1.5TB to backup. How to do it?

[Woodcrest64]

I got a Retina Macbook Pro with external USB 3 drive that has 1.5TB of data that needs to be backed up.

I purchased a Western Digital My Cloud single 4TB NAS drive but its backing up at 8GB per hour via time machine over WiFi. I'm seriously thinking of returning it and getting a single drive Synology NAS unit.

I'm just wondering how much faster that might be to back up all my data via time machine over WiFi. I don't mind waiting 2-3 days to backup everything but 8 days is a bit too long for me. I've read online that these WD MyCloud drives are slow but this is really slow.

I need a NAS unit as I have other machines in the house that need to be backed up. I'm essentially doing this over WIFI with a average speed between 100mbps to 150mbps.

 

[aicul]

Supposedly, you have already considered - if this is possible - to connect the MBR to the NAS via ethernet ?

 

[broadbean]

How often does the 1.5TB of data change?

 

[alex0002]

8GB per hour via time machine over WiFi.

2.2 MB/s - something is very wrong here.

100mbps to 150mbps

I'm sure you mean 100 - 150 Mb/s which is a total throughput (including overhead) for both directions. No-one ever gets 150Mb/s upstream or downstream user data transfer with wireless n150.

Perhaps the real throughput might be 40Mb/s (or worse in an area with a lot of interference), which is 5MB/s, or 18GB per hour.

First try wired ethernet to see if that helps. If you can try Gigabit Ethernet (Thunderbolt adapter needed for rMBP) it might help even more, but you could find the NAS is the next limiting factor.

Are you writing large files or a collection of small files?

This might not be the same model NAS as your one, but it gives an indication of what happens when the data is a collection of small files.

http://core0.staticworld.net/images/article/2013/10/wd_mycloud-100056492-orig.png

 

[matreya]

A simple Google will find just how many people have complained about how slow the Western Digital My Cloud is.....it's a dog..

You would have been better off getting a 3TB Time Capsule from Apple...

 

[Fishrrman]

If I had 1.5tb of data on an external drive to backup, I'd do this:

1. Buy a 2tb (or larger) external drive.

2. Use CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper to clone the contents of the source drive to the target drive, and....

.... done!

 

[Woodcrest64]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I ended up returning the 4TB Western Digital My Cloud. I ordered the DS115J Synology and a 4TB drive. Most of the 1.5tb of data is collection of RAW file photos (15MB~ each) and home videos (500MB-2GB each).

I tried Carbon Copy Cloner and it too was very slow with My Cloud drive. I did do some research prior to purchasing the My Cloud and knew it was going to be slow, just not that slow :|

I didn't want to get the Apple Time Capsule as decided I want something with a bit more control. I also like how the Synology has many apps and will work with either an Android device or Apple iPhone.

The synology NAS is only as single bay unit but I got an external USB drive that I will hook up to to make backs up of the NAS. I will let you know what my results are.

Thanks again!

 

[ColdCase]

You will find the Synology NAS will be as slow, even slower to an attached USB disk. The tips of using wired ethernet still apply

You will also find the same with the Synology apps, slow and leaving a lot to be desired. They look good on paper, but most of us give up on them after a year or so. I know I have one and pretty much given up on it except for file sharing. It does an excellent job of slowly sharing files...

As a time machine destination its a hit or miss. You will find the net littered with problems. Its not on the approved TM destination list, so use CCC instead. Same speed.


Just saying that if you are expecting much better than the My Cloud, be prepared to be disappointed Unfortunately the best solutions cost more money.

 

[Woodcrest64]

You will find the Synology NAS will be as slow, even slower to an attached USB disk. The tips of using wired ethernet still apply

You will also find the same with the Synology apps, slow and leaving a lot to be desired. They look good on paper, but most of us give up on them after a year or so. I know I have one and pretty much given up on it except for file sharing. It does an excellent job of slowly sharing files...

As a time machine destination its a hit or miss. You will find the net littered with problems. Its not on the approved TM destination list, so use CCC instead. Same speed.


Just saying that if you are expecting much better than the My Cloud, be prepared to be disappointed Unfortunately the best solutions cost more money.

Good to know. I'm expecting at least 4-5MB/sec over my 1.5/2MB from the cloud drive. I rather wait 4 days vs 8 days. In addition the Cloud Drive was always dropping off where the Synology will be more reliable.

The UI also was very limiting on the Cloud drive. I had no way to limit the size of the user accounts on it which is something the DS115J will be able to do.

 

[glenthompson]

Good to know. I'm expecting at least 4-5MB/sec over my 1.5/2MB from the cloud drive. I rather wait 4 days vs 8 days. In addition the Cloud Drive was always dropping off where the Synology will be more reliable.

The UI also was very limiting on the Cloud drive. I had no way to limit the size of the user accounts on it which is something the DS115J will be able to do.

When I first setup my wife's iMac to backup to a Mac Mini server, it was going to take forever over WiFi. Strung a cable to the next room where a hub was and it was completed before I got uptake next morning. I have since hardwired any computer in a fixed location.

String a temporary cable for that first backup.

 

[Woodcrest64]

When I first setup my wife's iMac to backup to a Mac Mini server, it was going to take forever over WiFi. Strung a cable to the next room where a hub was and it was completed before I got uptake next morning. I have since hardwired any computer in a fixed location.

String a temporary cable for that first backup.

I may very well end up doing that to help speed things up. Once it done the daily wifi backups will be easier to deal with.

 

[ColdCase]

Yeah, the first backup to a mini server is slow and it provides about twice as much data rate as the Synology... about twice as long if thats important. Backups of new files of more than 500MB can also take awhile to complete. Network and NAS latency is what kills backup performance.

 

[Woodcrest64]

Wow, so I got the Synology DS115J hooked up and I'm getting 5.2-6.13MB/sec. This is 3 times faster I'm happy. I will likely plug in my Macbook Pro in via ethernet later today to speed things up. But this DS115J is way better in every aspect than the WD My Cloud drive. I also hooked up two external USB drives to it for media and additional backup of the NAS. SO COOL!!!

Very happy

EDIT: OMG! Just switched to Wireless N 5GHz from 2.4Ghz and I'm getting 20MB!/SEC yah, that MEGABYTES

So stoked! That is 10 times faster. lol