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R/E/P => Mastering Dynamics => Topic started by: jdg on May 08, 2011, 12:50:36 AM

Title: backups
Post by: jdg on May 08, 2011, 12:50:36 AM
not only backups of data and etc, but backup equipment, speakers, drivers, etc...

how crazy do you guys/gals go?

had a buncha dying HDDs last week (right in the middle of an attended session to boot) and wanted to know how far you go to be back up and working ASAP.

this time, i was up in about 30min, but still...

i know with my dunlavy speakers, if i blow one driver, i blow all 4 (since they're all matched)...
so, i dont have 4 spare drivers for mids/bass...

i do have mirrored and bootable drive images for the computers, but dont have spare computers if one of them goes completely TU

outboard equipment spares?
if my crookwood went TU, i'd be toast for a long while.

recently, i had my KVM die on me (mid attended session too)... that was more of a bummer workflow wise then a dead HDD thats for sure
Title: Re: backups
Post by: bleen on May 08, 2011, 12:53:05 AM
I'm not attending any more sessions at your place because the creeping gear death seems to come in the door with me. :o
Title: Re: backups
Post by: PBM on May 08, 2011, 03:41:41 AM
not only backups of data and etc, but backup equipment, speakers, drivers, etc...

My original mastering monitor rig (B&W and Chord amps) migrated to become the domestic hi-fi, so I suppose in a pinch I could cart that back in. I have deliberately kept spare converter capacity because the dCS ADDA are are working fine but old and not easily serviced (I bought a Benchmark and only used it for a while; and I have Crookwood in situ in my console and am about to get some more ) ... Spare DAW by accident as we run Pyramix as well as Sequoia and have SADiE on an LRX if the godz were really pissy and both of those died on the same day.

Regular data back-ups pretty much the same as anyone else I suppose: daily to an external HD, at project completion to a DVD.

I also have four dogs - two each of greyhound and bigger (wolf/deer) hound - not sure which ones are the back-up.

Cheers,

Eric
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on May 08, 2011, 06:43:23 AM
Our LaCie Mac Server went belly up last week. It was not the drives but the controller card that went bad. We were able, with the help of a local computer geek, to get all the information off the drives. The NAS server used LINUX for its OS. The good part was we were still within warranty so the new NAS will cost us nothing. The bad is that our only backup of the sever was over 13 months old. It takes about 15 hours to back up the server if we do a complete back up. I try and back up all our computer and NAS drives every month but I am looking to be able to do this at night every night but have not found any good backup software for the Mac. Any suggestions???? (we use Time Machine for the main disks) thanks in advance...
Title: Re: backups
Post by: bleen on May 08, 2011, 10:30:39 AM
I try and back up all our computer and NAS drives every month but I am looking to be able to do this at night every night but have not found any good backup software for the Mac. Any suggestions???? (we use Time Machine for the main disks) thanks in advance...

Have you tried SuperDuper (http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html)? It will do recursive backups and you can program a schedule for it to run automatically.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Noah Mintz Mastering on May 08, 2011, 11:12:07 AM
My Crookwood went down last week. (Before, I say anymore I tell you that Crispin Fedex'd a new digital board the next day and I was back up and running only a few days later). I was lucky I had kept my monitoring solution from before the Crookwood. Otherwise, I would have been down for a few days.

I think it's wise to have a mirror computer so if it ever goes down you can be back up and running in a few hours.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Allen Corneau on May 08, 2011, 08:29:53 PM
I think it's wise to have a mirror computer so if it ever goes down you can be back up and running in a few hours.

That's a tough one when you're running a $30K Sadie system, but your point is well taken.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: hnewman on May 08, 2011, 09:19:42 PM
if my crookwood went TU, i'd be toast for a long while.

I too keep my old monitoring system stashed in a closet, purely out of fear of this eventuality.  I haven't fired it up in years, it's probably about time for a cold run.   

I have enough backup pieces and spares kicking around to run functionally (not optimally) if any one thing went down.  It wouldn't take much of a perfect storm to wipe out multiple pieces and make us have to close shop to lick our wounds, but so far so good...

<looks skyward, expecting lightning bolt>


Title: Re: backups
Post by: jdg on May 08, 2011, 11:23:10 PM
thanks guys *sound of shitting my pants in fear*
Title: Re: backups
Post by: lowland on May 09, 2011, 03:27:06 AM
I think the least redundant items in my gear inventory are probably analogue compression and the SADiE, but I'm fortunate in that Unity Audio, who've supplied a few bits and pieces including the Chandler compressors, are a handful of miles away, and SADiE (the company) an hour's drive.

So far this has kept me on the straight and narrow, but over time I hope to acquire more backup pieces - the fact that SADiE 6 will run natively could be useful on occasion, for example.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Dave-G on May 09, 2011, 08:37:05 AM
The way my rig is configured, I'm running constant HDD backups and have enough 'gear' that I could survive just about anything going down ... except the monitors.  *sound of McCaig shitting his pants in fear*

Though, a few credit card charges and FedEx ship-time later, that's solved too.

Title: Re: backups
Post by: Thomas W. Bethel on May 09, 2011, 09:53:06 AM
My Crookwood went down last week. (Before, I say anymore I tell you that Crispin Fedex'd a new digital board the next day and I was back up and running only a few days later). I was lucky I had kept my monitoring solution from before the Crookwood. Otherwise, I would have been down for a few days.

I think it's wise to have a mirror computer so if it ever goes down you can be back up and running in a few hours.

Thanks for the heads up!
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Table Of Tone on May 09, 2011, 10:38:09 AM
Spare puters!

Both Mac Pro's N PC's.

Spare boot drives set up ready to go.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: BiigNiick on May 09, 2011, 11:32:58 AM
My Crookwood went down last week. (Before, I say anymore I tell you that Crispin Fedex'd a new digital board the next day and I was back up and running only a few days later). I was lucky I had kept my monitoring solution from before the Crookwood. Otherwise, I would have been down for a few days.

I think it's wise to have a mirror computer so if it ever goes down you can be back up and running in a few hours.

+1 for SuperDuper.  i use it every day.
as far as the computer goes, i keep a clone of the system drive ready to go.  if it fried, downtime could be measured in seconds. . .  also, super duper clones the audio drive every night before i go home.  that way in catastrophic failure, the most work lost is a days work.  after a month or so, we burn DVD backups of everything and keep the cloned HDD.  when they fill up, we get new pairs of audio drives and keep redundancy that way.

we also have 3 or 4 extra computers that could double stand in if needed.  we could pop in the system clones and be listening to music in under 5 mins.

analog gear is similar in both studio A and B, so if hardware was down we could shuffle things around when sessions were not running concurrently.  even then, downtime would be only as long as fedex could ship us new gear or the drive time to a friend's studio that could loan us identical gear. . .

monitors. . . would be the worst problem.  both studio a and b have the older monitor system waiting for such an event to spring into action.  but speakers and amps are heavy and would take longer to move into the mastering rooms from the workshop down the hall. . .

i think we're well covered, or at least over paranoid.  hahaha

 - nick
Title: Re: backups
Post by: 24-96 Mastering on May 09, 2011, 01:17:32 PM

 backup equipment, speakers, drivers, etc...

how crazy do you guys/gals go?

5.1 = 2.5 x 2.0 (+ 0.1)

The one practical benefit of a surround system is that you have spares for stereo ;)
Title: Re: backups
Post by: SafeandSoundMastering on May 09, 2011, 03:02:14 PM
It is a balance that can have you on the edge of madness and paranoia.

I have an entire PC loaded with apps ready to go, full spare system.

I drag and drop my daily projects to a simple external 1TB hard drive, no automated stuff.
I run Acronis True image on my pc's (4x, 2 in operation and 2back ups, one internet and one DAW) and keep all my essential applications on a drive in a folder to load up (my internet pc apps).

I have a spare modem.

If you don't have contingency that is not where professionalism is at.

I have a spare power amp available but do not have spare drivers, I tend not to beat the crap out of my monitors.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: adamgonsa on May 09, 2011, 03:17:44 PM
I have spare HDs, a spare plextor, and do regular backups with Carbon Copy Cloner. 

As far as extra analog outboard goes, I could hobble along until my main pieces got fixed, but it would be a far from ideal situation.  The monitoring going down would be a real problem, as it's hard to listen on headphones over the sound of mine own sobbing. 
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Viitalahde on May 09, 2011, 04:26:02 PM
The one practical benefit of a surround system is that you have spares for stereo ;)

Just today I was wondering what is the point in 5.1 audio. That makes perfect sense to me!
Title: Re: backups
Post by: jdg on May 09, 2011, 05:26:04 PM
Just today I was wondering what is the point in 5.1 audio. That makes perfect sense to me!

exactly, i lol'd, mostly in mono tho.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: SafeandSoundMastering on May 10, 2011, 12:14:23 PM
Oh yes and a USB2.0 Plextor 7xx whatever and a NOS SATA internal one in my new i7 DAW.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Treelady on May 10, 2011, 01:15:57 PM
You have to ask yourself "how many calendar days would it take to repair/replace X if it went down?"  And "How much revenue / client reputation would I loose if X went down?"  And compare it to "What would it cost to have a back up (that I may never use). 

This is a personal decision, as each engineer will have different values in this equation.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering on May 11, 2011, 08:41:40 PM
The "usual" rig is a PC and a Mac (two of each are in the room).  If the HEDD goes down, I have the QII and a couple other conversion options.  A few usable compressors and EQ's any one of which could go in for service without causing too much of an issue. 

The only thing I don't have a "solid" backup for (other than the speakers themselves) is my amplifier. 


And guess what needs service all of a sudden... 


Talked to some trusted ears and ordered an Emotiva XPA2 (or whatever it is) to keep me going while the Pass goes home for a visit. 
Title: Re: backups
Post by: SafeandSoundMastering on May 12, 2011, 07:37:42 AM
That Emotiva seems to be very good value indeed and many good reports. You can't knock it.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering on May 12, 2011, 12:16:22 PM
And of course, now that it's on the way, not the tiniest little crackle from the X250 this morning... 

Well, that's the point of having backups -- Not needing them.
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Table Of Tone on May 12, 2011, 05:21:20 PM
Puters, (Macs N pee Cee's), converters, (Forssell's N Lavry's), outboard, etc.

My macpro just toasted it's graphics card so I threw the Lynx PCIe AES 16 into the (late 2005) G5 N off we go again for playback!

The entire switch took 10 mins! 8)
Title: Re: backups
Post by: Twerk on May 19, 2011, 12:39:17 AM
To be honest, I can barely afford one of anything I own so I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants over here!