I have between 20-30 TB of data I want to keep a copy of in a firesafe. I do not want to use an online storage solution, I want to maintain my personal data at my home.
My current plan is to get (2) Mediasonic HFR2-SU3S2 PRORAID enclosures and (8) WD Red Pro NAS 16TB drives to fill them. The first would contain a full backup and be placed in the safe. The second would be attached to my machine and receive nightly backups. Periodically, I would rotate the enclosures, taking the one from the safe and swap it with the one connected to my machine.
Are there any problems with my plan that I am not thinking of? Are there better solutions?
Is anyone else keeping a rotating data backup in a safe? How is it working out for you?
You’ll need to get a fire rated media safe, not just a fireproof safe. A regular fireproof safe will keep the internal temperature below 175C if exposed to a 30 minute wood fire - what you’d typically experience in a home fire. The 175C is to stop paper from igniting, but at that temp your HDDs would be toast.
A data/media safe should maintain an internal temp of under 60C if exposed to the same fire. That means it needs to have much more thermal insulation, and as a consequence it will be significantly bigger and more expensive. To fit in the whole enclosure, you’ll probably have to pay more for the safe than the HDDs.
I’m thinking of going with the Phoenix DataCare 2001 which is indeed a fireproof media safe specifically for keeping hard drives, discs, etc. safe in a fire for over an hour. I hope I never need to test it, but of all the non-living things in our home we couldn’t replace, it’s our personal pictures, video, and business related data. Western Digital is having a sale on their drives today and I picked up (8) 16TB WD Pro Red NAS drives for $219 each. WD Red Pro (normally $289.99)