I am running 2x 6TB HGST Dekstars as JBOD on an OWC Elite Pro Dual enclosure which is connected via thunderbolt to my Mac mini running Plex. Although the Elite pro dual is a great and fast enclosure, the fan is very loud and remains on even when the drives are unmounted so buying another to host a pair of 6TB drives isnt an option.
I basically am looking for something that I can host 12TB (2x6tb) in, that can be used as to back up all my data from the OWC enclosure on a monthly (or twice a month) basis and only be on for the time of the backup for the least amount of power consumption and drive usage. Would NAS spec hard drives be necessary for this box? Would Time Machine be a good candidate for a scheduled backup like this? Which enclosures would you guys recommend?
I thought about stepping up to a 4-Bay box but I havent looked into if it would be possible to run JBOD on all 4 drives and have 2 be as backup to the other 2 and have them OFF when not being backed up to. I figure having the drives off as often as possible between backups will decrease the possibility of data loss as opposed to having them always spinning correct? Or will having them spin up and down be more detrimental?
thanks for your time!