Need URGENT advise please..... RAID and Backup options ***
I need some advice please... I have 3 ReadyNAS servers, 1U 4Bay each.... Each ReadyNas has 12TB (3x4TB drives).....
I want to use the RN2304 as the main file server but then MIRROR / BACKUP to a second RN2300 using Rsync or Resilio..... My question is, Should I use Raid 0 for speead and capacity? because the NAS will be backed up anyway to the second one if a drive fails.... OR
SHould I use Raid5 FlexiRaid and still use the second NAS as a Backup?
I will be using the RN2304 for :
1. File sharing
2. File syncing between Appls Macs (and iOS devices) using Resilio
Re: Need URGENT advise please..... RAID and Backup options ***
The 2304 should be fast enough to saturate a gigabit network for sequential file reads or writes. Throughput will be slower when browsing large folders and for other tasks that do random i/o. That holds for all RAID modes, though of course the speeds will vary some depending on the mode you choose.
Personally I'd avoid RAID-0. If you want to maximize the capacity, then you could go with jbod (three volumes). That is more robust, since when a disk fails you only need to restore the files on that disk. With RAID-0 you'd need to restore the full volume. My own primary NAS is backed up to other NAS, and I just use RAID-5 (XRAID) myself.
If you do want to maximize speed for random I/O, then I'd suggest going with two larger mechanical disks, and use the other two slots for SSDs. Then use the tiering feature of flexraid (now called "ReadyTier"). I'd only do this on the primary NAS, and I'd use RAID-1 for both the main disks and the SSD tiering. https://kb.netgear.com/000049513/ReadyNAS-OS-6-9-Metadata-Tiering
You say you are running plex. If you are interested in plex transcoding, you might consider using a NAS with a faster processor for your primary NAS. Another option is to go with the 2304, but run the plex server on a PC (mounting the media library to a drive letter on the PC).
Re: Need URGENT advise please..... RAID and Backup options ***
Thanks for the reply....
I do have a mac-mini at the moment that is running my Plex, so maybe ill just keep it that way....
Looks like Xraid (Raid5) is my best and safest option...
One thing I find is that running MAMP on the macmini for web dev is so much easier than on the NAS.... setting up PHP, MySQL, etc etc on the NAS take alot more knowledge than setting it up on MacOS...
Re: Need URGENT advise please..... RAID and Backup options ***
well, to be honest the readynas devices are designed as storage appliances, not general servers where you can install anything and/or everything under the sun.
yes there are 'apps' available, and with enough knowledge you can install just about any standard linux program.
However keep in mind, there are limited resources on the nas and that anything that is added beyond what is available by default, uses up storage/cpu/ram resources, and those add up and can reduce your overall performance, especially if a device is not overly powerful already.
Re: Need URGENT advise please..... RAID and Backup options ***
Yes I agree with you. Thanks for the info. I have decided to let my macmini do most of the work and let the NAS be a file storage server instead. I have also used RAID 5 X-Raid and will see how that goes.
