Home NAS Configuration - 2bay RAID1 vs 1bay with offline backup

[tonyg]

Getting ready to purchase and am trying to decide between a 1bay unit and a 2bay unit. Using primarily for backup and media streaming. Thinking the Synology DS111 or DS211. 1TB-2TB is more than I foresee needing at this point.

Should I go with :

The DS211, in a mirrored (RAID1) setup? I still need to make sure the data exists elsewhere on another backup drive or on my system(s).

or

The DS111, backing up the drive on another offline drive. The DS111 also has an external eSata port which gives flexibility for future expansion and speedy backups.

What does RAID1 buy me? Thoughts?

Thanks
Tony

 

[teknojnky]

raid is not a substitute for backups. fires, floods, theft, can all rob you of your data, especially if they are kept in the same place.

simply, raid1 buys you additional availability. If one drive fails, the raid can continue to run without a potentially messy and time-consuming restoration.

raid 1 PLUS another offline/remote backup is the way to go.

but of course, as your data size increases, so does the cost in backing it up.

 

[tonyg]

Thanks for the response teknojnky.
That is my understanding too.
I'm just struggling a bit whether the RAID1 benefit is worth the additional expense.

If you assume you are backing up your NAS data elsewhere in both cases and assume a 2TB drive size ...
Going with a DS111 ($209) with a 2TB Seagate at $130 = $339
Going with a DS211 ($319) with 2x@TB drives at $260 = $579

So quite a bit more money for ease of recovery when the drive fails. No loss of data in either cas. The life expectancy for the NAS drives is probably similar, meaning if one fails the other is probably not far behind, more $$.

I still have to purchase the offline backup drive and a UPS, so another $200+ initial expense.

 

[teknojnky]

well, I don't know if synology supports expanding from 1 drive to 2 drives, but if it does, you could get the 2 bay device, put only 1 drive in it, and use the other for the backup.

then later you could add the 2nd drive to the nas.

but you should get it confirmed this is possible first.