> > I find it's a nice cage for in or out of case use. I have 4 drives for > RAID, so good match. > Nailed it. I am looking to do some outside use, and let the power supplies and SATA-card cables hang from the box stacked under a table in the attic (nobody will bother them). Super inexpensive setup. (We used to run open boxes like those in the 90s with SCSI chains.) > > I've been running Linux software RAID for many years and it's treated me > very well for my primary home server. > Ditto. But there can be many benefits from a ZFS setup given that eventually one does not have to manage individual md devices or components. The experience comes form my workplace. > > For backups, also for many years I ran BackupPC based on Greg (on this > list's) suggestion; nice product, worked well. I've reduced home servers > and a few years ago I switched all home backup to cloud (CrashPlan). Our admin uses this. He swears by the $70 he spends, especially given he has to manage some Windows machines at home. I am of the paranoid type, and work on consulting gigs that have strong restrictions; data needs to stay in my space. The magic word around is "tape." The admins here say it is still the most reliable way to store data long term. The newest tape backups we have at work cost a lot, but do immediate checking of the data the lift to store on the fly. "Expensive" is really the word. Thanks for the good chat and for the pointers!