changing Storage Arrangement - Need Advise

[Jens Peermann]

My first generation Mac Pro has to make room for a younger replacement. Since all my data is on 6 HDDs inside that Mac and the new Macs don't have any internal storage to speak of, I will get a Synology 1515 to house 5 of the HDDs currently inside the Mac Pro.

Those 5 disks hold all my image and artwork, and they are set up in RAID 5 configuration. I don't expect that I can just stick them into the Synology housing and be all set. But, just how will I have to proceed. Do I have to erase those disks before removing from the Mac and then re-format then in RAID 5 in the new housing before moving everything from the Backup to the new arrangement?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!

[Schewe]

How did you set up the RAID 5? If you used a hardware RAID and connect the Synology to the same hardware, your array should be fine.

[davidgp]

For what I can see in the web of the manufacturer, the Synology is a NAS unit that uses their own Linux distribution, your are going to have to recreate the raid in it and format the raid to Ext4 or Btrfs file system... It is not good going to be compatible with the Mac OS filesystem nor with the raid partition in it if you have one...


http://dgpfotografia.com

[BobShaw]

If it is a NAS then don't use it. Performance will be poor. Use attached drives.

I suggest that you just make a Time Machine backup of the entire computer, OS, apps and data and then use the Migration Utility to restore on the clean computer. It should look and work exactly the same. I doubt that you could put the old RAID in a new housing as the housing is obviously not the same. If you are going from an old OS like 10.6 then you need to cleanse the old computer first to get rid of old and incompatible apps and Library files.

[jerryrock]

... Since all my data is on 6 HDDs inside that Mac and the new Macs don't have any internal storage to speak of, I will get a Synology 1515 to house 5 of the HDDs currently inside the Mac Pro.

I'm still trying to figure out how you got 6 hard drives in a MacPro...

When I upgraded to the MacPro 6.1, I decided to go with the Promise Pegasus R4 with a Thunderbolt2 connection. It is set up in a RAID 5 configuration and has worked flawlessly for 3 years so far.

You will not be able to reuse the drives from your MacPro in their current configuration. A backup will be needed before transferring the drives to any new enclosure.

[Jens Peermann]

How did you set up the RAID 5? If you used a hardware RAID and connect the Synology to the same hardware, your array should be fine.

It's software RAID using SoftRAID 5.1.

[Jens Peermann]

For what I can see in the web of the manufacturer, the Synology is a NAS unit that uses their own Linux distribution, your are going to have to recreate the raid in it and format the raid to Ext4 or Btrfs file system... It is not good going to be compatible with the Mac OS filesystem nor with the raid partition in it if you have one...


http://dgpfotografia.com

Thanks David, this is what I figured needs to be done. I just wanted to have some confirmation before I order, though

[davidgp]

Thanks David, this is what I figured needs to be done. I just wanted to have some confirmation before I order, though

I have no experience with this NAS, but if you choose at the end, I will recommend you to use Btrfs as filesystem, it is more secure to bit changes in a file (it is a two years old article, a lot of time in software terms, but explains perfectly the problem with actual file systems and the benefits of something like Btrfs http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/bitrot-and-atomic-cows-inside-next-gen-filesystems/ )

[Jens Peermann]

If it is a NAS then don't use it. Performance will be poor. Use attached drives.

I was considering a DAS system with Thunderbolt and using a throwover Ethernet cable between the two computers, but I want a 5 bay housing and the only one I can find with Thunderbolt is DROBO, something I really don't want to trust my image files with.

[Jens Peermann]

I'm still trying to figure out how you got 6 hard drives in a MacPro...

It's simple. Just toss out the two optical drives and install the HDDs in their places. The motherboard has two spare SATA connectors, just for that purpose.

[Jens Peermann]

I have no experience with this NAS, but if you choose at the end, I will recommend you to use Btrfs as filesystem, it is more secure to bit changes in a file (it is a two years old article, a lot of time in software terms, but explains perfectly the problem with actual file systems and the benefits of something like Btrfs http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/01/bitrot-and-atomic-cows-inside-next-gen-filesystems/ )

Thanks again, David. I looked into this and am seriously considering going up a notch and order the Synology DS1515+ instead of the standard version to get the Btrfs technology.

[Joe Towner]

How big is the RAID set, as in, how much redundant space do you currently have, how much is used, and approximately how much do you add per year?

Do you need to keep all your data in one volume, or can you split it between old stuff and new stuff?  You can do a set of 4 drive TB jbod arrays, or a single 8 drive TB array (Areca in jbod mode).  Depending on what you do, how you access files, and how much internal SSD space you're purchasing, there are lots of ways to split this up.  You can even go cheaper and do one USB3 (archive) and one TB (working set).  It all comes down to what you want to spend.

How do you currently backup all these files?

Unfortunately there is no recommended take your disks out and put them into (box) and they'll just work.  You will want to copy them to a new set, no matter the size.

Btrfs and ZFS are great, but depending on your technical aptitude they may not be in your wheelhouse.

-Joe

[BobShaw]

I was considering a DAS system with Thunderbolt and using a throwover Ethernet cable between the two computers, but I want a 5 bay housing and the only one I can find with Thunderbolt is DROBO, something I really don't want to trust my image files with.

I have two Drobos. One as a NAS and one a 5 bay direct attached firewire. I don't trust the Drobo either, but there are none that you can trust and I haven't found a better one yet. The Drobo did fail by "disappearing" and not mounting. I tried all sorts of things but in the end just reformatted and restored from backup. You just need to back up each day with TimeMachine. That is why all of my data is on a server and it backsup to alternately the NAS Drobo and several rotating fixed 4 and 3 TB drives each night at 1AM. I keep the Drobo NAS as basically a backup of last resort.