External SSD with Raid 0?

I recently stumbled upon this product https://www.glyphtech.com/product/atom-raid-ssd  which is simply 2x500GB SSDs running Raid 0. Wow, I thought, creates two backups from a single copy (perfect for those wildlife trips shooting at 10-12fps ). Unfortunately I cannot find a comparable product in Europe any ideas, an external USB caddy maybe that can do the same?

Neilyb wrote:I recently stumbled upon this product https://www.glyphtech.com/product/atom-raid-ssd  which is simply 2x500GB SSDs running Raid 0. Wow, I thought, creates two backups from a single copy (perfect for those wildlife trips shooting at 10-12fps ). Unfortunately I cannot find a comparable product in Europe any ideas, an external USB caddy maybe that can do the same?

Raid 0 has no redundancy. It just combines the two 500 GB drives into a single 1TB volume. What you want is Raid 1, where the two drives mirror each other. Usually those combos have hardware Raid and it can be re-configured to a Raid 1 by changing a switch setting. Check with the supplier if that is the case with this offer.

I have not seen any empty Enclosures that have Hardware Raid (which doesn't mean they don't exist). But if you have a MAC that runs on OS X 10.9 or earlier you will be able to configure external drives to Raid 0,1 and 5; even multiple single drives. Apple unfortunately dropped that capability from OS X 10.10 on.

No, no, no!!!!!!!!  You are setting up for a disaster.  First, RAID 0 does not make two copies, it stripes a single copy across two drives so you can transfer data faster.  RAID 1 creates two copies but it is not a backup because any error on either drive is immediately replicated on the other causing you to lose both identical files on both drives.  RAID is NOT a backup strategy.  RAID is a keep working when you have a failure strategy and RAID 0 isn't even that.  RAID 0 is purely a performance strategy, there is ZERO redundancy or backup.

Jens Peermann wrote:I have not seen any empty Enclosures that have Hardware Raid (which doesn't mean they don't exist). But if you have a MAC that runs on OS X 10.9 or earlier you will be able to configure external drives to Raid 0,1 and 5; even multiple single drives. Apple unfortunately dropped that capability from OS X 10.10 on.

As for an enclosure that has hardware RAID, OWC makes a number of them.  Here is one I have been using for several years and it is great:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/M3QX2KIT0GB/

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Jens Peermann wrote:I have not seen any empty Enclosures that have Hardware Raid (which doesn't mean they don't exist). But if you have a MAC that runs on OS X 10.9 or earlier you will be able to configure external drives to Raid 0,1 and 5; even multiple single drives. Apple unfortunately dropped that capability from OS X 10.10 on.

As for an enclosure that has hardware RAID, OWC makes a number of them.  Here is one I have been using for several years and it is great:
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/M3QX2KIT0GB/

I think he's talking about portable enclosures/drives.

BTW, I have the Thunderbolt version of the drive you show, but it doesn't have Hardware Raid any more. I had to install SoftRaid for it.

Oh, yes, you are right.  Not sure why I would even want a portable RAID.

E.J. Peiker wrote:Oh, yes, you are right.  Not sure why I would even want a portable RAID.

Convenience. To get two copies from one download. I do the same with an old MacBook (OS X 10.7) and two external drives.

Jens Peermann wrote:

E.J. Peiker wrote:Oh, yes, you are right.  Not sure why I would even want a portable RAID.

Convenience. To get two copies from one download. I do the same with an old MacBook (OS X 10.7) and two external drives.

Yes, two copies with one download would be nice my SP3 only has a single USB port. But I see my mistake, I was thinking Raid 0 was simply two mirrored drives. Of course errors would be mirrored, not just two separate copies. I will stick to two separate disks

Thanks all for the enlightenment, sometimes my brain freezes.

Raid 1 is mirrored. Raid 0 is striped.

Would something like this work?

http://www.cineraid.com/products/home_h212.htm

Even RAID 1 mirroring does not give "two copies"... at least not in the sense most of us mean when we're thinking about backups. A RAID 1 device has two replicas of the files it contains, but those replicas are physically and logically part of a single device. Short of cracking open the case and accessing the raw drives within it through some other interface, the two replicas are accessed as one, and are joined at the hip for whatever happens.

Many, many things that can physically or logically compromise or destroy a RAID 1 device most often will take out both replicas at the same time. This is why E.J., myself and others always say that RAID is NOT a backup solution. What it is, is a solution to minimize your operational downtime in the event that a single drive fails within the RAID device. (Or, in the case of RAID 0 which has no redundancy, it's not even an uptime solution... it's usually done strictly for performance reasons.) That's a useful thing in its own right, but it's not the same as traveling (or working at home base) with multiple independent copies that live or die on their own without any regard with what is going on with any other copies.

There are a number of small portable 2-drive cases around, including the CineRAID enclosure that Candew linked to. Many of these can be set up in JBOD mode so would make both internal drives available to transfer independent copies of data onto, without the use of any RAID automatic mirroring or striping behaviours. This is close to having two independent copies. But obviously with 2 drives inside a single case, there's still a range of things that can take out that enclosure and lay waste to both copies at the same time.

I'm personally looking at the Glyph Atom RAID units strictly for traveling performance reasons. If I used them, like any other storage device, I would have multiple of them with me to avoid having a single device copy of information...

The CineRaid case looks like what I was thinking of, shall see if it is available in Europe. Thanks guys, would be lost without you

It's not very portable, but I'd love to have a few of these:
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/FS3017

I have enough trouble keeping my PC and a few HDD's backed up and running

I know. Inside much of my technology, there are small demons that smile cruelly and exchange knowing glances with each other, every time I say "Okay, I think I've got this figured out now."

I have not used any type of RAID in years. About 10 - maybe more - years ago I had 2 disks set up with RAID so they would be stripped as one large drive. One drive failed and I lost access to both! Never again will I do that. Fortunately, I had a good back up. I now use JABOD and maintain an off site back up as well.

Royce, I love your comment about your demons. I think their cousins live in my stuff.