I do like RAID5 systems, with hot swap capability and automatic re-striping

of a replaced HDD. Those have worked well. But if the RAID controller

innards go bye bye, you are right, one is totally screwed without a good

backup (and image if it is a boot array). RAID is really good for

increasing reliability and performance as well in the correct

configurations, when it comes to the ability to survive the loss of a single

HDD in an array. But it does nothing to assure me of the ability to scrap a

backup/imaging strategy.

Gil

> -----Original Message-----

> From: profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com

> [mailto:profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com]On Behalf Of Kevin Cully

> Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2008 7:51 AM

> To: profoxtech@leafe.com

> Subject: Re: [NF] Heads up to Buffalo NAS owners

>

>

> I don't know how many RAID systems I've seen fail because the backplane

> failed. 5? When they go to order a new backplane for the RAID system,

> they can't get a replacement because the tech is too old and it's out of

> stock. They want to put the drives in a new RAID system but ... HD

> technology has moved on and the drives aren't compatible so ... they'll

> have to order something. Which means days of down time.

>

> I'm a fan of cheap duplicated redundant simple systems with failovers.

> I think the costs come out to be the same, setup and recover are cheaper

> and faster. $0.02.

>

> -Kevin

> CULLY Technologies, LLC

>

>

> Michael Madigan wrote:

> > I've had to fight excessively to have backup systems and RAID

> systems because the nitwits always think that RAID means you

> don't have to do a backup.

> >

> > I wonder if they argue with their doctors as much as they do

> with their computer guy. LOL

> >

> > *************************************************

> >

> >

> >

> > --- On Wed, 12/17/08, Gil Hale <gil@gilhale.com> wrote:

> >

> >> From: Gil Hale <gil@gilhale.com>

> >> Subject: RE: [NF] Heads up to Buffalo NAS owners

> >> To: profox@leafe.com

> >> Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2008, 8:34 PM

> >> I have a blend of brands for my external HDD units that I

> >> use for disk image

> >> and file backup purposes. But not being the trusting type

> >> I also back up

> >> the backup HDD units to a 2nd set of external HDD units,

> >> connected to a Dell

> >> 840 Server via eSATA. Since having gone to a 2nd layer of

> >> HDD protection

> >> (which is backed up weekly to an LTO3 tape drive unit, on

> >> any one of 3 sets

> >> of tape media) I have only lost one primary backup HDD. I

> >> bet if I did not

> >> have the backup HDD units backed up at a 2nd level, much

> >> less via LTO3 tape,

> >> I would have lost a lot more <g>...

> >>

> >> That said, a friend of mine in SoCal had a Lacie 500Gb RAID

> >> external USB2

> >> unit. He told me last year that he could never lose data

> >> on that unit

> >> because of its RAID configuration. "Wanna bet?",

> >> asked I. Sure enough, the

> >> other month he lost the Lacie unit. He could not find

> >> anyone who was

> >> willing to touch it for less than $1,000 to try to recover

> >> data. And I was

> >> not out there to try to help him out. Luckily he moved it

> >> from being used

> >> as a primary storage device to file backup only, otherwise

> >> he would have

> >> lost a lot of client video he was storing.

> >>

> >> He has now gone to the primary/secondary external HDD

> >> backup strategy. Once

> >> he has the bux to do so he is going to get an LTO4 Tape

> >> Drive and start to

> >> behave in a responsible manner. Some of the video he

> >> shoots is for the

> >> medical community for training. Once in a while they ask

> >> him to splice in

> >> or out changes, then recompile the output file. So if he

> >> ever lost the

> >> source files used for his compilation he would be

> >> "almost" screwed. He

> >> tells me he has the original tapes, and can rebuild the

> >> projects if he has

> >> to. I advised that I would not put that much faith into

> >> tape, and pointed

> >> out the hours of tape restoring and recompilation he could

> >> save by not

> >> taking chances.

> >>

> >> I have been using the Seagate FreeAgent External HDD units

> >> for the past year

> >> (5 year warranty) with good results. If you want to use

> >> these with anything

> >> other than XP or Vista you will need to connect the HDD via

> >> US2 to an

> >> XP/Vista machine, then run the Seagate software to turn off

> >> the sleep mode

> >> (default = 15 minutes, I set it to never sleep, gets saved

> >> in the HDD

> >> firmware). That way on a Linux/Mac/Windows Server 2003

> >> machine the HDDs

> >> never "disappear" when they go to sleep. It is

> >> the only flaw I have

> >> experienced thus far with that model. BTW, I found their

> >> utility software

> >> works fine with USB2, maybe with Firewire, but certainly

> >> not with an eSATA

> >> connection.

> >>

> >> Gil

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>> -----Original Message-----

> >>> From: profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com

> >>> [mailto:profoxtech-bounces@leafe.com]On Behalf Of

> >> Kevin Cully

> >>> Sent: Wednesday, December 17, 2008 7:47 PM

> >>> To: profoxtech@leafe.com

> >>> Subject: Re: [NF] Heads up to Buffalo NAS owners

> >>>

> >>>

> >>> Thanks Michael. I've got a Buffalo LS (250G)

> >> that's been running

> >>> reliably for about 5 years now. I'd hate to lose

> >> her.

> >>> -Kevin

> >>> CULLY Technologies, LLC

> >>>

> >>>

> >>> Michael Madigan wrote:

> >>>> I just had a problem where my NAS wasn't

> >> recognized by the

> >>> network anymore. I could ping it, but I couldn't

> >> see the shares

> >>> and I couldn't get into the web admin.

> >>>> In my case, and I suspect in many cases, the

> >> flash memory got

> >>> trashed. By just running a firmware update downloaded

> >> from

> >>> Buffalo, that fixed all my problems.

> >>>> Keep that in your memory banks.

> >>>>

> >>>>

[excessive quoting removed by server]