I need a huge amount of storage for a project I'm working on --
roughly 20 terabytes -- could I just connect 50 400GB external hard
drives to my machine, using USB hubs?  Or is there a more elegant /
sensible approach?

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 09 Jun 2006 10:38 PDT

Howdy leeannd-ga,

How important is the data that you will be storing?  If the loss of any
of it would be a setback, then you will want to go a more serious route.

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

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Clarification of Question by leeannd-ga on 09 Jun 2006 19:11 PDT

It's pretty crucial information -- what would my alternatives be?

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Request for Question Clarification by denco-ga on 10 Jun 2006 19:14 PDT

Howdy leeannd-ga,

I am going to do the following as another clarification request so I
can ascertain which route is the most applicable for you.

There are all sorts of reasons, with lack of data protection being the
biggest, why the "whole bunch of external hard drives" is not going to
work for you.

What you need is a large capacity storage server, or your very own
server farm.

The first, although a "plug and play" solution, is expensive, coming
in at around $30,000 to get to a 20 TB solution.

If you are experienced with computers, or know someone that has that
type of experience, there is the "Do It Yourself" (DIY) route which
can bring substantial cost savings.

This would be a "server farm" and in this case that would mean around
14 to 26 (depending on configuration) "barebone" systems.  Each one
would store around 7.5 to 1.5 TB in a hardware "Raid 5" configuration
for data redundancy.

This solution would run from $13,000 to $18,000, again, depending on
configuration, both hardware and software.

Keep in mind that your original idea would have run over $10,000 or
so, with absolutely no data security at all.

Depending on your budget, both time and money, I can provide details
on either solution.  Thanks!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher