RAID help needed

michaelnotar · #8 06-08-2007, 08:26 PM

so MIke-
could i just shut off the array untill the new arrives or could things get worse while i wait.

Will-so you reccomend an UPS. the auto power down...i assume it works like this...assuming there's a power outage, it provides power so that the computer workstation, backup HHD array can shut down normally?

williamhenshall · #9 06-09-2007, 01:11 AM

re the UPS, yes in theory that is what they do. the cheaper ones though don't always work so well. they run software on your workstation that respond to a shutdown command over a usb connection if there is a powercut.

this is often a source of incompatibility with security software and scanner drivers, especially with win XP...

and there are a few cheaper UPS devices that work with mac osx too, although my experience with them has also been not very inspiring. best to spend a little more and get a mid to high quality one. also get higher capacity than you think, as this will give you a few more minutes of power to deal with things...

if you are physically there when the power cut occurs then you will see the ups kick in, and hear the beeping, and then you can save and then shut down the computer pronto if you don't have the auto shut down feature set up.

most drives fail due to power interruption or being physically knocked about, as if the head is being written to it can literally smack into the platter and cause physical damage to the disk. this is almost impossible to restore. well never say never, but it gets REALLY expensive. the FBI have tools to do this for instance, but they are hard to come by and super technical to use. it's much less likely that drives fail randomly during normal use.

it's also worth mentioning that 100% of hard drives will fail. yep. in time this is true. so it's just a question of figuring out when. it might be in 20 years but most likely waaay before that.

we had a hard drive that ran an old linux box for 8 years, the box was never rebooted or turned off. it ran a mail list i think. and worked just fine. one day we had to move it to another shelf and after carefully booting the rig down, moving it and then rebooting it the drive failed. this is a phenomena that IT guys are familiar with, some electrical items like drives dont like state change.

michaelnotar · #10 06-09-2007, 01:17 AM

about how much should i be prepared to spend for a good UPS?

i was comparing the apple X raid server and am curious to know how they are different than the lacie storage device i have. a server is just a computer for multiple people to use at once right?

williamhenshall · #11 06-09-2007, 01:32 AM

this is kinda thing i mean...

APC Smart-UPS 1400 - Black, SU1400BX120

yes, a server is a networked computer that a bunch of folk can all access at once...either over the net like the one we are all reading this web page from, or over your local ethernet

michaelnotar · #12 06-09-2007, 01:40 AM

buying refurbished for a backup system...? i'm not so hot on that, unless i shouldnt be.

williamhenshall · #13 06-09-2007, 01:52 PM

actaully, refurbs can be a very good buy often, it depends if these units have new batteries in them, if so, then these are good deals, but i really meant to show the kind of device as opposed to recommending these guys specifically...

best

will

michaelnotar · #14 06-09-2007, 06:24 PM

so what qualities/specs should i look for for a 'good UPS'?

also, i've been transfering data to the new drive, and it seems to like it when i give it 10gb of data at a time, maybe 15gb at most. if i do a whole lot of data, like 60-200GB worth, it stalls/freezes somewhere along the way, always at different points and i have to restart the computer (hard restart using the power button untill it reboots). i delete the data/files it was working on and start over.

whats going on? perhaps the controller of the drive is slow or something? actually i think the computer itself is the problem for some reason, no error lights on the drive's side. its a mac, power pc quad chipped, OS 10.4.9.