Mirror RAID USB drive?

[Warpnow]

I googled around and couldn't find a product like this. Any idea if it exists?

What I basically want is a thumb drive that when I write a file to it, it has two chips inside of it. When you write a file to it, it writes it to two separate memory chips inside, so if one fails, it can start flashing red and you have time to backup your files from the other one.

Even better would be a time delay using a program like Rsync...so if there's a change to a file on the primary chip, it knows and automatically updates the file on a set interval of say 15 minutes.

I live in perpetual fear of thumb drive failure as I store work projects on it that often take weeks or months. I make backups, but still am not very comfortable.

[JustinR]

If you buy a good flash drive, like one from Sony, then you shouldn't need to feel paranoia about them failing unexpectedly. I've had my Sony for five years or so. It's been through a lot.

[Warpnow]

If you buy a good flash drive, like one from Sony, then you shouldn't need to feel paranoia about them failing unexpectedly. I've had my Sony for five years or so. It's been through a lot.

It will fail eventually. No solid state drive will last forever, especially if you use them as I do, making many writes and reads to them over the course of usage.

[CharlesA]

Even if a thumb drive like that existed, RAID is not a substitute for backups.

In short, back your stuff up.

[Warpnow]

Even if a thumb drive like that existed, RAID is not a substitute for backups.

In short, back your stuff up.

I backup at least once a day.

However, No backup's going to perfectly up to date, so I'd still be losing data.

In short, backing up is not a subsitute for raid. :-p

[CharlesA]

I do backups once a day, and unless you need something that is super portable, you might want to look into one of those NAS boxes (http://www.pcworld.com/article/252727/network_attached_storage_today_s_best_boxes.html), that can handle RAID for you.

Personally, I haven't had a flash drive "just stop working" yet, and I've used a few for a long while - I've got an 8GB one that is probably 4 or 5 years old with constant reads/writes and it is still going strong.

[Lightstar]

Need something like this.
Sadly, at the moment, it's just an idea. But I'm sure if it comes, it could be setup to mirror image the cards.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-PeTW6sUYXZU/UHLVqEXsrZI/AAAAAAAA8rg/dOLE-c1fFqQ/s650/USB+Flash+Drive+Expandable+With+MicroSD+Cards.jpg

more info: http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/04/11/combination-memory/

[oldfred]

Then what would be wrong with two flash drives or two memory cards and use rsync on a 15 minute cycle to update?

[Lightstar]

Then what would be wrong with two flash drives or two memory cards and use rsync on a 15 minute cycle to update?

You got a point there. Beside taking two slots instead of one, I think the result would be just as good. And they could be stored in two places, in case of fire or theft.

[JustinR]

It will fail eventually. No solid state drive will last forever, especially if you use them as I do, making many writes and reads to them over the course of usage.

You've had a SSD fail on you? My Sony has hosted an Ubuntu installation used intensively and daily for over a year.

I've seen a Sony flash drives reach 3 million writes before turning read only.

[inobe]

What happened to Hard Drives, a Dime a Dozen!

Everyone seems to question this newer technology as if it exceeded it's infancy :lol: