How important is your data to you? If you are a graphic designer, an artist or a general computer user with critical data, you need to back-up your files. The downside to saving on hard drives is that eventually they will fail and your data [...]
How important is your data to you? If you are a graphic designer, an artist or a general computer user with critical data, you need to back-up your files. The downside to saving on hard drives is that eventually they will fail and your data may be lost forever. Personally, it is crucial that I never lose my data or more importantly, my clients data. To store my ever growing number of graphic files I’ve found a very easy, elegant and simple product: The LaCie Hard Disk MAX, Designed by Neil Poulton. This is a 2TB external drive that uses RAID technology. The beautiful outer cover encases two separate 1TB Hard Drives.
The LaCie HD MAX allows for RAID 0 (BIG) for high capacity or RAID 1 (SAFE) for extra security. In BIG mode the drive acts as a 2TB drive with both hard drives configured as one large storage space. In SAFE mode your maximum space available is 1TB; with your files being automatically mirrored to both drives. This way when one drive fails, and it will, you simply pull out the bad hard drive and swap it with a new one while your data rests safety on the other drive.
The only drawback is that this drive is USB only and does not include support for Firewire or RAID card connectivity. However, USB 2.0 transfer speed for most of my files is extremely fast at 480MB per second.
In addition to using a RAID system to back-up your files I suggest taking your paranoia even further. Your second line of defense is to copy your data to DVD and organize it so that you can find specific files quickly if disaster strikes. Lastly, and some consider this over-kill, I suggest storing a third back-up off-site. For example, if your main files are at work, simply store a copy at home or vice versa. This is important for designers but also families whom are gathering a significant amount of digital memories in the form of music, video and photos. Memories that can not be replaced if lost in a fire or other natural disaster.
One Response
This hard drive rocks. I have the 500gb one. With the same polished design by Neil Poulton, and it looks great in my desk!