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Computer question for Medium Format photography only

Don Libby

Well-known member
Good morning Don. If you don't mind could you please tell me which G-tech drives you have and if you leave them running 24/7?

thanks,
Jeffery



I now have 3-seperate drive systems which I leave on 24 hrs. (they're also plugged into one of 3-USP's I have in the studio). The oldest which is also the largest is a 16TB G-Speed that never leaves the studio (Raid is set so that I have 8TB). The second which is one that I used to take on location is a 1TB G-Safe that I now leave in the studio for redundant backups. And the newest is a 2TB (no RAID) G-Mini that is now my location backup but also stay plugged in to the system when not traveling. (I also have a WD USB3 Passport Ultra 1TB that I'll take with me on location if I'm gone for any length of time). Of course these are all connected to a PC. :p

I'll have the G-Mini with me at Tahoe in April if you're coming out (feel free to give me a call or contact Dave for more information)

Don
 
I now have 3-seperate drive systems which I leave on 24 hrs. (they're also plugged into one of 3-USP's I have in the studio). The oldest which is also the largest is a 16TB G-Speed that never leaves the studio (Raid is set so that I have 8TB).
Don


Thanks for sharing Don. The g-tech enclosures sound pretty durable. Normally I prefer to pick my own hard drives for the enclosure. I have four copies of every digital image I have ever taken on separate hard drives in Sonnett Digital enclosures. My studio working files and back-ups I keep running 24/7 with a UPS as well. My off site RAWS and Job Master archives I only power up twice a week.

When I'm not in my office and need access to my files, I use a program called:

https://secure.logmein.com/

It allows me to control my studio Mac from anywhere that has wi-fi via an iPad, iPhone or laptop. I can upload any client requests from the comfort of my hotel room or a coffee house.

Tahoe sounds very doable!!!

Jeffery
 

tcdeveau

Well-known member
Thanks Todd. Your feedback on it is very helpful. I have been following the many different reviews on the Pegasus enclosures and opinions seem to be very varied. I do have a question for you. Do you keep your Pegasus running on all the time? (I shortened your post a bit in the requote. Hope you don't mind.)
No problem! To answer your question, the Pegasus enclosures I do not run 24/7. I only have them on when I'm actually using my Mac Pro (which is sparingly...maybe ~10-20 hours a week max). One potential issue with the longevity of the Pegasus units running 24/7 is that they ship with consumer drives that have custom firmware. I could be wrong, but this is my understanding. Consumer drives are not the best choice for 24/7 use. If you intend to keep your enclosures running 24/7, I'd look at getting a thunderbolt enclosure and populating it with enterprise-class drives, which are pricier but should stand up to 24/7 use more than consumer drives. Promise has a list of drives (some are enterprise) that are compatible with the Pegasus units on their website somewhere and they offer an empty thunderbolt 2 enclosure you can buy (or they used to at least). You can also get a Pegasus and swap out the stock drives but that's not the most economic solution...also, if you need tech support going that route you'll have to deal with two companies (enclosure and drive manufacturer) instead of one.

It looks like the G-Tech G-Speed Thunderbolt 2 enclosures ship with enterprise drives, so if I was starting from scratch and running 24/7 I might just go with one of those personally. The last unit I bought was the Pegasus 2 R4 and I got it simply because it fit my storage and usage needs...and more importantly my budget at the time.
Todd
 

satybhat

Member
So say, I have a Lacie 5big that I am planning to populate - That is a 4TB x5 drives raid.
I plan to go Raid 1-0 with 4TB x2 mirrored to 4x2. ( 8TB ). I will leave the 5th drive 4TB as JBOD. If I run this 10-20 hrs a week ( which is what I require in terms of processing times), would an abberant power surge hamper the mirrors ( 2 x 4TB) that are not running all the time ?
 
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