2+ TB storage options for Linux/SCSI computer
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Posted by on February 28, 2006, 11:05 pm
Please log in for more thread options I have some data sets that add up to around 2 TB, and I need a convenient and inexpensive way to archive and access them from my older (vintage 2001) Linux PCs (w/ internal SCSI and IDE controllers) without an inordinate amount of human intervention. I know that a RAID is one option, but are there others? In the old days, I used to keep my large data sets on Exabyte 8 mm tapes (5 GB capacity each) and then on more expensive Mammoth-2 tapes (~50 GB each, $70 or so per cartridge). But 1 TB equals 200 of the 8 mm tapes and 20+ of the Mammoth-2 tapes, and that is neither convenient nor terribly cost-effective. Also, I had a lot of trouble with read/write errors and the need to clean the drive heads very frequently. Are there more modern tape storage systems with higher capacity, higher reliability and/or lower cost? It would have to be a tape device that is seekable (e.g., using Linux mt commands), not just something that streams from start to end and changes direction extremely reluctantly. And I don't think I'd want to deal with anything under 100 GB per tape cartridge (if such a thing exists), because of the manual labor of switching tapes (we've had bad luck with tape libraries). What about optical storage? Should I consider some kind of DVD jukebox? I have no experience with this medium, so I don't know what's out there or what it costs. If I go with a RAID, which makes/models should I consider? Read/write speed is not nearly as important as low cost per unit storage. Reliability isn't a huge issue, because the data sets are replaceable (albeit with some inconvenience) if something fails. Scalability would be nice, though it would probably take time for me to outgrow a 2 TB RAID. Thanks for any help .. I used to be up to speed on storage in, oh, about 1995, but it's hard to stay caught up since it's not in my job description. | |||||||||||||
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Posted by on February 28, 2006, 11:16 pm
Please log in for more thread options I forgot to mention that the data sets need only be written once, so I don't need a storage medium that lends itself to frequent updates. DVD-R would work, for example. | |||||||||||||
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Posted by Ken Maltby on March 1, 2006, 12:34 am
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The burned die DVD disks have no proven reliability for long term storage. Digital Tape has reliable proven storage parameters. The modern hard drive has well established and practical storage parameters. Five 300BG drives would give you 1.5 Terabytes, 3 Terabytes for a 10 pack. At $0.50 a GB you would be talking $1000, for your 2T. Luck; Ken | |||||||||||||
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Posted by Paul on March 1, 2006, 12:36 am
Please log in for more thread options qzectb@gmail.com wrote:
> I forgot to mention that the data sets need only be written once, so I
> don't need a storage medium that lends itself to frequent updates. > DVD-R would work, for example. 250GB hard drives can be had for $113. At that price point, they can be either SATA or IDE. Eight of those gives you 2TB. Doing software RAID5 would require at least one more drive (and protects you against a single drive failure). Using one disk to protect eight disks, is pretty economical (assuming the software can handle that many disks). Then you needs some cheap non-RAID controllers, and the software does the RAID part. So maybe $1200 gives you a backup solution with random access characteristics. A little compression in the backup method could save you a few bucks as well (fewer disks if the data can be compressed). While DVD-R sounds enticing, I wonder if you could get archival quality burns done completely hands free. It is pretty annoying to find a DVD that reads in one drive, and not another, and you would not want to find that kind of behavior when you least expected it. And the RAID array would read and write a bit faster than the DVD would. As for packaging the disks, I would want a machine you could shut off and unplug when not in use (unplug both power and network connection). That helps eliminate a ligntning strike as a possible cause of data loss. You could even pop the machine in the car and store it offsite. While trays with a lock and key can be used to make removal and transport of individual drives easy, nine trays at $30 each adds $270 to the price. Otherwise, I'm assuming you have an old computer case with enough room to store the hardware. You might need to pick up a beefier power supply. While 500GB drives are shipping, they are not the most cost effective storage devices right now. Paul | |||||||||||||
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Posted by on March 2, 2006, 8:05 pm
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Thanks to all for the extremely helpful advice. Here's one more option I just learned about that sounds especially appealing to me: network attached storage (NAS), such as the Infrant ReadyNAS 600 - 1.0 TeraByte (4 x 250GB SATA HDD). Cost is around $1,200. What I like about what I've read is that you don't have to have a dedicated server computer for it; you just hang it off the LAN and NFS mount it on your LInux computers. And unless I'm mistaken, it's infinitely scalable in the sense that if you need another TB, you just hang another one on your net. The main drawback I'm aware of is that there is no computer that has local access, so reading/writing to the NAS always ties up the bandwidth of your LAN. But that would be the case anyway for any of my computers other than the one a RAID was physically connected to. Is anyone aware of any other reasons to consider a traditional RAID over a NAS? thanks | |||||||||||||
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> I forgot to mention that the data sets need only be written once, so I
> don't need a storage medium that lends itself to frequent updates.
> DVD-R would work, for example.
>