Data Backup Strategy

[mikehalloran]

A simple Time Machine or Super Duper incremental backup on a spare HD, performed when new VI data is installed, would be more efficient..

I keep it even simpler than that. When there is a change to the SSD with VI libs, I do a simple drag-drop-replace to a large spinner when I’m all done for the day. The computer shuts itself down at midnight. I should probably do a second simple copy to a cloud service of some sort, but this has worked for many years and relies on nothing more than the Finder.

Although my sample drives are automatically included in my Time Machine backup, nuttin' wrong with the ol' drag and drop to a spinner (HHD) approach.

You do not want to do that with an SSD unless you have plenty of free space. Garbage Collection and TRIM (Thunderbolt and PCI including eSATA; not available over USB, WiFi or Ethernet) need time to prepare cells to accept new data. If the drive is full enough, dropping large enough files onto an SSD can take hours or even days longer than dropping the same onto an HDD. Complete data replacement on a 98% full 4TB SSD can take 40 hours. I'll spare you why I know this.

If you need data redundancy on an HDD NAS array (most support Time Machine), RAID 1 mirror drives are ok but I prefer JBOD. It's quieter.

Backblaze does not support attached drives unless you have a business account that costs way more than I want to pay.

[BobK]

Samsung requires you to keep the retail boxes for RMAs.

Not in my case. The "shipping guideline", which was for all sorts of returns, said "Make sure to choose a box strength that is suitable for your product. If you plan on reusing a box, make sure it is rigid and in excellent condition with no punctures, tears, rips or corner damage. For large or heavy objects, double wall boxes are recommended."

I have the original boxes, but the phone agent said they're not needed - a bubble envelope is fine. I wrapped the drive in leftover bubble wrap for extra padding.

After posting here, I found several mentions of the same problem with 870 EVO SATA SSDs, as well as a long list of other models in the 870 line that had issues. According to one post, apparently Samsung mentioned something vague about changing something about the manufacturing of 870 EVOs in late 2022.

Getting an RMA has been annoying, but certainly could've been worse. The usual stuff you get with most large companies: Samsung's process is fragmented and communication has been flaky and inconsistent.

For example, after emailing a mailing label and return instructions, they sent another email saying "your support ticket has been resolved." Uh...no. It hasn't.

Also: I submitted one claim Monday evening, the second Tuesday morning. But they replied to the second one first!

When I called to get the first one sent, one agent said there was nothing he could do. Another time, the exasperating voice prompt system sent me to the wrong department. The agent said he'd transfer me to the correct one, but I got 20 minutes of dead air.

The next day, I tried again, and this agent managed to get the email sent right away. (Inexplicably, it was sent again later in the day.)

At one point I tried to get info from their support site. It asks you to enter the model number. No matter what I tried - including the exact text they requested - the page kept saying "please enter a valid model number."

I have 860 EVOs from a few years ago that are still at 99%, so I didn't mind paying a little more for Samsung (compared to, say, Crucial). But next time I'll try another brand. What a nightmare.

[bayswater]

You do not want to do that with an SSD unless you have plenty of free space.

Agreed. I’d only do this with spinners. All my backup drive are of that ilk. I haven’t thought about what to do when they aren’t around any more.

[nk_e]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info. Just a couple of quick questions…

<SNIP>

I use NAS boxes connected via Ethernet and to my WiFi router so that all six Macs in my network back up to the same three TM drives. Like the late Ron Popeil, I "Set it and forget it." WD and Seagate have NAS boxes that support Time Machine right out of the box. I have one of these stuffed with a pair of 18TB HDDs in a RAID 1 array — both drives run simultaneously and are mirrored so that, if you lose one, the data on the other is identical. Takes about 30 seconds to swap drives in this box.
https://www.westerndigital.com/products ... 00NCH-NESN

<SNIP>

I’ve been very happily using my Drobo as a huge TM drive, but their recent Chapter 7 filing means I need to find something else in the not too distant future.

The Mac OS software supported specs published on the WD site give me a bit of pause.

System Requirements

Windows® 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 operating systems
macOS Mojave, High Sierra, Sierra, El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion operating systems

You obviously use it regularly, so I assume the published info is out of date. Do you find they are quick on Mac specific updates to the software? (When last I looked into these, there seemed to be some teeth gnashing going on about the MyCloud OS updates for Mac.)

Is the unit you provided a link for an updated version of the Pro Series? I can’t find any meaningful difference between the expert and pro series except for price…

Thanks!

[mikehalloran]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the info. Just a couple of quick questions…

…

You obviously use it regularly, so I assume the published info is out of date. Do you find they are quick on Mac specific updates to the software? (When last I looked into these, there seemed to be some teeth gnashing going on about the MyCloud OS updates for Mac.)

Is the unit you provided a link for an updated version of the Pro Series? I can’t find any meaningful difference between the expert and pro series except for price…

Thanks!

There's no software. There's firmware that is updated now and then. Everything is controlled through your web browser including setup, diagnostics, support etc. I keep the pages as permanent tabs.

I am not notified of updates so I click on the tab now and then. These screenshots are from a few minutes ago. The first shows a drive error and an available firmware update. I didn't run the diagnostics because I wanted to see if running the firmware update first to see if the error would go away. As you can see in the second picture, it did.