tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post4860406508627680729..comments2024-03-25T01:15:29.263-07:00Comments on The Photographic World of Drew Gardner: Drobo Pro - My New full time job with the time VampireAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10359795436606745114noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-52086983619877364512013-09-02T01:41:01.789-07:002013-09-02T01:41:01.789-07:00.You put really very helpful informaI am pretty mu....You put really very helpful informaI am pretty much pleased with your good work.tion. Keep it up. <a href="http://www.jobssite.ca" rel="nofollow">jobssite.ca</a>Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06660788126917595824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-89980281227111513812011-09-08T14:58:59.588-07:002011-09-08T14:58:59.588-07:00Hi Drew,
many thanks for you reply. I'm pleas...Hi Drew,<br /><br />many thanks for you reply. I'm pleased you enjoyed my cat image, it was great fun to photograph! <br /><br />Sorry for my late response, I've been all over the place trying to arrange moving to London. <br /><br />I saw your post about the QNAP and it certainly seems like a great solution. This is the kind of thing that I am looking to purchase I think. I just need to earn enough money to be able to...but that's another matter. Server storage just seems like a great solution to my constant battle with harddrives and backing up. <br /><br />Kind regards,<br />CharlieAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06149771733454879951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-17170076016789422372011-09-05T17:00:17.594-07:002011-09-05T17:00:17.594-07:00I've had a Drobo V.2 for a few years. Attached...I've had a Drobo V.2 for a few years. Attached to a Droboshare. I have 2 1.5 T and 2 2 T drives on which I have 2.2 T's of data. Twice I have had to reset(reformat) as the device would not be recognized on my network. Thank goodness I had backed up on a few spare drives.<br />Support from Drobo was sketchy at best.<br />Speeds are as reported,..slow.<br />Overall experience, a bit negative.<br />Especially when compared to my Thecus N4100pro, 3 years and not a peep.pgsalmonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08405101169936560710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-63562132848184252602011-08-21T08:57:34.965-07:002011-08-21T08:57:34.965-07:00Hi Charlie
Thanks for getting in touch
Before I ...Hi Charlie<br /><br />Thanks for getting in touch<br /><br />Before I say another word...FANTASTIC pic of the man with the cat(s) on your website.<br /><br />A cracking shot.<br /><br />OK, storage.<br /><br />I still hold the same opinions I did when I posted about the Drobo.<br /><br />I have switched to a QNAP TS859<br /><br />It has proven to be super reliable, you just turn it on and it works.<br /><br />Day in, day out, without any drama whatsoever.<br /><br />I forget it is even there most of the time.<br /><br />Pros<br /><br />It is faster than the Drobo<br /><br />Super reliable.<br /><br />It has industry standard 'non proprietary' software which means in the case of a failure someone could help you out much more easily than with a proprietary software solution.<br /><br />It is feature rich you can do all sorts of weird and wonderful tasks with it your own cloud NAS etc<br /><br />Cons<br /><br />It is more difficult to set up out of the box than the Drobo<br /><br />It does not look quite as good as the Drobo.<br /><br />Conclusion<br /><br />I cannot recommend it highly enough<br /><br />At least 8 people have bought one on my recommendation and they all say much the same as I do<br /><br />I hope this helps<br /><br /><br />Regards<br /><br />DrewAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359795436606745114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-75035443244207270972011-08-20T08:12:25.815-07:002011-08-20T08:12:25.815-07:00Hi Drew, I am looking at getting a server based la...Hi Drew, I am looking at getting a server based large storage solution and was wondering what you ended up going for? My internet searching has given me so many options it would be good to hear what you went with.<br /><br />Simply I need a lot of space, duplicate copies and a server that runs well on Mac OSX. Did you manage to tick these boxes?<br /><br />Kind regards,<br />Charlie<br />www.charliecliftphotography.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06149771733454879951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-37619649289068231992011-05-05T01:27:24.534-07:002011-05-05T01:27:24.534-07:00Dear Eugene,
Cheaper than a Dobo I think, let me ...Dear Eugene,<br /><br />Cheaper than a Dobo I think, let me know which way you go.<br /><br />I have just switched to the QNAP TS859 which is VERY good.<br /><br />Much faster than the Drobo and super stable too<br /><br />I will be blogging about it in the near future<br /><br />Regards<br /><br />DrewAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359795436606745114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-35077295132207847352011-05-04T07:07:27.857-07:002011-05-04T07:07:27.857-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550318446965464100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-64855840483721528432011-05-04T07:07:02.197-07:002011-05-04T07:07:02.197-07:00I have the SansDigital 5 Bay Hardware RAID box and...I have the SansDigital 5 Bay Hardware RAID box and the Drobo and with the SansDigital 3/4 full, I am considering a second unit. Yes I can not plug in a larger capacity drive on my existing RAID; however, a new one with eSATA and USB 3.0 interface for $349 and the Drobo S 5 drive unit $799 with a $100 coupon that expires today I can not justify the increased expense for the Drobo S. For $600 I can get another Sans Digital RAID 5 fully poputlated for less than the empty Drobo S (Hitachi 1TB drives for $50 each). I also can go with Hitachi 2TB drives for $110 each. I think I will purchase another Sansdigital over a 2nd Drobo.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11550318446965464100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-54562288306487436762010-08-15T05:47:51.581-07:002010-08-15T05:47:51.581-07:00Hi drew,
I use two towers with several drives I be...Hi drew,<br />I use two towers with several drives I believe the new one is 8 max. <br />They use port multipliers to esata.<br />Use one as main and one as mirror.<br />Never lost a file and when one hdd fails just replace it because they are seen as separate drives. <br /><br />Greetings,<br />Frank Doorhof<br />Www.frankdoorhof.comFrank Doorhofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03885004091156511851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-46481485925795941982010-08-10T05:02:33.279-07:002010-08-10T05:02:33.279-07:00I use an iOmega IX4-200D with 4TB of storage in a ...I use an iOmega IX4-200D with 4TB of storage in a RAID5 config. Dual gigabit LAN, USB, managed interface,... it's aimed towards small companies but works great at home too. You have a 2TB and 8TB edition as well.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17642344305179780082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-35091273333261367272010-07-20T03:29:14.797-07:002010-07-20T03:29:14.797-07:00You should have a look to the netgear readyNAS pro...You should have a look to the netgear readyNAS pro.<br /><br />Up to 12 TB of storage (6x2) hot swapping, strong system, really good community with a lot of plugins etc...Pierrehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651831760141755857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-61249908755102660902010-07-20T01:12:18.516-07:002010-07-20T01:12:18.516-07:00Thanks for the comments guys
The options are endl...Thanks for the comments guys<br /><br />The options are endless and hopefully we can all learn something from this discussion<br /><br />Some sort of server seems to be the way to go perhaps<br /><br />Drobo HAVE been helpful though<br /><br />Read on.....<br /><br />Cheers<br /><br />DrewAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10359795436606745114noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-17326804421371493372010-07-19T23:34:49.660-07:002010-07-19T23:34:49.660-07:00Drew I'm going to recommend a Netgear readyNAS...Drew I'm going to recommend a Netgear readyNAS. I've had one for years it just keeps on working. <br /><br />In those years I had a power supply fail - switched out quickly with no data loss. I've upgraded the drives - a pain in terms of data copying, but fine otherwise.<br /><br />For you, the ReadyNAS Pro is probably the way forward. It's networked storage that you connect to a small UPS and it just works - forever!p4pictureshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07019980433420877006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-18917603815424401352010-07-19T23:27:17.507-07:002010-07-19T23:27:17.507-07:00I concur with the commenter above about ReadyNAS, ...I concur with the commenter above about ReadyNAS, they are expensive but they are designed for uptime and business users. They are amongst the fastest NAS systems on the market for transfer speeds (NVX and Pro).<br /><br />I installed a Pro into a business environment where they are doing content creation and I've yet to hear a peep about the unit, it just keeps going with 6Tb of storage.<br /><br />Google shows that they consistently earn the highest marks and praise as well. It's just annoying they're expensive. I personally run a NVX for my photographic needs. This is a back up of the 3 drive system I use to preserve my data (main, back up and version control).<br /><br />Alternatively you could use Windows Home Server (WHS) which works well, though I've not used it with OS X.<br /><br />I've seen a lot of issues for Drobo over the years so you're not alone.<br /><br />Data Management is one of the first things I teach new photographers, it's not easy and it's certainly not cheap.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00148374363580520683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-76337641747232854742010-07-19T23:10:29.046-07:002010-07-19T23:10:29.046-07:00Hi Drew, i don't have any experience with the ...Hi Drew, i don't have any experience with the Drobo, however i could recommend to you the NAS that i have been using since 2007, ReadyNAS NV+. It has 4 drive bays that can accommodate, i believe more than 2TB each. I currently have three 1TBs and plan to add in one more 1TB hdd. I am using it for timemachine backups for my 3 macs. It also serves as a location for my other media files (photo, audio, video) that's being served into my minimac that works as a media server (ala HTPC). I ran my ReadyNAS in X-Raid mode that keeps the data redundant, meaning if 1 of the hdd dies, data is still kept intact. There's a newer (more expensive) version which is the ReadyNAS Pro. I think this one has 6 hdd bays, which allows you to have 2 hdd dying on you and your data is still intact. The ReadyNAS forum is very active and supportive, coming from members and the admins themselves. This NAS can be configured such that you can access your data even if your away from your home, speed depends on your subscribed down/upload from your provider. Since 2007, i never had any issues with this. ReadyNAS allows you to choose the file protocol you wish, AFP for apple environment, CIFS or SMB for windows environment and apple supports this too, FTP, HTTP, HTTPs. It's hot-swappably (insert/remove hdd without powering down).Virgiliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10004534584498034369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-81429589690485354132010-07-19T16:48:41.890-07:002010-07-19T16:48:41.890-07:00Local storage only works easily until you need mor...Local storage only works easily until you need more space provided than a few drives can store. About 4-6 TB right now. Solutions that support more than that amount come in two types: cheap, "simple" and unreliable, or expensive, complicated and reliable. As the old saying goes: "Cheap, simple, reliable. Pick two."<br /><br />One option that I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet is cloud storage. Even if you stick with local hardware for storage you should seriously consider using a cloud storage provider for additional redundancy. The only downside is transfer time because upstream bandwidth is limited for most home internet connections.<br /><br />Here are few examples to get you started:<br /><br />Amazon S3 - http://aws.amazon.com/s3/<br />BackBlaze - http://www.backblaze.com/<br />JungleDisk - https://www.jungledisk.com/John Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15001433050744711068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-41005134769365065272010-07-19T14:34:27.058-07:002010-07-19T14:34:27.058-07:00Drew i would sugest going with an enterprise solut...Drew i would sugest going with an enterprise solution. like a Lacie big rack, G tech G-speed, HP storage works etc..<br /><br />Run the raid array to a server Xserve or windows server of your choice with fiber channel. Server has dual Gigabit lan and iscsi.<br /><br />Im sorry to say drew this type of setup is the only thing that will be reliable and scalable the way you need it to. These types of setups have been used for years in one form or another, so they work better than any consumer product ever will.<br /><br />Your looking at £3k - £5K to have safe reliable 24/7 availability. You can shave a allot of if you cut down the amount of data that is always available.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397254269606800652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-37674509421157423232010-07-19T14:29:40.873-07:002010-07-19T14:29:40.873-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00397254269606800652noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-4324383854861038972010-07-19T14:06:57.913-07:002010-07-19T14:06:57.913-07:00Drew,
Long time no see...
Drobos are long known ...Drew,<br /><br />Long time no see...<br /><br />Drobos are long known to crocks of ..... Whatever they write on the box, they are consumer toys. <br />With the level of data you have you need a very serious Raid 6 or 10 solution (not Raid 5).<br /><br />Speak to Paul Ellis, the digital plumber (AoP) - he will recommend a solution that works.<br /><br />For anyone else reading this, the words LaCie and Data security are not compatible. Buyer beware!<br /><br />Nick W-BAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-72848854915149541642010-07-19T14:04:54.754-07:002010-07-19T14:04:54.754-07:00Hi Drew
While I can appreciate that you would pre...Hi Drew<br /><br />While I can appreciate that you would prefer to keep your Drobo setup I have to agree with the posters recommending an enterprise storage solution along the lines of a Dell MD3000 or similar. I do a lot of work with the MD3000i and while it has its limitations I think it will serve your purpose well. <br /><br />A word of caution: Should you decide to ditch the Drobo it is important to make sure that the solution you select has drivers for all the OS'es you use on your computers, and that your network infrastructure can handle it, should you opt for an iSCSI solution.<br /><br />Also, know that enterprise storage in general is "raw" storage that can be used as an ordinary hard drive and nothing more - no backup features, no FTP-service, webserver, user management and such. Plain stupid storage like a normal USB drive - just one helluva lot bigger and more resilient.<br /><br />I just checked and the website pricing for a MD3000i with 14 500 GB SATA drives is a little less than 9K GBP (ditch the enterprise licensing, you will not need it), and I bet you that a phone call to Dell will bring that price down considerably. <br /><br />If not, I think IBM has a similar model. Or HP. :)<br /><br />While it is still a lot of money, we are talking 6 TB of storage in a RAID5 configuration with one hot spare disk for added safety. On top of that, you can add two MD1000 enclosures with a similar amount of space, all run through the controller on the MD3000i. 18 TB of data with no additional management sounds like just what the doctor ordered for a one-man show.Anders C. Madsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04942617883838947536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-91734084486759537672010-07-19T13:23:16.017-07:002010-07-19T13:23:16.017-07:00Hi Drew
My backup is as follows ;
2 seperate Lac...Hi Drew<br /><br />My backup is as follows ;<br /><br />2 seperate Lacie 1TB drives, USB 2.0.<br /><br />After each job I initially download to my working drive, an external eSATA Lacie 2TB drive.<br /><br />After initial sift and selection of images I copy selected files to each Lacie 1TB drive. Later I copy any finished files to them as well.<br /><br />I often also burn a DVD as well as a further backup.<br /><br />I also have a networked Lacie RAID 1 drive which holds documents, paperwork and any delivered files to clients.<br /><br />In several years of using Lacie I have only had one drive fail.<br /><br />Hope you get sorted out, backup and archiving is a major headache but needs to be done.<br /><br />SeanSean Boltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05567369575361150570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-49534718449025354782010-07-19T12:54:26.416-07:002010-07-19T12:54:26.416-07:00Drew, whats your time worth? If you dropped 1500 U...Drew, whats your time worth? If you dropped 1500 US on the drobo and an additional 5-10k US worth of time, youve just spent the same as you would have on enterprise storage. <br /><br />It might be worthwhile to look into LTO4 for a long term solution. Back up and retreval take time, but its a safe, long term answer and is what most CG and animation studios use for long term data filing. <br /><br />From there, considering your business depends on the retention of your data, it might be time to look into a professional NAS/SAN solution as John said previously. maybe a mac NAS http://www.apple.com/server/storage/ , or the dell solution.<br /><br /> I bought my mac pro when I was sick of consumer PCs crashing constantly. Essentially, your going to end up spending money on either your time or hardware.Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15419961353912418893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-71649790372278972752010-07-19T11:43:20.274-07:002010-07-19T11:43:20.274-07:00Honestly if you use consumer electronics, expect t...Honestly if you use consumer electronics, expect that they will behave like consumer electronics. If this is your business, then take the time and money to invest in a proper business storage server. Yes, it will cost you more, I would estimate 2K usd for a setup from Dell. However this will include overnight shipping of failed parts and direct access to your service rep who will hopefully do their best to protect you. You will likely also want to hire someone to setup the system for you. I know this sounds excessive, and tough to budget, however this is just the basics of an entry level in house data retention system. I would also recommend that less of your data is kept "in production". Retain the last year on your active drives, put the rest onto triplicate tapes and store them in multiple locations. Again, this will cost you. But in the end, when it's time to say "Hey son I lost your childhood photos" it will be worth it.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12454948658607606612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-91726196149156110162010-07-19T11:33:08.678-07:002010-07-19T11:33:08.678-07:00I work from three internal drives, one for OS and ...I work from three internal drives, one for OS and software, one for working files and one for scratch disk. Externally, I have two Firewire connected hard drives, one for each computer, each configured as RAID1. Then there is a network connected drive, which can double as a media server, also configured as RAID1. I do all the work on the computers, never from the external/network drives. I use Cobian Backup to make automatic, simultaneous backups from the internal working drive to all the external/network drives at the end of each day. Cobian is very light on resources, so I could make it do backups more often, but once a day is enough for me. Brand names of the external/network drives are not important, except that I've had back experiences previously with Lacie and IOGear. The drives inside Iomega Ultramax and Ultramax Plus die within months, but not since I replaced the failed drives with server-grade one.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03073116941791518397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2644629870779379729.post-46828053201471084962010-07-19T10:37:43.354-07:002010-07-19T10:37:43.354-07:00I agree with Todd Allen's comment, Chase did a...I agree with Todd Allen's comment, Chase did an awesome job showing his workflow/backup. As a student/budding photographer, I can't afford a NAS storage system so I'm currently using externals which is not good at all because harddrives fail and stuff, but I was looking at the G-safe website and they have hot swappable NAS storage options which is what I'm looking for. I don't need access all of my data all the time, so I would just swap out the older hds with new ones and store them somewhere safe. I personally would get the G-speed Q because it fits me perfectly. But for now...I will cross my fingers with externals. ><Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09552794322114127203noreply@blogger.com