I sometimes take for granted that I'm a geek and some of the solutions that I implement might also come in handy for others that may not know about them.

So I'd like to share a tip for those who might want to protect their data.

  We've all seen external hard drives that attach via USB and give you extra hard disk space to store data.  These things are handy when you are running out of diskspace on your PC or Laptop; however because of their portability they are less secure and prone to damage.

  The solution? A NAS Box (Network Attached Storage).

  It works like this.

  The Box has Linux based operating system which can be managed via web interface or other software.

  You can install 1-8 or more hard drives in them depending on the model you get.

  So how does this thing protect your data you say? By implementing a RAID system similar to the very expensive file servers.

  Without going into too much technical detail.  The entry level of this type of unit works like this.

1. You buy a NAS BOX   $129-$149+ for the 2 Hard drive model the bigger capacity will of course cost more.

2. You buy 2 identical hard drives.  I picked up 2 x 2TB Western Digital Green Drives for $89 a piece.

3. You insert the drives into the NAS BOX and format them using the NAS interface as RAID-1.  What does that mean? It means both drives will be used to write data to.  Every time you copy data to your NAS Box, both hard drives will contain the same data.  This is where the protection comes in.  If one drive fails, you still have the other drive.

  You would simply replace the defective drive with a new one, the NAS Box will format the new drive and mirror the data from the good remaining drive back to the new drive you inserted.

  Now as an added bonus.  NAS boxes can be attached to your network, to either your router or switch.  So you can have access to it from multiple computers.

  Also most come with free backup software so you can schedule automatic or on demand backups from your PC or Laptop.

  Now you may think that this is a waste of a hard drive. Why would I buy two x 2 terabyte hard drives and only have 2 terabyte of storage available at any given time.

  How much is your data worth? We've had many examples of people losing data do to hard drive failure in these forums.  It would cost them more than $89 if they took the hard drive to a data recovery place.  So its not a waste, but a good redundancy in the event of catastrophic hard disk failure.

This solution plus burning data to DVD blanks like I've explained in the past will ensure you never lose those precious renders.

Comments or Questions are most welcome.

There is so much functionality in these things there is not enough space in here for me to write.

Example you can have the NAS box send you an e-mail if the temperature on the NAS box goes over a certain amount and you can have it shut down automatically.

I recommend the NetGear DUO or D-Link 323

Good plan but that still won't stop a burgular from taking the NASbox for the HDDs...that seems to be how they resell computers lately...piece by piece...best bet is to back up to a portable USB drive and lock it in a strong box in a hidden area of the house when you're out for more than an hour, like I wish I'd have done...would have to had anyone suggested it was a good idea.. ..

We use something similar to this at work, with up to 10 1tb harddrives. Works great!

@bobbystahr: The solution I've provided here, is more in regards to losing data in the event that you experience a hard drive failure.

Data loss due to theft is a different subject matter, to be able to recover from that scenario, I recommend using an online backup services like  www.mozy.com or www.carbonite.com they have very affordable solutions for the average consumer.

In the event that a theft occurs, you can recover your data over the internet.

Most thefts are the crash and grab type, they dont want to linger around for too long.

My NAS is on the network but its not easily accessible, if my house was broken into.

Tks for the info.  I'm running Raid 1 on two internal drives presently.

Good info here. Thanks! I just bought another 750 gig USB drive for backup purposes. I forgot about NAS boxes. Will need to do something like that for a project.

--Death