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01/04/2015 01:31:47 PM · #1 |
HELP!!!!
I know less than nothing; I don't necessarily want to vastly upgrade my geekdom, but with the D810, I now MUST deal with my external, and backup, storage.
I don't want to spend a nickel more than I have to, but I also don't want to make a mistake that could have been avoided by simply spending $100 more.
I'd like opinions/suggestions as to what works for you personally, and anyone who offers forth PLEASE dumb it down enough so that someone who knows not the slightest thing about these units can understand.
My knowledge to this point is my rapidly wheezing 1,750GB combination of the internal of my box and a stand-alone 1TB outside unit.
Looking for a start, and the most sensible path for expansion.
TIA...
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01/04/2015 01:47:30 PM · #2 |
I have a buffalo brand 6TB NAS (network attached storage) - it works fairly well, you can choose whether to have RAID 1 (saves everything to both 3TB drives inside the unit for redundancy, or RAID 0 to increase the speed a bit.
But I wouldn't recommend it for you.
I would start by estimating how much data you will generate per year, then buy a USB external drive each year. Import and work from your computer hard drive and every week or month move everything to the external drive. Every year, or when it's full, buy a new one and label the old one and keep it in a fireproof safe or something.
That's just my 2 cents, though.
I liked the idea of the NAS but it's finicky, the problem might be from my wireless network in the house but not all transfers finish reliably. USB seems more reliable. |
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01/04/2015 01:48:29 PM · #3 |
1.5-2.0 TB drives seem like the standard now. They will all fail eventually, but I've had the best luck with Seagate drives -- I prefer the "desktop" to the "portable" units.
What type somewhat depends on your operating system and connection options: Thunderbolt (Mac) I think is the fastest right now, with USB3.0 and FireWire800 next.
If you want to share the drive among more than one computer, consider a drive configured for Network Attached Storage (NAS), which mounts on your network with an Ethernet connection (through your router), and will be assigned its own IP (network) address. It's basically a hard drive with a built-in computer which does noting except share the drive ...
If you have 1.7TB on your internal drive now I strongly suggest you buy two external drives and back up all of the DATA on your internal drive to both, and then delete everything except you applications and OS from the internal drive ...
Personally, I back up all my photos to a hard drive and CD (or DVD) before I delete them from the camera card, but backing up a TB of pictures all at once to optical media sounds like a real pain. Considering the time involved, hard drives are probably the cheapest storage option. I prefer more smaller drives (e.g. two 1TB drives vs. one 2TB drive), but YMMV.
Another option would be to get a SSD (solid state drive -- basically a huge flash card) and move your OS and apps to that -- they will run super fast -- and continue to use the internal drive for data. |
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01/04/2015 02:03:23 PM · #4 |
What works for me is this.
I have an external drive connected to my computer. When I download my photos I use View NX - the transfer part of it. When I download my photos I select/create a folder on the my computer and a back up folder on the external hard drive. Because I use the cable connected to the camera when I download, the software "knows" there are two cards in the camera and when the download of the first card is complete it asks me if I want to download the second card to the same place. Periodically I will back up the contents of the computer to a second hard drive. (Now some people don't like downloading from the camera directly, or find it quicker to use a card reader, but it's personal preference.)
What brand of external drive is a choice for you, and how you set them up as well - but do it before it gets too late. I've used Seagate, Iomega and a local company to me for three previous drives without any problems. In terms of age, the Seagate is getting on for 10 years old but I still access it successfully for time to time.
Message edited by author 2015-01-04 14:07:40. |
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01/04/2015 02:07:47 PM · #5 |
Part of what provoked my query is that B&H is having a special on the Drobo 5D.
It looks like I can buy the box and a couple of 4TB drives for right around $750.
Plus that way, I can add on, and have the backup.
The Drobo seems as though it's user friendly.
Anybody have one?
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01/04/2015 02:21:29 PM · #6 |
I have an internal 2tb drive which is almost full, and a hard drive dock into which I can insert a bare drive, so it acts like removable media. I use a drive in the external dock for backups. I just do those manually every few weeks.
If I were a professional and my income relied on it, I would establish a more automated and regular method.
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01/04/2015 04:25:16 PM · #7 |
I found this......checked how it works and ease of use......read a pile of reviews. I like it.
WD My Book Duo 8TB
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01/04/2015 04:40:54 PM · #8 |
| Fwiw I've also recently read that if you keep your backups on external hard drive then store said hard drives in a cupboard or some such, to make sure you bring them out for a spin once in a while to help the mechanical components remain moveable and hopefully keep your data accessible. I certainly have no actual experience with this, but hey, it couldn't hurt and it would be awful thinking that your data was securely stored but then not be able to retrieve it. |
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01/04/2015 05:12:30 PM · #9 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
I found this......checked how it works and ease of use......read a pile of reviews. I like it.
WD My Book Duo 8TB |
Just a reminder, that pretty much every hard drive fails at some point -- do you want to lose 8TB all at once? |
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01/04/2015 05:18:51 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
The Drobo seems as though it's user friendly. Anybody have one? |
I have a Drobo 5D, and it's saved my data through several drive failures. Highly recommended. Start with two decent size drives (3TB is fine) and a 128Gb mSATA drive for cache, then add storage when Western Digital RED drives go on sale. NewEgg is a great source for those. Ideally, you'll also want an external drive dock so you can backup everything to a bare hard drive and keep that one off site.
Message edited by author 2015-01-04 17:40:49. |
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01/04/2015 05:31:45 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
...Ideally, you'll also want an external drive dock so you can backup everything to a bare hard drive and keep that one off site. |
And that's the key in the backup game. We can back up all we want, but in case of a real disaster, like a fire, we may lose it all at once unless we have it backed up off site. My preference is for simple USB external drives. They are inexpensive and so can be duplicated and rotated so one is always off site.
These days, another option for off-site is cloud storage, but for those with terabytes of data, that can become expensive, and the initial upload can take weeks or even months depending on the speed of the upload side of your internet service.
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01/04/2015 09:01:42 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
Part of what provoked my query is that B&H is having a special on the Drobo 5D.
It looks like I can buy the box and a couple of 4TB drives for right around $750.
Plus that way, I can add on, and have the backup.
The Drobo seems as though it's user friendly.
Anybody have one? |
I have 2 Drobo Units...one of the older 4bay Drobo(2nd gen) and a 5D. I have 5 2tb drives in the 5D. I would absolutely recommend you go with the Drobo. It is as simple and versatile as you can get. You will never worry about your files again...unless you are really paranoid. You can even set it up for two drives failing simultaneously. Adding new drives is a matter of just plugging one into an open bay or replacing a smaller drive with a larger one.
I say go for it...you won't regret it and you will definitely sleep better!
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01/04/2015 09:12:46 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
Originally posted by NikonJeb:
The Drobo seems as though it's user friendly. Anybody have one? |
I have a Drobo 5D, and it's saved my data through several drive failures. Highly recommended. Start with two decent size drives (3TB is fine) and a 128Gb mSATA drive for cache, then add storage when Western Digital RED drives go on sale. NewEgg is a great source for those. Ideally, you'll also want an external drive dock so you can backup everything to a bare hard drive and keep that one off site. |
I use the WD Black 7200 2tb drives...9 so far and had only 1 failure. I did have one that the Drobo didn't like (they are pretty strict in their specs and not every drive will pass the Drobo process, even though they may be perfectly good in a non critical environment), and NewEgg (where I also by my drives) sent me a replacement. I haven't worried about losing files in the last 10 years since I got my first Drobo. |
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01/04/2015 10:18:12 PM · #14 |
I also had a 2nd generation Drobo before this one (which I sold to an ad agency as their backup). I recommend WD Red drives over Black, though. They're made specifically for this type of storage environment, and I'm running five 2TB versions currently.
Message edited by author 2015-01-04 22:21:32. |
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01/04/2015 10:19:35 PM · #15 |
On the Cheap - one or more external USB hard drives. Do some intelligent thinking on cost per Terabyte to determine what size drive is most economical. The 6T drives currently have a higher cost per TB. Current cost for a 2T external is under $90. SSDs (or memory cards) can be used as backup, but cost more per Gigabyte, while offering storage with no moving parts.
I have a network drive (2T), but have not been happy with transfer speed. Its great advantage is that any pc on my home network can read the files on it. It was about $190 2-3 years ago...
Keep your backup media current - I have lots of stuff "backed up" on 5 1/4" floppies, 3.5" floppiess, some cartridge type drives, etc. - none of which I have equipment to read / transfer any more.
Keeping a copy of your backup media off site is very important - you really want to avoid a single disaster taking out your live system and all your backups.
Backups are important, but there is one aspect of having a backup that is easily overlooked:
EVERY BACKUP PLAN SHOULD INCLUDE AN OCCASIONAL RANDOM RESTORE FROM THE BACKUP MEDIA
The purpose of doing a backup is to be able to retrieve lost data. But, if your backup media somehow gets corrupt, or wasn't written properly to start with (but looked like it was), and you can't read the backup media, YOU DO NOT HAVE A BACKUP!
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01/04/2015 10:45:26 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by dtremain:
Keep your backup media current - I have lots of stuff "backed up" on 5 1/4" floppies, 3.5" floppiess, some cartridge type drives, etc. - none of which I have equipment to read / transfer any more. |
I might -- I have a lot of "legacy" drives lying around ... let me know if you have something really special you want to try and recover. |
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01/05/2015 12:16:24 AM · #17 |
Originally posted by scalvert:
I also had a 2nd generation Drobo before this one (which I sold to an ad agency as their backup). I recommend WD Red drives over Black, though. They're made specifically for this type of storage environment, and I'm running five 2TB versions currently. |
Well, the Reds are less expensive. Drobo says either are fine. The Blacks are higher performance. While WD says that the Reds are for RAID, the Drobos use different approach. The higher performance Blacks carry a 5 yr. warranty vs. the 3 for the Reds. You say you have had several drive failures - I've had 1.
Bottom line for me...if I can get higher performance, with a longer warranty for a few $$ more...why not? |
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01/05/2015 03:11:03 AM · #18 |
Originally posted by jemison:
You say you have had several drive failures - I've had 1. |
Yes, I've had 3 drive failures: 1 Seagate and 2 WD Black. No issues since I replaced them all with WD Red drives, though I suspect there really isn't much difference. Faster drives might matter for video work, but transfer rates around 200MB/s are plenty for me and I bought the 2TB drives on sale. The important thing is the Drobo itself. |
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01/05/2015 03:49:51 AM · #19 |
I had 1 major drive failure: a 500G WD. Warranty was handy as they replace it with a 1T, since the 0.5T were no longer available. However data was gone. But I was truly lucky as I had a back up of it...
Currently I have a Synolgy NAS with 2X3T Seagates. I dislike the speed over he WIFI.
I am messy with the back up and I never got to sort out all my pictures and delete the useless ones so I ended giving up cleaning. I try hard to delete before I back up.
I dump my files on my computer HDD. Then once a moth or so I back up on an external portable USB drive. Then I back up the portable drive on the NAS.
I use LR and access the pictures on the portable HDD when I need something. However I never labeled them and I solely rely on my memory to find them. It does help that I can search by date, camera, lens etc.
So far I only missed data from a trip that I can not remember what happened. Most probably a SD card failure.
Edit: I have just reached 1T and I need to buy another USB drive.
Message edited by author 2015-01-05 03:51:01. |
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01/05/2015 08:36:16 AM · #20 |
I have been computing for a long time often times in places where equipment wasn't treated nicely. The first step is having a backup, the second step is if the primary or backup fails (ever) you replace the guilty part immediately, therefore continuing data redundancy. I also move with the times, as faster or better connection rate drives come out every other year or so, I will replace my externals - they are not expensive - as I don't buy the huge ones, or really expensive titles. I still have and use my older ones for less important things. If you already have redundancy you are good, as I said the other step is ensuring that you replace either when it breaks. You don't want both of your data sources to break at the same time because you waited too long to replace one. The expensive titles like Lacie, Buffalo, Drobo, Netgear ReadyNas, etc... are fantastic if you have the coin - but I have been operating on little Western Digital or Seagate externals for years, and years.
This is a great start for a 2TB External, I have a couple of these: Seagate Backup Plus 2TB External USB 3.0
To illustrate why I like the small portable externals, this is usually where I am doing my post-edit and upload with one bar of reception: 
Remember... "Backup Early, Backup Often!"
Also to add what my setup is:
Main Photo/Media Laptop:
500GB Solid State Primary drive, with 500GB Solid State USB 3.0 External for Primary backup - This drive is for Operating System and software
2nd Drive is 2.0TB Internal HDD - Backed up to a 2.0TB Network Drive
The Network Drive is my "home base" backup for the Laptop listed. When I travel I have a smaller, lighter laptop with only 500GB space, and I live off of that internal HD, along with a pre-loaded Seagate external like the ones listed above.
Message edited by author 2015-01-05 09:14:11. |
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01/05/2015 09:10:57 AM · #21 |
I use the same model but only 1TB, |
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01/05/2015 02:49:23 PM · #22 |
| Surprised nobody has mentioned using Dropbox or Google Drive. I am currently using Google Drive plus several large USB drives. I don't trust the drives so feel much more comfortable knowing I have an online backup. The cost of Google Drive is very reasonable. |
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01/05/2015 02:57:47 PM · #23 |
Originally posted by P-A-U-L:
Surprised nobody has mentioned using Dropbox or Google Drive. I am currently using Google Drive plus several large USB drives. I don't trust the drives so feel much more comfortable knowing I have an online backup. The cost of Google Drive is very reasonable. |
It's been mentioned, just not by brand name ...
Originally posted by kirbic:
These days, another option for off-site is cloud storage, but for those with terabytes of data, that can become expensive, and the initial upload can take weeks or even months depending on the speed of the upload side of your internet service. |
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01/05/2015 02:58:08 PM · #24 |
| P-A-U-L, I also use Google drive it's great for shooting a client a link to a folder of images for digital delivery or proofing. I'll also post directories of photos there that I want access to from any computer, anywhere - you are correct, the price is right. |
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01/05/2015 03:15:01 PM · #25 |
| If you go with an external I echo choosing Seagate. I've been in the IT field for years and by far I have had more Western Digital and Maxtor drives crap out on me than Seagate. |
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