I would like to minimize expenses and make use of current hardware but not sure I have much choice, any additional ideas would be appreciated?

Thanks

My first question would be this: what are you using to back up your system? Unless your data drives are almost entirely pictures and movies, you should get good enough compression from a good backup program to back up the whole system three or four times. Check out Acronis True Image. Newegg runs it for about $30 plus shipping. Install that and run a full backup once a week with incremental backups every two days. That should be more than enough to hold two weeks worth on the backup drive. Every two weeks, delete the older full and incremental backups just before the next full backup. If you feel the need to keep more than two weeks worth of full backups, get a second 400GB and an external enclosure.

I think, as Arlie says, you are confusing backup and extra storage.

Which is it that you want to do?

To answer Arlie's first question I am backing audio and video files. Right now my 2-400GB Raid-0 drives that I store "my documents" in are running 478 GB Used (266 GB Free).

As for Acronis True Image, that is exactly what I use. I'm backing up my C-Drive, 15.6 GB Used (53.5 GB Free) and the 2-400GB Raid-0 drives to a 3rd 400GB drive. As previously mentioned, I'm maxed out with more files on the way.

Sorry for not being more clear. At this point I'm trying to figure out how to increase my backup capacity for the least expense - that is what I was referring to within my initial post, any ideas?

Thanks again

OK, with video and audio files, you don't get much compression. You have a couple of options, depending on what you want to do. You can opt for a bigger backup drive, or you can split your backups. Given that Audio and video files don't change, I would opt for a cheap and big drive, back up all I can on it, and then just set it aside. Then run incrementals on your 400.

Thanks Arlie, but I still have some questions regarding which drive configuration works best.

1- Assuming I decide to go with the Seagate Barracuda 750GB, I recall sometime ago other forum users recommended staying away from Maxtor drives due to potential conflicts with the A8N Premium mobo. Now that Seagate owns Maxtor, is there compatibility issues with this drive too? Anyone using this combo successfully here?

2- Also, if the answer to the first question is no and no issues exist, would it be better to configure the 750GB drive for "my docs" (D-Drive) and reconfigure the current Raid-0 (2-WD 400GB drives) as backup?

From a purely simplistic point of view it makes sense to me that a single drive might be slightly more reliable than 2 configured in raid. Obviously if a single 750 GB drive fails, it's all gone. If one of 2 Raid-0 drives fails, it's pretty much the same.

Also, there is a small size advantage to having 800GB as backup, sort of like a small buffer?

And just to add more confusion to the mix, if I setup the system with the 750GB as the D-Drive and use the 2-WD 400GB drives as a Raid-0 backup as mentioned, it leaves me with another WD 400 GB drive (current backup drive) leftover.

3- Realizing Raid-5 is slower than either Raid-0 or 1, would it not make sense to add it to the backup solution? After all using a Raid-5 arrangement would provide 1200GB of storage and if 1 of the 3 drives fails in Raid-5, it's possible to salvage the data, right?

Thanks again.

hiptech-
My first question is when you say back up are you talking about an external back up drive or one connected to the system continuously. Remember, if the drive is connected as a normal setup then it is more stroage than backup since any virus or catastrophic failure could effect your back up unless it is physically disconnected from the system thorugh an e-sata, USB or firewire connection in an external enclosure.

I wouldn't use RAID 0 for back up purposes. If one drive fails kiss all the data goodbye.

I think I would purchase a second Raptor and set the two up as a RAID 0 with the OS on a small 10-15GB partition, a second partition on the array would then contain all your programs and other stuff that would require a reinstall if the OS got corrupted and/or also required fast read/write times. Use the two 400GB drives as standalone storage connected permanently but not in RAID. Purchase a 750GB SATA and stick it in an external enclosure connected through firewire or a plug in e-SATA card. The present 400GB back up should be pulled and stored or put into its own external enclosure.

This would give you very fast loads and HDD operations while providing a safer storage since the two 400GB drives are now standalone. External back up is safer for myriad reasons and the enclosures are not that expensive.

- Thank you very much Merc for your reply, you've given me some new things to consider.

I'm not all that familiar with Acronis so I'll defer to some others to answer those questions. Having the OS on its own partition will help protect the rest of the partitions from those viruses that effect the C: drive only. There aren't very many like that anymore as the virus writers have gotten more sophisticated.

What I'd be concerned with is a virus that attacks say the MBR or some other file that renders the drives unreadable thus making it impossible to access the TIB files. Keeping these files off the system ensures that can't happen.

I like having the OS on its own partition, say 10-12GB, because it keeps it together, allows you to defrag the OS in about 5 minutes rather than 2 hours (therefore you'll do it more often which keeps the system speedy) and allows you to reinstall without effecting any other partition, at least in theory.

As far as the two Raptors in RAID 0, that was just for speed. If you're only using 25% of one 74GB drive then I wouldn't bother with that. Raptors in RAID 0 are just lightning fast is all. You can put two partitions on the single Raptor. I'd suggest you put your OS on a 10GB partition C: and all your programs and utilities, etc. on a second partition, D:. I also change my Optical drives to X: and Y: just to keep them out of the way. I actually use a 3GB partition right after C: to load all the utilities onto and then have a third for programs. (C: 10GB, D: 3GB, E: Whatever is left). Probably don't get anything from that 3GB partition but I like to have them all in one place. I wouldn't bother with it. This is all on 2x80Gb drives in RAID 0. I have a 250GB drive set up as a stand alone for storage. I have a 4GB partition with the Page File on it and the rest id for DVD movies of my baby and all my photos plus stuff I like to keep.. Lastly I have a 320GB in an external as back up and storage for any programs and patches I like to keep around.

Everything that would need to be reloaded with a new OS install should be on that second partition. This way, when you need to reinstall your OS you simply disconnect the other drives and then reformat and do the reinstall of the OS and all software and then plug the other drives in. All your videos and photos are safe and untouched.

The only thing that is a problem is every program wants to load to the C: partition. You need to manually direct the installer to D: where the programs reside. Download TweakUI and it will allow you to change the destination defaults.

This is just my way of doing things. It is neither right or wrong nor the best wayand everyone has their own methods and setups.

I think we need to step back and talk about backup philosphy for a minute. The idea of a backup is to be able to recover your system and your data in the event of a system failure of any kind. To do that, you need to separate your backups from the rest of your system as far as possible to prevent a catastrophic event from destroying both. In enterprise systems, that means backing up to special tapes or drives and then moving those media to a separate location. For the home user, that's not usually practical, given the cost of the hardware required to do that.

So, the next best alternative is a combination of external drives for volatile data and DVD's for non-volatile data. Your operating system and your documents, e-mail, and databases change daily (volatile). Your stored movies and music never change once you've stored them in the appropriate format (non-volatile). For volatile data, use an external drive connected by USB, Firewire, or e-sata. Set up a regimine of a weekly full backup and daily incrementals for this data. Depending on available space on your backup drive, you will need to delete prior backups periodically to free space. Unless you do serious database work, a 400GB drive should hold at least a month's worth. When you're not backing up, power down the external drive to prevent it from corruption in case of virus or power issues. For non-volatile, back up to DVDs and take them to the office for storage. You can buy a lot of blank DVDs for the price of a big hard drive and storing movies and music on them is quite convenient.

Acronis will allow you to set up such a regimine for your volatile data if you organize your non-volatile data into specific directories.