Do I need a backup ?

[MartynK]

I have looked all around to this one simple question and cannot find a definitive answer on the subject.

Do I need to backup my Array ?

 

I have 8 x 16tb in a QNap USB enclosure with 1 disk running as the Partity drive.

[MAM59]

yes

[MartynK]

At what level do I not need a backup, there must be some level of setup I dont ?

 

To have to double up on the number of disks I have its madness, let alone the manual organisation needed to split the array into manageable chunks which be backed up to separate disks. 

 

Currently I have 4 x 4 bay QNap NAS devices which each run Raid 5, I was hoping that I could cut that back, but are we saying Unraid is not as secure as Raid 5 ?

(Yes I know multiple failures etc all at the same time would be a wipeout), I am trying to get to a happy medium where I have a reliable enough system that I dont need to manage backups on a monthly basis.

[MAM59]

36 minutes ago, MartynK said:

Currently I have 4 x 4 bay QNap NAS devices which each run Raid 5, I was hoping that I could cut that back, but are we saying Unraid is not as secure as Raid 5 ?

None of them is "secure".

Shit can always happen therefor an external backup far away from the real box is required.

I have an older PC with the same amount of diskspace that is usually OFF (different house). Once a day it is turned up, starts the OS (in this case windows server), starts a script that uses robocopy to sync every disk from the unraid server. Afterwards it waits 30min (in case there are updates to the os to apply) and then turns itself off.

 

So, once in a day I have a (file) copy of every file on a different os, with a different filesystem and usually detached from everything.

 

But of course, it is up to you. If you think you can live without a real backup, you are free to do.

UNRAID is as "safe" as RAID5, in my opinion even a bit better because you do not need to get the exact same disk for replacements of a failed drive.

But it is no protection from ransomware, lightning strikes and floodings. Even outages may already produce much problems (get an UPS!).

 

 

[MartynK]

You are basically confirming just about everything I though in the first place to be honest.

I dont have the luxury of being able to have an off-site backup like yours, so looking for a solution that does not use heaps of space, I live in a small flat.

All of my systems are on UPS currently, our electric supply is good, but as you say, you never know.

Looking at the likes of Backblaze, backups would work, but when you need to restore, you need to work out 500gb chunks which is going to be horrible when you don't know what is stored on what disks in a big array.

 

Thanks anyways.

[MrGrey]

I only read,

 

3 hours ago, MartynK said:

Do I need to backup my Array ?

 

The answer is yes.

 

It's that simple until you make it complicated.

 

MrGrey.

 

[itimpi]

The whole idea of Unraid (and RAID in general) is to minimise the chance of loosing data if a drive fails.  

 

In terms of backups many people only back up some of their data that they would find to be really painful if it got lost or is irreplaceable.   That may not be that large an amount.   You may not bother to backup large media files (particularly if you have a way you could replace them if really needed).

[MartynK]

Hence me trying to keep this very simple to workout the best solution 😨

[Frank1940]

You can see my two servers below.  Most of that space is storing media files.  A small portion of it has things like original letters, text of self-authored books, tax documents, personal financial documents, digital photographs, digital family photo albums, and copies of old family photographs.  These items are simply irreplaceable if they should be lost. 

 

I backup the data on each PC once a month to the servers.  (I normally don't generate new stuff that fast.  Your situation might be quite different...)

 

Every other month, I copy those irreplaceable items onto a 2.5" USB HD drive and take that drive to a safety deposit box at a bank.  I have three of these drives--  two in the bank vault and one at home.  That gives me (at least) four copies of irreplaceable stuff.  Cost for this extra piece of mind is about $150US plus the annual rental fee for the box!  You might justify using only two USB drives if the cost is a major factor. 

Edited March 26 by Frank1940