DV Info Net

DV Info Net (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/)
-   Final Cut Suite (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/final-cut-suite/)
-   -   Best RAID/Storage solution (https://www.dvinfo.net/forum/final-cut-suite/468024-best-raid-storage-solution.html)

Mike Marriage November 19th, 2009 06:33 AM

Best RAID/Storage solution
 
Hi all,

Any recommendations for a good, fast, redundant RAID for use with FCP?

Need a few TB and would like to keep it under £1000.

Thanks!

Martin Chab November 19th, 2009 06:54 AM

Hi Mike,
You should forget at the word "best" since that term is very relative and can cost many USD.
I am using two systems, one based on a sonnet tempo and the second with a RocketRaid. Both are connected to external racks with port multipliers what allows me to plug up to 25 hard disks on each card.
I didnt like the Sonnet even if many users says that are top notch i found the RocketRaid much more stable and faster.
Anyway both works good enough as entry level RAID and give you many possible configurations.

Robert Lane November 19th, 2009 10:01 AM

Mike,

RAID setups vary greatly in physical architecture, speed (both initial and continuous) and cost. There is no "best" setup because system and individual needs vary so much.

There is a ton of information about the various RAID configurations, connectivity types etc. etc. here on the forum. I'd highly suggest using the search feature and spend some time reading up on the wealth of data.

In less than a week a new "how to" website specific to pro AV users will be up which will outline all this information in a singular contiguous source; when it's live I'll ping you back with the info.

Jerry Porter November 19th, 2009 10:38 AM

Please ping me as well!!

Paul Shapiro November 19th, 2009 12:45 PM

Ping us all!

Mike Marriage November 19th, 2009 02:47 PM

To be more specific, I just need a need a simple, redundant (3 disc minimum I guess) raid. I was planning on using FW800. I don't want rack mount, just a stand alone desktop as I sometimes need it to be portable but mainly office bound.

I've already read a lot about it is hard to pick a model as such. I've heard good things about G raid...?

Andrew Waite November 19th, 2009 03:23 PM

you can't go wrong with g-raid... very good quality stuff. it's expensive, but you do get what you pay for.

if you are looking for something a little more cost effective i have had my eye on the "mercury elite-al pro" it's a desktop enclosure that offers raid 0,1,5,and 10. it will take up to 4 drives and has firewire 800 as well as e-sata. from what i have heard it works well, is quiet, and is very fast.... 240 megabytes read/write a second on e-sata and about 80 megabytes read and write on fw800.

anyone have one of these want to chime in and confirm this... i would really like to know for myself.

anyway,Hopefully it's okay to post a link here...
OWC Mercury Pro Qx2 4-Bay RAID 0/1/5/10 eSATA, FireWire 400/800, USB2 Desktop Removable Bay Storage Solution - up to 8.0TB

Harm Millaard November 19th, 2009 03:43 PM

A platform independent article abouts the basics for editing: Adobe Forums: To RAID or not to RAID, that is the...

Robert Lane November 19th, 2009 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Marriage (Post 1449728)
To be more specific, I just need a need a simple, redundant (3 disc minimum I guess) raid. I was planning on using FW800. I don't want rack mount, just a stand alone desktop as I sometimes need it to be portable but mainly office bound.

I've already read a lot about it is hard to pick a model as such. I've heard good things about G raid...?

G-Raid setups are "OK" but highly overrated, just as LaCie products are.

If you've only got 3 disks to work with then there's no point in setting up any RAID at all; you're much better off with leaving them as single drives. You'd need a minimum of 6-8 HDD's to really have an appreciable benefit in the cost and efficiency of a RAID.

The article Harm has copied from the Adobe site is a must-read for anyone not familiar with or wanting to bone up on RAID technology and "how to".

Robert Lane November 19th, 2009 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Shapiro (Post 1449674)
Ping us all!

Roger-Wilco.

David Sholle November 19th, 2009 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Waite (Post 1449743)
you can't go wrong with g-raid... very good quality stuff. it's expensive, but you do get what you pay for.

if you are looking for something a little more cost effective i have had my eye on the "mercury elite-al pro" it's a desktop enclosure that offers raid 0,1,5,and 10. it will take up to 4 drives and has firewire 800 as well as e-sata. from what i have heard it works well, is quiet, and is very fast.... 240 megabytes read/write a second on e-sata and about 80 megabytes read and write on fw800.

anyone have one of these want to chime in and confirm this... i would really like to know for myself.

anyway,Hopefully it's okay to post a link here...
OWC Mercury Pro Qx2 4-Bay RAID 0/1/5/10 eSATA, FireWire 400/800, USB2 Desktop Removable Bay Storage Solution - up to 8.0TB

I use the OWC 4 bay raid. Simple, inexpensive and built like a tank. Here are two reviews:

Macintosh Performance Guide: Reviews ? Other World Computing Mercury Elite-AL Pro QX2 4-bay Hardware RAID enclosure

OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2

I use 4 Hitachi 2 TB drives in a RAID 5 configuration. Generally I use it connected via FW800 to a MBP, but when I want to transfer data faster between it and another drive, I use eSATA via an Express34 eSATA card.

Paul Cronin November 20th, 2009 06:34 PM

I have been very happy with my Dulce RAID 3 working drive. And will be adding additional Dulce RAID towers this winter.

Dulce Products

Justin Ferar November 20th, 2009 06:49 PM

I use LaCie Biggest S2S 2.5 TB. You can get the 5 TB version now for about $1500 US.

Comes with PCI-X or PCI Express card.

3 years now 16 hours a day 6 days a week nary a hiccup.

Dean Sensui November 21st, 2009 05:27 AM

Don't forget about including a full backup.

If your work is important, and you have deadlines, there's nothing like having a full backup of your projects and the media.

The worst I've heard lately is an independent producer who lost an entire season of work because a RAID system failed. The only backup for all this HD programming was on DV tape.

So when you design your workflow, consider the consequences of that system going into complete failure and what would be left in the aftermath.

Paul Cronin November 21st, 2009 03:33 PM

Great point Dean,

I use:
Raid 3 for working drive.
Internal hard drives for apps and extras.
All drives backed up on Raid 1 removable drives that store off site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:09 AM.

DV Info Net -- Real Names, Real People, Real Info!
1998-2024 The Digital Video Information Network