External wireless storage options (iPhoto) for MB

[brandonb22]

Hi all-

My wife is a food blogger and has an 09' MB. I've upgraded the HD to a 750gb, however at 3000 pictures a week, it has quickly filled up. What are our external wireless storage options? We're currently using an online backup, Crashplan, so it would be great to have something that could be used with that. My thought is to have one library of all her old (+3 months and older) pictures on a library on the external hard drive that should could access at her leisure, but keep her current pictures on the main device. (This may be a pain, so other option is to have her entire library be on the wireless drive.) Time Capsule seems unnecessary as I'd prefer to keep the router separate. (My router is an older Linksys WRT54g so may need an upgrade for this as well)

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[lenard]

Take a look at the Western Digital MyCloud, it might work for you.

 

[brandonb22]

The guy at Apple store suggested Drobo. I've been looking into it and it seems like it may do the trick, but I'm wondering if it's a bit excessive. Also looking at a Synology DS213 or DS413 as well. Any thoughts for my use? (Basically a remote iPhoto library and backup that is also backed up via an online backup program)

Lenard - Will the MyCloud be fast enough to house our iphoto library? Other question, which I can't find an answer to, is if you can backup MyCloud to an online site like Crashplan?

Thanks!

 

[flynz4]

Most backup applications (including Crashplan) do not back up network attached drives... (or at least without a lot of work). If you go for a DAS vs a NAS, then it works great.

The best option would be to get a Mac Mini Server... and then you could put a copy of Crashplan onto that machine as well.

/Jim

 

[almonde]

Most backup applications (including Crashplan) do not back up network attached drives... (or at least without a lot of work). If you go for a DAS vs a NAS, then it works great.

/Jim

Crash plan in written in Java, so works fine on NAS drives with enough CPU and RAM to run it.

Problem with NAS drives is they don't support remote iPhoto libraries well, iPhoto relies on parts of the HFS file system, so should only reside on a HD that is formatted with HFS.

 

[brandonb22]

Crash plan in written in Java, so works fine on NAS drives with enough CPU and RAM to run it.

Problem with NAS drives is they don't support remote iPhoto libraries well, iPhoto relies on parts of the HFS file system, so should only reside on a HD that is formatted with HFS.

I actually just ordered a Synology DS213 last night. How will this work for housing our iPhoto library remotely? Is there a better option?

Thanks!

 

[sjinsjca]

Most backup applications (including Crashplan) do not back up network attached drives...
/Jim

Backblaze does. Just be sure the drive is mounted at least once every 30 days. It'll take a loonnnggg while to back up as much stuff as you seem to have over the Internet though. We're talking weeks...

 

[brandonb22]

I just checked with Crashplan support and they said they do support it. As long as it can be seen on the Finder, it can be backed up via them.

 

[brandonb22]

Also, do I need an upgraded faster router? My current router is a Linksys WRT54G. Thanks!

 

[almonde]

I actually just ordered a Synology DS213 last night. How will this work for housing our iPhoto library remotely? Is there a better option?

Thanks!

Your Synology will be great NAS, but don't put your iPhoto library on it. iPhoto requires a HFS+ (journaled) file system, your Synology runs Linux so its volume is formatted as EXT4.

I have a DS-412+ and use it as a backup of my photos from iPhoto using the 'Export' feature to keep a separate copy of my photos.

You'll find this link useful for installing crashplan on a NAS. http://www.hanselman.com/blog/HowTo...upHeadlessOnASynologyNASBackupStrategies.aspx

However for me, a better solution is buy a couple of cheap USB3 hard drives and rotate them on and offsite.


With regard to your router, if you plan on using your NAS via the Wireless, i would upgrade that router to at least a good 802.11n model. Ideally you would connect to a NAS using a wired gigabit ethernet connection.

 

[brandonb22]

If I want to do wireless NAS with iPhoto, what are my options? The guy at the apple store said that he has a drobo and uses it for iPhoto (houses all of his library on the drobo). I don't want to mess with wired (even though I know it is faster and more reliable). I need something I can setup and then it will work in the background for my wife.

Thanks!

 

[almonde]

Since some Drobo devices can be formatted with HFS+ then you could put your iphoto library on them.

http://support.drobo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/29

However its still asking for trouble in my opinion unless you have a complete independent backup of the photos in the library.

The real solution is for Apple to change the way iPhoto works, with the photos separate from the library itself, in a similar way to how iTunes works.

 

[brandonb22]

So what if I have a backup on the other hard drive in the nas as well as have crash plan back it up?

I obviously can't change the way apple created iphoto so I'm going to have to figure a way to do it with the current limitations of the program.

Thanks!

 

[priitv8]

The real solution is for Apple to change the way iPhoto works, with the photos separate from the library itself, in a similar way to how iTunes works.

They work almost the same, in fact. It's just the Finder that masquerades iPhoto Library into a bundle (and doesn't that for iTunes folder)! In reality, it's just a folder containing iPhoto index database and timeline of folders with your photos.
PS Otherwise it would also eat up TimeMachine backup space in no time.

 

[almonde]

They work almost the same, in fact. It's just the Finder that masquerades iPhoto Library into a bundle (and doesn't that for iTunes folder)! In reality, it's just a folder containing iPhoto index database and timeline of folders with your photos.
PS Otherwise it would also eat up TimeMachine backup space in no time.

That is true, however the key difference is that iTunes allows the 'media' to be stored in separate location to the library itself. iPhoto doesn't allow this.

Google iPhoto and NAS and you'll read lots of stories of corrupted libraries, there's something about it that relies on an element of the HFS+ File system.

 

[brandonb22]

So can I do an HFS+ on an NAS with iPhoto?

 

[flynz4]

If I want to do wireless NAS with iPhoto, what are my options? The guy at the apple store said that he has a drobo and uses it for iPhoto (houses all of his library on the drobo). I don't want to mess with wired (even though I know it is faster and more reliable). I need something I can setup and then it will work in the background for my wife.

Thanks!

Google iPhoto and NAS and you'll read lots of stories of corrupted libraries, there's something about it that relies on an element of the HFS+ File system.

OP:

Personally, I think that you are playing with fire. The quote from almonde is spot on. I am sure that you will hear from many people who will claim they have made a NAS work. However, from your description above, it does not seem like your wife is a hobbyist. Why do you want to push her into an unstable situation?

The very best solution would be a desktop workstation with a large enough DAS for her work. The second best solution would be to have her keep her high volume data on a DAS rather than a NAS... with her most recent data resident on her laptop.

In your original post, you suggested letting her keep her recent work on the laptop, and the larger set of photos offline. If you are going to do that, you should upgrade from iPhoto to Aperture. In many ways, Aperture is easier to use than iPhoto... and one of the things it does exceptionally well is the ability to dynamically move photo locations from the local database (called Managed Originals) to an external drive (called Referenced Originals). You can move them back and forth at will. Hence, as her drive becomes full, you simply move the originals to a DAS. You can still have all the offline photos visible using lower resolution "preview" files local on the laptop.

/Jim

 

[brandonb22]

Ok, I think you've convinced me. I'll do the DAS route. Any recommendations on best setup using our existing MB? I'd like to be able to backup the files on the DAS via Crashplan (or some other online server) if possible.

I also have an older router (WRT54G), so would be open to upgrading it if it could help.

Thanks!

 

[almonde]

Ok, I think you've convinced me. I'll do the DAS route. Any recommendations on best setup using our existing MB? I'd like to be able to backup the files on the DAS via Crashplan (or some other online server) if possible.

I also have an older router (WRT54G), so would be open to upgrading it if it could help.

Thanks!

Backing up the DAS with crashplan is no problem, should work just the same as backing up the Mac as normal.

If you're using a DAS then your router is no longer really an issue. Although you'll find other benefits in upgrading that router, WRT54G is getting a little long in the tooth.

 

[brandonb22]

Backing up the DAS with crashplan is no problem, should work just the same as backing up the Mac as normal.

If you're using a DAS then your router is no longer really an issue. Although you'll find other benefits in upgrading that router, WRT54G is getting a little long in the tooth.

For the DAS, any ones that people here prefer? Looking potentially at Seagate Backup Plus or WD Passport.

For the router, besides speed, what about getting one that had USB support where I could plug the DAS into it? Thought here is occasional wireless access (Not iphoto though to protect it) and to do the Crashplan backup without having to plug directly into our computer every night. (Thinking about the new Asus router AC66U)

Thanks!

 

[monsieurpaul]

OP:

In your original post, you suggested letting her keep her recent work on the laptop, and the larger set of photos offline. If you are going to do that, you should upgrade from iPhoto to Aperture. In many ways, Aperture is easier to use than iPhoto... and one of the things it does exceptionally well is the ability to dynamically move photo locations from the local database (called Managed Originals) to an external drive (called Referenced Originals). You can move them back and forth at will. Hence, as her drive becomes full, you simply move the originals to a DAS. You can still have all the offline photos visible using lower resolution "preview" files local on the laptop.

/Jim

I second this. As you are talking about 3000 new photos / week, Aperture really make sense. It's quite easy to go from iPhoto to Aperture (my wife did it) and the library are compatible (you will be able to import your iPhoto library in Aperture).
One thing that recently changed my life (or at least my photo backup workflow) is BitSync. I'm using Aperture with referenced originals and all originals are in a folder synced using BitSync. There is a BitSync client available for Synology NAS that you can install in 2 clicks. It just works, and it's super fast and I dont have to worry about backing up my photo again.
The downside of backing up only your originals is if you are doing a lot of post processing on your photo, because you are not backing up all this information.