I would recommend you to look at the DROBO (www.drobo.com). You can buy from Amazon UK, with some disk drives, minimum I suggest is 2x 500GB drives but the whole device can take upto 16GB over 4 disk drives (when 4GB drives become available!).
You can use USB or Firewire 800, (or Ethernet, to use as a NAS, if you also get the DROBOShare unit). The basic model can take up to 4 drives, which you just slot in, (raw drives - no sled required) you can add extra drives while it is running, need two drives minimum to start with, you choose the sizes, can be any size you like and the drives don't have to be the same size. It completely duplicates the data on the drives it has available and if one fails, it tells you and you then just replace the failed drive - again while the machine is running - and it sorts itself out and duplicates the data again. A very safe system, you could argue it is better than RAID. I have one in my office and it requires almost no attention. On the other hand I have a LaCie 750GB drive at home which is two years old and is just now making horrible noises and refusing to mount - aaaarrrrgggghhhh! Paul Owen > From: Liam Kelly <[email protected]> > Reply-To: <[email protected]> > Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:07:23 -0700 (PDT) > To: Sussex Mac User Group <[email protected]> > Subject: [sussex_mug] Networked Hard Drive for iTunes & a RAID for my office > > > Hi guys I have two questions for you > > Firstly - I want to set up a RAID system in my office - it ill be > linked to one machine - I would ideally have a 2TB RAID - I've looked > at this one - http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?pid=11140 - > any thoughts even from those Lacie skeptics???? - I'd want it set up > as RAID 1 - I'm using it to store files, photos and video and as a > manageable backup combined in the same unit - I tend to not have any > of my documents on my Mac and use it more like a workstation - I > currently use a Lacie 500GB but am running out of space and want to > have that piece of mind a RAID is supposed to offer... > > Secondly - I want to centralize my families iTunes, AVI library and > iPhoto library in one place. We have an iMac, a Macbook Pro and am > intending on getting a Mac Mini for direct connection to our TV. I > want to be able to surf the web and work on simple domestic stuff on > the TV, like accounts, photo sorting etc - hence the mac mini - > thought maybe an older lower model one as it's only doing this - > however does anyone know if I'd need a faster one - maybe one of the > top end current ones, if I'm playing Movies through it - I want to > connect a large capacity 1/2TB Drive to it and have is accessible by > the other Macs in the house - primarily to access the iTunes and > iPhoto librarys. On this Drive I want iTunes Library of about 300GB, > iPhoto Library of about 20GB and our AVI library of about 5-750GB on > it. SO it is TV connected to Mac Mini, connected to 1/2TB HD library > and then the other Macs accessing the iTunes & iPhoto libraries > wirelessly over our houses network - Question really is, is a > Networked drive necessary - I would like to access the HD without the > TV & Mac Mini on sometimes - I've looked at - > http://www.lacie.com/uk/products/product.htm?pid=11089 - but Amazon > has bad reviews saying it is slow - I don't want to wirelessly access > Video with the other Macs and the Mini would be direct connected to it > via Firewire or USB - maybe if I had a networked Drive I could attach > a Ethernet Switch to it and then have the Mini Ethernet into it and > have the network picking it up with something like this - > http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-5-Port-Gigabit-Ethernet-Unmanaged/dp/B0007SQEQ > 4/ref=pd_bxgy_ce_text_b > > Any ideas on either issues would be greatly appreciated > > Cheers > Liam > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Sussex Mac User Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/smug?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
