While setting up my node, I checked out the online earnings calculator. After several minutes adjusting the sliders, it became apparent that the premium earnings are based on available bandwidth rather than storage.
There was hardly any difference between 3TB and 5TB. However, there was a very large difference between 5 TB and 15 TB bandwidth. If one is running a single node, the available bandwidth is larger than if one is running multiple nodes through a single IP pipe… due to the traffic overhead. Furthermore, each node on the same IP is competing for the same offered data.
So, I’m not convinced… yet… that running multiple nodes on one IP using multiple drives distributed one per node is going to yield a larger payout than running a single node configured in RAID 5 using three decently sized drives. The RAID array will ensure that you don’t lose data. And if you have a small UPS unit, you don’t need to worry about minor electrical outages. So… you can swap drives as they die and maintain one good node in near perfect working order… Perhaps maximizing your bandwidth usage which is the premium payment.