The best disk set up please?

[Gabriel Sanchez]

I think 512 gb SSD would be ok as media cache files are not as big as original files. Only have in mind cleaning media cache files when you have finished a proyect which will no longer be used. Assuming that you have a 1x4Tb external drive for backups, in my oppinion Setup 2 will work better as with this setup you have dedicated drives for exports, previews, proyects, media, and OS and programs, so when a drive is reading, other drive is writting. Not reading from and writting on the same drive will make the system work faster.

Regards

[Walter Soyka]

[Ash Depp] “1 x 1TB 7200rpm HDD = OS and Applications
3 x 2TB HDD 7200rpm (RAID 0) = Media, Projects, Exports, Previews
1 x 512gb SSD = Media Cache (both PP and AE)
1 x 4TB external HDD = Backups”

I like this setup. I prefer to keep an entire project’s assets and output together; I don’t like having them spread out over multiple drives. This leaves a lot of room for file management errors and makes archiving at the end of the job a hassle.

You could also modify it:

1 x 1TB 7200rpm HDD = OS and Applications
2 x 2TB HDD 7200rpm (RAID 0) = Media, Projects
1 x 2TB HDD 7200rpm = Exports, Previews
1 x 512gb SSD = Media Cache (both PP and AE)
1 x 4TB external HDD = Backups

I think the real world performance difference will be slight (since we’re talking about a fast-ish RAID doing multiple reads/writes, not a single disk). I think the inconvenience of having one project spread over multiple volumes will be real, but maybe that wouldn’t bother you.

My advice to you would be to think more carefully about your backup system. If it is just mirroring your RAID every hour, you will basically only have protection against the failure of a single drive in the RAID set. If you accidentally delete a file on the RAID, will that deletion be mirrored to your backup, making the file irretrievable? If you accidentally overwrite a file on the RAID, will that overwrite be mirrored? If there’s any kind of file corruption, will that be mirrored?

Further, what if there’s a physical problem with the computer? Electrical event, theft, flood, fire? Your drive is always attached, so your data is gone.

I’d advise some kind of off-site backup. I am paranoid, so I have hard drive backups, multiple tape backups, and cloud-based backup (BackBlaze). I can have a really bad day at the office (theft/flood/fire), and I’d have to replace the gear, but I’d be able to restore my data.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Ash Depp]

[Walter Soyka] “1 x 1TB 7200rpm HDD = OS and Applications
2 x 2TB HDD 7200rpm (RAID 0) = Media, Projects
1 x 2TB HDD 7200rpm = Exports, Previews
1 x 512gb SSD = Media Cache (both PP and AE)
1 x 4TB external HDD = Backups”

I think I like this setup and this is what Gabriel suggested as well. For my backups, the 4TB external HDD will be connected to my computer and the time machine will do the backups hourly. I also have another 2TB external HDD that I’ve used when I did my editing with my Macbook Pro before this and now I’m only using my Macbook Pro for presentations and doing research. So, I will use that to back up my Media + Projects and Exports + Previews drives. Maybe just Media + Projects if I don’t have enough space. And yeah, I will definitely try BackBlaze because they are offering unlimited data for a quite affordable price! Thanks for pointing that out and thanks a lot for your advice!

Regards,
Ash

[Ash Depp]

Nice! I like that setup as well! Now I can purchase the SSD and start rearranging my files. Thanks a lot for your advice and suggestions. Really helpful!

Regards,
Ash

[Ash Depp]

Hey Kris,

Thanks for your advice but unfortunately I don’t have the budget right now because I’m still a student with no extra income. But I will definitely put hardware raid controller on my list for future upgrade. Many thanks for the advice!

Regards,
Ash