As a counter, I would not advise RAID for this (assuming we're talking about 
RAID1 or better, rather than RAID0). It will protect against hdd failure but 
that's all. It won't protect against an accidental delete or a data error when 
writing to the disks (as happened to me). If you want backup I think you're 
better off having a "normal" backup from one set of disks in the computer to 
the other set (in the same computer) that you would have used for RAID. That 
way you still protect against disk failure but also protect against other 
problems. As these are mainly media files they shouldn't change much so the 
backups shouldn't take up much more space that the original files.
However an advantage of RAID over backup that springs to mind is that recovery 
should be quicker. I.e. swap the duff disk and wait. As opposed swap the duff 
disk and  possibly restore everything depending on your exact setup.
To answer your original question I use a netgear stora that my server syncs to 
nightly. The stora may not be big enough for your requirements though.
Leo
> On 27/12/2011 16:35, Rob Malpass wrote:
> > Hi all
> >
> > I'm wondering if I'm "missing a trick" here - perhaps someone can help...
> >
> > I have a pretty big (already 2TB and likely to be nearer 4TB+ by the time 
I've finished) media library (all mpgs) - how should I be making this 
available over my network? Does anyone know of a device
> > that will allow (for example) 6 USB devices (all HDDs) to be connected and 
shared as if they were one? Googling reveals something called a Belkin network 
usb hub but the reviews are awful.
> >
> > I know I could contemplate the cloud here to keep this lot for me - but 
this is:
> >
> > a) going to cost a lot and
> 
> Hard disk space is insanely expensive right now. My 2TB egogreen's were 
~50UKP each but I have been quoted something like 250UKP each for a pack of 
six and
> there is a waiting list.
> 
> > I can't be the only one with a huge DVD and video library but the majority 
of drives I've seen on the high street are 2-3TB.
> 
> Dunno if it is me but manyTB for home use no longer sounds overkill.
> 
> The one thing I would recommend is to use software raid - hardware raid is 
good and fast but recovery can be a real PITA
> when a no longe rin production or under warrantly raid card goes belly up 
and trashes your array.
> 
> 
> 
> 
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