I bought a Drobo with the same intent of it being my online redundant array type storage while the original copies were on external HDDs that were placed back in their original retail packaging. The Drobo itself was only connected to computer when necessary but left plugged in to mains when one day it was needed and multiple drives failed to mount--more than could be recovered.
I used to really be into all of the hardware stuff like that building 64 disk arrays and maintaining multiples for edit bays. Now, I'm so sick of it. I just want a plug-n-pray system that works out of the box and does not need maintaining. But of course I know that's not how gear works. So make it someone else's problem and throw money at that problem. $99/year sounds like an excellent bargain. apparently, too excellent
Put another way - if you are a Silicon Valley SWE, spending more than 15-60 minutes per year of your own time is more “expensive” than just giving backblaze $99/yr.
I used to really be into all of the hardware stuff like that building 64 disk arrays and maintaining multiples for edit bays. Now, I'm so sick of it. I just want a plug-n-pray system that works out of the box and does not need maintaining. But of course I know that's not how gear works. So make it someone else's problem and throw money at that problem. $99/year sounds like an excellent bargain. apparently, too excellent