2tb thunderbolt raid

#1

I’m looking to buy a thunderbolt external drive. All I need is about 2tb.

I’m wondering what people have used and liked for the price.

http://www.amazon.com/G-Technology-Thunderbolt-Powerful-Transfer-0G02289/dp/B0084UYD1U/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1382640685&sr=1-2&keywords=thunderbolt+raid

this one here keeps popping up but it’s a bit more then I need

I’d love to get a 2tb for $200 thunderbolt raid but I can’t seem to find anything.

Thanks

#2

I don’t know about that one but I bought the Lacie 2big 4TB and really like it. Quiet, really fast and has a TB passthrough so I am writing this on a 27" screen connected to the Lacie and my MacBook Pro. It also shuts down automatically when the computer sleeps. Lacie stuff tends to be pricey but I am really happy with this and totally recommend it. I paid $470 for it.

#3

thanks alot cgbeige.

I’m now looking into

http://www.amazon.com/Drobo-4-bay-Storage-Array-Thunderbolt/dp/B008MH1KHA/ref=br_lf_m_1001100051_1_4_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=1638265442&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1001100051&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GG4WVAZNMVY3F9KQ44Q

and then adding my own

intel ssd’s

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-240GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-SSDSC2BW240A401/dp/B00DTPYSEM/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1382646346&sr=1-5&keywords=intel+ssd

anyone tried this?

#4

We’re using lots of Lacie 2Big drives here and are very happy with them.
Extendable and quiet (and very heavy) and the price is OK for a drive + 2 harddrives.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the G-Tech drive or with the Drobo enclosure plus SSD drives, but we use SSD only for the primary OS drive.

A thunderbolt raid0 with normal HDD will be fast enough for most stuff, what do you need an SSD Raid for?

#5

ya, I think SSD RAID is overkill unless you know you need 1GB/s reads. Also, avoid the drobo stuff if you care about speed. I was going to get a drobo 5D because of their flexible RAID/swapping options but they freely admit that they aren’t nearly as fast as something like the 2big. I would only go with the drobo if you value ease of configuration over speed.

#6

Also, avoid the drobo stuff if you care about speed.

All their stuff or just the smaller consumer builds? Was looking to get one for shared storage for may 2 workstations for offline editing/compositing.

#7

I’ll be using these drives to hold images sequences to comp in nuke. I’ve been told that ssd raid would be better for image sequence read times then normal drive raids.

Not the case?

Anyone comping in nuke tried a ssd raid and normal raid?

I don’t care either way. I just want the best solution. All this hardware stuff is tough. It seems like it needs to be tested on an individual bases cause everyones situation, workflow is unique to some degree.

I keep hearing ssd’s for OS is best, then I hear ssd’s for work drive is best . . .

Seems like ssd’s will always be best, but is it paying a premium without results?

Plus in nuke there are many ways to speed up your script with house keeping in the node graph as well.

I’m still on the fence whether or not to get the new mac pro or the new iMac.

I think I’ll probably get an iMac see how it goes.

Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.

#8

well SSD is best either way, it’s just crazy expensive when you get into TBs of storage. An SSD for system is essential but unless you need a ridiculous throughput at a high cost for video, a good 3.5" RAID is best from a cost standpoint. Apple is making PCI-based SSDs standard for system disks and this is starting to become important because SSDs are pushing the limits of SATA3 but unless you’re doing 4K video with a shitload of uncompressed layers, you’re never going to need that kind of bandwidth for work files. The more the better for applications and systems though.

#9

I’m dealing with exr sequences 32 bit float in nuke and hiero primarily. Sometimes exr seq have lots of layers and passes. All under 2k for the most part.

thanks cgbeige.

#10

here- I did a test on my Lacie 4TB 2big:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7990437/disk_test.png

Maybe that helps.

#11

very cool.

I did the same test

I got 88mb write and 84 read.

so your’s is more then 3x faster.

Anyone have an ssd to test?

I’m not sure what how or when I’ll see the difference. Does Lacie have a decent return policy?

I know newegg does.

I’ll probably try them out, see how I go.

#12

My Samsung 840 Pro SSD is faster – around 500MB/s read – but it’s around $250 for 256GB.

#13

if you are looking for ridiculously fast SSDs, get a PCI SSD RAID. They are crazy expensive though and I doubt you’ll need it for what you’re doing. Maybe look into a larger 4-disk TB RAID array. There is this but it’s pricey as well:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4489/promise-pegasus-r6-mac-thunderbolt-review/12

#14

http://www.amazon.com/Drobo-4-bay-Storage-Array-Thunderbolt/dp/B008MH1KHA/ref=br_lf_m_1001100051_1_4_ttl?ie=UTF8&s=pc&pf_rd_p=1638265442&pf_rd_s=center-3&pf_rd_t=1401&pf_rd_i=1001100051&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1GG4WVAZNMVY3F9KQ44Q

I was looking at the Drobo for a SSD reader thunderbolt.

Do you know much about this one?

#15

like I said, avoid drobo if you want throughput. They openly acknowledge that they aren’t the fastest RAID solution - they are more about flexibility and aren’t ideal for video work.

#16

LaCie 2big Thunderbolt is 4tb but is that 2x2tb so a raid would be only 2tb or is it 2x4tb giving a 4tb raid?

Thanks

#17

ya, it’s a 2x 2TB striped software RAID. you can also configure it to be two distinct disks or a 2TB RAID 1 mirror

#18

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