Olympus-OM
[Top] [All Lists]

[OM] Computers

Subject: [OM] Computers
From: bob benson <bob.benson91@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2014 08:26:41 -0600
Chris wrote :
"After my last partial system crash I decided to keep all data files on an
external hard drive.  Not that I have a huge number of data files, but
rather that I would not care to lose any of them."

Perhaps you'd be interested in my approach to files and backup.

My computers are pretty much at the center of my work life -- client
consulting,  author, photography. So I take backup (and recovery)
seriously.   I am also pretty paranoid about the risk of reliance on
vendor-specific software for file storage, and on the risk of burglary
losing laptops and external disks (we've had one episode.)  As a remote
risk I worry about fire and -- living in scenic Kansas -- storms.   (We had
a close acquaintance lose everything last year.)   So ....

1.  Like Chris, I keep the working version of all files on a USB3 external
hard drive.  All work is done against these files (not the computer's hard
disks).
2.  Weekly I sync these files with two other external hard drives.  One
serves as backup image of the files.  The other is physically small 1 TB
USB3 drive.   This sync takes about 15 minutes.  All told, I have about 600
GB of primary files in three main directories.
3.  I use Carbonite on the USB3 external hard drive.  (I don't know about
this for sure, but this seems like the only cloud backup that can work with
external drives.)  This keeps everything cloud-backed-up pretty much in
real time.
4.  I use DropBox for working files during the week between backups.  I
also use it for sharing files between computers.
5.  I don't use backup software per se:  everything is based on
windows-native directories.  The the three file-synced copies, Carbonite
files, and DropBox files all use the same directory structure.

Some attributes of this that I think are important.

1.  I am not limited to working on one computer.  The working USB3 external
drive can be used on any computer.
2.  If I'm doing heavy-duty computing -- e.g., for me this means  very
large spreadsheets, significant photo editing --  I'll work on files on the
main computer's solid-state drive,  but I'll then re-sync back to the USB3
drive.
3.  When I travel (a fair amount, actually) I take the 1 TB USB3 drive and
work on that.  When I return I re-sync back to the main drive.  In effect,
I carry all files with me.
4. The 1 TB drive is also my local "off site" backup in the sense I keep it
in my car.

This isn't perfect, but I'm comfortable with it.  When I'm not traveling I
spend about 15 minutes a week per #2 above.  One minor point:  while
computers can crash,  external drives can too.  With the constant downward
pressure on prices for disk drives, I've always worried that over-reliance
on ever-cheaper external drives could be problematic.  Hence the use of
three USB drives.

Bob Benson
-- 
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Sponsored by Tako
Impressum | Datenschutz