Storage

[Rob Seastrom]

Dave Skolnick <dskolnick at gmail.com> writes:

> I like the drive toaster. Very cool. Doesn't accept 5.25" drives like
> my Samsung.

You have a 5.25" 2TB drive?  That's an odd generational mix of technology.

The Samsung part number you cited is 3.5 inch, and that drive toaster
I pointed you at handles both those and 2.5 inch laptop drives.

Check again?

> As Sandy suggested I'm spelunking through Newegg and Tigerdirect. I
> found a Sabrent EC-ST5B at Tigerdirect that looks okay (power supply
> output voltage isn't clear) that I can get with Amazon Prime at a good
> price (cheaper than Newegg or Tigerdirect with shipping).
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MALMRG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A29Y8OP2GPR7PE

That is indeed a 5.25 inch enclosure.  It won't hold your Samsung
HD204UI without an adaptor.

> I'm happy to build something. Unix/Linux is no problem.
>
> More context for those who can tolerate a longer story.
>
> I live on and work from my boat. I have three sources of 117VAC (shore
> power when at the dock, a 6kW diesel generator, and 2kW DC-AC
> inverter). I try to keep a 12VDC boat. All the systems aboard except
> aircon, water heating, and TV run off 12VDC. Away from the dock I run
> the inverter to watch TV. I run the generator to charge batteries, run
> aircon, and heat water.
>
> My laptop (Windows for mission critical functions including e-mail
> over HF radio and navigation) is set up to run off 12VDC through a
> DC-DC converter.
>
> The SATA drive in an external enclosure is/was both my back-up volume
> and iTunes library.
>
> Losing the external drive (fortunately the adapter and not the drive
> itself) has really scared the bejeepers out of me.
>
> I'm trying to get back on line, thus the interest in the new
> enclosure/SATA adapter.
>
> I'm trying to get something more robust, thus the interest in a RAID drive.
>
> I do have a Linux server I run when plugged into shore power (it's a
> power hog) and another Linux server in my shoreside lab (accessible
> with a VPN and no-ip.org).
>
> I'm happy to talk about "why Windows?" for my nav station but that's
> OT for my current needs. I'm focused now on 1. getting my
> backup/iTunes online and 2. replacing that SATA drive with a RAID
> drive for increased robustness.

Got it.  See the toaster (op cit).

Also, consider having several drives in rotation, some of which are
stored on shore.  :)

> Aside from rotating the movies on my iPhone (*grin*) my seven year old
> T60p is getting wonky and I'd like to get the backup/iTunes situation
> in hand before I replace the T60p. That's going to be really painful
> as I have a lot of weird stuff installed. *sigh*
>
> For the landbound, installations on an offshore cruising boat have
> number of issues:
>
> Power consumption is a big deal. Less is more.
>
> Vibration is an issue. Main propulsion engine vibration is transmitted
> throughout the boat. The low frequency vibration isn't bad but the
> high frequency seems to propagate.
>
> Shock is an issue. Several times a year I sail offshore to New
> England, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. Falling off a wave
> every minute or so creates quite a shock. I can power down the
> external drive (and do) but even so the hardware takes a beating.
>
> Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
>
> I'm doing my own research on RAID drives but what y'all may have to
> offer does help.

I think you'll be bitterly disappointed by any consumer plug-and-chug
RAID stuff and should pursue the multiple copies on dry land approach.

Repeat the recommendation for CrashPlan.  It has a concept that you
might want to have multiple copies of your backups.  How convenient.

>
> 73 es sail fast de dave KO4MI
> S/V Auspicious

-r