Drobo 5d 'replacement' for IMAC backup

Use any external Thunderbolt DAS in a RAID6 configuration with non-helium CMR disks. This will ensure smooth operation and the ability to recover data easily if files are deleted or disks fail.

Visit www.macsales.com, they specialize in Macs and will have plenty of storage options that will suit your needs. They have also been around for over 30 years and are very stable and provide excellent pre and post sales support. Their products are what professionals use for their Mac needs.

I own one of these in a 48TB setup, had it since 2020 and no problems at all and dead simple to setup. https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/thunderbay-4/thunderbolt-3-raid-5

Might I suggest pCloud for online storage...

https://www.pcloud.com/help/general-help-center/how-much-does-pcloud-cost

Or cheap Lifetime prices...

https://www.pcloud.com/cloud-storage-pricing-plans.html?period=lifetime

Forv local storage...

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/external-storage

For CMR/PMR disks: Since the data doesn't overlap, recovery software or services can more effectively perform operations like file carving (recovering files without the metadata from the file system). This is because the data sectors are more predictable and isolated, making it less likely for the file recovery process to disrupt adjacent data.

For SMR disks: The overlapping design means that rewriting data on SMR disks can accidentally affect nearby tracks. This feature makes data recovery more complex and time-consuming because the recovery process must consider the dependencies between tracks. Sometimes, trying to recover data from an SMR disk can further damage the data if it's not handled very carefully.

How can you tell if you have an SMR disk? It's quite simple. Any utility that shows SMART details, such as smartmontools, Disk Drill, or DriveDX, will indicate whether this disk supports TRIM.

Why exactly SMR discs? I read that SMP disks are problematic for data recovery, but I don’t know the details