Backup application that makes daily "change only" updates

[rawdawg]

I've never used the available backup software out there and am having a hard time finding information on how they work. I see it's common they create disk volume backups and even bootable backups, but I am looking for a solution for a unique use.

I posted earlier on a hardware forum about trying this but didn't get any responses. I think this is more a software questions and appreciate any feedback as to if this would work or if it's a bad idea for a reason I'm not considering.

I do HD video editing and am in desperate need of additional storage. I've reached the point where I would benefit from a RAID 0 (stripped) setup--thinking 2x 1TB hard drives. I would like to backup the data but don't want, need, or have the money to get a legit 4 drive RAID 0+1 setup. I don't need real time backups and would prefer to save money with the mirrored portion of this setup by simply doing daily backups. (Plus this way I won't slow down my array if I purchase slower drives for the backup)

I would only need to backup the stripped set once a day at most or when needed so I feel this would work fine. I would prefer to sync up the backup in the way an iPhone updates its calendar---that it only makes the recent changes instead of rewriting the whole disk.

Does anyone have advice on software that would be best for this application. And also, does my idea make sense? Is there something I'm not considering?

thanks, your advice is much appreciated.

 

[spinnerlys]

CarbonCopyCloner is a free application that allows incremental backups (copying only the changed files after an initial clone).

I don't know if it can be set to a daily routine, but maybe Automator or some other third party software could help.

 

[splitpea]

SuperDuper should do the trick. It can run on a schedule, and can be configured to make incremental backups.

 

[Ice-Cube]

SuperDuper should do the trick. It can run on a schedule, and can be configured to make incremental backups.

Speaking of SuperDuper. It actually saved my life today. Was doing a backup and as soon as the backup was done, my iMac crashed and realised my internal hard drive had died. I booted off my external backup and got back to work straight away!

 

[rawdawg]

thanks so much for the suggestions! Do you think my idea would work? Well of course it would work but is there something I'm not considering?

I'd like RAID 0 and this seems to be a practical way to get it with a backup without having to build a huge array.

 

[maflynn]

CCC is product I'd recommend, though you could manually run a Time Machine backup to achieve similar results I believe.

 

[mysterytramp]

I would only need to backup the stripped set once a day at most or when needed so I feel this would work fine.

I can vouch for CCC and there are enough testimonials on MacRumors for SuperDuper that I'm confident it's great, too.

However, like maflynn, I think you should check Time Machine and make sure it doesn't fit your needs before trying something else.

Although once-a-day backups may sound adequate, what happens when that backup is an hour after the power outage? (I've never done video editing, but I worked in a shop that relied on Quark a few years back and I remember how frustrating my colleagues would get when Quark refused to recognize incremental saves after some catastrophe ...)

mt

 

[devburke]

I’d say unless you really need it to be a bootable backup, Time Machine should work great for you.

 

[rawdawg]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I don't want to use time machine is because:
1. I'm already using it for my system.
2. I don't want to keep previous backups to go back to.

These drives will be for media only. All project files will be saved to my internal HDD which is backed up with time machine. I won't delete any media files unless I want it gone and will probably burn to DVD anyhow. This will be a scratch disk for media plus library.

If I have a 500GB project that I use time machine to backup then won't it keep those saved files once it's deletes? I guess if my timemachine drive is the same size as my media drive it won't have space to backup past file---right? But can you even do multiple timemachines?