My main project drive is currently a 1.5 TB Seagate I think. The Time Machine drive is a 4 TB LaCie I think. The Time Machine drive backs up the whole machine including the project drives hourly.

So, I have a backup on a hard drive using time machine. But if I don't keep it plugged to the laptop at least most of the time, it doesn't back up. So I figure if anyone breaks in to steal things, they'll take the backup too. What's the best way for me to (cheaply and easily) back up to something offsite? I worry about copying individual files or folders that I'd miss something big, which is why I super like the Time machine thing.

Ok, gotcha. So looking at that and the gear I have now, if I just added the Drobo or Gud's one, I could completely replicate what you're doing.

I would make the new 3TB USB the Time Machine. The SO's 1TB would be the working drive. The current NAS, the 2TB Linkstation once cleaned up, could be the daily backup. And the new anticipated NAS could be the long term completed project backup.

I think I'll still do optical (probably bluray) for the long term storage of the archival projects. I don't really need them at all, but I also don't want to just dump them. And I don't want to waste space on them. But then I'll move all the critical ones and my kids' ones onto the new NAS.

I'll have to look at Time Machine. I anticipate lots of new Mac user questions coming up. I mean, I haven't been on an Apple since they stopped production on the Apple Lisa. I was pretty good with Turtle at the time, but I hear they've moved on since then?

Hey, my format finished!

I got my new NAS yesterday. It appears to be about ten times faster than the current dying (though probably fixable) NAS.

That Synology one does look sweet, but what was your old NAS?

Okay, so now I'm moving all the data in the world onto the new external. I think.

Should I partition it so that Time Machine only eats up part of it? Maybe 1TB to Time Machine, and 2TB for general storage? I'd fill 500G of that immediately, moving off the old NAS, and probably another good 200G moving off the new conversion files.

Then I'd have to clear the old NAS, and re-setup the automated backups for the Windows machines. I would then use the old NAS as the daily in-progress project backup, which, once cleared, would give me a little time to get the Drobo or Synology in.

Turns out I couldn't have done my original plan anyway, because the old NAS doesn't support RAID5, only RAID0 & RAID1, plus it's smaller than I was thinking, 1TB combined, not each drive.

I still would end up without a media server.

Of course, the big question with all of this is what will I do with my naming conventions? It's like ND running out of ships. I had hard drive volumes as LotR towers, but I think I'm out of towers! So I may have to start allowing to general places.

I had cities for networks, people for computers, towers for hds, swords for mobile devices. But there aren't that many swords, either.

That Synology one does look sweet, but what was your old NAS?

It was a Linksys NAS 200.

Thanks. I'm currently using an Intel SS4200-E NAS. It works well enough for backup, but it's too slow to be a media server. Also, I'm using standard Seagate HDs with RAID 5, I think. I just read this review on Amazon that is scaring me into thinking I ought to replace the HDs with these WD "Red" drives. If I'm going to do that then, hey, why not also replace the NAS! Not sure if the performance would be any better though...

Hmm. That is a little scary.