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Best Method for Backup on External Harddisk


nostaller

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Dear Support,

 

I have some trouble understanding what the best method would be in case of an SSD failing to restore the files and rebuilt the pool with an external Hardddisc Backup

I would like to briefly explain two backup methods that I understand might work, not knowing what method is more reliable to use.

In all cases I would use a program like Synergy, that copies all the files and changes from a source folder to a destination folder (my external Backup Drive).  I need an occasional Backup (once a week)

In this setup I would not use any folder duplication or pool file duplication feature from Stablebit.

 

Method1 for Backup:

 

Source:      Destination: Backup Drive 14TB

D:  SSD1 -> Folder SSD1

E:  SSD2 -> Folder SSD2

F:  SSD3 -> Folder SSD3

G: SSD4 -> Folder SSD4

H: (Drive Pool Combining SSD1 to SSD4)

 

 

As I understand all the pool files are stored in the ntfs format in the hidden file folder inside SSD1 to SSD4.

My firsts method would be to backup all this „hidden“ files of each SSD (SSD1 to SSD4) on a separate folder inside the Backup Drive.

I case SSD1 fails, I would need to recover the files from „Folder SSD1“ of the Backup Drive onto a new SSD and that new SSD would be automatically recognised belonging to the pool when enabled.

I would just need to give the new SSD the same label naming as the old ssd or I would need to use the „identify“ feature of Stablebit when seeing the „Drive is missing“ info. Would this work ?

 

Method2 for Backup:

 

Source:                                                         Destination: Backup Drive 14TB

D:  SSD1

E:  SSD2

F:  SSD3

G: SSD4

H: Drive Pool Combining SSD1 to SSD4 -> Entire Pool Backup

 

This second method would be easier to setup when doing a backup, because I would just backup the entire file structure from the virtual Dive Pool (H) to the Backup drive.

In case SSD1 fails, I would use the „remove“ feature of StablePool and add a completely new empty SSD to the pool with the same or larger size.

Then I would recover the files from the Backup drive to the Drive Pool H, and Stablebit would fill up this new SSD1 in whatever manner it wants to store data on it.

In this case I would not have to worry about what file content each SSD has, because I already have an backup of the entire Pool Drive and Stablebit would manage everything else in the background…

 

——————————————————————————

 

Would both methods work for having a save backup to restore the files ?

If both work, I would tent to use Method2, as it is easier to backup one Virtual Drive Pool instead of 4 individual SSDs. Are there any disadvantages using Method2 ?

 

Is there an easier method using the Stablebit pool file duplication feature for example (Although I really like how Synergy works with backup up files)

As I understand, I dont need the Stablebit folder duplication feature because I use a separate backup on an external hard drive, is that correct ?

 

Thanks a lot, Cheers, nostaller

 

 

 

 

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I am not support, just another user. However, I like your approach Method2 for Backup. If SSD1 fails, you could remove it from DrivePool and replace it with a new SSD. Then, you run a compare folders of your backup drive and DrivePool in any number of File Explorer programs (Free Commander is what I use), and select it to write any missing files/folders. To me, that is a simple approach, and it lets DrivePool write the files to your SSD's per your DrivePool settings.

OK, I am a big fan of DrivePool, however, there are some shortcomings I have become aware of in using the program for the past ~2+ years. First of all, file duplication is not a smart duplication in that if your source files are damaged, then your duplicate copy will also have the damaged files.

I have been looking for some kind of automatic checksum program that verifies all files are present and in good working order. The only thing I have found, so far, is using Multipar (freeware) and its .par2 files for verification and recovery, but that is a manual process. For my media files, like an album with multiple file tracks, or an audiobook with multiple file chapters, I typically set my Redundancy threshold at 10%. That allows me to verify all contents of the folder are present, and if some files are lost or damage, it can recover some files. Of course, a higher Redundancy threshold would recover more missing or damaged files.

Using DrivePool, I have discovered that a media folder might be spread out over 2 or more drives. Without some means of verifying all files are present in the folder, you could end up being a song or two short of the full album. Ask me how I know! I had a HDD fail in DrivePool and I discovered lots of albums missing a few tracks.

Would DrivePool file duplication save the day? Maybe, if none of the files were damaged and duplicated as damaged. But with Multipar, I can easily verify all files are still in the folder and/or recover some lost or damaged files. At 10% redundancy, I can verify my files and recover/repair most of my lost or missing files if needed. DrivePool file duplication at 100% redundancy cannot verify all files are in your folder and/or recover lost or damaged files in the same manner.

If you have read thus far, let me say that DrivePool works great for me, but I have separate HDD backups of all my important files sitting in my closet. Additionally, I use Multipar with .par2 files to verify my data. If any or your DrivePool data gets damaged, you might never know and happily backup damaged files or incomplete folders. Multipar works great on media sized folders of less than a few GBs, but it would take forever to create .par2 files for my entire DrivePool. So, unfortunately, I have to create .par2 files on a per folder basis. If you know of anything that creates checksums and verification/recover options like Multipar, but on a large data set like a DrivePool virtual drive, please let me know.

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On 5/19/2022 at 7:57 AM, gtaus said:

 

OK, I am a big fan of DrivePool, however, there are some shortcomings I have become aware of in using the program for the past ~2+ years. First of all, file duplication is not a smart duplication in that if your source files are damaged, then your duplicate copy will also have the damaged files.

Using DrivePool, I have discovered that a media folder might be spread out over 2 or more drives. Without some means of verifying all files are present in the folder, you could end up being a song or two short of the full album. Ask me how I know! I had a HDD fail in DrivePool and I discovered lots of albums missing a few tracks.

 

Thanks for the tips and experience. Can´t you just disable duplicate file and do a frequent backup ?

Also "media folder might be spread out over 2 or more drives." as I am playing with this enw software maybe its because of the automatic file balancing feature that copies files to the different harddrives. Cant you just disayble this feature and the audio files in the media folder won´t be spread that much between different hard drives ?

Cheers, nostaller

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