Ext HD Multi-drive solution?

[jisley]

I have several SATA hard drives lying around that I would like to put to use. I'm looking for a multi bay, hot-swappable, preferably firewire 800 bay that I can put these drives in for backups, sample storage, archiving, etc.

I've seen a few things but many are hardware RAID and I'd like the option of NOT using RAID if I can.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
John

[kgdrum]

not exactly what you are looking for but I use and recommend Firmtek/Seritek
they have bundled HD enclosures with a sata card for the Mac.OWC sells this:
http://eshop.macsales.com/search/firmtek
good luck
KG

[ripeart]

I've seen a few things but many are hardware RAID and I'd like the option of NOT using RAID if I can.

John

Just out of curiosity why don't you want to use RAID?

[kgdrum]

most people find the risks associated w/ raid setups, outweigh the potential benefits.

[ripeart]

most people find the risks associated w/ raid setups, outweigh the potential benefits.

I'm not sure what you mean. The "potential" benefits? If one were to compare a single disk versus a typical fault tolerant RAID array the foregone conclusion is that the RAID array is by far more reliable. This is tried and true, for a long time now.

Granted, in a typical RAID 5 array seek time (depending on the controller) is generally considered to be slower than a single drive or RAID 0. That's really the only downside to employing RAID 5. RAID 10 & 50 mitigates this issue however.

Please explain what risks you are referring to.

[martian]

It'd have to be a blacker friday the 13th if 2 drives were to go on the same day..

I may try using the RAID 1 ( mirroring ) in the internal case

or I am I better getting an external box and stuffing it full of 4 Tb drives?

I just want something secure that I can switch on and not worry about until a red light flashes somewhere...

[ripeart]

The internal RAID option is software RAID which eats CPU cycles.

Best bet is to put those drives in a reliable enclosure with a hardware RAID chipset. A slightly less appealing option (due to potential driver issues, heat, and noise) is to install a hardware RAID card in your Mac and connect the drives to that.

Jeez, just realized the OP was from 2009, sorry for the resurrection, lol.

However maybe some will come across this post and realize that the Mac OS RAID option is software RAID and definitely not a good solution for DAW scenarios.