[proglife]

I'm still a few years away from going to a Mac based source, but only because of financial restraints.

Is anyone using RAID as opposed to firewire/usb external drives? Ideally, I'd like to get a stock MacBook, run the optical-out to a DAC and pull the data from a RAID array for redundancies' sake. Is this possible with a laptop?

 

[marvin]

Raid ain't possible on a laptop unless the laptop you buy has provisions for two hard drives, which the MacBook does not, or use a USB/firewire raid setup.

Of course, you could be talking about running a raid array on another computer, and accessing it with your MacBook. That will work just fine.

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marvin Raid ain't possible on a laptop unless the laptop you buy has provisions for two hard drives, which the MacBook does not, or use a USB/firewire raid setup. Of course, you could be talking about running a raid array on another computer, and accessing it with your MacBook. That will work just fine.

Bummer. What is it you need for RAID? A PCI slot to house a RAID controller?

 

[Malus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proglife Bummer. What is it you need for RAID? A PCI slot to house a RAID controller?

A second drive can suffice if the OS has a software raid solution.

 

[proglife]

so two firewire external drives run in a RAID configuration via software?

 

[Revliskciuq]

As mentioned, building a RAID array into your laptop is going to be a tricky and extremely expensive task. Laptop disks are built to be small and energy efficient - not function in a redundant disk system.

Depending how much money you want to spend, how much space you need, and the type of system you'd like to setup there are plenty of options. I built a RAID-5 file server using 300GB drives, and it was pretty cheap too. All you need is a motherboard that supports the RAID configuration you want, or just a RAID controller and you're set to go.

I have my RAID server tucked away in a close and hooked to my wifi network, so I can access my music from anywhere in the house. Like you, I use a laptop that "plugs in" to a stationary audio setup via optical output.

You can also get external RAID enclosures (you can buy ones that come with drives, and ones that are empty) which operate much like external hard drives, and just plug into a 1394 port.

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revliskciuq You can also get external RAID enclosures (you can buy ones that come with drives, and ones that are empty) which operate much like external hard drives, and just plug into a 1394 port.

That is what I was thinking. They make external RAID enclosures with a firewire interface?

 

[kugino]

you can set up a RAID array with almost any kind of media...mac OS X has a RAID option built into its OS and it's very easy to use. i had an internal RAID set up on my previous powermac G5. i've also set up RAID arrays using external USB zip drives and i once saw someone do it with 3.5" floppy drives - just because he could.

the internal RAID solution you want is only possible if you can get two drives into your laptop...which is probably not going to happen. the other suggestion is to set up an external RAID array using firewire drives...get two (or more) external firewire drives, preferably the same size, and use your RAID software to set it up. i'm not sure what to use on a PC since i'm a mac guy.

now, the question is, why do you want to do this? setting up a RAID array on firewire drives is somewhat useless, as the speed gains from the array are mitigated by the firewire throughput. if you want a mirrored RAID array for backing up purposes, using two external drives is also a poor way to backup, as it is less stable than, say, just backing up to another drive using some backup software.

in sum, it can be done, and fairly easily. but the scenario you present doesn't seem to warrant a RAID array, unless you just want to do it just because you can...in that case, i'm all for it.

edit: this is my 1500th post! w00t!

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino the internal RAID solution you want is only possible if you can get two drives into your laptop...which is probably not going to happen.

No, I was looking for an external RAID option.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino if you want a mirrored RAID array for backing up purposes, using two external drives is also a poor way to backup, as it is less stable than, say, just backing up to another drive using some backup software.

That's why I was thinking RAID...purely for redundancy/back-up sake. I'd take comfort knowing that my data was constantly being written to a mirrored drive. So you can do this same sort of thing using firewire drives? If I bought, say, 3 300+GB firewire drives and then 3 more identical drives to back them up to, RAID would not be the way to go about this? Rather, go with some sort of backup software?

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by proglife No, I was looking for an external RAID option. That's why I was thinking RAID...purely for redundancy/back-up sake. I'd take comfort knowing that my data was constantly being written to a mirrored drive. So you can do this same sort of thing using firewire drives? If I bought, say, 3 300+GB firewire drives and then 3 more identical drives to back them up to, RAID would not be the way to go about this? Rather, go with some sort of backup software?

yeah, i wouldn't do RAID via firewire...especially since you'll be connecting and disconnecting your firewire cord often from your laptop...

it would probably make sense to just use some backup software to daily backup from one drive to another...by setting this up to run automatically every day (or night), you'll have two identical drives and your backup goal will be achieved with, IMO, less headache than a RAID array would...just my .02, of course.

 

[dodap]

I am attempting using an external RAID-System at the moment with the cheapo Netgear SC101. It can house two IDE-Drives (I put two Samsung 250 GB drives in it), this little semi-Linux box does a proprietary format and here you go with a RAID-1-mirror-box. It only has a normal Ethernet connector, therefore for Gigabit speed backups unusable, but it should be sufficient for a music server with its low bandwith. It is fanless because it is an all aluminium Case with rips.
But as I learned the hard way: It is a bit tricky, does not like all drives and all nets. But it is dirt cheap: under 100 €.

 

[proglife]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kugino it would probably make sense to just use some backup software to daily backup from one drive to another...by setting this up to run automatically every day (or night), you'll have two identical drives and your backup goal will be achieved with, IMO, less headache than a RAID array would...just my .02, of course.

Less headache = right up my alley

But for what it's worth, the MacBook's only function would be the front-end of my system. No regular unplugging of wires. I would get a Mac mini, but I don't want to tie into my television or a big external monitor. I like the idea of the MacBook because of it's all-in-one small package.

 

[marvin]

RAID-1 only protects you from single drive failure. It doesn't protect against power supply spikes, physical drive damage, or anything else that could damage both drives at once.

The way I ended up doing my setup was to get two large hard drives. One I installed in my computer, one I kept in an external USB case. Every week, I connected/powered up the external drive, backed up the contents of the large drive, then disconnected/powered off the drive. I figure it's the surest way to keep my data intact, short of off-site storage.

 

[seantx]

If you are worried about losing music consider my solution to the problem. My laptop contains all of my ripped music. I have a script set to run every 12 hours. It uses xxcopy (www.xxcopy.com) to synchronize with one of my home computers and work computer. If I'm at the office the attempt to copy to the home workstations fails and vice versa. The result is that I have three copies of my music so failure at any level isn't a concern.

I'm sure others are doing similar procedures to ensure they don't have to go through ripping an entire library (again). Don't believe the hype that RAID, even level 5 and beyond, is 100% reliable. Things happen. Redundant and geographically disparate copies is a method used by businesses, governments, military, etc. It is certainly good enough for my live Sex Pistols bootlegs.

 

[proglife]

My problem with that is limited hard drive space in a laptop. I'd be shooting for around at terrabyte.