I imagine a larger shop would have enough server drive space for a hundred images, and tape backup to boot. I have a chron-job set up to roll weekly backups of the TBR database, and it housecleans files older than 30 days. I should probably set up daily incrementals....
I think the bullpen is 4 x4T in a raid - Everything else in that box is not raided, but images nowadays are getting fat. It ain't like a selective incremental image that doesn't care about free space and all... this is RAW copy, so they get big. I have been known to stack beyond that too, but generally 16T is enough.
The problem then becomes backup, which also has to be big, and blowing an average 2T file across the LAN to backup sucks a whole lot of bandwidth when the backup comes on. A lot of times I can feel it hit, because my TV stream starts getting pinched. But that's the worst part, is that for every inch of the bullpen I have, I need just as much room somewhere else.
That somewhere else currently is my net facing box, because it is the only other rig I have that can carry enough drives and still do other things.
And I am fixin to go up on all of it again to handle more weight. It SUCKS jacking up 8 drives at a time. and that's Just for the images... recovery stuff is more yet.
But yeah, the physical drive is the weakest link and probably caused the crash that drove the customer to you in the first place. The fewer reads from that train wreck, the better, so one raw copy, then put it away safe after making your first working copy.
That's right... Sometimes I have to work it more than once. I have different routines to get that raw image, and some are harder on the drive than others... The ones that beat it like a 2 dollar mule afford the best result, but I never start with those because usually the drive can't handle too much abuse
BTW, I am really lovin' this SSD I have in my newest machine. Boots in seconds.
I know right? Probably the single best add0on to any modern(ish) system is an SSD system drive. Probably about even with RAM for performance gain. I love watching a client's eyebrows shoot up when they first get on a box I've jacked up with an SSD. Always satisfying.
I am fixin to have some fun... I found a drive cage that replaces (fits in) where the DVD goes on my laptop. I use a large form laptop most of the time, but since I went SSD, the laptop does not have enough storage on board. So I am fixin to shove an extra 2T PATA drive into it. Putting bluetooth in while I have it apart too.
Too bad I can't get a lit KB....
