I agree with Jreays, there's a lot to loose if you don't have this setup in a raid configuration
even in a raid configuration, unless you are talking RAID 6 or RAID 0+1, ie something that can withstand more than a single drive failure, you are taking risks with your data.
the problem is drive capacity has outgrown drive speed. to resync the RAID array after replacing a large failed drive takes days, exacerbated if the drive is in active use, and puts a load on all the drives during the rebuild, potentially leading to another drive failing. (you did mix & match different drive models, or at least the same model from different lots so as to avoid similarly timed failures, right?). RAID 6 and 0+1 require a minimum of 4 drives, but even RAID 1 requires 3 drives to withstand a 2-drive failure, so you need over a grand to purchase 4 x 10 TB drives, though you do end up with 20 TB.
personally i do run RAID 5 with 3 x 3 TB drives on a single system, but 1. the valuable data is replicated onto other systems, 2. the irreplaceable data is additionally backed up offline, and 3. i have a cold-spare on-hand (because your good deal on this drive is going to be canceled out when you have to pay regular price and expedited shipping on a replacement drive).
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even in a raid configuration, unless you are talking RAID 6 or RAID 0+1, ie something that can withstand more than a single drive failure, you are taking risks with your data.
the problem is drive capacity has outgrown drive speed. to resync the RAID array after replacing a large failed drive takes days, exacerbated if the drive is in active use, and puts a load on all the drives during the rebuild, potentially leading to another drive failing. (you did mix & match different drive models, or at least the same model from different lots so as to avoid similarly timed failures, right?). RAID 6 and 0+1 require a minimum of 4 drives, but even RAID 1 requires 3 drives to withstand a 2-drive failure, so you need over a grand to purchase 4 x 10 TB drives, though you do end up with 20 TB.
personally i do run RAID 5 with 3 x 3 TB drives on a single system, but 1. the valuable data is replicated onto other systems, 2. the irreplaceable data is additionally backed up offline, and 3. i have a cold-spare on-hand (because your good deal on this drive is going to be canceled out when you have to pay regular price and expedited shipping on a replacement drive).
Thank you!