Another backup questions thread

[monsieurpaul]

Hello all,

Now that I have been able to setup a satisfying workflow with Aperture (thanks to your advices), I am focusing on a backup plan and new questions arise.

Actual setup:
- Photos are managed on a dedicated Macbook Pro using Aperture, iPhoto and unified libraries (managed).
- Photos are imported directly from the cameras (Canon T3i and iPhone 4) or via an iPad. I wanted first to include iPhoto for iPad in the workflow but right now it is not practical.

Backup:

- Backup will be both on site and off site and must be automated.

- In addition to the “classic” Time Machine on external drive, on site backup will be done on a NAS (Synology DS212j). Backup will be based on library copy rather than vault since I can’t automate vault update. Can a program like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner can do the job = incremental backup of libraries on a NAS?

- For off site backup, I plan on using Crashplan+ (I am open to other suggestions though) and backup will be done from the NAS rather than from the Macbook Pro. Now let’s say that my house has burned and I want to retrieve my photos from a 100 GB library on Crashplan. Do I need to download the whole 100 GB before I am able to see a single photo?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[driftless]

Although I have not done a restore from Crashplan, if you click on the Restore tab in the app it allows you do select individual files and folders to restore. Crashplan is not like Dropbox which excels at file storage and syncing, I expect to use it only if a catastrophic event occurs.

FWIW - I have started to use iPhoto on an iPad to view, cull, do minor edits, etc. with and it works great. It is a great way to show pictures to others rather than via the little LCD screen on the back of the camera.

 

[monsieurpaul]

FWIW - I have started to use iPhoto on an iPad to view, cull, do minor edits, etc. with and it works great. It is a great way to show pictures to others rather than via the little LCD screen on the back of the camera.

Thank you for your input. I also really like iPhoto for iPad and I was planning to use it for "first line editing". However, it is really not practical for exporting photos. As soon as it will be able to directly export events (with masters + modifications), it will find back its place at the beginning of my workflow.

 

[driftless]

Yes, while putting the pictures into iPhoto allows you use them on the iPad I still import the pictures into Aperture from the SD cards.

 

[sapporobaby]

Hello all,

Now that I have been able to setup a satisfying workflow with Aperture (thanks to your advices), I am focusing on a backup plan and new questions arise.

Actual setup:
- Photos are managed on a dedicated Macbook Pro using Aperture, iPhoto and unified libraries (managed).
- Photos are imported directly from the cameras (Canon T3i and iPhone 4) or via an iPad. I wanted first to include iPhoto for iPad in the workflow but right now it is not practical.

Backup:

- Backup will be both on site and off site and must be automated.

- In addition to the “classic” Time Machine on external drive, on site backup will be done on a NAS (Synology DS212j). Backup will be based on library copy rather than vault since I can’t automate vault update. Can a program like SuperDuper or CarbonCopyCloner can do the job = incremental backup of libraries on a NAS?

- For off site backup, I plan on using Crashplan+ (I am open to other suggestions though) and backup will be done from the NAS rather than from the Macbook Pro. Now let’s say that my house has burned and I want to retrieve my photos from a 100 GB library on Crashplan. Do I need to download the whole 100 GB before I am able to see a single photo?

Thanks,

Paul

Hi Paul,

You didn't feel the other backup threads were providing enough info so you decided to start yet another one? Did you read the Drobo/Synology/et all thread discussing these very issues? Of course it your right to start as many threads as you like but maybe your info needs would be better served by joining in on a conversation already in progress. Just a thought.

 

[monsieurpaul]

Hi Paul,

You didn't feel the other backup threads were providing enough info so you decided to start yet another one? Did you read the Drobo/Synology/et all thread discussing these very issues? Of course it your right to start as many threads as you like but maybe your info needs would be better served by joining in on a conversation already in progress. Just a thought.

I felt a bit ashamed after your post because you were right, this forum is already full with thread about backup. However, I had very precise questions for which I didn't find answers in this forum or another.
Almost 3 weeks later, I am giving an update of my situation because nothing went as planned (how surprising!) and it may be useful for someone else.

So, I have around 15 000 photos in jpeg format for a total of 35 GB, all in a iPhoto/Aperture managed library of 65 GB on a MacBook pro, and I want to backup them on a Synology DS212j NAS + another cloud backup with Crashplan+.

My initial plan was to not use an Aperture Vault for backup but instead automatically backup the whole library in the NAS. First, it took ages to just copy the library to the NAS (using Gigabit Ehternet). Second, none of the backup software I tried were up to the task: arrsync was not able to detect change in the library, Carbon Copy Cloner took hours for a simple update and I was not able to use SuperDuper. Vault it is then.

It took around 36 hours to create the Vault on the NAS the first time, and the Vault was twice the size of the library. Vault update took forever and/or made Aperture crash. I tried again by splitting my library into several smaller ones, creating a new library, importing one of the smaller library, creating and updating the vault, importing another library, etc. The whole process took around 3 days, but allowed me to have smaller library and Vault. Vault update still took forever though.

Then, I took the “referenced” road and I think I have now a working solution. My masters are now in a folders hierarchy of around 35 GB and copying and syncing them between the MacBook and the NAS are much faster. The library itself shrank to around 10 GB and is also much easier to backup with a Vault. In addition it gives me more flexibility for uploading and downloading photos to the cloud.

Now, I just need to set the import process to ensure that master are referenced and not directly copied in the library.

 

[driftless]

An update - I have removed Crashplan from my iMac for the second time. Crashplan made my iMac hang and freeze frequently. Plus, it took forever to upload files which left new files vulnerable. Their support staff offered no help. On a positive note Dropbox has increased personal accounts up to 500 GB. My 100 GB account went up to 200 GB.

 

[monsieurpaul]

An update - I have removed Crashplan from my iMac for the second time. Crashplan made my iMac hang and freeze frequently. Plus, it took forever to upload files which left new files vulnerable. Their support staff offered no help. On a positive note Dropbox has increased personal accounts up to 500 GB. My 100 GB account went up to 200 GB.

Good to know. I haven't set it yet, but I planned to use Crashplan from the NAS and not from the Mac. I will look into Dropbox, but Crashplan is the less expensive by far.

 

[dimme]

Happy crashplan user

I am using Crashplan as part of my backups. I have been very happy with the service and have had no issues with freezes etc. I run it on a older MacBook Pro from 2007. That I have made into my file server. I have 2 2tb drives connected to it and it runs 24/7. I have about 350 gb of photos, music & docs backed up

 

[sapporobaby]

I felt a bit ashamed after your post because you were right, this forum is already full with thread about backup. However, I had very precise questions for which I didn't find answers in this forum or another.
Almost 3 weeks later, I am giving an update of my situation because nothing went as planned (how surprising!) and it may be useful for someone else.

So, I have around 15 000 photos in jpeg format for a total of 35 GB, all in a iPhoto/Aperture managed library of 65 GB on a MacBook pro, and I want to backup them on a Synology DS212j NAS + another cloud backup with Crashplan+.

My initial plan was to not use an Aperture Vault for backup but instead automatically backup the whole library in the NAS. First, it took ages to just copy the library to the NAS (using Gigabit Ehternet). Second, none of the backup software I tried were up to the task: arrsync was not able to detect change in the library, Carbon Copy Cloner took hours for a simple update and I was not able to use SuperDuper. Vault it is then.

It took around 36 hours to create the Vault on the NAS the first time, and the Vault was twice the size of the library. Vault update took forever and/or made Aperture crash. I tried again by splitting my library into several smaller ones, creating a new library, importing one of the smaller library, creating and updating the vault, importing another library, etc. The whole process took around 3 days, but allowed me to have smaller library and Vault. Vault update still took forever though.

Then, I took the “referenced” road and I think I have now a working solution. My masters are now in a folders hierarchy of around 35 GB and copying and syncing them between the MacBook and the NAS are much faster. The library itself shrank to around 10 GB and is also much easier to backup with a Vault. In addition it gives me more flexibility for uploading and downloading photos to the cloud.

Now, I just need to set the import process to ensure that master are referenced and not directly copied in the library.

Hey and welcome back again. I have a sync solution for you that I have been using for about 3 or 4 years. It is called File Synchronization (http://nemesys2.dyndns.org:8080/FileSynchronization_EN.html). The price is very reasonable and it just works. It will do incremental backups as well. I just set up my Synology DS 1512+ which is now being backed up from a Drobo S. Overkill, probably but I have very few worries that things will crash on both drives at the same time.