NAS backup enclosure

[enewmen]

Hi all.

I've been searching for a good HDD enclosure for backing up my NAS for a long time. Nothing found.

Is there any USB enclosure that has built-in hibernation/sleep (and S.M.A.R.T. testing is nice) ? Then I can just leave it on in power-save mode and accept backups when scheduled.

I found a WD & Seagate enclosure that does this. But I don't think you can take the drives out and use them for something else later.

Any ideas?
Thanks!

 

[stevech]

I did trial and error to find a drive + enclosure's USB chip that would let the drive spin down after 10 minutes or so. No rhyme or reason. Just trial and error. I wound up with a Seagate USB3 enclosure with some other brand of drive that's 2TB.
I blamed the NAS for too long. It's the drive and SATA/USB3 chip in the enclosure that I believe is the culprit.
Well, mine works OK. Plugged into USB3 all the time, spins down after the once a day auto-backup of VIP folders.

 

[enewmen]

Thanks for the post!

I understand about your trial and error. But I can't afford to keep buying enclosures until I find one that works. So I was hoping to find someone that works in a computer repair store that tried many devices.

Did you say your Seagate USB3 enclosure allows drive replacement? I thought those enclosures (that allow spin-downs) and similar WD enclosures where sealed and didn't use a standard SATA interface or standard voltage.

Let me check this further. It will be perfect if this is the case - such as the drive fails but the enclosure is still good.

 

[stevech]

The enclosures' mechanical design vary greatly, vendor to vendor and product to product same vendor.
Most non-brand-name enclosure have simple screws to remove to swap drives. WD, Seagate and other mass marketers have plastic enclosures that are hard to open. I searched a while with Google and found a video from a guy showing the tricks to get mine open. I did so and put in a larger drive.

I tried about 3 off-brand easy to open and then lucked out with this seagate. You can also try drive docks. No magic. I wrote to Synology for recommendations - their response was vendors who don't sell in the US, my region.

a search on newegg.com for 3.5 inch USB 3 enclosures gave a long list.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...sb3 drive enclosure&name=3.5"&Order=BESTMATCH
It's an educated guess as to which might spin down. And some SATA drives I have won't spin down due to inactivity.

Sorry I don't have a shortcut for you. I think Seagate uses a different mechanical design for 2TB and higher. They're just cheap crap from Asia.

 

[reeta]

That sounds like a good way to go. I am leaning toward getting something like bt sync for file syncing. I know qnap boxes are good but they are a bit expensive.
My main concern is that the Nas could be the bottleneck in the network slowing my ability to work with my CAD files. What sorry of processor would a nas need to have to ensure smooth CAD file editing?


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[F5ing]

I think it may be the proprietary SATA/USB3 interfaces used on some devices that allows access to SMART data, and possibly control of spin-down behavior. I avoid these if the SATA/USB3 interface is integrated into the drive's logic board (preventing a simple replacement of a failing/failed drive).

 

[stevech]

Hibernation topic aside... I've never seen a USB drive interface that can cooperate in S.M.A.R.T. data access. Only SATA (or old IDE).

 

[F5ing]

Hibernation topic aside... I've never seen a USB drive interface that can cooperate in S.M.A.R.T. data access. Only SATA (or old IDE).

Yeah, the exception rather than the rule. I've got two 4 or 5 year old WD MyBooks and two 10 year old Iomegas that allow access to SMART attributes. I'm not sure what kind of interface is in the older Iomegas, but I'd be willing to bet that the WDs have drives where the interface is built into the drive's logic board. Someone brought me a WD to "fix" for them. Pretty much identical to the two I've got. SMART indicated problems, file system a mess, pulled the data off and popped it open -- interface was built into the drive's logic board, so couldn't pop in a new HD even if they wanted me to. Gave them their data, the old WD and told them they needed to buy a new external.

None of the others I've got around here allow SMART access. Got a couple of those SATA/PATA adapters connected to the end of a short USB cable; they don't allow access either.

 

[htismaqe]

Part of the reason I opted for using eSATA instead of USB3 for my backup enclosure.

It's also faster. And frees up the single USB port on the back of my NAS for the UPS control cable.

 

[htismaqe]

Just FYI but the enclosure I use is this Rosewill.

 

[F5ing]

Just FYI but the enclosure I use is this Rosewill.

Yeah, I use a 2.5/3.5" dual bay dock with an eSATA interface to help ensure full communication with any of the bare drives I run across that I want or need to mess with.

Here's a good enclosure with an eSATA interface for a 2.5" drive (makes it a little more "portable" if you need that):

MiniPro 2.5" SATA to USB 3.0 & eSATA 6Gbps External Hard Drive / SSD Enclosure (up to 15mm, UASP)

But, I guess I may be veering somewhat OT.

 

[stevech]

Yeah, I use a 2.5/3.5" dual bay dock with an eSATA interface to help ensure full communication with any of the bare drives I run across that I want or need to mess with.

Here's a good enclosure with an eSATA interface for a 2.5" drive (makes it a little more "portable" if you need that):

MiniPro 2.5" SATA to USB 3.0 & eSATA 6Gbps External Hard Drive / SSD Enclosure (up to 15mm, UASP)

But, I guess I may be veering somewhat OT.

2.5" drive not a good choice for a NAS backup. Cost per byte much higher than 3.5". Capacity limit is 2TB now, for a reasonably priced drive.

 

[F5ing]

2.5" drive not a good choice for a NAS backup. Cost per byte much higher than 3.5". Capacity limit is 2TB now, for a reasonably priced drive.

Yeah, I know. Kinda why I mentioned this as well:

But, I guess I may be veering somewhat OT.

Try as we might, we'll never be able to violate the laws of economics.