WORKFLOW! (for data management and backup safety)

[mbalensiefer]

Hello.
 My "current" workflow is a new attempt to correct past mistakes; the cumulative of which has cost me months of downtime. After losing three hard drives in two years, my main backup external HD just gave out on me yesterday. At that time I was in the process of recovering data from a crashed notebook hard drive from two weeks ago! This shan't happen again.
 A trip to a data recovery specialist and this is what he suggests: (see picture, enclosed)

My new current setup:
 Two notebook computers
 One 1TB external external hard drive (RAID via mirroring)

My workflow:
 I work on both computers. Always have. One is at my desk and the other I usually work on in bed (my desktop notebook computer is a pain to disconnect and reconnect to my monitor).

 95% or so of my data I am now keeping on my external hard drive. I am only keeping "working copies" of certain files on my portable computers until my work is finished; at which time I will transfer it back to my external drive. This will keep data loss to a minimum, as portable 2.5" drives crash more often.
 My two computers I have installed Syncback Pro on. When running, this is supposed to auto-sync all my files...kind of like Dropbox. This also serves as protection from crashes, as it duplicates data.
 For now, I am still trying to get Syncback to work, and I will be testing my RAID array simply because I need to know that it will hold up.

So!
 Is this an ideal setup?? Does anyone have suggestions as to how I may better my workflow in this case?

Thank you!
~Michael

[PeterAit]

Why 2 notebooks? With a docking station it's trivial to pop it out from your main work area (where you can have dual monitors, external keyboard, etc.) and take it to somewhere else.

To some extent, your "ideal" workflow will depend on the software you use.

For backups, I really like to use a USB docking station like this:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1268&ID=1642

You then buy several bare hard disks and rotate them, backing up to a different one every day/week or whatever suits you.

[Conner999]

Couple suggestions I would make would be:

1. Use somethung like Apple's Time Machine (or a similar Windows product) vs a mirrored raid. Mirrored drives always made me nervous. Yeah, you get 2 copies of everything but you also copy any mistakes automatically. You know, those "..aw #$%^, noooo.. " feeling you get as you start to lift your finger from the 'return' key and the drive lights start blinking.. ;>

In TM drive 1 is the primary that the laptops sync to. That drive (actually changes to it) are then backed up every hr (or on command) to the 2nd drive (usually 2x the capacity of the first). However, the older data from last run is not deleted - if interested, read Up on Time Machin and, if on  Windows machines, what similar products might be out there to do incremental backups with caching of older items.

TM/Windows equivalent  allow you to 'go back in time' x hrs or days and retrieve files added in the last backup should you inadvertendly delete a file(s) using either laptop. Very efficient and works as advertised.

2. Keep the disks physically seperated. Avoids one coffee or errant elbow from taking out both and if one power supply goes, etc, only one drive is taken out. At worst you lose 1 hr's work or less.

3. Clone the 'Time Machine' target drive  on a regular basis.

If using TM, the disks aren't bootable, so backup your applications, etc using another drive. I personally love using 7200 rpm drives in drive docking stations, along the lines of the ones mentioned above, or the units sold by OWC (below).  

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/NewerTech/Voyager/Hard_Drive_Dock

I no longer buy discrete drives (e.g. ones with one power supply).  With a dock you can use your drives of choice, vary them (e.g. WD in one, Hitachi in another, 3.5 or 2.5, etc.). If a drive(s) are only used occasionally, it keeps the myriad of power cords and bricks down as you just pop it into a dock when you need it, backuo, pop out back into storage and put other drive back in.

I use the multi-interface units so can use with USB, FW or PCI Express as desired (or if helping a friend out).

Can't really comment on syncing  between laptops.  

[andyptak]

Connor - I like your idea, but "bare" drives sound as if they may be too unprotected from dirt, crap etc., etc. how do you store them when not in use? Thanks.

[Craig Lamson]

Connor - I like your idea, but "bare" drives sound as if they may be too unprotected from dirt, crap etc., etc. how do you store them when not in use? Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOnTvEltTV8

[Conner999]

That video (actually what it shows) is nasty...and sadly VERY accurate.

As with the video, I have no illusions that any external and enclosed drive  will not get dusty.  The external units ARE open to coffee spills, etc that may be recoverable with an enclosed unit if you acted quickly enough to prevent goo from getting thru vents.

That said, the external unit's platters, like those in any other enclosure or PC/Mac are enclosed - it's the control circuitry that's open and exposed to say a static discharge. That's the drawback. The benefits are the flexibility, cost savings (why pay for power supply, case, etc if disk not used all the time?), they can cool easily, ease of rotating backups, the ability to swap a disk to another 'toaster' if a power supply fails, I know exactly what disks I'm getting, etc., etc.

I have a number of docks now that sit with drives in them 24/7 - I treat them like any other external drives. They sit some distance from computer (I'm a coffee addict) and the TH sources and targets also sit some distance apart (JIC).

The only difference between that procedure and a set of enclosed units is that I rotate the phyiscal disks - storing the 'shelved units' in 3.5" drive storage cases. Mine are plastic from OWC but there are all sorts of units of various types available.  I then store a Carbon Copy Clone of any TM target drives offsite at wife's office in their storage cases inside an old Pelican case for transport - and simply rotate them (odd/even week, etc). If I have a large tethered shoot I'll bring the usual small USB backup drive and also grab a toaster and spare drive for another redundant on-site backup via USB, FW, etc.

There is certainly nothing wrong with enclosed drives, but since I started using 'toasters', I am a total convert.

[DeeJay]

I also use eSata Drive Docks and save to two separate copies. 1tb bare sata drives are so cheap these days. When full I print the finder out and stick it in an envelope, file it away. The second copy goes off site. Easy, cheap effective.

Those Raid 1 drives are next to useless. Delete one or save over it by accident (which is my biggest or most common problem) you delete the other too.

I also use a program called Hazel. Once I finish a project I drop it in an export folder and it automatically saves it to these two drives, then moves it to the main storage drive (internal Raid on Mac Pro) and even imports low res final retouched jpgs into a Lightroom Catalogue for future reference.

[mbalensiefer]

Thanks. Is Hazel for the PC as well? Googling did not show up anything.
 I am experimenting with a program called OOps! Backup that backups from any folder/drive to another. This solves the RAID problem of which you speak. I changed my RAID mirror array to JBOD and backups are daily.