G-Tech G-RAID 1000 brings TB RAID to the desktop
posted Jul 22nd 2005 12:00PM
Do we need a 1TB RAID system? No. Do we want one? Heck, yes! And trust us, we'd have no trouble filling it, either.
The latest one to inspire visions of uncompressed video and audio is the G-RAID 1000, from rap group
watch-maker Mac peripheral company G-Technology, which includes two 500GB drives configured as a RAID 0 system.
It goes for about $1,299 and includes both Firewire 800 and Firewire 400 ports (but no USB 2.0). Oh, and it comes in a
shiny chrome enclosure that will complement your Mac G5 (one thing you've gotta love about Mac peripheral makers is the
effort they make to get the look of their products to coordinate with Apple's computers) — though it'll also work with
Windows boxes, as long as you've got Firewire.
[Via Macworld]
RAID 0? Seriously? I wish people would start realizing that RAID is for data safety and not for performance... What is the current MTF for a 500GB hard drive? Well, split it in half and you have what it will be for this guy
RAID-0 is for performance... and less reliability of course.
Personally, I would rather sacrifice some storage and go for reliability with RAID-1.
RAID doesn't have to be for safety, it can be. Look at all the other things people do to get performance/functionality out of their electronics. Of all things, RAID is the one that bothers you?
#1... actually.. go read up on RAID 0 arrays.. they don't do jack for data integrity, they are strictly a performance improvement. So have two 500GB drives in a RAID 0 array would be great for large bandwidth data needs, which is what this is aiming at.
you know, there is a "preview" button so that you can keep from making yourself look like a tool...
I just have one word to say: Hot.
#3 - You should reread #1's post. He understands exactly how Raid0 works, and was criticising it. Guess who's the tool now?
LaCie's Bigger Disk has been out for a while at up to 1.6TB (and 2TB is going to be out soon). That said, these G-RAID drives tend to be much better quality than the LaCie drives, and this'll be more reliable if for no other reason than it uses half the drives (2x500GB in this as opposed to 4x250GB in the LaCie). But, yeah, neither these or the LaCies are recommended for long-term storage... They're good for working with large amounts of uncompressed video that will then be backed up onto a safer medium.
I agree with #1. Raid 0 degrades reliability and does little for speed in this configuration. It's better used with mirroring as 0+1 or 10.
A single modern 7200 drive has a max throughput of 55MB/s. Firewire 800 seems to be able to maintain up to 60MB/s - so using Raid 0 for 2 drives over a single FW800 interface gives you minimal increase in speed. If you used this with FW400 or USB2 it would make even less sense - you'd just be doubling your failure risk for no reason.
lol @ #3 (aka "The Real Tool") ;)
Man, I hate the way Engadget comments renumber. My #3 comment was directed at Matthew
really should've put in a gigabyte network as well.
home NAS is the next big thing. of course attach directly to the comptuer has the speed adavantage, but it doesn't cost much to add a network support either.
btw, nice case.
#8... yeah, ok, so I'm a little red-faced, since re-reading it does make it sound like a general criticism of RAID and not fo the device. I thought he was saying the device shouldn't be using RAID 0 because it doesn't offer a performance gain.
yeah, total toolio on my part.
The external LaCie 1 TB drive, which also has USB 2.0 in addition to firewire, is $800 at Costco online. I think I'd pocked the extra $500 and get the one that maybe doesn't look quite as cool.
What happened to Netgear's Storage Central? That seems to be a cheaper solution compare to this?
"really should've put in a gigabyte network as well. home NAS is the next big thing. of course attach directly to the comptuer has the speed adavantage, but it doesn't cost much to add a network support either."
I agree Kevin. I'm thinking of getting and empty case from Other World Computing (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/) but before I do, does anyone know of a RAID 1 box out there that includes an ethernet port or even Wi-Fi card.
I want to have my music 250GB (RAID 1) in a box that doesn't necessarily have to be connected via FW800 to my PowerBook. I'd like to mount the drives on my ThinkPad to add/play music or on my friends iBook when then come over etc. I'm just doing music, no video or big graphic files. Should be doable.
There's got to be something like this! Anyone?
If you really need big, redundant, fast storage, it is far more cost effective to build a dedicated Raid 5 or 5+0 fileserver. Buy 5x250gb drives and a raid card. Use it as an excuse to upgrade your system. Just don't forget the big PS.
I recently purchased one of the GRAIDS and decided on it over the Lacie because it has it's own built-in cooling and the Lacie does not. When you're editing hours of video it is nice to know that your drive is staying cool and will remain stable.
I just got the Buffalo Tarabyte Network Storage system. I got it for about $920 with shipping.
I am not sure how I am going to set it up but its really a killer box. Works as a print server, mail server, etc... Has good reviews and can be used as a media server really easy.
http://www.buffalotech.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=97
Dual 500GB HD's are quite expensive right now. Save $$ and get a box with smaller drives. See the price difference: http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4350515 (it was at $759.99 after rebate when I bought it 2 days ago). This is a 1TB NAS with 4x250GB... much cheaper... and almost looks as sleek as the G-Tech.
Show me some proof that RAID 0 offers a performance benefit in real world situations beyond some negligible amount like 1% or 2%.
"RAID 0 = way faster than a single drive" is one of the biggest myths floating around the tech world today imo. People see the word RAID and their eyes glaze over and their brain stops functioning.
Having said all that, I am interested in setting up a "cheap" 1TB+ SATA RAID 5 array at home purely for data integrity. I've spent so much time organizing, tagging, cleaning up my movies and music that I would *really* hate to have a drive die on me.
Has anybody seen the G-Raid Pro? Raid 3, FW800, dual fans, and matches the g5 perfectly... what do you guys think, I'm considering it.
http://g-technology.com/Products/pdf/G-RAID-Pro-Datasheet.pdf
tasty
"#8... yeah, ok, so I'm a little red-faced, since re-reading it does make it sound like a general criticism of RAID and not fo the device. I thought he was saying the device shouldn't be using RAID 0 because it doesn't offer a performance gain.
yeah, total toolio on my part."
Holy Shit someone on the Internet admitted he was wrong.
Seriouly, I don't think I've ever actually seen that happen before.
The best thing I can say about it is "It sure is pretty" You can purchase a server for about the same price with a TB.
The best thing I can say about it is "It sure is pretty" You can purchase a server for about the same price with a TB.
Build your own mini 1TB RAID5 server:
http://www.mashie.org/casemods/udat1.html
Get lost, I want a single HDD that is of the TB kind. I am looking for multi TB HDD - do I need that, yes. Certainly by the end of the decade I will need about 10-15TB+ which is only sort of taking into account HD TV recordings.
All these tokenistic drives that mesh two or more otgether is a joke. Why are we stuck a 500GB? Christ will someone just make a TB and double it in a few months after, please!!
What do you guys think of ReadyNAS 600 http://www.infrant.com/products_ReadyNAS600.htm ?
What do you guys think of ReadyNAS 600 http://www.infrant.com/products_ReadyNAS600.htm ?
well, there is the LinkSys NSLU2 - i dont think it supports RAID anything out-of-the-box, but if you load up OpenSLUG, it could be done.
neg
I need to store about 100 hours of broadcast quality video on a portable hard drive. which storage do you guys recommend