[WhoDat]

I would like to setup a server to store family pictures, iTunes purchases and other media. Also I would like to use it as a backup for important documents and data.

I have a Intel Mac Mini 1.66 and a G5 PowerMac dual 1.8GHz.
I have purchased 4 400GB drives and I am trying to figure out the best solution for the money.

I would like to put the drives into external enclosures like OWC 2 drive FW800/FW400 and use the first pair as either RAID 0 or use the hardware spanning, and the 2nd pair as the backup.

Will this be too much for the FW400 bus of the Mac Mini, seeing I also use an EyeTV 500/200 solution to capture TV and burn DVDs.

I would like to sell the G5, but would it make more sense to install 2 drives in the G5 and use 1 external enclosure with FW800 for the backup? I would like at least 1 external enclosure for the backup?

Any suggestion would help.

Thanks!

WhoDat

[mduell]

Firewire 400 would be a bottleneck for the drives, but your network will probably be a bigger bottleneck (unless you have GigE everywhere).

I'd consider getting a drobo; it will give you more usable space and would be just as fast over the network (assuming 100BT), while still providing a safety net in case one of your drives dies. At $500 it's probably not much more expensive than that pair of enclosures from OWC.