I have a very simple storage strategy: security and safety.
- all files reside on a RAID6 NAS (8 HDDs)
- I use two independent sets of backup HDDs, which mirror the RAID6
- the backup HDDs rotate between my office and an external place
- the RAWs are also backed up on three independent sets of DVDs - but DVDs are too small and I am currently looking onto BlueRays.
HDDs do fail. I have lost three over the last five years or so. Gone are the days, with the near infalable SCSI-drives, though RAID-certified HDDs have a lower failure count.
The Drobo looks nice, but is too slow and too vulnerable during recovery/rebuild. The RAID system I use shifts 108 MByte/s over Gigabit Ethernet and thus makes full use of the available bandwith, even if I had just replaced a faulty drive and it is rebuilding.
I would not entrust my property to the "cloud". There might be technical safety, but the protection of my work is very dear to me and I want to have full control over the files at all times. Also, costwise, it would probably not be a viable option, as my image files are app. 2 TB.
Ben