The Storage Nightmare Saga: A Journey to Reliable Backup and Editing

We're finally approaching the end of my "storage nightmare" saga, and I'm relieved to have overcome many of the challenges that have plagued me for years. It all started in spring 2016 when my main storage raid crashed, taking a significant amount of data with it. I had to quickly act to mitigate the damage, so I invested in a QNAP NAS (Network-Attached Storage) device and moved as much data as possible to it while I fixed my computer.

However, the SATA port on the NAS eventually died, erasing my Raid Volume and losing even more data. To make matters worse, Amazon's "Unlimited Cloud Storage Plan" was no longer available in the US, leaving me without a reliable backup solution at home. As the years went by, I started to panic about what would happen to the rest of my footage archive, which had been growing steadily.

Through it all, I've developed a working relationship with Synology, and their incredible contact has helped me navigate this challenging time. We set up an "Edit Bae" system early in the year, which provided a reliable platform for editing from. The device, paired with the DiskStation DS916+, allowed me to keep all my footage on it and edit right off of it. It was a godsend, but I knew that I needed more storage capacity to handle the sheer amount of data I had accumulated.

That's when Synology sent out the DX513 expansion bay for the DS916+, which I eagerly anticipated using with WD Red NAS drives. The partnership with Western Digital allowed us to create an even bigger storage array in the near future, and I was excited to expand my capabilities. However, there was a problem: I had approximately 40TB of raw data stored on Amazon Cloud Drive that I needed to download as soon as possible.

The issue was that I didn't have enough usable space on my main edit bay, which left me struggling to keep trickling backups down to my network. Consulting with Synology, they recommended using the DX513 expansion unit, a 5-bay device that connects to the main NAS via an eSATA connection. Installation was incredibly easy, requiring only screwing in the cable and plugging in the power cord.

The WD team sent over five of their 8TB Red drives, which I had previously used as my main desktop storage drive in my workstation rig, labeled "Jean Grey" in Windows for those who might recognize it. These disks are known for being reliable and performing well in exactly these scenarios – and they can be found at a great deal on the market. I connected the expansion bay, booted everything up, and went to the Storage Manager in the Disk Station Manager OS.

I told the system to expand my existing 15TB Raid0 configuration, which would provide me with the extra storage capacity I needed. However, I made the sacrifice of not utilizing Synology's handy caching feature for this update video series. The reason was that my high-bitrate DNxHR and ProRes footage is currently fully saturating my gigabit network, and I only work on projects once – for most part – before being done with them. As a result, minor graphics assets and music tracks would be the only ones benefiting from caching.

The next phase of my storage build-out involves upgrading to 10-gigabit networking to eliminate the 1gbps transfer bottleneck that has been holding me back for so long. I'm beyond excited about this upgrade, which will allow me to pull even more data out of Amazon's notoriously slow service and know that my data is safe for now.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing on building out enough storage to last a while – no more update videos quite as often, since my OBS Course project has taken up 8 terabytes. Bulk storage is clearly necessary, and I'm beyond hyped to show you what we're doing next. A huge thank you goes out to Synology and Western Digital for sponsoring this video series, which has allowed me to pull through and keep going.

For those interested in learning more about these amazing products, product links will be in the video description. Don't forget to pick up some WD drives for your storage needs! EposVox is a Patreon-supported production, and our videos would not have been possible without the support and generosity of our patrons.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enWe’re finally approaching the end of my“storage nightmare” saga.I think.I hope.To catch everyone up, in spring 2016, I hadmy main storage raid crash and lost a BUNCHof data, got a QNAP NAS in for review, movedwhat I could save to that while I fixed mycomputer, and then a SATA port on that NASdied, swapped units and it erased my RaidVolume, losing a lot more data.I also started trying to heavily leverageAmazon’s alleged “Unlimited Cloud StoragePlan” that I had picked up holiday 2015to try and save my bacon.Amazon killed their unlimited plan in theUS, and I haven’t had the raw disk spaceat home to download it, and began to panicearlier this year about what will happen toTHE REST of what little footage archive Ihave left.Through the year, I’ve developed a workingrelationship with Synology.And my… incredible contact over there hasdealt with my panic and stress and workedto sponsor me with some storage.First we set up my “Edit Bae” that I madea video on early in the year so I had reliableworking storage to edit from with their DiskStation DS916+.I’ve been keeping all of my footage on thereand editing right off of it.Now, they’ve sent out the DX513 expansionbay for the DS916+, and we’ve partneredwith WD to utilize their incredibly reliableRed NAS drives for this expansion, and we’regoing to be setting up an even bigger storagearray in the near future.But first, the expansion.My problem was that I had roughly 40TB ofraw data up on Amazon Cloud Drive that I neededto download as soon as possible.But I didn’t have 40TB of usable space.As I worked on my massive 8 plus TerabyteOBS Master Course, my main 12 to 15 terabyteedit bay quickly filled, leaving me no roomto keep trickling Amazon backups down to mynetwork.I consulted with Synology and the best courseof action to just get the Amazon data downloadedfor me to sort and deal with once I knew itwas safe was their DX513 expansion unit.This is a 5-bay unit that just connects tothe main DS916+ NAS via an eSATA connection.Installation could not have been easier.Literally just screw in the cable and plugin the power cord.In the NAS, WD sent over 5 of their 8TB Reddrives - a very reliable and respectable driveamong data-hoarders such as myself.My main desktop storage drive in my workstationrig is actually a 8TB Red, too.Labeled as “Jean Grey” in Windows - forthose of you who comment on my drive names.These disks are reliable and perform quitewell in exactly these scenarios - and youcan virtually always get a great deal on them.They even have 10TB Reds, too!I connected the expansion bay, booted everythingup, and went to the Storage Manager in theDisk Station Manager OS.Here I told it to expand my volume.I just want all the data in one place, right?Welll…..I’m not sure I’d recommend doing that.Setup time would’ve been a small numberof seconds if you make a new volume with theexpansion.I, however, told it to expand my existing15TB raid that was already 98% full and ittook an entire week - limiting the NAS’sperformance throughout.I wasn’t exactly prepared for this, butonce I realized it was OK to keep using theNAS during this process, it wasn’t a hugedeal.Things actually sped up significantly onceI was able to utilize a couple external drivesto offload about 4TB so it had less data tocrawl and more space to move the bits aroundon the platters.Once completed, I now had roughly 49 terabytesof working space, plus some redundancy thanksto the Synology Hybrid Raid and btrfs.Perfect.That’s… really all it took.This is why I’ve been in love with Synology’ssystems so much for the past couple yearsnow - their DSM operating system works muchlike a normal desktop OS, and managing filesystems and the like doesn’t get complicatedat all - unless you want it to.Despite being a storage nerd, I get easilyoverwhelmed by the plethora of tiny detailsand inner-workings of the various file systemsand raid types.I understand the basics, but I don’t wantto be responsible for making all of the correctdecisions at any given moment.I want a smart system that lets me choosemy needs and handles the rest for me - andSynology’s network attached storage serversdo just that.Now, as an edit bay, I’ve actually sacrificeda potential performance opportunity by notutilizing a SSD Cache.I needed as much raw capacity as possible,so I filled every slot instead of utilizingthat handy feature of Synology’s hardware.But to be honest - it wouldn’t have madea huge deal for me, anyway.My high-bitrate DNxHR and ProRes footage iscurrently fully saturating my gigabit network,and I only work on projects once - for themost part - and then am done with them, soonly minor graphics assets and music tracksthat I use frequently would be served by caching.In the next phase of my storage build-out,I’m making a similar sacrifice for thisreason.I’ll be making the push to 10 gigabit networkingto eliminate the 1gbps transfer bottleneck,which I’m unbelievably excited for.Until then, I’m just grateful to be pullingwhat data I can from Amazon’s horrendousservice and to at least know my data is safefor now.The next phase will involve building out enoughstorage to last a while - so I’m not makingthese update videos quite so often.With my OBS Course project taking up 8 terabytes- clearly bulk storage is a necessity, andI’m beyond hyped to show you what we’redoing next.My undying gratitude to Synology and WesternDigital for sponsoring this video… series…my sanity… and making this all happen.Product links to Synology’s servers willbe in the video description, and go pick upsome WD drives for your storage needs.I’m EposVox, here to make tech easier andmore fun, and remember -- no data is EVERsafe on Raid0.And to ALWAYS have backups in multiple places.Don’t be me.Don’t do it.EposVox is a Patreon-supported production.Our videos would simply not be possible withoutthe support and generosity of our patrons- whom you can see on-screen now.If you'd like to join the inner-circle andget early access to videos, among other things,go to Patreon.com/EposVox to learn more.\n"