Setting up RAID 0 implies the drives will remain in-place on a long term basis. Perhaps for modern 2.5 inch SSDs that would be okay, but mechanical drives continue to feature an exposed PCB on the bottom of the drive. I would be reluctant to operate a dock that doesn't entirely shelter the drives as an external storage solution. For technical support needs or one-off data transfers though, a dock like this would be an excellent solution.
I've used these types of docks for years and have never had a problem with them. I do add a fan to each one though to keep them cool, and that's probably overkill, but I hate heat on my tech.
You could really use a NAS. If you RAID disks together you'll have redundancy, better speed, and you won't have to move files around to balance free space because it will be one large storage pool. If you run a COW filesystem you can take snapshots to prevent against accidental deletion. Maybe something like a Node 304 with 6x hard drives running FreeNAS.
I'll definitely check into a NAS RAID format. When I first started adding hard drives I never imagined it would become such a big project, but the pictures and home videos (and everything else that came with them) kept coming and I didn't know how to scale at that time. Thanks for the advice!
I use a similar dual-drive "toaster" dock, but I use it in software RAID-1 mode as my backup target. Once a week, I swap out a drive (3-drive rotation) and rebuild the array. The swapped out drive goes to a fireproof safe. So if my house burns down, I have a backup that is at most one week old.
No matter what, there will always be a scenario where data loss can happen. Backups mitigate, but don't eliminate risk. A fireproof safe is a mitigation, not a 100% sure bet. It is an improvement over leaving a drive laying around in a kitchen or dresser drawer.
RAID0 4x 1~2TB drives as a scratch disk pool for recording uncompressed (or very lightly compressed) video off a HDMI capture device.
There's also a RAID1 2x 4TB drives as a storage pool that will store the compressed video after OBS stops recording (automatically, through a script) which will run through Handbrake and re-encode and compress the video to more manageable filesize.
It works and is sensible. RAID0 HDDs make sense as a scratch drive for storing uncompressed video streams since all you care about is storage capacity total and sustained write speeds (and RAID0 preserves both). Sure, if the raid array gets blown away, you lose the uncompressed copy of the last stream, but it'd also be available as a VOD on YouTube/Twitch/etc as a lower quality copy.
"When it comes to compatibility, OWC’s dual drive bay solution should work with all standard SATA HDDs and SSDs. Capacity wise, this means that it can accommodate two 14 TB HDDs providing up to 28 TB of storage space"
Yeah, well, I bought one of these things when USB 3.0 was new-ish, and it also has an ASMedia controller chip of some sort. It DOES NOT work if you plug a 4 TB drive in to it, and has no firmware updates to fix the problem... so I'm not sure I'd count on this working unless you actually tested it with those large drives.
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PeachNCream - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
Setting up RAID 0 implies the drives will remain in-place on a long term basis. Perhaps for modern 2.5 inch SSDs that would be okay, but mechanical drives continue to feature an exposed PCB on the bottom of the drive. I would be reluctant to operate a dock that doesn't entirely shelter the drives as an external storage solution. For technical support needs or one-off data transfers though, a dock like this would be an excellent solution.alacard - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
I've used these types of docks for years and have never had a problem with them. I do add a fan to each one though to keep them cool, and that's probably overkill, but I hate heat on my tech.http://www.tritorch.com/balancez/file%20server.png
I wouldn't worry about it IMO.
The Chill Blueberry - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
Haha, love ur drive naming!alacard - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
Thanks, i had a lot of fun naming them.foobaz - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
You could really use a NAS. If you RAID disks together you'll have redundancy, better speed, and you won't have to move files around to balance free space because it will be one large storage pool. If you run a COW filesystem you can take snapshots to prevent against accidental deletion. Maybe something like a Node 304 with 6x hard drives running FreeNAS.alacard - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
I'll definitely check into a NAS RAID format. When I first started adding hard drives I never imagined it would become such a big project, but the pictures and home videos (and everything else that came with them) kept coming and I didn't know how to scale at that time. Thanks for the advice!CharonPDX - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
I use a similar dual-drive "toaster" dock, but I use it in software RAID-1 mode as my backup target. Once a week, I swap out a drive (3-drive rotation) and rebuild the array. The swapped out drive goes to a fireproof safe. So if my house burns down, I have a backup that is at most one week old.Rocket321 - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
Unfortunately, fireproof does not equal heat proof. If your fire safe is exposed to a structure fire your drives' electronics are likely to melt.PeachNCream - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
No matter what, there will always be a scenario where data loss can happen. Backups mitigate, but don't eliminate risk. A fireproof safe is a mitigation, not a 100% sure bet. It is an improvement over leaving a drive laying around in a kitchen or dresser drawer.a351must2 - Thursday, December 13, 2018 - link
If it's not off site, it's not backed upDragonstongue - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
this looks quite large, however price seems "nice" considering it comes with its own PSU raid support etc.Valantar - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
Not that I need a dock like this, but I have to say I love that it has an integrated power supply. Death to wall warts!Huacanacha - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
“it makes sense to run two SATA HDDs in RAID 0”I dispute this claim, (almost) regardless of context.
JoeyJoJo123 - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
RAID0 4x 1~2TB drives as a scratch disk pool for recording uncompressed (or very lightly compressed) video off a HDMI capture device.There's also a RAID1 2x 4TB drives as a storage pool that will store the compressed video after OBS stops recording (automatically, through a script) which will run through Handbrake and re-encode and compress the video to more manageable filesize.
It works and is sensible. RAID0 HDDs make sense as a scratch drive for storing uncompressed video streams since all you care about is storage capacity total and sustained write speeds (and RAID0 preserves both). Sure, if the raid array gets blown away, you lose the uncompressed copy of the last stream, but it'd also be available as a VOD on YouTube/Twitch/etc as a lower quality copy.
evilspoons - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
"When it comes to compatibility, OWC’s dual drive bay solution should work with all standard SATA HDDs and SSDs. Capacity wise, this means that it can accommodate two 14 TB HDDs providing up to 28 TB of storage space"Yeah, well, I bought one of these things when USB 3.0 was new-ish, and it also has an ASMedia controller chip of some sort. It DOES NOT work if you plug a 4 TB drive in to it, and has no firmware updates to fix the problem... so I'm not sure I'd count on this working unless you actually tested it with those large drives.