Photo Storage and Time Machine in RAID

My wife currently stores her 35000 RAW image files as Masters on an External Western digital 4TB drive that is permanently connected to the computer to allow her to work easily in Aperture.  I also copy that drive and store it off-site. Her time machine is a seperate external drive.
When I get round to upgrading her to a new Mac Pro , I would like to also switch to a 12 TB Pegasus R6 RAID enclosure.
My question is , would it be unwise to have both the Time Machine and her Master Images stored on the same drive ?

You should not literally store the master and its backup or archive on the same drive mechanism.
The idea is to eliminate as many common points of failure as possible. The failure of the power supply in that Pegasus cabinet, while unlikely, could cause such a failure.
You could consider a USB-3 enclosure (but NOT a flock of them, USB-3 is bandwidth limited in the MacPro cylinder). For Backup ONLY, a USB-2 enclosure would be adeqaute, but is too slow for production.

Similar Messages

  • Time Capsule:  Storage and Time Machine - Could this work?

    Hi everyone,
    my Macbook got stolen last Friday and thank God I had an external HD and Time Machine (TC)to keep all my data. Now here's the dilemma.
    I bought time capsule (1TG) to use as a back up. I figure I can hide it somewhere in the house and not worried about having it disappeared. My laptop should be here tomorrow, so I want to get it right before do anything.
    The present external HD is partitioned in 2: 250 Gb for time machine, and 250Gb for other storage (iMovie projects etc etc.)
    Since I cannot partitioned TC, I was wondering if this would work.
    When I get my laptop (Macbook - w. 320 Gb HD), I will do my re import for my data (appr.60Gb) from my first HD, then let time machine do its thing with TC. Now here's what I want to do. Take all the "storage" (appr. 200Gb), import it to the Macbook , use time machine to back it up. Then I delete the "storage" from my macbook, so it's not 3/4 full before I even install programs such as Aperture. If this works, that means I would have access to all my storage if I return to day 1 of time machine. Do you think it will work, or is time machine going to dump it after a certain amount of time?
    Thanks in advance,
    SG

    You needn't go to all that trouble if you simple connect your old backup drive to the computer then exclude the TM backup partition from the TC in TM. TM will backup both your computer's drive and the storage partition on your other drive. The storage partition will be backed up separately on the TC from the computer's drive. If you copy that data to your computer's drive then backup entirely to the TC then delete the data from your computer's drive, the backup on your TC will eventually be deleted as well and you'll have no backup of the data on the external drive's storage partition.
    A TM backup is not simply a substitute for storage space. Once you delete a file that has been backed up by TM eventually when TM does a weekly or monthly consolidation it will delete the file and all its copies from the backup.

  • Using an external HD for both storage AND Time Machine?

    Bear with me guys, I'm not sure where to put this question. I figured that because my Macbook Air (and it's limited storage space) was the reason for my needing an external HD I thought this would be the best place.
    My MBA has run out of storage and I bought a Seagate External HD to move my stuff onto. I guess my question is: What's the best way to combine the external HD with the MBA? Here are a few of the things on my mind:
    -Most of the space is taken up by my user folder right now such as itunes, photos, etc. If I copy that folder to the external drive it would alleviate a large part of my issue, at least for the time being. Eventually I will hit the storage capacity as I add applications over time I guess, so this is a temporary solution (although I free up 27gb of space this way). Can I designate a folder on the external drive as the default for programs like imovie and iphoto like I can with itunes?
    -I KNOW there is a way to set the external drive as some kind of default drive but is this feasible? It would be a hinderance if I needed to have it connected at all times to access even applications (which I assume to be the case?
    -I also wondered about partitioning the external HD and using one partition for additional storage and the other for time machine? It's a 1TB hard drive, and I figure I could make a 100GB partition to use with time machine (my MBA only has a 64gb capacity) and use the other 900GB for files. Is this even possible or does time machine need it's very own separate drive?
    Anyway, this doesn't necessarily ask many specific questions and I apologize if it appears a little disjointed. I'm looking for help and opinions on the best way to use this new piece of equipment to compliment my MBA. Any thoughts are appreciated.

    While it is possible to partition an external drive and use one partition for files and the other for Time Machine, there's actually very little point in doing so. The reason is that in your scenario, you'd be storing all your files on the external, meaning that pretty much all there would be on your MBA internal drive is MacOS and your applications - the very things you can easily restore in the event of failure - while all your files would be on the external, where they are not being backed up.
    It is also possible to use an external drive as the boot drive for the MBA (easiest done by cloning the internal drive to a partition on the external, and then setting that partition as the startup drive in the Startup Disk preference pane) but that would still require you to wipe at least some of your files from the internal, and mean that the contents of your external drive are not being backed up. It would also mean that your MBA would run pretty slowly when booted from the external.
    Rather better, in my view, would be to use the external as the primary store for all non-essential files - your complete iTunes library and all your documents, files, video, photos etc, and then copy back to the MBA just those items you actually need for any day or week's activities. Then get a second external to use for backing up the first!

  • External drive storage and Time Machine backup.

    I don't want to keep photos on my hard drive anymore as they take up too much disk space.
    1. Can the "Pictures" directory that exists on all Macs be assigned a new location on an external drive? ie, I save photos to the "Pictures" directory and they automatically go to the external drive.
    2. If I store all my photographs on an external drive can I have Time Machine back them up to another external drive I currently use for backing up my HD? If so, how do I set this up in Time Machine?
    Merci buckets!

    werdup wrote:
    2. If I store all my photographs on an external drive can I have Time Machine back them up to another external drive I currently use for backing up my HD?
    Yes, as long as it's formatted for a Mac, and you tell Time Machine to stop excluding it (externals are excluded by default). 
    If so, how do I set this up in Time Machine?
    See Time Machine - Frequently Asked Question #32 for details and considerations.

  • Photos gone and Time Machine Backup does not work.

    I did a rebuild of my thumbnails at iPhoto's suggestion, then left the room because it took too long. When I came back all the photos and albums etc were gone, not exclamation points but missing.
    I thought iPhoto could not find the library so I tried the option + open and chose the proper library. Still opened to an empty library. According to the library file it was 102 GB in size but oddly had no information. I did not panic because I back up ALL the time. When I tried the TimeMachine backup (each of them back to March) they also said over 100GB but when I started to transfer them it totaled only 1019 MB and now I have exclamation points and no photos. So I need help getting back the photos. TimeMachine is the ONLY backup I have. Is this an iPhoto problem or a problem with TM? In older versions of iPhoto there was a folder of folders that had all my pictures by roll number did that change in this version, because I can't find that either? FYI all photos, and library, are (were) on an external drive.
    Not gonna lie I am in a bit of a panic at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    I can clarify anything that does not make sense, I tried to keep the explanation as short as possible so people would read it!
    Thanks in advance,
    FatherTime

    Do you still have your original library that started this problem? If so use Time Machine to bring forward the last backup before the problem happened. Do not replace the current library with the backup but select the option to keep both.
    Open the recovered library and drag out the Library6.iPhoto file to the desktop and move the rest of the recovered library to the trash. Open your original library and replace the Library6.iPhoto with the file from the recovered library. See if iPhoto will open and recognize your photos now.
    If you had any imports between the time of the last backup and your current library they will not be recognized in the library but will be inside the library non the less. You can find their event folder in the Originals folder, move it to the desktop to reimport.
    TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto (iPhoto.Library for iPhoto 5 and earlier) database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
    I've created an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger or later), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 6 and 7 libraries and Tiger and Leopard. iPhoto does not have to be closed to run the application, just idle. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

  • HT201250 Can I restore photo files from Time Machine without the use of an external drive?  I'm trying to restore lost photo files and I see them listed in Time Machine (without use of an external drive), but when I try to restore I get a error code 36.

    Can I restore photo files from Time Machine without the use of an external drive?  While I was transferring photos back and forth from a thumb drive something went haywire and my IPhoto was wiped clean!  When I click on Time Machine I see all the dated pages (without an external storage drive connected), go back to a date where all my photo files are there, click "restore", and I get the message:  "The Finder can't complete the operation because some data in file cant be read or written (error code - 36)"

    Thanks so much Terence.  I tried some of the fixes from that page, but then discovered the suggestion to compress the Time Machine Back up of the original library and transfer it as a zip back to my computer as detailed here:
    http://pondini.org/TM/E9.html
    That worked like a charm.  I really appreciate it. 

  • Backing up photos on iMac using external hard drive and time machine

    How do i back up photos from my imac using an external hard drive and time machine
    Thanks in advance

    Apple explains how to use Time Machine in http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427.
    Setting up and using TM is very simple to do, connect any external HD (format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled) using Disk Utility ) and your computer shoudl ask if you want to use that EHD for a Time Machine backup. If you have any questions visit your local Apple Store or reseller and they can answer how to setup and use TM and also should be able to offer suggestions on EHDs. My personal preference is OWC (www.macsales.com) Mercury Elite Pro due to the build quality and OWC's level of support.

  • Cannot Find Photos on External Hard Drive Using iPhoto and Time Machine

    Hi everyone,
    This is my first time posting on this forum and am really hoping for some help! I have a 2006 PowerBook G4 that is running iPhoto and Time Machine, and I've used an external hard drive to backup everything on the computer via Time Machine. When I plug the external hard drive into my newer 2010 MacBook Pro, I follow this path to try to access the photos:
         External Hard Drive > Backups.backupd > PowerBook G4 12" > Latest > Macintosh HD > Users > Me > Pictures > iPhoto Library
    When I click "iPhoto Library", I get the following message:
         "The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library.  Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library."
    So, I do as the error message says and I hold down the "option" key and iPhoto launches and says:
         What Photo Library do you want iPhoto to use?
    In this case, I choose "Other Library..." and again follow this path:
         External Hard Drive > Backups.backupd > PowerBook G4 12" > Latest > Macintosh HD > Users > Me > Pictures > iPhoto Library
    When I choose this, I again get the following message:
         The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library.  Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library.
    So as you can see, I'm feeling a bit like I'm chasing my tail in trying to open these photos. I did follow another user's advice and confirm that all photos are infact on the hard drive by using the "control" button and clicking "iPhoto Library" under the pictures folder, and choosing "Show Package Contents". All looks to be in tact in the "originals" folder when showing package contents, however, I just can't find a way to actually view the photos in iPhoto. I really don't want to import all the photos to my current MacBook Pro, because I'd like them to live on the external hard drive (which is formatted for Macs) so that I can browse the photos on the external drive, rather than housing it on my computer.
    One other thing I tried was opening iPhoto on my MacBook Pro and going to File > Browse Backups...  which essentially opens Time Machine and shows me the photos on my MacBook Pro but gives me no option to view them from my External Hard Drive.
    Any super users out there willing to lend me some help?
    Thanks!

    The iPhoto Library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library.  Relaunch iPhoto with <option> key held down to choose another   library.
    You can have an iPhoto library on an external drive and use it from different machines
    and you can have a Time Machine backup
    The two can not be on the same volume - and iPhoto can not access the TM backup - it must be restored to use it
    LN

  • How best to save photos?  I want to protect my photos (15,000 of them) by putting them on a portable drive and storing it in my safety deposit box.  Is it better to export them all, drag the Photo file, use Time Machine – or are there better alternatives?

    I am a 'newby' to the discussion world.  Hope I am doing this right.  How best to save photos?  I want to protect my photos (15,000 of them) by putting themon a portable drive and storing it in my safety deposit box.  Is it better to export them all, dragthe Photo file, use Time Machine – or are there better alternatives?

    Welcome to the discussions! You can use Time Machine and I would also recommend for you to manually copy your iPhoto Library (on your Pictures folder) to an external drive/thumb drive so you can restore it from there should you loose your TM backup. Exporting them from iPhoto would not preserve the libraries' integrity neither your originals, should you choose to edit them in iPhoto.
    Regards.

  • Here's a very basic question about 2 TB external drives and Time Machine.

    Here's a very basic question about 2 TB external drives and Time Machine.
    Ihave a Mac Pro with a .75 TB and 1 TB drive.  It also has a 1 TB 2ndinternal drive.  My current external drive is too small so I'll begetting a 1.5 TB or 2 TB drive.
    Obviouslythe new larger 2 TB drive will backup everything on the Mac Prointernal drive with Time Machine.  But there will be 1 TB of space leftover going to waste.
    ShouldI partition the external drive so that the TM portion will be 1 TB andthe use the remaining extra partition for additional file backups withCarbon Copy?
    Thanks for any insights.
    I tried searching around on the new Apple discussion forum, but I find it much harder to use than the old forum I used to use.

    The problem with terabyte drives is that that a 3 TB is about as big as you can get without going into RAID territory. Ideally, a Time Machine drive should be 3 times as large as all the drives you are backing up. So, if you have 2.75 TB of internal storage, you should have 8 TB of Time Machine space.
    Of course, that is "should". If your TB drives are mostly empty, then you can get away with something 3 times the size of your used disk space. Just remember that you are pushing it. Linc is right about Time Machine needing space to work.
    It is unlikely that you have regular churn on 2.75 TB of disk. I suggest identifying which drives and folders have the most activity and excluding those drives and directories that don't change much. It would be better to archive the data that doesn't change often and keep it out of Time Machine. Then you may be able to get away with a 2 TB Time Machine drive.

  • Using LaCie 1Tb Network drive and Time MAchine

    I have read a number of thread here about issues with LaCie and Time Machine but cannot find the help I am looking for. I have a the Lacie device connected to my network and I have access through the Browser Administration utility to the drive, I believe I have set up the users and the shares correctly, and can connect to the share, but when i try to set up Time Machine it fails to recognize that the NAS drive is available, I am doing something wrong and it's probably very simple.
    Any help would be appreciated.
    Thanks
    John

    Here's Apple's public statement at http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/timemachine.html for what devices work with TM.
    [You can designate just about any HFS+ formatted FireWire or USB drive connected to a Mac as a Time Machine backup drive. Time Machine can also back up to another Mac running Leopard with Personal File Sharing, Leopard Server, or Xsan storage devices.]

  • External Boot drive and time machine?

    Been away from the mac/s for awhile... Just recieved my new mac mini hooked up to an external drive, in this case a very nice mini stack V2 with 500GB and more importantly 7200RPM drive. When I first turned on Leopard I of course designated the external drive as my backup for time machine.
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    If YES I just install my OS on to that drive and then once done select it as my boot drive in system preferences? Any help appreciated.

    I'm not sure you would want to have a backup to the same drive you boot the system from, and Time Machine won't give you the option to select the same partition your boot copy of MacOS is in. You may be able to repartition the drive into two (or more) logical drives and do it that way, but realistically to get the best performance from the system you'd probably want to use the external not just as the boot drive, but also for data storage. That being so, you clearly wouldn't gain any real benefit backing up to the same drive even if you could do so, so you might perhaps instead designate the mini's internal drive for Time Machine use, or add a second external and designate that.

  • Since I upgraded to Mavericks X, I don't have "permission" to open my photo files in Time Machine.  Other documents seem to work fine.

    Since I upgraded to Mavericks X, I don't have "permission" to open my photo files in Time Machine.  Other documents seem to work fine, and I am the only "administrator".  

    Is the iPhoto library in your home folder, or have you moved it somewhere else?

  • Where is my I Photo Library in Time Machine Backups as I seem to have lost photos after installing Lion?

    Can anybody tell me how I can locate my photos from I Photo in the Time Machine backups as I seem to have lost most of 2011 after installing Lion.
    Many thanks

    To recover individual photos open iPhoto and use the File ➙ Browse Backups menu option.
    Click to view full size
    That will take you into iPhoto in Time Machine where you can search for the phtoos and restore them.
    To restore the entire library, close iPhoto, go to the Pictures folder, enter Time Machine, go back in time till you get the library you want to restore, select it and use the Restore button.
    Click to view full size
    OT

  • Restoring photo information from time machine

    Somehow, iPhoto changed the title of all of my photos in a particular album to "1921".  So, I need to restore those 279 modified photos that are in that photo album to get the correct title back. When I go to Time Machine and look at the photo album I see exactly what I want. However, when I click "restore", what gets imported is the original photo with the original file number as the title. That's worse than having the wrong title. Why isn't the modified photo imported?

    C M Clements wrote:
    I have lost about 75% of my photos from 2009 -- earlier years seem not to have been affected, and this year's photos are not affected.
    Here's what happened: In an effort to free up space on my hard drive, I deleted a very large file called "recovered photos." In 2008, I backed up that file to DVDs, but had not thought that anything had been added to that file since then.
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    The last backup I ran on Time Machine was run on Feb. 14.
    you should back up more regularly than that if you value your data.
    I have never had to restore data from Time Machine so I am not sure how to do it. I have located the missing recovered photo file on Time Machine. Should I highlight that file and click restore? Or should I restore the entire pictures folder?
    quit iphoto and restore the whole iphoto library in your Pictures folder. don't try restoring the Pictures folder itself. that won't work. yes, to restore it you click on TM in the dock, scroll back in time select iphoto library and hit "restore". say yes when it asks if you want to overwrite existing items.
    I posted in the iPhoto forums two days ago, and I have tried the suggestions I received there to no avail. Following those suggestions, I rebuilt my iPhoto library using both iPhoto and iPhoto Library Manager and neither action turned up the lost photos. I am posting here now because I think that restoring from Time Machine is my only chance of recovering those photos.

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