Aperture library on NAS: Aperture keeps asking where it is

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Aperture library on NAS: Aperture keeps asking where it is

Hi all

I have both the library as well as files (separately, referenced) on a NAS (Synology), and that generally works well.

The only thing that keeps bugging me is that most of the times upon starting Aperture, it keeps asking where the library file was. It is even more strange, as the library path displayed in the error window is exactly correct. What I need to do is then to show Aperture the library path, whereafter Aperture starts normally.

Anyone know how to avoid the sysyphus work? Anyone experiencing the same?

Thanks

Simon

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Apr 21, 2014 4:15 AM

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Answer 1

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

Apr 21, 2014 5:41 AM in response to simima

Simon,

is your profile signature still valid "Mac OS X (10.5)"? What is your Aperture version?

I have both the library as well as files (separately, referenced) on a NAS (Synology), and that generally works well.

That is a risky arrangement. Aperture does not support support a library on a drive not formatted MacOS Extended (Journaled), and also not on a network volume. So you are using Aperture outside its specifications.

See Apple's recommendations: Use locally mounted Mac OS X Extended volumes for your Aperture library

Aperture does not find the library, because it is on a drive with an unsupported file system.

-- Léonie

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Answer 2

simima Author

Level 1

59 points

Apr 21, 2014 6:10 AM in response to léonie

Thanks Léonie

I knew that Aperture doesn't like other than MacOS X ext volumes... but didn't know there's an explicit disclaimer.

For that, it works surprisingly well, it seems :-)

Hmmmm, my goal is to have the library on the NAS as well, accessible to other users, and being backuped regularly with all the other files on the NAS.

What other setup you suggest to achieve the same? Obviously, storing the library locally does not work...

Thanks

Simon

P.S. 10.5. was rubbish, of course, thanks for spotting it. Using current version of Mac OS... 10.9.2. I believe.

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Answer 3

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

Apr 21, 2014 6:26 AM in response to simima

Apple's recommendation for sharing a library is a sneaker drive: Use a portable drive and plug it into the mac, where you want to use it: See this document on how to prevent permission issues with this setup:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198

To achieve the same on a NAS create a writable disk image on the NAS and store the library on that disk image. The only complication would be that you ensure that the disk image will be mounted before you are launching Aperture.

This will ensure the correct file system, but still leaves the problem of network access to the database files inside the library. You are risking database corruption and data loss this way, I cannot recommend it.

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Answer 4

simima Author

Level 1

59 points

Apr 21, 2014 9:58 AM in response to léonie

Thanks again Léonie

I have tried to establish a disk image on the NAS, and to copy the library into it... creation of a 50GB disk image took about an hour, and the copying of the 27.2GB Aperture library ... well ... is still copying. It says "about 2 days" to copy. No wonder people complain about performance...

So this does not seem to be a very performant solution. For the time, I guess I keep the unsupported solution that works 99% of the time, and the other 1% only being nuisance, no harm.

Simon

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Answer 5

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,278 points

Apr 21, 2014 12:31 PM in response to simima

For the time, I guess I keep the unsupported solution that works 99% of the time,

You might want to seriously rethink that. Your NAS is essentially a headless computer using (usually) a version of Linux. So you trying to save a complex ecosystem of files created for and by a Mac onto a computer with an entirely different OS and file system structure. And then, doing that over a network share. That article Léonie links to is quite specific:

Storing the Aperture library on a network share can also lead to poor performance, data corruption, or data loss.

So, you're risking not inconvenience, but corruption and data loss. That you've not suffered this up to now is fortunate but it would be unrealistic to expect that good fortune to continue indefinitely.

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Answer 6

Apr 21, 2014 4:41 PM in response to simima

The only appropriate usage of your NAS with Aperture is to back up original image files to the NAS before importing into Aperture. Then put the original image files on directly attached storage. Then use the image files on the directly attached storage as the referenced originals for a Referenced-Originals Library.

As others said, NAS is not supported by Aperture. NAS may work of course - - until it doesn't.

HTH

-Allen

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Answer 7

simima Author

Level 1

59 points

Apr 21, 2014 9:35 PM in response to SierraDragon

Hi all

Thanks all for your helpful comments and inputs. I have invested a few hours of waiting ;-) and have migrated the Aperture library into a dmg, stored on the NAS, mounted locally. So far, works like a charm - thanks Léonie!

... the only thing I'm wondering now is iTunes. I have iTunes lib, media and all the rest stored on the Synology as well, with no problems (after the initial effort of course). Now with what I just did with the Aperture lib, I'm wondering

- why Apple apparently adopts different strategies on storage

- if I should do the same with iTunes?

I'm not sure about pros/cons ans performance issues of the disk image solution...

Slightly off-topic, but would still care about your comments.

Cheers

Simon

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Answer 8

léonie

Level 10

194,653 points

Apr 21, 2014 9:57 PM in response to simima

I'm not sure about pros/cons ans performance issues of the disk image solution...

Slightly off-topic, but would still care about your comments.

Simon,

the iTunes situation is very different. iTunes has been developed for network sharing, while Aperture uses a single user database. For iTunes you can buy ready-made sharing solutions from Apple - Home Sharing, iCloud. but better ask this in iTunes forum, there are quite a few threads: Airport Extreme and External HD to share iTunes library?

-- Léonie

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Answer 9

Yer_Man

Level 10

162,278 points

Apr 21, 2014 10:48 PM in response to simima

I have invested a few hours of waiting ;-) and have migrated the Aperture library into a dmg, stored on the NAS, mounted locally.

Sorry but if I understand you correctly, that makes no sense. The Library is on a DMG and the DMG is stored on the NAS, right? If so, then the DMG cannot be mounted locally, only over a network share...

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