Topic: Who makes the best external drive( most reliable )?

[mfisch]

external RAID drives have long been conspiciously lacking in the consumer market ... until now

http://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf

That'd be the one Id get, if you have the cash. No availability for another two weeks though, this is a new product!

I didn't check out the Maxtor above, but IME many of the firewire/USB external RAID setups are s/w controlled RAID v. h/w controlled RAID.  You're better off with h/w controlled RAID.  Most of the h/w controlled external RAID options are SATA at the moment.  A quick PC Guide write-up on h/w v. s/w RAID.

Thats why the maxtor onetouch III is so exciting. Other than spending thousands on equipment, or building your own hardware from scratch, its the FIRST external USB/1394 product with integrated _hardware_ RAID. Take a look at the specshttp://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf.

[Brian Skalinder]

Thats why the maxtor onetouch III is so exciting. Other than spending thousands on equipment, or building your own hardware from scratch, its the FIRST external USB/1394 product with integrated _hardware_ RAID. Take a look at the specshttp://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf.

Ah, yes, that IS exciting.  I only glanced at the specsheet, namely the "includes" section and didn't see reference to a dedicated h/w controller.  I missed the reference to the Oxford 924 chipset (and actually had to go look it up since I wasn't familiar with it).  External h/w RAID over USB/1394 - very cool!  And about time, I say.

[poorlyconditioned]

Thats why the maxtor onetouch III is so exciting. Other than spending thousands on equipment, or building your own hardware from scratch, its the FIRST external USB/1394 product with integrated _hardware_ RAID. Take a look at the specshttp://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf.

Ah, yes, that IS exciting.  I only glanced at the specsheet, namely the "includes" section and didn't see reference to a dedicated h/w controller.  I missed the reference to the Oxford 924 chipset (and actually had to go look it up since I wasn't familiar with it).  External h/w RAID over USB/1394 - very cool!  And about time, I say.

Yeah, but what you want is RAID5 (redundancy built in) not RAID0 (just stripping).  Anyway, software RAID is not bad, especially if you do just RAID0.

  Richard

[Brian Skalinder]

Yeah, but what you want is RAID5 (redundancy built in) not RAID0 (just stripping).  Anyway, software RAID is not bad, especially if you do just RAID0.

The OneTouch - and a whole slew of other internal and external solutions, though most are SATA-based - supports RAID1 (mirroring = redundancy).

[poorlyconditioned]

Yeah, but what you want is RAID5 (redundancy built in) not RAID0 (just stripping).  Anyway, software RAID is not bad, especially if you do just RAID0.

The OneTouch - and a whole slew of other internal and external solutions, though most are SATA-based - supports RAID1 (mirroring = redundancy).

OK, there are many different types of RAID.

RAID0: This stores data over 2 or more drives: more storage, faster speed, but less reliable as more drives added.

RAID1: Store same data over 2 (or more?) drives: more reliable, but needs a second drive.

RAID5: Store data over 3 or more drives, with 1 (or more) drive having parity information.  (Actually, the parity information is not stored on a single drive, but distributed across all of them.)  You can recover from failure of a single drive and the array will still work.  This has the speed/storage advantages of RAID0, but with more reliability.  The disadvantage is that it requires a lot of CPU power to do all the number crunching.  This is where you want an hardware controller, either on a PC card or built into the box of disks.

A typical setup for RAID5 would be: four 300G drives, one for redundancy, giving 3*300G=900G of storage.  Or eight 300G drives, one redundant, giving 2100G of storage.

  Richard

[Brian Skalinder]

OK, there are many different types of RAID.

Good summary, Richard, for those unfamiliar with RAID.  More RAID info for those interested.

Straight RAID1 and RAID5 both will provide redundancy for a single HD failure within the array, but not multiple concurrent failures.  If both HDs fail in RAID1, you're hosed.  Likewise, if two or more drives fail concurrently in RAID5, you're still hosed.  For the same level of redundancy, albeit with a slight performance hit, RAID1 is less expensive and I suspect suitable for most TS users' needs.  As always, just make sure you have ample backups off-HD!

[mfisch]

Thats why the maxtor onetouch III is so exciting. Other than spending thousands on equipment, or building your own hardware from scratch, its the FIRST external USB/1394 product with integrated _hardware_ RAID. Take a look at the specshttp://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf.

Ah, yes, that IS exciting.  I only glanced at the specsheet, namely the "includes" section and didn't see reference to a dedicated h/w controller.  I missed the reference to the Oxford 924 chipset (and actually had to go look it up since I wasn't familiar with it).  External h/w RAID over USB/1394 - very cool!  And about time, I say.

Yeah, but what you want is RAID5 (redundancy built in) not RAID0 (just stripping).  Anyway, software RAID is not bad, especially if you do just RAID0.

  Richard

The unit above does RAID 0 (striping) or RAID 1 (mirrored set). The former buying you read/write speed and space, the latter buying you redundancy and read speed.

Some okay easy to understand RAID information is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundant_array_of_independent_disks

Also, Ive been working with RAID 1 and 5 for about 5 years on mid-range attached storage arrays (not to be confused with high end gear like an EMC clariion that might have hundreds of disks, or a SAN) ... and Ive slowly come around to the point that RAID 5 is a waste of money, or at the very least a misuse of money.
See http://www.baarf.com/ for a rant on why. Although RAID 5 is often pitched into the mid-range server market, seasoned pro's avoid it like the plague.

Consider RAID 0 for speed/space, RAID 1 for redundancy of a single disk, and RAID10 when you need redundancy, speed, and extra space.

[mfisch]

Thats why the maxtor onetouch III is so exciting. Other than spending thousands on equipment, or building your own hardware from scratch, its the FIRST external USB/1394 product with integrated _hardware_ RAID. Take a look at the specshttp://www.maxtor.com/_files/maxtor/en_us/documentation/data_sheets/onetouch_iii_turbo_datasheet.pdf.

Ah, yes, that IS exciting.  I only glanced at the specsheet, namely the "includes" section and didn't see reference to a dedicated h/w controller.  I missed the reference to the Oxford 924 chipset (and actually had to go look it up since I wasn't familiar with it).  External h/w RAID over USB/1394 - very cool!  And about time, I say.

If you really can't wait, there's also this: http://www.cooldrives.com/ufsatofibrbo.html
I considered picking one up a few months ago but the cost of all the parts alone is way more than the maxtor solution. I'm just counting the days until that thing launches.

ps.
Dont buy that interface unless you are really hardcore, it probably requires custom programming to be loaded onto the onboard ROM to function in a raid set. There might be reference software available from oxford, but "reference kits" arent exactly consumer friendly either.