My plan for data "safety" for my audio library is still evolving. Right now, I simply have two sets of USB drives (2x500GB, 1x250GB in each set). These drives are FAT32; it's likely to be readable on just about anything which has a USB connector! I currently use Allway Sync (one or twice a week, depending on how much I've added or changed) to keep the drive sets synchronized. (I also, of course, have the original CDs, plus an extra copy of my downloaded songs in a backup directory on the 250GB drives, but I wouldn't look forward to re-ripping all the CDs and transcoding and/or tagging the downloads.)
I just ordered a new linux box, primarily for SqueezeCenter. It comes with 500GB SATA, to which I will add 1TB SATA. Haven't decided on the filesystem yet, probably EXT2 or EXT3 for those drives, which will contain a 3rd complete copy, in addition to the 2 USB copies. Not sure exactly how I'll sync, but I'll probably try to write a script whose funtion is to run "flac -test" on all flac files found on a given drive, so I'll periodically be able to test both the SATA and the USB drives for bit rot. I've no plans for RAID as this is just personal audio; there's no special requirement for constant data availability. My feeling at this point is that the best way to assure data integrity is with the appropriate level on human involvement. To much automation, and the computer may quietly destroy data behind your back when you're not paying attention. To little automation and the process of ensuring data integrity on upwards of 1TB of material becomes completely unmanagable. So, IMHO, the trick is determining what level of human involvement gives one the best chances of keeping the data intact over the long haul. -- Timothy Stockman ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Timothy Stockman's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=8867 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=42358 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
