Advantages of partitioning storage hard drives

Dr JF wrote:

I have always been taught to partition external harddrives in case part of it fails. Is that still the case? What would the advantages be of partitioning in this case? It's hard to anticipate how much data in what category I would acquire, so I don't want to build a system where I can't fit everything in its place and I will have to move around data. I want it neat and organized and it seems not partitioning would allow that.

To put it simply, if a HDD fails, all the partitions on that HDD will be corrupt or gone. Either the HDD is functioning properly or not regardless of how many partitions there may be. One partitions a HDD for reasons other than data security.

Ciao.

Data organization is an entirely different matter.

Message was edited by: OGELTHORPE

Dr JF wrote:

I have always been taught to partition external harddrives in case part of it fails. Is that still the case? What would the advantages be of partitioning in this case?

None, plus there are disadvantages. Why bother.

In a vocational environment, 2 backup copies are a minimum. Consider having a backup stored off site.

Ciao.

I keep 3 independent backups, Time Machine, a Clone, and an offsite (data files only) backup to a remote server.

I am pleased that my colleague Csound1 responded. I suspect that in his case there is an economic interest involved which is not the case in my situation.

I also use Time machine because it is fast, well integrated in the Mac OSX and easy to use. In addition I also use a clone, (Carbon Copy Cloner) because it provides a boot drive ready to use if and when the internal HDD fails.

I sense that you are in a vocational situation. If I am correct, you have to decide what is the additional expense involved for an additional backup vs what is the fiscal impact if you lose that data (cost benefit analysis).

Dr JF wrote:

I was going to keep one at home, one in the office.

You say that you are using Time Machine. Presumably that is in the office. What is at home, a copy of Time Machine?

I currently have about 900 GB of data in the 1 TB internal HDD on my MBP. To transfer all of the data to a new HDD (assuming the internal HDD had failed) would take several hours, 4 - 5. A clone would require 15 minutes to be back in operation. Time Machine is excellent for retrieving occasional files but is time consuming for a complete reinstall. My instinct says that you should have Time Machine and a clone in the office and a copy of either one at home.

To complicate matters, data transfer speeds may also be an important issue for you. I have older equipment and am restricted to USB2 and eSata speeds. Current Macs have faster transfer capabilities with USB3 and Thunderbolt. The net result is that data transfer time can be reduced by 50% ot more.

You also might consider a RAID array for creating the off site copy.

Ciao.

Dr JF wrote:

I have always been taught to partition external harddrives in case part of it fails.

Whoever taught you THAT was dead wrong 😢

a dead HD is a dead HD is a dead HD, period. 1 partition or 1000

Methodology to protect your data. Backups vs. Archives. Long-term data protection

Simplex Premise of Backups vs. Archives

The B.A.R. “rule” (backup-archive-redundancy)

Backup: Active data emergency restore. Backups are moved from backups to archives; or from backups to the computer for restore or data retrieval.

Archive: Active and static data protection with the highest level of redundancy. Archives are only moved from itself to itself (archived copies). Generally a “long-term retention” nexus.

Redundancy: A fail-safe off-site or protected and “frozen” copy of your vital data and foolproof protection against magnetic degradation and HD mechanical failure. A likewise failsafe from theft, house fire, etc.

Redundancy has two points of premise:

A: redundancy (copies) of data archives.

B: redundancy of data on different platforms (optical, online, magneto-optical, HD).

Send your backups to your archives (as often as possible), and your archives to self-same redundancies.

*When referring to backups and archives here, this is in reference to your data saved/ created/ working on,... not your OS, your applications, and your system information / settings,...which is the idealized premise for use of Time Machine as a system-backup after internal data corruption or HD-failure.

Here we are referring to data backups and archives, not system-backups for restoring your OS-system.

If your data on your hard drive is the cash in your wallet, a backup is your bank account/debit card, and an archive is a locked safety deposit box.

Its easy to get your wallet emptied (corrupted) or stolen, your backup checking account is somewhat easy to get corrupted/drained or damaged, but your bunker security is in the lockbox inside the vault, where your vital data and archives reside. In the premise of preventing data loss, you want as often and as much as possible one-way transfers from your “wallet” to your safety deposit box archives; and further still a minimum of two copies of those archives.

Highest priority (archives) requires highest redundancy. In the premise of often copying data from backups to archives, backup redundancy plays a minor role.

Long-term active file backups (a book, a major time-involved video creation etc.) requires double-active redundancies, preferably a minimum of Time Machine and an autonomous external formatted HD, so there are at least three copies of this data: internal drive, Time Machine, and secondary non-TM HD backup.

Data redundancy begins at...

1. All data on the computer is just that, your data.

2. All data on the first external HD is your backup.

3. Only the second external HD is your first safe data redundancy.

Protected data redundancy begins at the second external copy due to:

1. It not being connected. Any drive connected, backup or otherwise, is not to be considered a safe data redundancy.

2. Being the backup failsafe to the first external HD, not to the data on the computer which never should be counted in terms of data protection as "a copy".

3. External drives will invariably fail, and since most people falsely believe their external HD is their "safety", this error of perspective must be countered by yet another external copy of ones data.

Ones vital data must always be considered wholly independent and irrelevant of any data on the computer itself. Failure to look at one data in this matter is a failure which often can and does culminate in data loss.

Dr JF wrote:

So you'd recommend 3 back-up copies?

The "more the better"

on multiple platforms in multiple places

Data Storage Platforms; their Drawbacks & Advantages

#1. Time Machine / Time Capsule

Drawbacks:

1. Time Machine is not bootable, if your internal drive fails, you cannot access files or boot from TM directly from the dead computer.

2. Time machine is controlled by complex software, and while you can delve into the TM backup database for specific file(s) extraction, this is not ideal or desirable.

3. Time machine can and does have the potential for many error codes in which data corruption can occur and your important backup files may not be saved correctly, at all, or even damaged. This extra link of failure in placing software between your data and its recovery is a point of risk and failure. A HD clone is not subject to these errors.

4. Time machine mirrors your internal HD, in which cases of data corruption, this corruption can immediately spread to the backup as the two are linked. TM is perpetually connected (or often) to your computer, and corruption spread to corruption, without isolation, which TM lacks (usually), migrating errors or corruption is either automatic or extremely easy to unwittingly do.

5. Time Machine does not keep endless copies of changed or deleted data, and you are often not notified when it deletes them; likewise you may accidently delete files off your computer and this accident is mirrored on TM.

6. Restoring from TM is quite time intensive.

7. TM is a backup and not a data archive, and therefore by definition a low-level security of vital/important data.

8. TM working premise is a “black box” backup of OS, APPS, settings, and vital data that nearly 100% of users never verify until an emergency hits or their computers internal SSD or HD that is corrupt or dead and this is an extremely bad working premise on vital data.

9. Given that data created and stored is growing exponentially, the fact that TM operates as a “store-it-all” backup nexus makes TM inherently incapable to easily backup massive amounts of data, nor is doing so a good idea.

10. TM working premise is a backup of a users system and active working data, and NOT massive amounts of static data, yet most users never take this into consideration, making TM a high-risk locus of data “bloat”.

11. In the case of Time Capsule, wifi data storage is a less than ideal premise given possible wireless data corruption.

12. TM like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.

13. *Level-1 security of your vital data.

Advantages:

1. TM is very easy to use either in automatic mode or in 1-click backups.

2. TM is a perfect novice level simplex backup single-layer security save against internal HD failure or corruption.

3. TM can easily provide a seamless no-gap policy of active data that is often not easily capable in HD clones or HD archives (only if the user is lazy is making data saves).

#2. HD archives

Drawbacks:

1. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.

2. Unless the user ritually copies working active data to HD external archives, then there is a time-gap of potential missing data; as such users must be proactive in archiving data that is being worked on or recently saved or created.

Advantages:

1. Fills the gap left in a week or 2-week-old HD clone, as an example.

2. Simplex no-software data storage that is isolated and autonomous from the computer (in most cases).

3. HD archives are the best idealized storage source for storing huge and multi-terabytes of data.

4. Best-idealized 1^st platform redundancy for data protection.

5. *Perfect primary tier and level-2 security of your vital data.

#3. HD clones (see below for full advantages / drawbacks)

Drawbacks:

1. HD clones can be incrementally updated to hourly or daily, however this is time consuming and HD clones are, often, a week or more old, in which case data between today and the most fresh HD clone can and would be lost (however this gap is filled by use of HD archives listed above or by a TM backup).

2. Like all HD-based data is subject to ferromagnetic and mechanical failure.

Advantages:

1. HD clones are the best, quickest way to get back to 100% full operation in mere seconds.

2. Once a HD clone is created, the creation software (Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper) is no longer needed whatsoever, and unlike TM, which requires complex software for its operational transference of data, a HD clone is its own bootable entity.

3. HD clones are unconnected and isolated from recent corruption.

4. HD clones allow a “portable copy” of your computer that you can likewise connect to another same Mac and have all your APPS and data at hand, which is extremely useful.

5. Rather than, as many users do, thinking of a HD clone as a “complimentary backup” to the use of TM, a HD clone is superior to TM both in ease of returning to 100% quickly, and its autonomous nature; while each has its place, TM can and does fill the gap in, say, a 2 week old clone. As an analogy, the HD clone itself is the brick wall of protection, whereas TM can be thought of as the mortar, which will fill any cracks in data on a week, 2-week, or 1-month old HD clone.

6. Best-idealized 2^nd platform redundancy for data protection, and 1^st level for system restore of your computers internal HD. (Time machine being 2^nd level for system restore of the computer’s internal HD).

7. *Level-2 security of your vital data.

HD cloning software options:

1. SuperDuper HD cloning software APP (free)

2. Carbon Copy Cloner APP (will copy the recovery partition as well)

3. Disk utility HD bootable clone.

#4. Online archives

Drawbacks:

1. Subject to server failure or due to non-payment of your hosting account, it can be suspended.

2. Subject, due to lack of security on your part, to being attacked and hacked/erased.

Advantages:

1. In case of house fire, etc. your data is safe.

2. In travels, and propagating files to friends and likewise, a mere link by email is all that is needed and no large media needs to be sent across the net.

3. Online archives are the perfect and best-idealized 3^rd platform redundancy for data protection.

4. Supremely useful in data isolation from backups and local archives in being online and offsite for long-distance security in isolation.

5. *Level-1.5 security of your vital data.

#5. DVD professional archival media

Drawbacks:

1. DVD single-layer disks are limited to 4.7Gigabytes of data.

2. DVD media are, given rough handling, prone to scratches and light-degradation if not stored correctly.

Advantages:

1. Archival DVD professional blank media is rated for in excess of 100+ years.

2. DVD is not subject to mechanical breakdown.

3. DVD archival media is not subject to ferromagnetic degradation.

4. DVD archival media correctly sleeved and stored is currently a supreme storage method of archiving vital data.

5. DVD media is once written and therefore free of data corruption if the write is correct.

6. DVD media is the perfect ideal for “freezing” and isolating old copies of data for reference in case newer generations of data become corrupted and an older copy is needed to revert to.

7. Best-idealized 4^th platform redundancy for data protection.

8. *Level-3 (highest) security of your vital data.

[*Level-4 data security under development as once-written metallic plates and synthetic sapphire and likewise ultra-long-term data storage]

#6. Cloud based storage

Drawbacks:

1. Cloud storage can only be quasi-possessed.

2. No genuine true security and privacy of data.

3. Should never be considered for vital data storage or especially long-term.

4. *Level-0 security of your vital data.

Advantages:

1. Quick, easy and cheap storage location for simplex files for transfer to keep on hand and yet off the computer.

2. Easy source for small-file data sharing.

#7. Network attached storage (NAS) and JBOD storage

Drawbacks:

1. Subject to RAID failure and mass data corruption.

2. Expensive to set up initially.

3. Can be slower than USB, especially over WiFi.

4. Mechanically identical to USB HD backup in failure potential, higher failure however due to RAID and proprietary NAS enclosure failure.

Advantages:

1. Multiple computer access.

2. Always on and available.

3. Often has extensive media and application server functionality.

4. Massive capacity (also its drawback) with multi-bay NAS, perfect for full system backups on a larger scale.

5. *Level-2 security of your vital data.

JBOD (just a bunch of disks / drives) storage

Identical to NAS in form factor except drives are not networked or in any RAID array, rather best thought of as a single USB feed to multiple independent drives in a single powered large enclosure. Generally meaning a non-RAID architecture.

Drawbacks:

1. Subject to HD failure but not RAID failure and mass data corruption.

Advantages:

1. Simplex multi-drive independent setup for mass data storage.

2. Very inexpensive dual purpose HD storage / access point.

3. *Level-2 security of your vital data.

Time Machine is a system hub backup, not a data hub backup

Important data you “don’t dare lose” should not be considered ultimately safe, or ideally stored (at the very least not as sole copy of same) on your Time Machine backup. Hourly and daily fluctuations of your system OS, applications, and software updates is the perfect focus for the simple user to conduct ‘click it and forget it’ backups of the entire system and files on the Macbook HD.

Bootable clones are the choice of professionals and others in that Time Machine cannot be booted from and requires a working HD to retrieve data from (meaning another computer). Your vital data needs to be and should be ‘frozen’ on some form of media storage, either in a clone, as an archived HD containing important files, or on DVD blank archival media.

A file that is backed up to Time Machine is unsafe in that if that file is deleted off the computer by accident or lost otherwise, that file will likewise vanish from Time Machine as it reflects changes on the internal computer HD/SSD.

Dr JF wrote:

Gives me much to think about, such as paying for an off-site storage system in addition to the two copies.

private website,/ offsite is important.

When you can say -- "hey my house burned down, but all my data is safe" .....then youre "working the smart side of data protection".

While DVDs are best for archiving, many of my movie files are MUCH larger than 4.7GB and I wouldn't want to chop them up just to fit on DVDs.

Archival DVD professional media is meant for long term storage or pics, documents etc.

Of which you can , of course, put a ton of documents / pics on 4.7GB.