Asking the dumb questions, but I only need one to get started, right? What size would you recommend?
Discussion
You need two. So your data can be redundant using raid.
Size will be dependent upon how much data you will be storing. Bitcoiners seem to be setting aside 1TB for a node.
I’d add together an idea of how much data you want to back up, then double it, for desired capacity.
You can migrate to larger drives later without losing your data, but it can take a while.
You CAN use one drive but then your storage is not redundant/secure like what nostr:npub1wtuh24gpuxjyvnmjwlvxzg8k0elhasagfmmgz0x8vp4ltcy8ples54e7js says. I suggest you go big on the size of your initial drive because you wont want to regret having a bunch of small drives and find it's not enough space as you expand. I highly recommend not mixing drive sizes if you can help it. Mixing a 1tb drive with a 10tb drive on raid1 or SHR will net you a total of 1gb usable mirrored space and 9tb of wasted unusable space.
Also, you'll find the backup drive space gets eaten up faster than you think. Im using two 12GB drives which sounds like a lot but it translates to only 10gb of actually usable space (with data mirrored 100% on both drives).
Well 8 TB is cheaper than 6 TB for prime day so I guess I’ll do that lol
I’m sure I’ll regret someday, but I’m a newb and these were only $129 each
I can add more to the other bays later, correct? Not all for redundancy?
Sort of... check the synology raid calculator I posted and add different capacity drives. Play around with it and make a plan for expansion.
nostr:npub15u3cqhx6vuj3rywg0ph5mfv009lxja6cyvqn2jagaydukq6zmjwqex05rq This guy might explain a lot of really good concepts better than I can.
Check out this video: https://youtu.be/ZMsHCCyBqEQ
Good video, thanks!
I suggest checking these out:
It's $140 each so only $10 more per drive but you're getting 12 tb instead of 8. Manufacturer refurbished but they come with 2yr warranty and I've never had any more problems with manufacturer refurbished seagates than I have with new drives. In fact, anecdotally, I've had more new drives fail on me than refurbs have over the years...
Oh wow 😮 So no issues with the refurbished?
None whatsoever. Arguably these have better QC since they've been checked over.
The only potential issue you might run into is if you have a crazy amount of read/write like you're running a corporate server or something. (Drives have a set max on number of read/writes and refurbs dont always reset this counter). This is absolutely not an issue for the average user who is doing backups though. You won't get anywhere near the limit. I wouldn't run a typical server off a NAS anyways since speeds are too slow.
I’m a basic user just looking to back things up and learn.
I don’t think those are compatible 😔
Will explore more
They definitely are compatible!
Synology tries to sell you their overpriced drives but their compatibility list is bs. I havent come across any HDD that arent actually compatible. I've got those exact drives in my enclosure with zero issues for years.
A recent update started enforcing the compatibility list more stringently. I just returned $1k of drives over this.
👀👀👀👀👀
Oh first I've heard of this! I think my software is up to date and the drives are working just fine... for now.
Looks like I'll lokely be pausing auto updates like all the damus testflight nostriches...
It’s hard to tell what the exact issues are. The hackers are still looking. Lol.
These were iron wolfs that were too big. Weren’t on the list. Didn’t work.
👀
Yeah I've actually noticed compatibility goes down once you exceed 12tb. Not sure why that is? I've had a different set of WD Ultrastars give me issues before. I chalked it up to the drives but now I'm thinking maybe it was a compatibility issue?!