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[jasvncnt1]

Hi all.  I have never had a NAS before but just purchased the 323.  Having an issue with it but actually what im wondering now is the back up situation.  All i was looking for was a way to back up my personal things from my computer...music..pictures...and one of my buddies said this is what i should get.  Also i like the fact that it connects to my router so i can access it from the other machines easily.  OK so here is my confusion.  I have read a lot on google and on this forum.  Not knowing much about these things, i always thought having the 2 drives set up as RAID 1 would be the way.  But after reading i see it really isn't meant to be used as a "back up".  I guess i am wondering if this NAS is still a good option for me.  And if so is it better to set up the 2 drives independent and then copy the data from one to the other manually?  I have thought about on line back up also but its kind of weird to me to have all my family pics up on someones server.  So if someone doesn't mind maybe just letting me know the best way to set this up i would greatly appreciate it.  Just in case, im running Win 7, and a MAC.  Bought 2 1T drives.  Thanks again.

[JavaLawyer]

You should read this thread from end-to-end, as it addresses the issue you are facing: http://forums.dlink.com/index.php?topic=38106.15

[jasvncnt1]

Thank you!  I will take a look now.

OK so now im thinking to set each drive up just as 2 drives.  Copy what i want to the first drive and then i guess use some sort of software to schedule it to copy that data to the second? 
 

[JavaLawyer]

As you read through that thread, here's an additional point to consider.  

If you're looking at other NAS models, the DNS-320 and DNS-325 have a new recycling bin option where deleted items are moved to a virtual recycling bin and can be restored in case of accidental deletion.  This mitigates some of the accidental deletion risk associated with using RAID 1 on older DNS models.

[JavaLawyer]

. . . use some sort of software to schedule it to copy that data to the second? 

The DNS-323 firmware has on-board software that can schedule backups between the two drives.

[jasvncnt1]

wow!  Thanks for all the info and help.  I'm going to try that.  Guess I, like a few others i have read here have always thought RAID 1 was for back up.  I thought it would be the same as manually copying from one drive to the second.  So I will reformat the drives tonight and try that.  I only set it up last night and didnt get very far since i kept getting "cant map drive" errors.

[JavaLawyer]

RAID 1 is great for backup if you have at least one copy of your data stored in another location/device. However, if the RAID 1 array is the ONLY source of your data, then you're at risk.  

Best of luck.

[jasvncnt1]

Thanks.  I do have my data on another external drive.  But its only 250G.  So its not all there.

[scaramanga]

As you read through that thread, here's an additional point to consider.  

If you're looking at other NAS models, the DNS-320 and DNS-325 have a new recycling bin option where deleted items are moved to a virtual recycling bin and can be restored in case of accidental deletion.  This mitigates some of the accidental deletion risk associated with using RAID 1 on older DNS models.

If you want one, your DNS-323 can have a similar recycle bin. It's a feature of SAMBA/CIFS. All you need to do is make some configuration changes. You'll need more access to the DNS-323 than is available out of the box, like fon'z fun plug.

[jasvncnt1]

That sounds cool!  Guess i have a lot more reading to do lol.  When i get home im going to try to redo my drives (I had them set up as RAID 1).  Then im going to work on the drive mapping issue.  Once i get that I will start looking into all the other options.

[scaramanga]

regarding the recycle bin, here's how it's done:
http://wiki.dns323.info/howto:bettersamba#how_to_create_a_recycle_bin

And you can do considerably better than the built-in backup tool D-Link provided, with fun-plug, rsync and a little elbow grease.

[jasvncnt1]

Thanks for the info.  I finally got it up and running this weekend.  So now i can start looking at all the other things and software to use to back up. 

[JavaLawyer]

You'll find a backup solution under the "Application" section of the firmware login prompt.