A special thanks today to an old friend, Justin Long, for mapping out a perfect solution for my photography networking needs. Justin is a real computer nerd (I mean that as a compliment b/c I'm one too), so nerdy in fact that he's a programmer for LRS...he writes software for their PensionGold solution or something or other....
I know quite a few photographers check in here, so I share the below info for us all to benifit from...you may have this same need that I've had for the past couple years...
I've been asking around for quite some time for a solution to meet two basic needs: 1) Massive Storage needs (I estimate I fill 800GB a year not including backups) WHILE 2) being able to access these large files very speedily from my 4 different workstations SIMULTANEOUSLY. Obviously, the solution is a server. But after searching and searching, every solution always ended up cost prohibitive...like multiple thousands of bucks. This is because servers needing this amount of storage are usually only found in the rack systems, and these get SO pricey. For example, Apple's XServe is 3k alone, but with only 80 BG of storage space!!! OUCH! The deal is that the XServe does a TON of insanely powerful stuff. However, none of which I need. The other obvious solution is just to buy a computer and beef up the drive space, and use it as a file server. But even cheap entry level Dells that sell for $800 max out at 500GB. NOT Cool!
Enter Buffalo TeraStation: Justin listened well to my needs and drew up (literally, he gave me a diagram...nerd!!!) a "topography" (hey, that's what he called it) outlining everything I'd need from routers to switches to patch panels etc. But the kicker came when he found the perfect solution in the Buffalo TeraStation. Behold the little black box:
These babies come with a MINIMUM of 1 TB (up to 4 TB currently), the drives are swappable (4 bays inside, meaning when you fill one up, you can just take it out, shelf it, and put another one in), it's optimized/designed for simply serving files to different workstations, has all the RAID configurations, can connect 2 other external drives (for backup or expansion), among a handful of other things. Best of all, compared to dedicated "servers" (like with a server OS, big processors, etc), these are WAY more cost effective for what I need. I just bought a 2 TB one for a little over 1K...for those that think this is expensive, sure, I agree. Though you must understand that this kind of storage capacity on other solutions cost many many (many) times more.
What will this allow me to do? Essentially this: I can be editing a wedding from my computer, at the same time DJ could be designing a book with these files from his computer, and Julie could be fulfilling a print order with the files from her computer. And actually, since I have a 16 port gigabit switch, another 13 of you could plug into one of the ethernet access points that will be scattered around my house and join in on the fun. Bottom line, no more waiting a bit too long to access files over the shared wireless network, no more shuffling external drives from one computer to another. All will be accessible at screaming speeds (near instant) to any of us, simultaneously. It all spells efficiency, even in the way I'll reconfigure my folder and subfolder directories. All will be neat and tidy in one place. Add into that automated backups for safety and peace of mind...
I'm excited to finally have a solution that will work well, and at a price point that's not insane, especially as this will serve me very well for a good few years. And thanks again to Justin for the advice and answers!
Anyone who just read all of this and got excited is also a nerd... ;-)
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