[mythtv-users] drive configuration dilemmna

[freedenizen]

On Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 4:51 AM, Mark Lord <mythtv at rtr.ca> wrote:
> A problem I have with RAID, is that it multiplies the odds of a failure
> causing data loss.  Eg. 6 drives = 6X the likelihood of a failure that
> affects all data.  Sure, perhaps the array will tolerate a single drive
> failure (which is kind of the whole point), but then you're running on the
> edge for a day or three until that drive is replaced and the RAID resync'd.
> I know of several people who "lost everything" during such an interval.

RAID6 will tollerate 2 drive failures, I agree that with the size of
drives these days (I'm using 3TB drives), the rebuild times are
getting very large, and the chance of second failure are increasingly
likely.

Currently I'm running a 6 drive RAID6 array with an additional hot spare.

> I prefer using individual 2TB (at present) drives for backups,
> keeping them unattached between uses to minimize any possibility
> of corruption or electrical failure.  I use a pop-up "toaster" style
> of external SATA drive bay for this purpose, with a fan added to it
> for cooling.

I do the same thing for backups, actually every time that I've
increased the capacity of my array, I use the old drives for my new
backup sets.