Backup I: My External RAID

The other day, I installed the NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 RAID Capable Controller Card (repeat that three times fast) in the Mac Pro.  Although NewerTech also makes a similar driverless PCIe controller card without the RAID capabilities (at a lower price point), I had read anecdotal reports that if an external drive is connected via eSATA, which I plan to do, you cannot hot-swap the drive without having to power down and reboot the computer.  Probably not an issue for most, but for about $25 more, I elected to go with the RAID version. 

NewerTech MAXPower eSATA RAID controller card

The install went without a hitch.  I tested it by attaching a 1TB quad-interface G-Technology G-DRIVE, and everything functioned as expected.  Note that because this controller card does have RAID capabilities, there are OS X drivers that should be installed.  I do not plan to use the card's RAID features, but it does have a decent web browser interface for configuration.  It supports RAID level 0, 1, 5, 10 and JBOD modes.  Again, it also features eSATA Hot Plug Support.  

I like to second-guess myself, a theme that will probably become commonplace in future blog entries.  I decided to return the 3TB version of the G-DRIVE and go with an external RAID for my attached backup protocol.  Although hard drive prices are inflated at the time of this writing, I needed . . . okay wanted . . . something NOW.  For the past few weeks, I had my eyes on this NewerTech Guardian MAXimus 2TB Quad-Interface RAID storage solution, again from OWC.  Well, that is what I ended up ordering.  I'm thinking that two 2TB drives in a mirror should suffice.  

Next up . . . the Time Capsule.

The "A" is for Apple List

(As I sit at the keyboard, many of the items that make-up this blog entry are coursing their way to me on the UPS line, seemingly at a snail's pace. The Mac Pro and a 27" Apple Cinema Display were ordered on Black Friday. So much for God Speed . . .)

Here is how I ultimately outfitted my server. If you have been following this blog, you'll know that the platform I chose was the Mac Pro, specifically the Mac Pro (Mid-2010) 8-Core (Two 2.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon Processors) iteration. I found a refurbished unit at Apple's Refurbished Mac Store for a nice discount. From what I've heard from others, Apple's refurbished units are, except for their price, as good as new. Apple also allows you to purchase their AppleCare Protection Plan for refurbished Macs, a policy that probably isn't available if you purchase from another vendor. I strongly recommend purchasing Apple's extended warranty for any work-based computer.

I decided to upgrade the Mac Pro's internal drives and memory myself. You can save a substantial amount if you purchase aftermarket compatible memory. I decided to play it safe and purchase memory preconfigured and certified by Other World Computing (OWC) for my particular MacPro: 24GB PC8500 DDR3 OWC Memory. This is an ample amount of memory that should serve well for any future needs. OWC memory has a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee and a Lifetime Advance Replacement Warranty. It costs a bit more than other vendors, but when it comes to memory, I don't want to mess around. I should note that OWC caters to the Mac crowd, and has a good reputation and great customer service and support.

The internal storage that will adorn my Mac Pro consists of two Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5" HDDs, which will be implemented as a RAID 1 mirror configuration. I'm planning to use OS X Lion's "built-in" software RAID using Disk Utility, and will outline the steps in a future blog entry. Note that another very worthy candidate for an internal drive is the Western Digital Caviar Black, another 7200RPM/64MB cached drive. The flooding conditions in Thailand are currently having an adverse effect on the hard disk drive industry, and prices have risen dramatically. Nidec, which supplies nearly 100% of the drive motors to HDD manufacturers like Hitachi, Seagate, Western Digital, Samsung and Toshiba, is located in the region of the flooding, as is Western Digital itself. In my situation, I already had a 2TB Seagate Barracuda, and it was luckily a matter of purchasing one additional drive. The floods did not effect solid state drives (SSD)s.

Some may get the impression that I have been dissin' solid state drives in previous entries. Don't get me wrong . . . I'd be the first to adopt the technology if I was certain they were as hardy as your traditional HDD. Heck, I have one in my primary home computer, my 27" iMac. In anticipation of this day, I did go and order this cool 2.5" Drive Sled for 2009-2010 Apple Mac Pro. It will sit in a drawer, waiting for its day to shine. Dig the blue color!

For my backup needs, I purchased a NewerTech MAXPower eSATA 6G PCIe 2.0 RAID Capable Controller Card, which will sit in one of the Mac Pro's internal PCI Express 2.0 slots. This card provides two external eSATA ports that I can attach an external drive or RAID array. I probably could not go wrong with the very capable Sonnet Technology Tempo SATA E2P Serial ATA Host Adapter Card, but in the end, chose the NewerTech product because of its additional RAID capabilities.

Which leads me to my 'External Backup Device #1': a G-Technology G-DRIVE 3TB External Hard Drive w/ eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 400, Firewire 800 Interfaces, which I'll attach directly to the Mac Pro via the aforementioned eSATA controller card interface. (I plan to discuss the software that will handle my backups in the near future). As an alternative, I am also considering an external RAID array, but haven't come to a final decision. Keeping our mantra about backup redundancy in mind, my 'External Backup Device #2' is the Apple Time Capsule 3TB and its Time Machine software counterpart. I must admit that 'External Backup Device #3' is a bit more hazy. For now, I'm thinking of simply copying the data to a USB thumb drive for off-site safekeeping. Between these three methods, I'm hoping that my MacPractice backup data will be remain safe and readily accessible in a pinch.

Please stay tuned . . .