Is installing Carbon Copy Cloner on my iMac worth it?

I use several backup utilities, because I think my data is valuable (to me).

Carbon Copy Cloner is a very versatile backup utility.

One of the things I do, is run a copy on a server Mac and it remotely backs up the Mac laptops in the house on a schedule over the local LAN.

When my Mom had an iMac, I would have the server backup my Mom's iMac over the Internet (300 miles away).

The backup device was a Synology NAS that CCC would mount on the server Mac as part of the backup process.

CCC is also good at just backing up select files and directory trees if you do not want to backup everything. Its selection interface is very nice.

CCC is also good at just transferring files or directory trees from point A to point B, where point A and B can be on the same system, or on different systems.

I also use SuperDuper. It is reliable, however, not as flexible as Carbon Copy Cloner. But SuperDuper has saved me more than a few times, so I keep it in my tool kit. Also SuperDuper will do a full clone for free. What you pay for with SuperDuper is the ability to incrementally update a backup, and for backup scheduling. But the free full clone is useful for the user that just needs a quick 1-off backup before doing something unsafe with their system.

And I use TimeMachine to a local USB attached drive. I do not use TimeMaching to a network attached drive, as I've had too many issues when laptops are put to sleep in the middle of a TimeMachine backup. But in a desktop situation, TimeMachine is fairly reliable.

> Also SuperDuper will do a full clone

I have used CCC since the very early OS X days when making a bootable clone just by Finder-copying the old style "System Folder" was not possible anymore. Highly recommended.

CCC can still make a bootable "legacy" macOS 14 clone on Intel Macs (and continue with data clones because making a bootable clone now requires erasing the target volume) but it does not always succeed in some Silicon Macs. Is SuperDuper any better in this respect? I use bootable clones to test mission critical apps before upgrading the main internal disk.

I use CCC on my computer and on my wife's computer. I long ago gave up on Time Machine. What I specifically like about CCC is that it uses a different protocol backup than Time Machine - your most recent backup of files are clearly shown as files, with icons, so everything looks exactly like that which is being backed up. With Time Machine, finding email files is almost impossible.

Plenty of people recommend it, but Time Machine is already incorporated in macOS and it's free: Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - Apple Support.

All I use is Time Machine, but you can use CCC in addition to TM if you believe it provides additional benefit.

I have not tried to boot a SuperDuper clone for a few years, so I cannot personally confirm.

But the website says it creates bootable clones:

https://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html

As mentioned before, making a full clone (full copy) is free, but the time efficient incremental update to an existing clone, and automatic run scheduling is a paid feature ($28 U.S.)

As mentioned before, I’ve used both Carbon Copy Cloner and SuperDuper for years, and both have been useful to me.

AIMEZ22 wrote:

That sounds secure

If you mean backing up over an ssh secure (as in encrypted) tunnel across the internet is secure, then you would be correct.

I’ve been programming computers since 1971, I’ve been using ssh connections since the mid-to-late-90’s.

I have NEVER accessed any computer I’ve owned, or been responsible for, across the Internet over an unencrypted connection. I’ve always use ssh or an ssh tunnel.

I can recommend it. I use it to backup specific folders to an external drive (which is not backed up by Time Machine) but the source drive is. You can set a task to run at a specific time each day or whenever it detects a change in the source folder. Very flexible.

I don't use it as a replacement for Time Machine as TM can be a versions backup whereas CCC is only one version, the latest.

I've also used CCC to clone my boot drive to an external SSD. I have clones of High Sierra and Mojave on external SSDs for running older software. Being an incremental backup app it is very fast as it only copies new files, modified files or deletes files from the backup that are no longer in the source folder. It's great for backup up Photo Libraries - very fast.