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Post by ouvarov on Jul 1, 2007 19:31:25 GMT 7
Hello,
I am very interested in this device. I glanced through the manual, read reviews on newegg.com and posts here.
Still have some questions and things to confirm.
1. Does it allow several RAID arrays? So far I want to have the following:
HDD1,2 - RAID1 - array 1 HDD3,4 - RAID1 - array 2 HDD5 - just another regular HDD accessible via network
The idea is to use RAID1 for backups: rotate 3 HDDs. After array is built remove HDD1 and keep it as backup. Put there another HDD. Remove HDD2 and keep it as current backup. Put in its place what was the backup. And then repeat the process.
Please: comments, pros, cons...
2. About BR model and load balancing. So far I could not conclude if it does it and how if does. I saw other posts here but I am still unsure.
Can all 4 ports 4 LAN + 1 WAN share the load or I want to much?
If BR doesn't do load balancing then what the idea behind the switch? Plug PCs directly to the NAS box?
Also I got the impression that it is load balancing or fault fallover... I was under impression that both of these goals are achieved at the same time looking at the way bonding done in Linux.
Thank you.
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Post by ouvarov on Jul 1, 2007 22:01:18 GMT 7
It looks like I found my answers: I need N5200PRO. It supports multiple RAID volumes - it was my question 1. It combines both fault tolerance and load balancing - question 2. BR version for both PRO and regular does not support this - BR has a switch (vs 4 head network card as I thought first). Which makes me wondering about B version: I assume it has two network cards? One on mother board and another one in PCI slot? Can be the one in PCI slot be replaced with double or quad card for better load balancing and fault tolerance (of course some hacking is assumed). I didn't search much but found only one place to buy it in US and it was loaded with HDDs not necessarily for the best price. www.eaegis.com I hope it helps others like myself...
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Post by peterg on Jul 1, 2007 22:07:38 GMT 7
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Post by ouvarov on Jul 8, 2007 2:43:49 GMT 7
Peter,
please do you sell extra trays for this units?
or may be you know who does?
Thank you!
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Post by sh0dan on Jul 10, 2007 16:38:40 GMT 7
The idea is to use RAID1 for backups: rotate 3 HDDs. After array is built remove HDD1 and keep it as backup. Put there another HDD. Remove HDD2 and keep it as current backup. Put in its place what was the backup. And then repeat the process. Your idea of backup is not a very safe one - your weak point will be, if a HD fails during the sync-process, which is more likely than you'd think. Your best option is to back up to another box. I'd suggest two similar boxes, and using nsync to synchronize them. Box 1: N5200 + 3HDD RAID 5 Box 2: N5200 + 3HDD RAID 5 This will of course cost you two 5200, but you get RAID 5 protection of your "hot" box, and can do weekly or monthly backups to the other box, which you can take home. This is also a more scalable solution, as you can simply add another HD and expand your RAID.
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Post by mindbender on Aug 22, 2007 4:00:04 GMT 7
1. Does it allow several RAID arrays? So far I want to have the following: HDD1,2 - RAID1 - array 1 HDD3,4 - RAID1 - array 2 HDD5 - just another regular HDD accessible via network If you get yourself a N5200Pro; Yes, yes and no. I've got one and you can combine multiple RAID arrays, but you cannot mix RAID with JBOD. It's either RAID arrays or Just a Bunch Of disks, like the name suggests. Perhaps there are a couple of possibilities to configure it using the shell, but I wouldn't go for that because reliability is vital for me, so I only use it as it's intended to be used. I've put in two 1TB Hitachi DeskStar disk in RAID1 and I was hoping to put in a spare 400GB drive I have laying around for storing less vital data, but unfortunately that won't fly. Still I have a good reason for the multiple RAID possibility: This way I'm not stuck to 1TB drives for the other three empty slots. In time I may whack in a third 1TB drive and migrate to a RAID5 array. This still leaves the possibility to put in two even bigger disks when they are available (and needed).
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