Comments on: Backup 3.0: Avoid http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/ Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:22:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Michael http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-14640 Michael Mon, 04 Sep 2006 15:25:13 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-14640 <a href="http://www.stuffonfire.com/2006/09/04/holy-crap-apple-backup-is-dangerous/" rel="nofollow">Holy Crap, Apple Backup is Dangerous</a> Holy Crap, Apple Backup is Dangerous

]]> By: Michael http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11017 Michael Mon, 31 Oct 2005 16:05:31 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11017 Forward: store a full copy of the oldest snapshot, then add additional copies of newer files as they're modified. Backward: store a full copy of the newest snapshot, and keep older versions of files that have been modified. Forward is nice when using removable backup media, because it works like a log: you can keep adding new versions of files to new discs. But if you're going to store everything on a big hard disk, backward is nice because because (a) it's easy to recover from the latest backup (which is what you're most likely to want), and (b) it's easy to delete the oldest files to free up disk space. Forward: store a full copy of the oldest snapshot, then add additional copies of newer files as they're modified.

Backward: store a full copy of the newest snapshot, and keep older versions of files that have been modified.

Forward is nice when using removable backup media, because it works like a log: you can keep adding new versions of files to new discs.

But if you're going to store everything on a big hard disk, backward is nice because because (a) it's easy to recover from the latest backup (which is what you're most likely to want), and (b) it's easy to delete the oldest files to free up disk space.

]]> By: jem http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11016 jem Mon, 31 Oct 2005 14:13:18 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11016 I'm not sure that I understand what you mean with forward/backward. I switched from Retrospect a couple of year ago (I got really upset when it claimed to backup my data when it actually was trashing my previous backups, when things like that had happened a couple of times I just gave up) and tried many of the programs that was available at that time. Impression was the one that worked the best for me ... but requirements vary. I'm also using ChronoSync for other things and it looks like the latest version could be used for archiving but I haven't had the time to check. I'm not sure that I understand what you mean with forward/backward. I switched from Retrospect a couple of year ago (I got really upset when it claimed to backup my data when it actually was trashing my previous backups, when things like that had happened a couple of times I just gave up) and tried many of the programs that was available at that time. Impression was the one that worked the best for me ... but requirements vary. I'm also using ChronoSync for other things and it looks like the latest version could be used for archiving but I haven't had the time to check.

]]> By: Michael http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11015 Michael Sat, 29 Oct 2005 21:47:40 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11015 Impression doesn't seem to match my needs very well. When backing up to a hard disk, I want to be able to quickly restore from the latest backup. I also want to store multiple versions of changed files going <em>backwards</em> in time. Impression does its incremental backups going <em>forwards</em>, like Retrospect, which makes managing disk space difficult. Restoring seems to be clunkier than in Retrospect. Of course, Synchronize Pro! doesn't have an interface for restoring, but everything's clearly laid out in the Finder. For CD/DVD archives, it seems that the only way to get encrypted, catalogable backups would be to tell Impression to save the files in Finder format on disk images. Then I would have to segment the disk images, burn them, and catalog them with CDFinder. It would be a more complicated way of ending up where I am now. Impression doesn't seem to match my needs very well. When backing up to a hard disk, I want to be able to quickly restore from the latest backup. I also want to store multiple versions of changed files going backwards in time. Impression does its incremental backups going forwards, like Retrospect, which makes managing disk space difficult. Restoring seems to be clunkier than in Retrospect. Of course, Synchronize Pro! doesn't have an interface for restoring, but everything's clearly laid out in the Finder.

For CD/DVD archives, it seems that the only way to get encrypted, catalogable backups would be to tell Impression to save the files in Finder format on disk images. Then I would have to segment the disk images, burn them, and catalog them with CDFinder. It would be a more complicated way of ending up where I am now.

]]> By: jem http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11014 jem Sat, 29 Oct 2005 19:34:48 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11014 You could try Impression You could try Impression

]]> By: Michael http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11013 Michael Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:27:27 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11013 IANAL, but I think the main point is that their patent covers the idea of using a catalog file to keep track of which files were written to the backup media. If anyone knows more, please post a comment/link. IANAL, but I think the main point is that their patent covers the idea of using a catalog file to keep track of which files were written to the backup media. If anyone knows more, please post a comment/link.

]]> By: gus http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11012 gus Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:16:06 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11012 Is there anywhere that says exactly what the Dantz patent is? I went to that page and it's really long- I need a cliff notes version :) Is there anywhere that says exactly what the Dantz patent is? I went to that page and it's really long- I need a cliff notes version :)

]]> By: iacas http://mjtsai.com/blog/2005/10/29/backup-30-avoid/#comment-11011 iacas Sat, 29 Oct 2005 17:12:53 +0000 http://mjtsai.com/blog/?p=1128#comment-11011 I use psync. It worked beautifully in the 10.1 to 10.3 era, broke for awhile in 10.4 (I think), but now works great. It creates bootable backups to the second drive in my G5. It's not for everyone, but it could be on the list. Run via a cron job, it seems pretty fast to me. Resource forks, etc. are preserved. I use psync. It worked beautifully in the 10.1 to 10.3 era, broke for awhile in 10.4 (I think), but now works great. It creates bootable backups to the second drive in my G5. It's not for everyone, but it could be on the list. Run via a cron job, it seems pretty fast to me. Resource forks, etc. are preserved.

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