Raid NAS vs normal SSD

Report · May 04, 2018

Hello,

What is everyone's opinions on a Raid NAS system vs a normal SSD for media when editing? As I understand a Raid needs more than one drive to function but supposedly I read that if you combine multiple HDDs in a raid system you will get double the speed of a normal SSD. Does a raid nas system create more probability for disk failure? I read some review that it does but I've never used raid so I don't know.

Report · May 04, 2018

We use a RAID NAS system for most of our projects and it works great. The ability to keep and back up large files across the network, sharing with others for collaborative editing, is HUGE for us. You might suffer a slight performance hit, but that's more because of network speeds than the drives themselves. It's probably a little faster to edit from your local SSD, but if your machine gets stolen or catches on fire, there goes your work! A NAS, especially backed-up to the cloud overnight with the latest files, is rock-solid.

Just my opinion -- but I speak from experience!

Report · May 04, 2018

are there ones without the network? I don't need a network one. I'm the only one editing. lol

Report · May 04, 2018

In this case you have to buy a raid controller if your board can handle it,

you will need up to 5 HDDs

but a NAS system is better for safety, if you can get a small 4 port 1Gb switch

to connect your local pc to the NAS system, in order to save heavy loading your local board and cpu.

Report · May 04, 2018

I think there may be a bit of confusion with how the question is worded. The comparison might typically be "Which is better, SSD or RAID?" Adding in NAS to just one side of the question is strange, since one can certainly have a RAID without a NAS, and that is way more often the case in fact. What about an SSD RAID NAS then to make an honest comparison?

What I'm saying is that a RAID is not necessarily also a NAS, just like a Ford is not necessarily a Truck. It could be, or maybe not.

So maybe we need to step back and make sure everyone is on the same page? There is little reason to use NAS storage unless you intend to have multiple users SHARE the content of the NAS. For a single user, one would typically connect storage direct to editing machine via USB 3.0, USB-C, Thunderbolt, etc. for fast, local access. There are plenty of RAID solutions that are not NAS, and use the aforementioned connections...and could even be an SSD RAID.

Thanks

Jeff

Report · May 04, 2018

Ah, I see now this NAS business was already addressed perhaps.

So the problem with SSD drives is the cost per GB is far higher than spinning hard disk drives (HDD). If you work with only short, small clips, then an SSD can certainly be very fast to edit from, but sacrificing capacity. One can also create a RAID from 2 or more SSDs (or HDDs) for even more speed. Glyph offers the ATOM RAID with 2 SSD drives inside. Crazy fast, but not cheap.

There are plenty of desktop RAID solutions out now from G-Tech, Glyph, and LaCie that will have two or more HDD drives in them, and various RAID modes available depending on model. In general, a RAID 0 using two HDDs will provide great performance for most compressed video formats, but is not protected. If you move up to a RAID with 4 or more drives, then it will likely also offer RAID 5 mode which gives up some capacity in place of redundancy (back up in case of a drive failure).

If you have the ability to create backups to another drive periodically, then nothing wrong with RAID 0 - that usually provides the best balance of speed, capacity, and price for many users. If editing uncompressed video, 4K ProRes, other "heavy" formats then maybe you want a RAID with 4 or more drives for more speed (and capacity) then, but without knowing your needs, hard to say what is right for you.

What material do you work with typically - formats? What connections are available on your computer, like Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C perhaps?

Thanks

Jeff

Report · May 04, 2018

RAID 5 NAS system, if any hard disk is damaged you can replace it,

restart your machine and the system will automatically rebuild the data.

Synology, QNap, Lenovo Iomega etc.. is a good choice, or any alternatives