Looking for a sub $1000 double redundant, self supporting novice level system.

[netusinfoo]

I am looking for a system that has double redundancy (ie a raid 1 array backing up my computer HD) that is idealy completly hands off and able to be operated by a networking beginner.

So far I am leaning towards the HP MediaSmart Server EX470 with 3 add on 500GBs for it's versitility and it's hard to believe an HP product difficult to setup/operate even though I absolutly hate the fact of no raid support.
Is there an easier to operate product out there with more advantages?

Looking for the highest quality product at a sub $1000 price point.

 

[thiggins]

There are plenty of RAID 1 products that can meet your needs:
Netgear ReadyNAS Duo (RND2150)
D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-323)
D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321)
HP Media Vault Pro (mv5150)

 

[netusinfoo]

There are plenty of RAID 1 products that can meet your needs:
Netgear ReadyNAS Duo (RND2150)
D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-323)
D-Link 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure (DNS-321)
HP Media Vault Pro (mv5150)

What would be the most durable product available? I do not like the non-removability of 1 drive in the media vault. I would prefer the possibility of being able to put in a new drive myself within seconds of a failure, not shipping the thing back to the company or disassembling a case.

I just had a single drive in a SC101 backed up with a Mirra, the Mirra failed then the drive in the sc101 failed days later leaving me with a huge loss of data.
On the phone for hours with Seagate and netgear telling me too bad we can't save your data short of $1700 . So I would prefer to be done with consumer level products.

 

[thiggins]

I don't do any long term testing, so can't comment on reliability.
The D-Link and Netgear products I listed all can have both drives replaced by a user.

RAID is great until a controller or power supply fails during write activity. That's why having backup of any storage array on a separate device is important. It looks like you understood that, but had an unfortunate choice in the SC101.

You may be reluctant to try another Netgear product, but the ReadyNAS series is an entirely different design than the SC101. But it is relatively expensive. The D-Links are more reasonably priced and should cover your relatively simple requirements.

 

[netusinfoo]

Thanks, this site has been a great resource.

 

[BostonDan]

Does anyone know if any embedded RAID-1 solutions format the drives using a standard file system. Meaning, if the device dies, the drive can be connected to a standard PC and the data retreived.
netusinfoo- kinda funny you mention a failing SC101. I had the SC101 device itself fail. I'm currently using an Intel SS42000E and considering getting a dlink DNS-321 and mirroring the important data located on the SS4200E in case something like this happens again.

 

[scotty]

Does anyone know if any embedded RAID-1 solutions format the drives using a standard file system. Meaning, if the device dies, the drive can be connected to a standard PC and the data retreived.

In most cases I'm aware of, yes. There haven't been many RAID1 controllers of note where I haven't been able to take the drive and stick it in another machine. Keep in mind Windows won't likely boot and all that jazz, but the data will be readable.

 

[thiggins]

Scotty, please say a little more about what would be involved for a Windows machine to read a drive from a typical NAS, i.e. the filesystems involved.

 

[scotty]

Scotty, please say a little more about what would be involved for a Windows machine to read a drive from a typical NAS, i.e. the filesystems involved.

Er, I was more referring to NTFS drives from a PC/Server RAID controller. Didn't really give any thought about 'other' file systems that would be used on a NAS.

I know there's a few ways out there like Ext2 IFS for windows for reading Ext2/3 natively in windows. Most others are also readable in windows 'somehow'.

 

[vnangia]

Er, I was more referring to NTFS drives from a PC/Server RAID controller. Didn't really give any thought about 'other' file systems that would be used on a NAS.

I know there's a few ways out there like Ext2 IFS for windows for reading Ext2/3 natively in windows. Most others are also readable in windows 'somehow'.

I can attest to this too. I too had a toaster die on me, pulled one of the two drives and put one into a generic USB drive. I was able to open it without any muss or fuss on an Ubuntu 6.06LTS system. It also opened just fine with EXT2IFS under XP SP2. The real trouble, until recently, was FreeNAS drives. Fortunately, now there is ufs2tools and I guess I'll try that this weekend to see if it works as advertised.

Edit: Err, toaster = Netgear SC101. I realize my sense of humour may not translate.

 

[BostonDan]

Thank you all for the great help. I am going to purchase the DNS-321 to backup non-DVR content(about 100 gig).