[Novalug] best hard disk setup for home file server?

Bryan J. Smith b.j.smith@ieee.org
Tue Oct 20 18:17:03 EDT 2009


I won't argue semantics.

But my definition of "off-line" is a medium that:  
1.  Is extremely portable (how big is your system?)
2.  Can survive long off-line periods (measured in years)

E.g., I use 2.5" disks as an up to three (3) year backup maximum, and
spindle them at least once a month.  I use DVD-RAM and LTO for longer
periods.  Sometimes I substitute DVD-R in for DVD-RAM, but only when
written in character mode (sg) with burn proof turned off (long, long story**).

I have only used DVD-R for five (5) years and cannot comment on overall
longevity.  I have, however, used DVD-RAM for a dozen (12) years and
have yet to lose any media -- seemingly holding up the original, 30 year
"optical archving standard" claim on the pre-formatted (fixed sectoring)
with verify-after-write quite feasible.

I'm only four (4) years into 2.5" usage, with virtually all of my 80-320GB 2.5"
disks between eighteen and thirty-six (18-36) months old.  Only my 500GB
2.5" disks only a year old (and my brand new 640GB 2.5" disks are only
a month).

I don't consider 3.5" viable for anything but near-line.  3.5" drives should
be spindled at least once per day for any longevity.  Virtually all near-line
stores use such "disk aerobics" to guarantee maximum 3.5" drive longevity.

Or they should.  Hence why your near-line server should be powered on
once per day for drive longevity.

-- Bryan

**NOTE:  This mode is not compatible with Sony/Philips +RW drive firmware.
It is also not possible with +R media (which is physically like -RW/+RW, not
-R/-ROM).



----- Original Message ----
From: Richard Ertel <richard.ertel@gmail.com>

if i understand the terminology correctly, the system i plan to
implement is a combination of on-line and off-line. my backup
fileserver is only powered on when i plan to do a backup, at which
time i log in and run an rsync script. i plan to do this more
regularly now, but it's still occasional.

so... my on-line (mirroring) will cover new data, and the off-line
will cover data that is, let's say 2+ weeks old. corruption or
compromise of the main fileserver data won't affect the backup (unless
i don't notice the compromise/deletion and run the rsync anyway, that
would delete stuff off the backup, for example)

am i right?



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