NAS

[JBB]

About 50% through the initial Carbonite backup of my main computer (3 weeks @ dismal upload speed), I bricked my hdd. I have a couple of drives in external enclosures so loss was minimal.  I have been leaning toward implementing a nas for storage of music, pictures and home video files (we have 3-4 computers, a tablet, phones and entertainment devices on our network) and am ready to buy a synology diskstation 2-bay and a pair of 2tb hdds to raid1.  I'll still need an offsite backup plan.

Anyone have a setup they recommend?

[Shamamama]

Okay, so half of that was gibberish to me, but what I will say is that we hosted our own server for years and years and went through all the hell of that - I have now moved everything - personal records, photos, music, massive amounts of client records - all of it - to Dropbox.  I love it.  If I want access to something from any computer it's siimple, straightforward and fast.  I can even look up old client records on my phone.  The Syncing is automatic so if I move a file in on my laptop I can go in the house and it's already there on Opti's laptop.  Fantastic back ups.  I had to recover 3000 files for work (a little drag and drop accident by a tired manager) and it was easy.

So, there's my two cents.  I may not have even been addressing what you were asking.  LOL

[JBB]

Okay, so half of that was gibberish to me

dropbox is worth considering. 

One thing I need a system to do is house a gazillion song files in a central location so that I can play them from any or all of my networked client devices and to load onto iP% devices for mobile enjoyment.  I'm not sure I am ready to put it all on the iCloud, but am willing to hear pro/con arguments.

[hfranks]

I have a couple Synology (6) drive bay stations at work.  They haven't failed yet.   

[mellamur]

Dropbox is great. When someone broke in and took all our stuff we still had access to everything except the computer. 

[Figby]

About 50% through the initial Carbonite backup of my main computer (3 weeks @ dismal upload speed), I bricked my hdd. I have a couple of drives in external enclosures so loss was minimal.  I have been leaning toward implementing a nas for storage of music, pictures and home video files (we have 3-4 computers, a tablet, phones and entertainment devices on our network) and am ready to buy a synology diskstation 2-bay and a pair of 2tb hdds to raid1.  I'll still need an offsite backup plan.

Anyone have a setup they recommend?

I have a Netgear NAS and absolutely love it...can't recommend it enough.  Buy the enclosure without HDDs and add them as your needs grow.  It will dynamically expand as you add new drives (I started out with 2 hds mirrored, now I'm RAID 5 with 4 drives).  Best purchase ever.

Here's the updated version of the one I have:  http://www.netgear.com/home/products/storage/consumer/MS2000.aspx

[Jack]

It sucks about your timing; hard drive prices have been through the roof ever since the flooding in Thailand. I suggest you buy a minimum number of drives now, and expand in six months or so when prices stabilize again.

[Paulie [eatl/ga]]

NAS set-ups are great but I'll remind you that you absolutely MUST have an offsite backup as well. That offsite backup could be a hard drive stored at a friend's house, or an online solution, but in our neighborhood(s) the likelihood of theft is too great to only rely on having a drive at the same location to ensure data availability. Sadly I know from first-hand experience when my iMac was stolen from my house.

[barbecuesteve]

My target setup will be a Qnap TS-509 or equivalent running inside of a safe bolted to the floor.

But right now it's a modded Time Capsule in the basement and a USB drive.

[enduser]

The Drobo is pricier than your standard NAS but very easy to use and the kind of computer appliance you never have to think about. I use and endorse it.

[The Lord of the Jungle]

Prefer MOS DEF myself...

[barbecuesteve]

Prefer MOS DEF myself...

MOSFET? You're at the wrong scale, man.