On Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:18:50 -0800, "Don Schmidt" <Don
Ken,
I think you misunderstood my comments.
Well, maybe, but I don't think so.
I didn't say the RAID ARRAY was a way of backing up,
No, you didn't say it directly, but to the great majority of home
users with RAID 1 (again, note that it's important to specify which
version of RAID you're talking about; RAID 0, for example, is
completely different), they think of it as a substitute for backup.
The purpose of my message was not to argue with you, but to point out
to others reading it here that it should *not* be thought of a
substitute for backup.
it's a way of ensuring no loss of data do to hard drive
failure.
Well, maybe. But if, for example, the cause of the drive failure is a
power surge caused by a nearby lightning strike, it could very easily
fry both drives in the array simultaneously.
Also provides a quick and easy method of restoring a failed drive.
True. But since having an image or clone backup provides the same
thing, I see no real value in RAID 1 for the great majority of home
users.
Also, I don't rely on the dual hard drives as a backup, I backup to an
alternate storage facility; network hard drive off location.
Great! Glad to hear it! But once again, the great majority of home
users with RAID 1 do rely on it as backup. The reason I posted what I
did was to dissuade anyone who has that point of view or might be
persuaded to take that point of view.
Loss of my data do to power outage or spikes is next to impossible, at least
improbable for I have an APC RS-1500 UPS.
Again, very good and glad to hear it. I recommend that everyone do
that sort of thing. But note that although that will protect you
against most normal power spikes, it won't protect you against the
enormous spike that a nearby lightning strike can cause.
And again, I didn't mean to make my point only to you, but to everyone
reading the thread; not everyone will have a UPS.
It also provides me with a 30
minute working window if the AC is lost.
And yes, my files warrant extreme safeguard measures.
I do fail in my protection plan if subjected to nuclear attack. If that
happens, I guess I'll have to start over from scratch. Damn, that's going
to be tough.
Take care,
Did you read the article at the link I posted (down below)? I think
it's very interesting.