Barry, The Back-Ups Are Sorted

Last week, I took receipt of our third NAS. Like the two that went before it, it’s a Netgear ReadyNAS, this time a Pro 6 with 18 Tb of storage, model number RNDP6630-200EUS.

The first thing I did was upgrade the unit from 1 Gb of RAM to 8 Gb. Whilst Netgear doesn’t endorse the use of third-party memory modules, one user on Netgear’s user forums had reported success with a particular model of DIMM manufactured by Patriot, so, unable to locate any of that type in the Netherlands, I ordered a couple of sticks of it from Ireland.

After putting the unit through a good 15 hours of memory checks with the new RAM, I installed the NAS in the server cupboard, booted it normally and performed basic configuration of the box.

The unit was now ready to put into use, so I set about putting our data on the box. It is now serving home directories and music.

The previous NAS, a Pro Business Edition with 12 Tb of storage (RNDP6620-100EUS), is for back-ups only. All of my smaller storage devices had filled up several months earlier — shit, it might have even been a year — and so we had not had proper back-ups of some (not all) of our data for some time. Inexcusable, I know, but I had been searching for suitable back-up systems, only to ultimately reach the conclusion that the most convenient solution would be to purchase yet another NAS. It’s not a cheap solution by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s very effective, at least.

Our original NAS, a trusty old NV+ with just 4 Tb of storage (RNDP4410), continues unerringly in its task of recording and playing back TV programmes for our MythTV DVR. It could be retired at this point, however.

The minimum number of disc platters spinning at any one time in the house has now risen to an alarming 19, and even that applies only when we’re away. When we’re in residence, at least a score of discs are humming away at various locations around the house, most of them hidden away and inaudible. That last detail is no small luxury with the Seagate ST33000650NS drives that came with the new Pro 6. They’ve unbelievably noisy and it would be unworkable to have any unit that contained them situated in a room of the house that was ever occupied.

A few more NAS boxes and we can get rid of central-heating. Seriously, the server cupboard downstairs is generating a fair bit of heat now. It’s not at a dangerous level, but it is getting to the point that I wouldn’t want to add much more equipment in there. Another problem is that I’m running out of sockets to patch more equipment through the UPS.

Anyway, back-ups are in full flow again now. Should we suffer a double RAID failure on the main NAS, we’ll have a full copy of the data on a second RAIDed device. The only thing we’re missing now is a full off-site back-up. Ideally, I would buy another ReadyNAS and situate it at a friend’s house, preferably on a different continent, but that’s once again an expensive solution and requires a knowledgeable friend with lots of bandwidth to spare and a generous disposition. I actually know a few such people, but I’m not yet convinced that I need to spend the cash.

Thanks to Barry Mossman for possessing both the tenacity and temerity to persistently nag me to get my ailing back-ups sorted out.