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03-23-2016, 05:51 PM - 1 Like   #16
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kath Quote
That's pretty much what I inferred from their recent change. BTW, did you just make up that word? Automagically? That's fantastic!!
No, I can't take any credit for that word. I can't remember where I first saw it, but it's definitely a "different" word, isn't it!

03-23-2016, 05:55 PM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by RollsUp Quote
Keep the LR catalog on the portable hard drive. Install LR on both laptops, then all you would need to do is connect the hd to either laptop and double click on LRs catalog in the portable hard drive.
I'm thinking this might be the simplest way to go with what I'm trying to accomplish. If I can find a quiet high capacity/small footprint/not-break-the-bank portable HD, perhaps I'll just retain the cloud for redundancy.

---------- Post added 03-23-16 at 06:05 PM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
Cost and available capacity. SSD is very cool for use as a read-only system partition, but for backup is somewhat more limited. I do both file and full-sector backups as part of my strategy and use a 3 TByte* external drive that I picked up at Costco for well under $100 USD as backup for a 2 TByte RAID 1 array. For sector-level backups, USB 3 offers a perfectly acceptable transfer speed. File backup is slower than if the HD were mounted to the SATA controller, but then you lose the option of isolating the backup from the system you are backing up. If a surge hits the box through the power line, you want your backup to be unplugged from both the power and the computer.

Summary:
  • Primary storage is onboard 2 TB RAID 1 (provides data redundancy)
  • Backup is 3 TB external USB3 portable HD
  • If I were to use SSD, it would be for system partition only


Steve

* If I were to do it over, I would get a 4TB or 5TB external drive. Ideally one wants the ability to do multiple incremental backups and that takes space. Alternatively, one can rotate two or even three drives through the backup task in the same manner as magnetic tape systems.
@stevebrot - Thank you. Very helpful.
03-23-2016, 06:35 PM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kath Quote
I'll look at your BenQ, though I probably can't back up enough to appreciate a 32".
I have to tell you the backstory about the 32" monitor. I originally bought a 27" BenQ. It worked for a few months and it just died. I called their tech support and got an RMA to send it back for repair or replacement. After a few weeks, they set me a refurbished replacement. It was pretty scratched up on the body but I decided to live with the imperfections because I did not want to go without a monitor for a few more weeks. Well, the replacement died too after a few weeks of very light usage. At this point I am furious because of the shoddy workmanship. I know BenQ from my projector days and they were a solid company.

So I contacted them again and asked for a resolution. I really let them have it over their crappy monitors. Another week goes by and a 32" monitor shows up in front of my door. I guess they felt bad or wanted to avoid me giving them a bad rating. They did not even ask me to send the dead 27" monitor back. I got the RMA and sent the dead monitor back anyway. So that is the reason for the 32" monitor. I am happy to report that this one is still working after 3-4 months of ownership. Yes, it is a little too big but I like the extra real estate for the menu items.

FYI, for my PC desktop, I used an old 24" Dell LCD which is going strong after 9-10 years of use. The on/off button stopped working a while ago but I have no dead pixels or any other issues with the Dell. It is a very solid monitor. In retrospect, I should have stayed with the Dell and saved myself all the hassles of the BenQ.
03-23-2016, 06:36 PM   #19
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kath Quote
I haven't done enough with these, @Kerrowdown. Are you able to elaborate how they might help in my scenario?
Smart previews are a smaller compressed DNG. You can use them to edit files in the Develop module while the hard drive containing the originals is disconnected.

03-23-2016, 07:52 PM - 1 Like   #20
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QuoteOriginally posted by btnapa Quote
Both of them are Raid 5 or other RAID configurable. They recommend RAID 5.
It's not the end of the world, but whenever I see RAID and backup in the same paragraph I get agitated. All RAID does is allow you to keep accessing your current files if one of the drives in the redundant array fails. (I'm ignoring the nuances of RAID 0 and other forms of disk striping which are a digital form of Russian roulette) It is a very poor backup system because if the RAID controller fails you can lose everything and corrupt files are replicated across the array. Please take stevebrot's advice of using external HD's for backup.
03-24-2016, 06:40 AM   #21
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QuoteOriginally posted by RGlasel Quote
It's not the end of the world, but whenever I see RAID and backup in the same paragraph I get agitated. All RAID does is allow you to keep accessing your current files if one of the drives in the redundant array fails. (I'm ignoring the nuances of RAID 0 and other forms of disk striping which are a digital form of Russian roulette) It is a very poor backup system because if the RAID controller fails you can lose everything and corrupt files are replicated across the array. Please take stevebrot's advice of using external HD's for backup.
You are absolutely right. That is one of the questions I asked the OWC guy. What if the RAID fails? How do you back up 16-20 or more TBs of data. The solution... hook it up to another RAID of similar capacity! Duh! Yes it gets real expensive and at the end of the day we are dealing with hard drives and as you mentioned RAID controllers. If they fail, we are screwed. So I guess multiple copies for local backup and some sort of offsite back up for back up of the back up. Most of my client files are at least on three separate hard drives. Some of the current projects have gone to a forth backup hard drive. Unlike film, digital is more fragile, we CANNOT afford to lose client digital files. Well digital is convenient but this is the down side... endless backups and always worrying about the day that you start the hard drive and as my computer friend calls it hear the "click of death."

I have had my share of failed hard drives. But so far the backups have saved the day. Until the day that the back up fails too. That is why I have so many backups. Promise of RAID is nice but it surely is not the end all solution. You still need a back up for any RAID.
03-24-2016, 06:51 AM   #22
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But OS X has always made it so easy to set up a striped RAID

USB Floppy Disk Drive RAID

03-24-2016, 08:32 AM   #23
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QuoteOriginally posted by RGlasel Quote
It is a very poor backup system because if the RAID controller fails you can lose everything and corrupt files are replicated across the array. Please take stevebrot's advice of using external HD's for backup.
Yep! RAID is not backup. As generally used, it provides redundancy and perhaps additional read/write efficiency and nothing more. While some form of RAID is generally "best practice" for critical data storage, so is regular backup to allow a return to a particular point in recent history. Vulnerability to data loss is present at several levels:
  • Hard drive media failure (most common and what we fear the most)
  • Drive controller failure (less common, but still a risk...results in wholesale disc corruption)
  • Destruction/lock by malware
  • Accidental deletion (Oops!)
  • Intentional deletion (What you mean, "We need that file"?)
  • Intentional, but ill-conceived, modification
  • Theft (yes, sometimes laptops grow legs)
  • Etc...
Of the above, mirroring using RAID only addresses the first point and does a pretty decent job of it. The main advantage is that it is done in real time and recovery is automatic and simple. There are some backup strategies, many of which are cloud-based, that also replicate file system changes in real time, but I am a little wary of solutions that work the hardware double hard in the background while I have real foreground work to get done.

Periodic backup, OTOH, allows at least partial recovery from all of the points in the list and usually to a particular point in time, within the last couple of weeks, depending on the frequency of and nature of the backup. It is generally scheduled to be done at night or some other time of low activity to avoid interruption or degradation of system performance. (A glance at the performance monitors while doing backup operations can be rather enlightening...whole lot of busy going on...)

A professional system admin will configure a data-critical server with disc redundancy (RAID) and separate tape backup done at least daily with the tapes rotated out to secure off-site storage at interval. If I were doing my photography on a professional basis, I would do something similar. The cool thing about cloud storage is that all of those "best practice" protocols are done for you. The bad thing is that your data safety and security is only as good as the service you work with.


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03-24-2016, 08:39 AM   #24
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QuoteOriginally posted by boriscleto Quote
But OS X has always made it so easy to set up a striped RAID

USB Floppy Disk Drive RAID
Love striping...oh so fast and BTW, when one goes down we all go down!


Steve
03-25-2016, 05:00 AM   #25
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Very good deal on a 'lifetime' subscription to 2 TB of cloud backup.

https://deals.x-mirage.com/sales/skyhub-cloud-2tb-backup-lifetime-subscripti...subscription-2
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