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Recommended Interface for cloning drive

Powermange

Powermange

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 1, 2013
30
5
Sweden
Hi! Im looking to get an external drive to backup a system clone to, using Carbon Copy. (RAID 0:ing the system SSD's on an Apricorn velocity duo, so this is a precaution). I want the drive to be able to boot the system after a crash! Is this posible using FW or USB? Both?

My 4.1 (5.1) has USB 3 via extension card. But I read it will eject if/when system sleep so would FW800 be a better option? Can FW disk sleep wake without issues?

How is performance running backup? I think FW does this well?

Thinking of getting Lacie rugged mini.

Thanks for inputs!
 
You can't boot from anything via the USB 3 card.

Both FW and the native USB 2 ports are OK, but I don't think you want the USB 2 speed. So, FW is the better option.
 
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You might add a eSATA port to your Mac Pro to get maximum speed, stability, and boot ability. You could either add a cheap eSATA card if you have a slot, or swap your USB 3.0 card for one that has both USB 3.0 and eSATA, or you could remote one of the motherboard (optical bay) SATA connectors to the rear panel with a eSATA extension bracket cable (OWC used to sell these for older MacPros with dual connectors on them). Then, of course, you would use a eSATA capable enclosure to house the disk of your choice.

I use this method with a OWC Qx2 4 bay enclosure running in the JBOD mode. I use CCC to make a bootable clone of the 1TB SSD internal drive, and use the remaining 3 drives in SoftRAID-5 for Time Machine backup of all the internal drives. This enclosure also has USB 3.0 available, but I found it too frustrating to use, so switched back to eSATA interface.
 
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Powermange said:
Hi! Im looking to get an external drive to backup a system clone to, using Carbon Copy. (RAID 0:ing the system SSD's on an Apricorn velocity duo, so this is a precaution). I want the drive to be able to boot the system after a crash! Is this posible using FW or USB? Both?

My 4.1 (5.1) has USB 3 via extension card. But I read it will eject if/when system sleep so would FW800 be a better option? Can FW disk sleep wake without issues?

How is performance running backup? I think FW does this well?

Thinking of getting Lacie rugged mini.

Thanks for inputs!
Click to expand...
I am using a USB 3.0 card for periodic CC Clones. I know, if I have to emergency boot, it would be plugged to USB 2, but luckily this is not a common occurrence. I also have an additional internal minimal Yosemite partition. It makes fixing stuff easier than the repair partition. It also doubles as Beta partition currently running El Capitan.

I use Jettison to manage drive plugging behavior on Sleep and Boot.
 
A combined USB 3.0 / eSATA:

CalDigit FASTA-6GU3 Pro eSATA 6G and USB 3.0 Combo Card for Mac/PC https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00IFHXIAY/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_XESUvbCE85ZGJ

i.c.w

ICY BOX IB-RD3252-U3SE2 Double RAID Hard Drive Enclosure for PC and Mac / For 2x 3.5-Inch SATA Hard Drives https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00F2TFMPM/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_MFSUvbZVR9AVV

IN RAID 1 were my choises!

Speed whilst making a clone with CCC and fast rebooting when needed!

If CCC is your choise please CHECK the clone for reboot capability and restore a backup to a spare disk now-and-then to be sure your fail safe is working properly!

Good luck choosing for your needs and likings, don't forget to question the bang for the bucks!

Cheers
 
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Always have loved eSATA and USB 3.0 as my backup solutions. Personally, my clone drive for system and store is on a G-Tech G-DRIVE. Used FireWire 800 when I had my laptop/Mac Pro and use eSATA now (it's an old drive, doesn't have USB 3.0) but it works very well and is swift and easy with CCC.
 
Gwendolini said:
You can boot from the full OS backup, do your work while the backup is cloning itself back to the original. Hardly any downtime.
Click to expand...

This, primarily. My main workstation is in fact a hack, so when I'm updating it requires a bit of tinkering to get fully up and running - recovery partition works fine, but if I mess something up royally, I'd prefer to just have the system on a spare drive before I messed it up.
 
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