probably a repost, but always a good topic.
first, I have the structure in my computer(s):
year\year-month number-Month Name\year-month-day - location\band,group,person
so an example
MyPhotos\2010\2010-04-April\2010-04-23 - nemhf day one\mainstage\after_the_burial\after_the_burial001.ccr.jpg
MyPhotos\2010\2010-04-April\2010-04-23 - nemhf day one\mainstage\after_the_burial\after_the_burial002.jpg
...
etc.
I synch them up using beyond compare with
1) a drobo (5TB) that sits at my work
2) a QANP 639pro (12TB) that sits in my house
3) a couple drives that stay turned off at home
4) my desktop
5) my laptop
I keep 1/2-1 year on my desktop and 4 months on my laptop (both are backed up nightly with WHS)
Before I delete them from my photos from my laptop/desktop, I will byte-wise compare the QNAP and the drobo.
I also have my webservers backup to the QNAP which rules.
what is your process? Someone I know from another forum has 4 4xdrobos and uses time machine back ups from each to each keeping a bunch of giant snap shots.
Without getting into naming convention, automation options, etc.
From an equipment and strategy perspective, but putting aside for the moment the brand and type of devices used, the minimum standards for effective backup would be:
*a clarified data protection strategy that encompasses the following:
- redundancy of data
- simplicity of the backup process
- offsite strategy
- consistent execution
I work with photographers that have a very wide range of data capacity requirements. The amount of data that needs protecting is a crucial component of the strategy itself. The biggest problem I see with clients is that they are in a short term, high device buying cycle. Meaning, they fill up storage rapidly and add devices as they go. In many cases this makes an effective backup strategy difficult and complicated. Frequently I have found clients without any redundancy at all!
When I consult with photographers on data protection, some of the important questions are:
*how much data do you currently have?
*how much do you anticipate adding over the next 36 months?
*if the amount of data is high, are you able to discern critical data vs data that is non-critical or will be retired after a certain time period (this helps determine an offsite strategy)
I am a big proponent of RAID because the advantage over individual high capacity hard drives is much higher capacity and read/write speed (many clients use RAID as a working drive). It is very difficult to backup data from 8 or 12 individual hard drives. Right now individual hard drives top out at 2TB capacity. Non server-based RAID solutions start at 4TB's and can scale to at least 32TB's (with the solutions we sell). We try to move content producers into a (roughly) 36 month device buying cycle and they can typically do this with RAID technology because of the capacity.
This makes it much simpler for a photographer to implement a strategy. By projecting out 36 months and buying a solution that with one device/interface provides capacity for all the current and future content over the next 36 months (and duplicating that
at least once with a like device for redundancy), the backup process becomes very simple, very easy. As a result, an end user is
much more likely to consistently maintain the backup process.A solution like this costs a bit more than buying individual hard drives, but reliability and performance are way higher. And the backup workflow is no longer a struggle.
I do have opinions about the equipment as well, but first, the strategy is the key.
Revaaron, you have invested the time and money to protect your data with high capacity RAID, an offsite component, and thought on the term of the storage for some of the data. So you are ahead of the game when compared to many.
My advice - don't be sorry. If you do not have a strategy that you can easily and consistently and sustainably employ, implement one
today that changes all that for you and eliminates the precarious position your data is currently in.
Steve Hendrix
