Best Way to Backup Files on WHS

[jay964]

So I have an acer home server running WHS. Right now i have the 1tb wd drive it came with and a 2tb wd drive that i purchased in there.

The data is pooled and drive space is running low. I know I can add in another hd or two and enable duplication but i only have 2 slots available and surely will need to add more hds to the pool at a future date.

So my question is what is the best method to back up the shared files? I dont care about backing up the OS files, I just want to make sure my HD Rips are all safe. I'm thinking external hard drive(s) via usb and unplug when im done. Is there any drawback to this method? Should I leave it turned on all the time? I heard that an unplugged drive may have problems spinning up when not in use for a while.. any truth to this?

[hades]

So I have an acer home server running WHS. Right now i have the 1tb wd drive it came with and a 2tb wd drive that i purchased in there.

The data is pooled and drive space is running low. I know I can add in another hd or two and enable duplication but i only have 2 slots available and surely will need to add more hds to the pool at a future date.

So my question is what is the best method to back up the shared files? I dont care about backing up the OS files, I just want to make sure my HD Rips are all safe. I'm thinking external hard drive(s) via usb and unplug when im done. Is there any drawback to this method? Should I leave it turned on all the time? I heard that an unplugged drive may have problems spinning up when not in use for a while.. any truth to this?

I have a home-built machine with 5HDs. I use an external 2TB USB HD to back up the files I want. If you plug in the USB drive, format it as "Backup HD" and then select the shares that you want to back up. You'll be able to select the server itself to manage your backup plan. Back it up, and unplug the drive. Plug in the drive periodically and manually initiate a backup.

I would put the external drive in a safe location, in case of problems with the server.

hades

[Keigotw]

So I have an acer home server running WHS. Right now i have the 1tb wd drive it came with and a 2tb wd drive that i purchased in there.

The data is pooled and drive space is running low. I know I can add in another hd or two and enable duplication but i only have 2 slots available and surely will need to add more hds to the pool at a future date.

So my question is what is the best method to back up the shared files? I dont care about backing up the OS files, I just want to make sure my HD Rips are all safe. I'm thinking external hard drive(s) via usb and unplug when im done. Is there any drawback to this method? Should I leave it turned on all the time? I heard that an unplugged drive may have problems spinning up when not in use for a while.. any truth to this?

Get this 4 bay enclosure now on sale for $99.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=021484

[Supercooled]

Get this 4 bay enclosure now on sale for $99.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/produ...item_id=021484

Do those powerdown when inactive? I wish more external drives were smarter in current generations so we can dispense with the WHS and other NAS boxes altogether.

[XtremeModder]

I may jump on this even though I shouldnt.

Are these things picky with drives like NASs are?

[jay964]

still doesn't answer my question on whether or not its better to power down the hard drive when not in use.. lets say i back up my stuff once a month.
so in theory the hard drive will only need to be turned on once a month.. will this help save the drives life?

[hades]

still doesn't answer my question on whether or not its better to power down the hard drive when not in use.. lets say i back up my stuff once a month.
so in theory the hard drive will only need to be turned on once a month.. will this help save the drives life?

If you need it once a month I would definitely power down the drives than have them running 24x7 uselessly for a month.

hades

[Keigotw]

still doesn't answer my question on whether or not its better to power down the hard drive when not in use.. lets say i back up my stuff once a month.
so in theory the hard drive will only need to be turned on once a month.. will this help save the drives life?

There are 2 uses for the Mediasonic 4 bay enclosure.
1) if you running out of space and need more drive to add to the WHS pool (in this case you leave it on )
2) To back up your WHS (so you can turn it off after each time you back up)

[Keigotw]

Do those powerdown when inactive? I wish more external drives were smarter in current generations so we can dispense with the WHS and other NAS boxes altogether.

The unit powers off if you turn off your NAS
powers on when you turn on your NAS

Some hard drives have build in idle when not active.

[Ironsmack]

There are 2 uses for the Mediasonic 4 bay enclosure.
1) if you running out of space and need more drive to add to the WHS pool (in this case you leave it on )
2) To back up your WHS (so you can turn it off after each time you back up)

The unit powers off if you turn off your NAS
powers on when you turn on your NAS

Some hard drives have build in idle when not active.

Does the enclosure works with a 2TB WB green drive?

[rilles]

I may jump on this even though I shouldnt.

Are these things picky with drives like NASs are?

No they are not, mostly. You can shove any kind of drive in there long as its less then 2.1TB. EARS drives and other 4K sector drives need some kind of 512 sector compatibility mode enabled. (well, it doesn't NEED it but its better).

[Keigotw]

Does the enclosure works with a 2TB WB green drive?

Yes, but Don't get the WD greens 4K sector ones (EARS), WHS does not support it, you would need to set jumper on hard drive or run WD aligment software. Just kinda a hassle. http://homeservershow.com/wd-ears-drives.html

If you want you can get the Seagate LP drives (is low power just like WD greens, but is 512K sector )

[Ironsmack]

Yes, but Don't get the WD greens 4K sector ones (EARS), WHS does not support it, you would need to set jumper on hard drive or run WD aligment software. Just kinda a hassle. http://homeservershow.com/wd-ears-drives.html

If you want you can get the Seagate LP drives (is low power just like WD greens, but is 512K sector )

Oh yah, i know about that. I only use LP drives for my WHS. The enclosure is more like for my gaming rig. Im trying to take my EARS drive off the gaming rig and just put them in an enclosure much like this one.

Thanks!

[Keigotw]

Oh yah, i know about that. I only use LP drives for my WHS. The enclosure is more like for my gaming rig. Im trying to take my EARS drive off the gaming rig and just put them in an enclosure much like this one.

Thanks!

So if your gaming rig is Windows 7, then yes you can put those WD greens on this 4 bay