Technically speaking, RAID is redundancy not backup. A proper backup is an archived copy of the data stored not stored in the same logical infrastructure as the primary data.
With a RAID you can swap in a new drive if one (or more, depending on your RAID#) drive in your RAID array dies. If enough of your redundancy in a RAID fails, you will lose data.
With a proper backup you can restore the entirety of the RAID array even if the original data has been physically destroyed.
Jarix@lemmy.world 5 months ago
This was actually something i thought newer raid features included and is why asked the question!
Thanks for letting me know, im so far out of being in touch with current technology it makes me sad. But i still find i love listening to people like my brother explain to me the stuff hes always keeping up on that we had used in years gone by. Technology is so cool but its so hard to keep up with if you dont work with it professionally. Or have the time/capacity/talent and disposable money if you lack the ability for self learning.
We live in such a disappointing technologically advanced world of the future.
stringere@reddthat.com 5 months ago
You just happened to get a reply from a former backup engineer who has had to explain this concept to customers.
Something else in the backup world that gets regularly misused: backups != disaster ecovery.
Disaster recovery is a whole plan of action. Backups can be a part of DR, yes, but I have had way too many companies consider their backups as the totality of their DR.
Jarix@lemmy.world 5 months ago
Well I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.
I really wasnt thinking of backup more than a drive failing, which for personal use i think is what most people have in their heads.
I remember having to use rerecordable dvds each day at one of my early jobs and then the owner also having monthly back ups as well. For home entertainment i never really think of that kind of planning.
I imagine you are familiar with zip and jaz drives? I still kinda think of backups being something like that to some degree if im not actually thinking about it. Not those technologies per say but just something the average home user will never see and is kinda mythical?
They seemed so future tech to a much younger me. Like when you were on dial up and someone said they were able to use an oc3 line once! (Ah the 90s kids we were)
stringere@reddthat.com 5 months ago
I know of several very large companies that still use tape backups. Granted they’re not like the cassette tapes we used back in the 20th century, but it is still the same tech.
Those tape libraries are more akin to zip/jaz drives.