Backup Workflow

[Doughman]

[Brian]

The easiest way to backup your images, is to first figure out a Folder & File Structure that makes sense to you. Treat your backup devices as large file cabinets, each containing separate "Drawers" and Folders, etc. Organize the crap out of your existing files if you haven't done so already. Cull-Cull-Cull!! You do not need 75 Raw Photos of your Lunch from 5 years ago. When that's complete, we can talk about hardware. Remember, we need to approach things logically.

A 1TB external and a 5TB External is a good place to start. Creating a "Pool" of Hard Drives is something called RAID, which stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. In a nutshell, a RAID consists of two or more IDENTICAL Hard Drives working towards a common goal. Each of these "goals" are known as Levels.

I will warn you RAID is expensive, no matter how you slice it, since you are purchasing multiple identical hard drives, and not just your basic run-of-the-mill External HDs either. Buying hardware that is designed for RAID and the software to run it makes more sense. Usually people buy a RAID NAS (Network Attached Storage) or an External HD that has two or more HDs in it. For the majority of folks, there are three common types of RAID:

• RAID Level 0 or RAID0: Multiple HDs act as one big Hard Drive. This is the fastest RAID of the bunch. Downside, no redundancy. If one HD fails, the whole RAID0 setup fails. RAID0 is great to be used as a cache drive when editing video, due to the performance of RAID0. Bear in mind, there is no performance boost when using SSD / Flashed Based Media. If you want a performance boost from a RAID 0, you are using traditional spinning hds.
   
• RAID Level 1 or RAID1: Drive Mirroring. When a file or any bit of data is written / removed from one HD, it is instantaneously copied / deleted from the other HD. For the majority of folks, they usually go with this option as it's pretty simple to setup. The downside to this setup, if any bit of data is corrupted or deleted on one HD,  that corruption is carried over to the 2nd HD immediately. So if you screwed up and deleted the wrong folder, you are SOL and are looking at extreme data recovery, which is expensive. Good news with RAID1 is if one HD fails, you have the other to retrieve your data from. That's the original intent of RAID1.
  
  Again, RAID1 is REDUNDANCY, not a backup method. All you are doing is preparing for one of the Hard Drives to physically fail, not to cover your arse if something were to get corrupted or deleted.
   
• RAID Level 5 or RAID5: This is the most common in servers with my commercial clients. There are others, like RAID6 and RAID10, but to keep things simple we will stick with RAID5. RAID5 is kinda like the combination of RAID0 and RAID1; which is three or more hard drives act in unison as one big HD. If one drive fails, the other two pick up the slack and keep going. If TWO hard drives fail in a RAID5, the RAID fails. RAID5 is really meant for businesses, with Servers that have large Database Files that need to be accessed. Most of your basic computers only do RAID 0 or RAID 1 and going beyond this level is just a waste of time for me to type out.  

When it comes to a backup strategy, the 3-2-1 Method is standard practice and has been around for decades.

Three copies of your data files...

...on Two Different Storage Mediums...

...One of these Mediums is to be kept off-site.

What two different Mediums? It could be Two Separate HDs, or a HD and a Cloud Backup, or a Tape and HD, etc. I wouldn't bother with DVDs as Digital Rot is a very real thing. So unless you are buying Archival Grade DVDs, you are really playing with fire. What is Digital Rot?

The layers on the Disc Media that house your data, all the 1's and 0's that make up the little bits of data, which make up the files themselves, start to degrade over time. In essence, your data files go "Poof." This process usually doesn't happen for a few years, maybe a decade or more, but this isn't a 100% thing. I've seen DVDs that people store their precious memories on, only to discover that the discs wont read in a few years. Others, have no issues trying to read something that is 15 years old. It's all a crap-shoot, with no real predictability. In any case, I don't recommend using DVDs to backup anything long-term.

The Cloud could also be utilized as a different Storage Medium and also be the "Offsite" location. Bear in mind, the "Cloud" is just someone else's Computer/Server and things can go wrong. Also, when it comes to Cloud, you need to read the fine-print. Some Cloud Services will only store your files/folders if they are also on the source computer. If you try to free up space by deleting stuff, the Cloud Service will only keep those files for about 30 Days or so, and then they will be deleted from their Servers. This helps keeping them from becoming proverbial "Dumping Grounds" of files and data. So again, if you do sign up for a Cloud Service, read the fine print and fully understand on what you are signing up for.

Now if you have made it this far, I'm sure you are wondering on what to buy, right? Buying stuff is fun!! Organizing Files and Photos and deleting stuff is so BORING!!!

Remember how I said RAID is expensive? Here is a external HD that has beefy Enterprise-Grade HDs and would be one that I would purchase:

SanDisk Professional G-RAID 2 36TB 2-Bay RAID Array (2 x 18TB, Thunderbolt 3 / USB 3.2 Gen 1 ) - $1599

Synology 48TB DiskStation DS920+ 4-Bay NAS Enclosure Kit with WD NAS Drives (4 x 12TB) - $1709.95

Keep in mind, when you are buying a RAID type of setup, the advertised price and capacities are RAID0. So two 12TB HDs would give you 24TB of space if configured in a RAID0. But if you chose a RAID1, which would get you redundancy, one 12TB HD is automatically Mirrored to the other. So with two 12TB HDs, you'd only have 12TB to play with. Make sense?

Bottom Line: What would Brian do? I just have a Single 12TB Thunderbolt 3 Drive hooked up to my Mac. I have a second 12TB HD that I copy stuff over to and that's kept off-site. My data strategy is pretty simple. I'm also not really shooting a lot of client stuff these days and it's more of my Vacation Photos than anything.

 

 

 

[Brian]

Oh, one more thing, your laptop probably has an extra slot to add another HD in to either create a RAID0 or RAID1. As I mentioned above, you can't just simply "Link" external hard drives together. It doesn't work that way.

[Doughman]

Brian,

Thank you for the detailed response. I'm glad I asked as I certainly wasn't expecting pooling to be so complex or expensive! So my first order of business is to cull and organize what I already have. I'm guessing creating folders by year that contain folders by client name is the most logical way to go. If you have a better suggestion, please share. I'd much rather spend time getting it right the first time over spending countless hours repeatedly going back to refine a failing system.

 

Thank you,

Karen

 

[Brian]

Have 4-5 top level folders. Business, Personal, Client, Website, etc. these are the main “Drawers” in your file cabinet that is your HD. Then go by year. The trick is to be able to find something within 2 minutes at all times. Especially the Business Folder. Receipts, Model Releases, Contracts, stuff for the accountant, all need to be organized. 
 

But yes, cull-cull-cull!

[Sharon G]

Hi Brian

Your explanation above is great, thank you. I understand the Raid configurations, but at this stage I am just looking at Raid 1 with Windows 11.  Can you please help me decide between the 2 options below. Thank you

https://www.rubbermonkey.co.nz/Search?searchText=raid&brandIds=55&brandIds=116&MaxPrice=1500&MinPrice=1400.00

[Brian]

Sandisk bought Western Digital and G-Drive, so I’m a little biased to the G-Drive Model. (The silver one.) I own and use G-Drive for my data. RAID 1 is a good place to start, but keep in mind that a 12TB Model is two 6TB Drives that are mirrored. Keep in mind, you will lose a little space after formatting, so you don’t have a full 6TB to play with. When it comes to a RAID 1, but larger than what you think you’ll need and divide any advertised capacity by 1/2. 

[Brian]

As for the difference between the two models, the Black Model is Thunderbolt 3 only, and the Silver Model is Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2. If you have a Windows Computer and no Thunderbolt Ports, it’s kinda silly to get the new Model. Get last year’s Silver Version. 
 

If you don’t have TB3 on your computer and it’s a Desktop, consider installing a TB3 card; it makes an External HD perform like an Internal Drive. TB3 is 40Mbps Throughput vs 5Mbps with USB 3.0. 

[kharrison]

Hi Brian's. I bought the synology ds925. I bought Seagate ironwolf pro 12tb.  Is this a good set up or would you recommend something besides the ironwolf?

[Brian]

It's fine. I'm a Western Digital Man myself, but people seem to like the Seagate Ironwolf Drives. 

[kharrison]

I am new to the system.  I was reading some of your other post and I am kind of nervous about investing more in Seagate because of the failure.  Do you have recommendations on Western digital that would fit my nas system?  I have been moving over all my photos and files to the nas for back up?  Do you also recommend I do automatic back ups?

[Brian]

I just remembered something! 

RETURN THAT Synology 925+!! 

Synology changed things with the 925 series in that the only Hard Drives it's compatible with, are Synology Branded Hard Drives. They are forcing you to use their Hard Drives starting with the 925+. Here is the Synology Compatibility List. 

If you want to use your own Hard Drives, like Western Digital / Seagate Drives, you need a SYNOLOGY 923+ model or older. The 2023 models, (hence the "23") and older you can use the drives of your choosing. Starting in 2025 (...the "25" in the model number,) you are forced to buy and use Synology HDs only. Yes, lots of people are upset about this decision by Synology. 

 

22 hours ago, kharrison said:

Do you have recommendations on Western digital that would fit my nas system? 

I used to recommend Western Digital Gold Drives, but they are LOUD and are really meant for beefier things, like a Server or a Metal NAS. For the average user doing backups, a Western Digital Red Plus Drive is fine for a NAS. If you want to get a WD Red Pro Drive, that's also fine. The "Pro" models are a bit faster, noiser and have another year or so warranty. The reason I bring up the noise, is that manufactures are using cheaper and cheaper plastic as time goes on, including Synology. If you put very fast and powerful hard drives, it's going to rattle and make noise. Some folks put their NAS in a separate room / "Server Room" and not keep it on their desk. Yes, it's that loud. Especially when you have 3 of those suckers going all at once, reading and writing data, mounted on flimsy plastic trays. 
 

22 hours ago, kharrison said:

I have been moving over all my photos and files to the nas for back up? 

That's not a bad idea, but keep in mind, a NAS helps protect you from a Hard Drive failure. IT DOES NOT PROTECT YOU FROM YOURSELF. Meaning, if you delete a file, or it gets corrupted, the extra two hard drives that the data is spread across, that file is also deleted / corrupted. So it's important to know what a NAS type of system is all about, instead of failing for Marketing.

Now, before I start recommending things, I need to know what your storage requirements are? What size Drives do you have now? How much data are we talking about? Is this personal stuff or client-based files. Or a mixture of both? What type of file organization do you have? Can you find things easily? 

[kharrison]

I have a 6 TB g drive with my photos and personal files.  I shoot some clients, maybe a dozen a year.  Most of my photos are family.  We have a big family.  I have 72.6 gb free of 237 gb on my c drive, 774 gb of 931 gb on my d drive and 1.16 to of 5.45 TB on my g drive.  My nas system I copied all my drives on it to have copies of everything and then I tried to use Windows to set up a back up and I unfortunately filled the 12 TB drive.  I am trying to learn on the fly about storage which obviously I am not succeeding at.  Based on this information can you recommend our help me with my situation?  I appreciate your time.

[kharrison]

I do have a Seagate in the nas now. It was a little tricky getting it to recognize it but eventually it did.  So will I always struggle with that?  I only see the 925, do you recommend another system?

[kharrison]

I found a ds423 but couldn't find a ds923.  I also seen this one QNAP TS-464-8G-US 4 Bay Desktop NAS.  What are your thoughts or recommendations on nas system?  As for the drives the noise doesn't bother me because the nas sits in my basement hooked up to my router.

[Brian]

Synology Software is probably the easiest to deal with, and there are A LOT of YouTube Tutorials showing you the software. QNAP is also up there as well, but their software isn't as sleek as Synology's. But they are the two leaders; think Nikon vs Canon. That said, if you are just setting up a RAID style partition, used for backups, and not running things like Virtual Servers, it's kinda a wash. Just figure out how to set it up, create the partitions, then the folders and set the permissions. Then it's just a matter of Mapping the Folders to a Drive letter on your computer. 

As to which NAS to buy, I haven't paid much attention to this stuff in recent years, since I stopped shooting professionally. Honestly? I'm slowly getting out of computers/tech altogether. Believe it or not, I'm actually fixing cars and trucks with my oldest son, and we hope to open up our own repair shop in the near future. I can point you in the right direction, there is a channel on YouTube that I've watch A LOT of videos, and they are a great source of information. Their whole channel is based on NAS Systems, what to buy, etc. etc. 

NASCompares

Whatever NAS you do end up getting, search on YouTube for videos on how to setup for a particular model. You should be able to familiarize yourself with the various setup screens, so you aren't going in cold. (Do this before you buy anything.) In addition, the Synology RAID Calculator will let you know how much space you will have based on a RAID setup and file system, and I highly recommend using it. Buy larger HDs than you think you need. Personally, I would not buy anything smaller than 8TB in 2026/2027. 

RAID Calculator - Synology Inc.

 

15 hours ago, kharrison said:

I do have a Seagate in the nas now. It was a little tricky getting it to recognize it but eventually it did.

If you can get away with it and got it to work, bonus points for you. Synology is just being stupid and trying to save money on support costs. It's much easier to just support / test your own stuff than it is to make everything compatible with a bunch of manufacturers. It's all about money.