Yet another question about RAID 1!

[LloydPDX]

I'm interested in hearing from anyone regularly using RAID 1 as part of their backup/duplication strategy. Disclaimer..I know a bit about the benefits and pitfalls of some RAID arrangements, especially that RAID 1 should not be considered a complete backup system. (Personally, I use JBOD and CCC for my own backups, and RAID 0 for the occasional video project's working files.) BUT I'm advising a friend ( a lot of bird and wildlife images, but not running a photography business with regular clients) for whom using a backup app might result in NOT doing backups at all, or getting too confused and frustrated. It seems RAID 1 might be a solution to ensure ease of operation and ensure regular duplication of files. Yes, I know the pitfalls. What I'd like to know is how LrC in particular interacts with the RAID pair. Is XMP written to both drives, for example? Virtual copies, psd or tifs round-tripped from LR to PS (or other editors such as On1)? And on the too-rare occasion that my friend actually culls their birding sessions, those deletions occur across the drive pair I assume. How has RAID 1 worked for you?
Thanks for you sharing your experiences.

 

[tspear]

RAID 1 is a mirror. I ran Classic with the catalog on an SSD and the raw images on a RAID 1. I used this config for almost six years without any issues.
RAID 1 will appear to LrC as a normal drive. The duplicate writes are abstracted away from the user and the applications. RAID 1 usually has a small impact on write performance but almost doubles the read performance by allowing reads from two drives.

However, with all that said. In no way shape or form would I consider RAID 1 a backup solution. Is it better than nothing, I guess. But it really is not a full blown solution; let alone a partial solution.

Tim

 

[Johan Elzenga]

I agree with Tim. RAID 1 is not a backup system at all, because any file you delete, move or change is deleted, moved or changed on both volumes instantly. The purpose of RAID 1 is different. It is meant for systems that need to be in the air 24/7, no matter what happens. You can replace a faulty disk in the RAID system without having it go down during that time. I guess for most people that need does not apply to their image storage.

 

[clee01l]

RAID 1 is a mirror

It is this reason that RAID is never considered a backup solution. Any errors, mistakes, overwrites or deletions on drive 1 are propagated to drive 2.

 

[Linwood Ferguson]

Just to be clear -- Raid is beneath the notice of Lightroom and has no direct impact on it or other programs.

It may affect performance, it may affect cost, and of course using it as a backup may ruin your friendship, but it has nothing to do with Lightroom, Raid appears as a single disk to Lightroom regardless if Raid 0, 1, 0+1, 5, 6, etc.

Not my business but here goes anyway: do NOT help your friend do a half-way solution for backup. You will be blamed when the halfway solution fails and they lose everything.

 

[LloydPDX]

All responses have been helpful, especially in totality. I will figure out as simple a scheduled backup system as I can to independent drives, via CCC.

 

[Ken @ Canadian Rockies]

I'm not sure if I can say this... but I actually agree with all said here. Barring that, I use RAID 10. Spinners are cheap, so I feel pretty safe with my 2nd form of back up. But I use three back ups, plus one extra off site every so often.

And my LrC uses my internal RAID 0, and I have never had any problems since version 3.0 of LR. My NAS is my backup of RAID 10, plus one internal spinner. lol - I have never lost a single file since 1988. But I have lost data due to damn encryption... But I would never suggest anyone to use RAID 0 of course.

 

[nicklesteele532]

Every comment has been beneficial, especially when taken together as a whole!

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