SUMMARY
The author experienced a double drive failure on their RAID 6 NAS, prompting a reassessment of data storage practices. Skyrocketing prices for both HDDs and SSDs, largely due to AI data centers consuming global supply, mean that expensive redundancy alone is insufficient. Photographers are advised to be ruthless in archiving, keeping only essential portfolio and commercially valuable images, reducing archive sizes significantly. While the 3-2-1 backup strategy is valuable, the cost of data storage must be balanced against business needs, accepting some level of risk.
TAKEAWAYS
AI data centers are driving up HDD and SSD prices, potentially until 2028.
Photographers should ruthlessly archive, reducing data volume to manage costs.
Data storage costs must be balanced against business needs and risk tolerance.
SSDs are good for working drives, while HDDs are better for archival storage.