Image Storage RAID array replacement stratagy Question for Photographers using Lightroom Classic.

Question

Dear Adobe LrC community Photographers, HELP! Issue, RAID array replacement for image storage.  
What is the safest and fastest way to replace the RAID arrays connected to my old Mac; the arrays whereon all of my images are stored? I’m in the midst of upgrading to a new Mac Studio and this RAID array replacement is a big part of that process.

Presently, the images my LrC catalog are connected to, all reside in two separate external SSD RAID arrays, both of which are backed up regularly using Time Machine. I have also backed up all of the images stored on those SSD RAIDs to NON-RAIDed individual 7200 rpm HDDs as a secondary safety net.

My Plan

My plan is to eliminate those RAID arrays and point LrC (on my new Mac) to reconnect LrC to those same images, reloaded onto those same SSDs as NON-RAIDed individual disks.

Why? (Because we all know, in time, all SSDs fail.)

The “Why” is the fact that I am presently, flying blind. That is to say, in the here and now, the individual SMART technology built into the SSDs (used in the RAID arrays) is inaccessible to me. So I am unaware of the health status of the individual disks. If one or more of the SSDs begins to fail I will be completely unaware of that fact until after I have already lost a good deal (if not all) of my images; where as, if the images were stored on individual disks (SSDs), and one of those disks were beginning to fail, the SMART technology built into the disks would be alerting my Disk Warrior software and I could and would respond to that situation and replace the failing SSD immediately, thus avoiding a catastrophic loss of images.

My Dilemma

Utilizing the safest and fastest way to: 1) Reload my images to my SSDs aftercare wiping those very same SSDs (presently being used in the RAID arrays) clean, and 2) have LrC recognize all of those images at-once rather than have to reconnect them group by group or… in a worst case scenario, one by one… a nightmare inducing scenario to say the least.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

dj_paige · Answer

2) have LrC recognize all of those images at-once rather than have to reconnect them Maintain the exact same folder hierarchy. Do not start moving folders or photos around during this switch. If possible, give the new drives the exact same names or drive letters as the old ones. I have done this many times with my photos moving them to a new computer and new hard disks, Lightroom Classic starts up and there's never a need to reconnect. If it is not possible to maintain same drive names or drive letters, then you only have to reconnect the top level parent folders, as shown in Ian Lyons's link in Figure 4. I have met some people who seem to think it is a good idea to take this opportunity to change the folder hierarchy and move photos from folder A to folder B and so on. DO NOT DO THIS. Maintain the exact folder hierarchy.

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