Time Machine Performance Impact

Question

Level 1

20 points

Time Machine Performance Impact

I've read lots of posts regarding slow Time machine backups, but I'm more concerned about the impact Time Machine is having on other running processes. While Time Machine is calculating changes, everything slows down quite noticeably. Even the mouse (a Bluetooth Mighty Mouse) is sluggish. Is there any way to set the process priority (sorry if that's the wrong terminology) down so that it doesn't impact everything?

Alternatively, is there an alternative application that backs up a changed file immediately rather than waiting and then having to figure out what changed. I used to use AutoSave on my Windows boxes and it was transparent.

Thanks

Bob

MacBook Pro 13", Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Sep 22, 2009 7:34 PM

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Answer 1

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Sep 22, 2009 8:23 PM in response to bobbd

Other than a full backup, or a large incremental (like after an OSX update) the "calculating changes" phase is very quick.

If your "normal" incrementals are taking an inordinate amount of time/CPU, Click here to download the +Time Machine Buddy+ widget. It shows the messages from your logs for one TM backup run at a time, in a small window. Copy and post the messages from one of these backups here; they'll probably contain a clue.

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Answer 2

bobbd Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 23, 2009 1:55 AM in response to Pondini

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not concerned with how long Time Machine takes to do a backup. Rather it's the impact that is has on everything else. Doesn't happen all the time, but when everything else seems to bog down, I know Time Machine is running. Once Time Machine finishes, everything's fine again.

Bob

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Answer 3

Sep 23, 2009 6:54 AM in response to bobbd

Hello b:

Try what Pondini suggested. The TM Buddy will give you a near real time look at what is going on.

Incremental backups are very quick (mine are 10-20 seconds) and should not affect anything else.

Barry

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Answer 4

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Sep 23, 2009 7:35 AM in response to bobbd

bobbd wrote:
Thanks for the reply, but I'm not concerned with how long Time Machine takes to do a backup. Rather it's the impact that is has on everything else. Doesn't happen all the time, but when everything else seems to bog down, I know Time Machine is running. Once Time Machine finishes, everything's fine again.

Yes, I understand that.

There are several possibilities:

1. TM having to do a "deep traversal" on many backups.

2. Too large backups.

3. Too slow backups.

4. A folder, perhaps a Mailbox, containing many thousands of items, a few of which are added or changed between backups.

From your description, I suspect it's #1. That's also the most common. The TM Buddy messages will provide a clue.

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Answer 5

bobbd Author

Level 1

20 points

Sep 24, 2009 3:21 AM in response to Pondini

The only thing I could see in Time Machine Buddy was a note saying "No pre-backup thinning needed". Unfortunately,it only showed logs for the last few days.

I tried to force a mailbox change to test #4. I have about 5700 items in my Saved Mail. Maybe not enough to matter. In any case, the backup went very quickly.

Now that I know the correct term to search, I checked "deep traversal" (never would have guessed that 🙂 ) on Google and found lots of entries. I also found an entry in the system log a few days ago. From reading what it is, that makes sense that it would have that sort of impact.

I'll keep an eye out for it. I may not be able to prevent it, but understanding what's happening helps a lot.

Thanks!

Bob

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