- Areca vs softraid update#
- Areca vs softraid archive#
- Areca vs softraid upgrade#
- Areca vs softraid portable#
- Areca vs softraid pro#
The OWC ThunderBay 4 connects with a Thunderbolt 2 connection, which means it is a bit faster than the normal Thunderbolt options and also allows for a 4K monitor to be added to the daisy chain of hard drive enclosures. CalDigit, G-Technology, and Areca all make fantastic products that will work for storing and backing up images in a robust manner, but it was the OWC ThunderBay 4 that was the most economical, and even more important, allowed for a much more flexible storage solution. In my research, I found quite a few respectable and very capable RAID enclosures that would work for my needs. the price/terabyte, I purchased three of the Other World Computing (OWC) ThunderBay 4 RAID enclosures.
Areca vs softraid pro#
At some point, I may bring in an Apple Mac Pro for the office if I need more computing power, but for now the Macbook Pro is working quite well for my needs.Īfter a ton of research, including setting up a spread sheet to calculate, quantify and compare the Input/Output (I/O) speeds of various RAID enclosures vs. I have the Macbook Pro mounted in a Henge Dock Vertical Docking Station, which helps to keep all the connecting cables coming out of it organized and out of sight. My new system is a top-end, maxed out 15-inch Retina Apple Macbook Pro laptop, which is wicked fast.
Areca vs softraid update#
With the new computer, I chose to update all of my external RAID enclosures and all of my external hard drives with Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 devices. My old Mac Pro didn’t have the option to connect Thunderbolt devices. My old system was an Apple Mac Pro tower with multiple internal hard drives and a series of external RAID 5 enclosures, which were all connected to my tower via Firewire 800. Hence, when I upgraded my computer system, I set out to find the fastest and most reliable storage option available that could deal with huge image files and the 6K video footage produced by the RED Epic, which I use for motion projects. I realize a review of an external hard drive enclosure is not as exciting as a review of a new lens or camera, but for the pro photographer, having a fast, robust and well-thought out backup and storage system is paramount.
Areca vs softraid upgrade#
Last fall, I upgraded my entire computer setup and with that upgrade I was also forced to replace the hard drives and RAID enclosures that I use to store and backup my images and motion content. All of my images are also archived onto individual 3 TB hard drives and stored in a safety deposit box at my bank. My office storage consists of three OWC ThunderBay 4 enclosures: one with a RAID 0 configuration and two with RAID 5 configurations.
Areca vs softraid portable#
I use the G-Tech G-Dock and various portable G-Drive ev HDs to backup my images in the field and this system allows for a very quick and simple ingest workflow once I am back in the office.
Areca vs softraid archive#
Above you can see my entire storage and archive workflow. For most amateur photographers, the fewer number of images and hard drives can greatly simplify this process, but for the pro the terabytes add up quickly. At this point, I am updating my digital workflow e-book and I will have a much more in-depth chapter in that e-book that covers a wide range of topics concerning backing up and archiving your images, including specific recommendations.Ĭaption: Backing up huge quantities of images can be daunting. The critical part of that back up strategy would be to make sure one of those hard drives is offsite. For those with only 4 or 5 TB of images or less, I would suggest getting three hard drives that can accommodate all your images and using SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to back up your images to all three drives. For those looking for a simple back up strategy, the diagram below will look ridiculously complex because I have a huge image collection to back up. This article appeared in my Winter 2015 Newsletter but I thought I would republish it here on the blog so it is more visible for those looking for a solution to back up their images. I have also gotten a few calls from several pro photographers asking for recommendations for backing up large image collections and for backing up video content. For those not familiar with the various forms of RAID and how a RAID system works, I highly recommend reading the excellent Wikipedia page that discusses RAID in detail.Įarlier this year, I taught a one day storage and archiving seminar with my good friend Tony Bonanno for the Santa Fe Workshops. Techno-babble disclaimer: This article contains quite a bit of jargon about RAID enclosures.
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