What's the best way to keep two hard dives synced?

I'd love to hear what you guys think.

I think that what you're proposing to do isn't really a backup solution and shouldn't be confused with one. If all you want is redundancy in your storage devices, you'd be much better off with RAID level 1, which isn't a backup either. It's not clear why you don't like the idea of RAID. It will give you some protection from a drive failure. It will give you no protection at all from unwanted changes to files, and neither will your disk-synching idea, which is essentially the same thing implemented at the application level rather than the driver level.

I tend to agree with your opinion of RAID and not Linc's. I think you are correct to avoid it. There are many pitfalls in setting it up properly.

Personally what I do is to use both SuperDuper and TimeMachine. I feel that using both at the same time seems to get me good protection. I know I have been able to recover everything that I have had to so far.

Allan

I use a 1 TB Time Capsule with Time Machine which does a backup very hour.

I also use Super Duper with a 1 TB LaCie S+ARCK USB Desktop Hard Drive.

I am glad I had both when my Time Capsule overheated and had to be replaced.

Apple replaced it and transferred al of my information onto the new TC for free.

The new TC gives me more information than before when backing up.

This works fine for me.

Regards,

Arie

I'm using CCC, Carbon Copy Cloner to make bootable clone backup.

Let me chime in for support of a RAID. I use a RAID and I am very happy with it. I use an older version of this http://eshop.macsales.com/item/NewerTech/GM8Q7H20T128/ and it has been running for at least a year without any problems. I use it as my Documents folder on my iMac. It is connected via Firewire 800. I also have a Drobo, but I use it only for Time Machine backups.

Doug,

As others have said, a RAID (or DROBO) as your primary storage is NOT a substitute for backing up your data. I bought my RAID array at least one year prior to my DROBO. At the time I bought my RAID array, 1TB drives were the largest capacity disks. I put two of them in and RAIDed them. Works great. Neither of those disks have failed.

In my DROBO, I have two 1.5TB disks. One of those failed about six months ago. Replacing it was a smooth process, but the process to rebuild the data was slow (like around 30 hours ish) if I remember correctly. I use my DROBO for backups because it is the only way I can double the capacity of my RAID array affordably. I also find that the DROBO is a little too slow for my taste for use as a primary storage device. The rule of thumb for Time Machine is that your TM machine drive is at least as big as your primary storage. I don't quite meet that rule now because I also use my DROBO to back up my iMac's boot disk, in addition to my iMac's RAID array, but I also use it to back up my MacBook Pro via wi-fi. I like my DROBO because it offers me the ability to grow my storage easily. It has two vacant slots where I can pop in a pair of new disk drives. For backups, I don't much care that it is slow. A full backup of my RAID and iMac's boot drive takes three days, but it works. I am not a power user, but I suspect if I used it for primary storage, I would find it too slow.

The best way to protect your data is to back it up using multiple Different methods. That way a flaw in one methodology should not affect the others.

SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner are good choices for creating a full bootable clone. They can also be used to backup to a networked file system (not bootable, but still a copy of your data).

Time Machine is good for backing up your data on an hourly basis.

If you have an off-site storage area (at least for critical data) that is also a very good idea as that protects against theft, fire, floods, huricanes, tornados, etc...

If you are interested in rsync, then look more closely at Carbon Copy Cloner. It actually uses rsync, and if you want to roll your own rsync, then at least get the copy of rsync inside of CCC, as it is the most Mac compatible up-to-date rsync.

As for storage, as long as you have "Backup in Depth", then any collection of external disks is fine. I've got Drobos, iomega, G-Drive, and a bunch of misc generic drive enclosures with commodity disks inside. It is the "Backup in Depth" that counts, more than what you use as storage devices.

I very much agree with BobHarris: the most important thing is "Backup in Depth", that is, multiple backups in multiple locations. After experiencing catastrophic failure with RAID, I'll never use it again. Fortunately, at the point where it failed, I had one complete backup that was only about a week old, so overall loss wasn't horrible. I also don't trust software backup solutions, especially those that use proprietary file formats. Many years of storing and maintaining data has taught me (the hard way) that manual backups are the safest. I keep no data at all on my system drive, but only applications. That I do back up with SuperDuper and then check it for integrity. I also keep an external archive of application install DMGs along with their registration codes. As for data, I keep a minimum of four external drives for each type of data. Two are stored at home and the other two are stored separately off-site. I manually copy new and changed files to one drive and then replicate to the others. The process isn't automated at all, but it generally takes less than an hour each time I do it and I haven't lost any data in years.

They'er, as well as 2T stuffs working fine as external and internal drives as far as I've been using.

As for storage, as long as you have "Backup in Depth", then any collection of external disks is fine. I've got Drobos, iomega, G-Drive, and a bunch of misc generic drive enclosures with commodity disks inside. It is the "Backup in Depth" that counts, more than what you use as storage devices.

I read everything. I'm like you Doug. However, backing up only home pics/vids of my 6yr old daughter and my docs/spreadsheets (the music hasnt even made it off my old Dell P4 desktop HDs onto this MBP yet; my only concern right now is memories) -at this point is all I need.

Chronology & subsequent Quandry: So i get my first Mac, and phase 1 ensues: eventually e'Buy' a USB 2.0 IDE enclosure (rocketfish - PITA HW-wise, but completely reliable). I throw a 200 Gig 3.5" 40-pin in there, cable select, mounts no problem, format it Mac OS X (journaled), set up Time Machine and I'm done and rolling in no time (lovin' the MAC baby! concise & efficient is how I like it now. Little bro was right; we both used to build/tinker w/ PCs, now we just get stuff DONE!)

Phase 2 is where I'm hung up; and from the way I read your answer, and giventhat it looks like the methodS you use are somewhat similar to my plan(s), you might be the right guy that I'd want to ask...

Anyway, want to take IDE to mom & Dad's 7 miles away (I have another 5 EIDE's the same capacity so I'll cycle them obviously, and I'm taking for granted if my house catches fire (MBP -AND- attached external burn up -that there will be a definite loss of whatever pics/video are taken in between -I'm fine w/ that right now)......so........I'm at the dreaded BestBuy last week and they got Seagate 500G USB 2.0 externals (no power supply needed; & very small) -for $59.99. The 320G version of the SAME drive is $69.00 (sales guy states excessive inventory prob the reason. makes perfect sense to me. brother who worked there 6 yrs agrees); so obviously I buy it.

Long story short, I mount it fine, format it from NTFS to the same as above, and it won't come up in Time Machine now. Therein lies my dilemma. I understand why only one disk (as far as Snow Leopard OS programming logic), but there are too many sketchy work-arounds out there. So, I wanted to pick somebody's brain -that actually knows what they're talking about.

FWIW, when u open up TM and click "Select Disk...", it leaves room in the window [for more drives] that would lead one (me) to believe that backing up data this way (two separate, physical locations -old school, I know) -would be possible.

That's my excuse at least...

TIA for any direction you can provide Doug.

Much Obliged,

Greg