Current setup is mac mini running as a server, mac mini feeding the TV, gigabit wired network, data stored on a Drobo 5N and backed up to a Drobo 4.
I am now changing over to ripped Blu-Rays to get the best out of the 4k TV, this means more storage.
My backup Drobo is smaller than the 5N so obviously i cannot take a full copy of the 5N.
5N currently has about 6TB on it with capacity for 9TB I think, It is set up for dual disk redundancy and has used this feature once so far with 100% success, although it was a nail-biting time waiting for the new disks (WD Red) to arrive!
So, with dual disk redundancy, is it worth using another Drobo as a backup?
Is there a better solution?
Things get expensive once you get to big storage capacity so i need to choose correctly. I don’t like the thought of losing my library of video and audio.
I have a setup nearly identical to yours, except I use Windows. Dual-Disk Redundancy is definitely the way to go as it allows extra protection in case of disk failure, and your 2nd Drobo also protects you against loss of the 5N itself. I have CrashPlan running on my 5N backing up most of my files to the cloud and my old Gen2 4-bay Drobo is also backing up my movie files.
It may take months to back up terabytes of files using CrashPlan, but if you were to have a catastrophic event (fire, flood, etc) you would not lose your primary and backup in one swoop.
I just use one drobo 5D. It’s protected against drive failure. And if the drobo dies i’ll just buy another one then and plug the drives back in and i’ll be right back up and running.
