Issue: Data Hoarder looking for a way to store their data while upgrading storage system. User wants to utilize a RAID setup for redundancy.
How to store data temporarily if you need to work with it
Resolution #1: In a perfect world, what you ought to do is purchase another drive, utilize one of them to hold the current information, construct the variety of 3 drives, duplicate stuff over, and afterward utilize that drive as cold storage backup. That is more cash, obviously, yet it’s the most ideal approach since you NEED to store the data somewhere.
Resolution #2: Purchasing cloud hosting for a month or so to store all the data while local storage is updated. Cloud storage can be cheaper depending on the amount of storage space needed. Certain cloud providers also offer free trials or money back within a certain time period.
The most ideal resolution would be #2 with the cloud storage service. However, it is not recommended to just use RAID if a user wants redundancy. Sometimes if the storage gets corrupted then everything in the raid setup also becomes unusable.
The ideal solution for a redundant system is either hard disc drives that can be used as cold storage or cloud storage. Both solutions requires the user to take some time and make sure that their valuable data makes it to the cloud or the separate hard drive.
Store Data in Cloud Storage Temporarily
For cloud storage, the user needs to sign up for a service such as DropBox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. There are many services with their own pros and cons, however, they all do the same thing. Just make sure to go with a company that has a proven track record, such as Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive.
Most of these services offer free plans that you can try out and even make use of temporarily. Keep in mind that if you have a lot of data (multiple terabytes), it’ll cost you a monthly subscription.
Store Data in separate hard drive temporarily
If you wish to store your data temporarily as you make upgrades to the local hosting system then just purchase an external drive. An external drive can be brought from Amazon, MicroCenter, Best Buy, etc. They come from well known manufacturers such as Seagate, Western Digital, and Kingston.
Before you purchase this additional hard drive, make sure you know exactly how much space you’ll need. Hard Drives can get expensive, especially external ones. See if you can utilize them for different tasks after you are done.
It is highly recommended to turn it into cold storage and having another copy of your data on the hard disc drive to ensure actual redundancy.