Backup, backup, backup!
Just a reminder to backup all your work...
I'm in the middle of re-arranging my catalogue/workflow to deal with ever-increasing numbers of ever-larger files, in the process moving from a 'managed' Library in Aperture to a 'referenced' Library.
Unfortunately, user error resulted in 80% of the original files from a recent trip to Venice being deleted. Further user error compounded the problem by carrying the deletion over to the backup HD. Oops.
It's not quite the disaster it sounds like as pretty well all the panoramas had been stitched (if only to 50% size), all the timelapse movies had been made and a highish-res web gallery of the best images exported. And it was mostly holiday photos rather than a commercial job. But it was a timely reminder that I need to add in a couple of extra steps...
So, from now on, my on-the-road backup/cataloguing strategy will be as follows:
1. Download from CF card to Aperture.
2. Immediately copy master images to external pocketdrive.
3. As soon as there is time (that evening at the latest), all original files from the day's shooting get burnt to CD or DVD.
4. CF cards do not get deleted or used again until their images have been burnt to optical disk.
This way, I protect myself at least partially from user error - it's very hard to accidentally delete files from a read-only optical disk. ;-)
Ian
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
I'm on an automation drive at the moment, and to help with this have started putting together an app that will:
- accept a bunch of files dropped on to it (for instance for a Spotlight search for images in the last day),
- automatically make a bunch of sequential 'Burn Folders' in the Finder,
- add the images (or other files) to each burn folder until the chosen capacity is reached,
- add to the next burn folder etc.
Then I just have to click 'burn' in each folder and pop in CDs or DVDs.
Expect to see something released at the IVRPA conference...
Ian Wood
Landmarks of Britain
Azurevision
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
I've seen quite a few talks on workflow lately and everyone always talks about backing up to
DVD's. In theory this is great, but people are lazy and DVD's are a pain. Keep in mind that
people are supposed to rotate their car tires and brush after meals but how many people
really do that? I think making multiple backups to multiple (and different branded) external
hard drives is easier for lazy slobs like myself. We all know the price of drives has dropped dramatically
and is continuing to drop, so why bother with DVD's at all?
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
In theory any thorough backup/archiving strategy involves storing your short-term backups on multiple differently-branded HDs in different physical locations, and archiving to multiple longer term storage media such as DVD, CD, DVD-RAM (supposed to be the best) and/or tape. HDs are inherently unsuited to long-term storage and were never designed for that purpose.
HDs for backup, yes. For archiving, no.
We're all lazy, including myself - but that's what caused the problems in the first place. :-(
Read-only media such as DVDs or CDs cannot be deleted by accident*, and even more importantly can't be affected by computer viruses/malware.
Anyway, to answer your question - because it will give me more peace of mind after a really horrible scare and I simply can't afford to risk losing commercial data in that way. For the last couple of years I've depended on HDs for everything rather than HD backup plus optical disk archiving, but I'm not going to carry on that way. I suppose the blog post would more correctly have been called Backup, Backup, Archive!
Ian Wood
Landmarks of Britain
Azurevision
*Well, OK, you can erase rewritables, but why use more expensive and slower rewritables for long-term storage?
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
I just had a look through the tracking info for this page (one of the perks of being on the web team), and it's getting a ton of referrals from Google. Looks like backing up is a popular search term...
Ian Wood
Landmarks of Britain
Azurevision
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
Backups, how to is the age old question.
Now that HD's are so cheap and very reliable it seems many people are using them. I know I do in addition to burning CD's or DVD's. And now that I'm living in two places I make two copies of each DVD and keep them in separate locations.
But it is a pain, and I know it's only a matter of time before the DVD's I burn today will not be able to be read tomorrow. And there are two reason for that. One is the constant march of technology - got any floppy backups or zip disks or other tapes still around? And the second is CD or DVD's may actually be less reliable as a backup if you're using common disks that are dye based instead of the gold versions.
While I've not priced it out, I would bet that it's actually more expensive today to store data on gold DVD's that HDs. Dye based disk may fail within 2-3 years, especially if they are not kept in controlled environments.
Perhaps paper still has a role to play, keep prints of your most important work too? With the current HP pro printer's prints rated at 200+ years perhaps thats the current ultimate solution.
Ugh!
Robert
My bet; In 2 years, I will have new drives.
Falling prices on Hard drives, flash drives coming soon.
I expect the the multiple hard drives on my desk (a messy desk!) that I use to back up material will be GONE in
2 years, replaced by larger, faster, more dependable hard drives. Or perhaps the data will be stored on line
somewhere in the Internets. That's the raison d'etre for ebay, right? It's the place to get rid of old obselete gear...
And I DO expect the data will be safe, on those dusty hard drives (120gb, 300 gb, 500 gb) which SHOULD last for another 12-24 months.
I guess that's the betting man (and lazy man) in me.
Re: My bet; In 2 years, I will have new drives.
It is a bet, a gamble. :-) However, I'm not sure how you win this one, breaking even or loosing seem the only options. :-(
Hard drives definitely have their place in backing up, but they are way too susceptible to too many problems to be the sole media for holding your data, IMHO. :-)
Here's some of my strategy:
• Mirror various folders to other places on the same hard drive.
• Mirror various folders to an external hard drive.
• Mirror various folders to another computer on the local network.
• Use Apple's Automator to create disk images (DVD sparse images) at the click of a button to back up photo projects.
• Use Automator to scan my stuff daily and archive items I made or modified that day; they are copied to a DVD-sized sparseimage.
• Put a command line in my Finder's contextual menu that takes a Mac disk image and spits out another disk image with 4 readable file systems on it (Mac HFS, ISO, MS WIN Joliet, and UDF), this should maximize my ability to access the disk later.
• Burn at least two copies of the disk image to DVDs.
• Keep copies off-site.
This program is great, one of the first native backup/sync/mirror apps for OS X years ago.
http://www.softobe.com/products/flsy/pp.html
Ian, sorry to hear about your loss.
Re: My bet; In 2 years, I will have new drives.
so is anyone using rsync strategies to archive/backup online on Strongspace, AmazonS3 or the like ?
Re: Backup, backup, backup!
Ian
After copying to my harddrive that has an automatic backup, I don't clear a project, usually a house, off the CF until its done, too.
On out of town projects, I copy the photos to my laptop and leave them on the CF for the trip back
Douglas Aurand
Albuquerque, NM