Let's talk Music Video file storage ??

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I was just making the point that these things work well with no noticeable loss in performance. Grab that OWC enclosure. They're a good company and the stuff they make is well regarded.

Got it. yes I have used them for a number of things including the RAM in my old Mac Pro and the new iMac Also a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 3 connector cable to connect the MBP to iMac and now the new SSD enclosure to either one .....

[Glennwillow]

I have 217 videos on my YouTube channel, so outboard storage is a big deal for me. But I have never been all that scientific about it.

I have a half dozen outboard storage units, four of them filled up. I have been using 4TB units and whatever I backup on one I also backup on another in case one goes bad.

I have had to go back many times to reload large files onto my computer, for example, when I decide to do a tutorial on one of the covers I did a couple of years ago.

I am amazed at how much storage we can get these days for a reasonable price.

- Glenn

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by KevWind

...
What I am uncertain about is how to use the RAID configuration, but will call OWC on Monday
What I don't know is if the computer will see the 4 drives in the enclosure as 4 different drives, or as on big one ,
On my old Mac Pro the two SSD drives (even though on one Dual PCIe drive adaptor sled) appeared as two different drives.

Most multi-disk enclosures support RAID 0 and RAID 1 (striping and mirroring). Mirroring is the only one that provides redundancy, and that's what I use so I don't bother backing up, though, of course, it's slightly riskier, since they're both in the same place, but it's easy. (And it does work, as I had a disk fail once). Both of those will present 2 disks (which should be the same size, if not identical) as a single device.

Striping gives you better performance because you're writing half (or less!) data to each drive, but unless you have one of the higher RAID configurations with parity so missing data can be rebuilt, a single drive failure leaves you with nothing.

Some enclosures also support "JBOD" - just a bunch of disks - which lets you toss in anything you've got handy and it'll present it as a single drive. It doesn't use striping, so the only benefit is having a single, large storage "device" when you really need one. You'll still want to have a recovery plan if the data matters.

The controller configuration can be as simple as a hardware switch, or you may need some other software to manage the enclosure settings.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have 217 videos on my YouTube channel, so outboard storage is a big deal for me. But I have never been all that scientific about it.

I have a half dozen outboard storage units, four of them filled up. I have been using 4TB units and whatever I backup on one I also backup on another in case one goes bad.

I have had to go back many times to reload large files onto my computer, for example, when I decide to do a tutorial on one of the covers I did a couple of years ago.

I am amazed at how much storage we can get these days for a reasonable price.

- Glenn

Wow 217 is lot of video's that's an impressive number -- I've go like 35

[Doug Young]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

M
Striping gives you better performance because you're writing half (or less!) data to each drive, but unless you have one of the higher RAID configurations with parity so missing data can be rebuilt, a single drive failure leaves you with nothing.

That's why I use my Raid 0 disks as working areas only. I get 6000Mbs thru-put, which lets me edit 4K in real time with no proxies and no lags. While I'm working on a video, I still have the original data (SD cards) in case I lost everything and had to start over. Once finished, move the stuff off the Raid SSDs to backup disks, and then I can delete the original data and be ready for the next project.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

Most multi-disk enclosures support RAID 0 and RAID 1 (striping and mirroring). Mirroring is the only one that provides redundancy, and that's what I use so I don't bother backing up, though, of course, it's slightly riskier, since they're both in the same place, but it's easy. (And it does work, as I had a disk fail once). Both of those will present 2 disks (which should be the same size, if not identical) as a single device.

Striping gives you better performance because you're writing half (or less!) data to each drive, but unless you have one of the higher RAID configurations with parity so missing data can be rebuilt, a single drive failure leaves you with nothing.

Some enclosures also support "JBOD" - just a bunch of disks - which lets you toss in anything you've got handy and it'll present it as a single drive. It doesn't use striping, so the only benefit is having a single, large storage "device" when you really need one. You'll still want to have a recovery plan if the data matters.

The controller configuration can be as simple as a hardware switch, or you may need some other software to manage the enclosure settings.

Thanks for the info The enclosure I'm looking at comes with a software package called SoftRaid XT with a bunch features I am going to have to learn about
Like
Advanced: Create RAID 0/1/4/5/1+0 (10) arrays*
Protected: SoftRAID Monitor constantly watches your disks and alerts you if problems are detected
Validated: Volume validation ensures sectors can be read and parity is correct
Certified: Checks disks before use to ensure they are safe for data storage
Vigilant: Error prediction helps protect against unexpected failure
Universal: Move SoftRAID arrays seamlessly between Macs and PCs with built-in OWC MacDrive technology
and more

[Doug Young]

SoftRaid is what I use. No real problems so far. If I recall, what you get from OWC is a trial, then you end up having to buy it. Right now, mine is bugging me to upgrade to a new version, which is not a free upgrade. Seems to mostly be about Monterey and the M1 chip, so I have resisted.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Doug Young

SoftRaid is what I use. No real problems so far. If I recall, what you get from OWC is a trial, then you end up having to buy it. Right now, mine is bugging me to upgrade to a new version, which is not a free upgrade. Seems to mostly be about Monterey and the M1 chip, so I have resisted.

I will have to ask OWC because in this situation it is a $100 upgrade from the enclosure without it >>>

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by KevWind

I will have to ask OWC because in this situation it is a $100 upgrade from the enclosure without it >>>

You can't just use the Disc Utility Raid Assistant on your Mac to set up a raid array with those?

[TTiimm]

My daughter is a graphic artist - 2D animation.

LaCie drives are pretty ubiquitous in her industry.

https://www.lacie.com/

They make some robust and feature rich raid arrays if you want to go that route.

I have one of their 3TB USB-C SSDs for my customer’s data. Engineering stuff. It’s faster than I’ll ever need on a windows PC.

Sweetwater sells them.


-Tim-

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by jim1960

You can't just use the Disc Utility Raid Assistant on your Mac to set up a raid array with those?

Thanks , Didn't even know about that, another question I'll have to ask about

[keith.rogers]

One of my enclosures is the "V2" version of this one - been running for 5 years and rebuilt a failed drive as expected when needed:

https://www.amazon.com/MiniPro-Type-...ef_=ast_sto_dp

The other is a 2-bay 3.5" Mediasonic enclosure and it seems like they just have 4-bay models now. Mine's been running for 4 years - never had to test it.

Both of these have switches/settings on the device for the RAID level. I don't use any software monitoring on the iMac - laziness, and having to run an ethernet cable under the rug and into the closet are the main reasons, I suppose.

(All external drives as well as the iMac are running on a UPS, which should be your first consideration if you haven't got one and live on the grid, IMO.)

[KevWind]

Lots of great info thanks people
I have pretty much decided to go with a PCIe SSD type enclosure, that has user accessible M.2 NVMe SSD type drive bays.
So I can use the two M.2 NVMe drives I already have.

BTW keith.r. --- is a "USP" a type of surge protector ? Because my entire studio system is running on a Monster 2500

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by KevWind

...
BTW keith.r. --- is a "USP" a type of surge protector ? Because my entire studio system is running on a Monster 2500

UPS is a Uninterruptible Power Supply. I have a line conditioner, too, for the stuff not on the UPS (which also has surge protection and some outlets that are just that). I tend to never shut down my equipment unless we're going away for a weekend or longer.

[KevWind]

So I called OWC and got answers to most my questions
And did order the 4 slot PCIe NVMe SSD enclosure with the Thunderbolt 3 connection and two OWC 2TB blades and I will use my two Samsung EVO 970 1TB blades in the other two slots

According to OWC I will only be able to RAID two of the same sizes blades (i.e. say the two 2TB blades) because you can't RAID drives of different sizes But I can still also use the other two but not in the RAID configuration ?? Does this jive with you peoples experiences ???