File Based Workflow

Your file based workflow has many advantages compared to traditional film and slides. All your images usually stay on the media of your choice, like hard disk, CD, DVD or data tapes. Most of the time, they reside on a hard disk for fast access. This, however, brings the risk of accidentally deleting files. Drives can also be affected by file system corruption, malware, viruses and hardware failure. As a result, managing your data is necessary to safeguard it.

1st Step: Backup

Backing up data means duplicating them. This reduces the risk of hardware failure tremendously. Most of the above mentioned risks are still present if you use a hard disk that is continuously on and connected to your computer. If one disk gets affected, then the backup disk will most likely be affected as well. The easiest solution is to have a backup disk that gets turned on and connected only at certain intervals in order to receive new data.

Automating the backup helps to reduce the risk even further. You could connect a backup drive in the evening and have it automatically filled with changed data that accumulated over the day. This is called an incremental backup. It reduces the amount of data necessary to be copied. When working on very large images, high resolutions or RAW files, time for copying can also be an issue. Depending on the value that you attribute to your files, writing to two devices or to two media establishes a professional level of security.

PresSTORE Backup lets you automatically backup your changed files to two hard disks at once. If you lose a file, the software lets you easily browse or search for it and restore it from your web browser.

2nd Step: Going off-site

Professional security needs to address the risks that arise from external threats like water, fire, theft, lightning and other disasters. If you keep all your eggs in one basket i.e. original data and backup in the same room, chances are they will both be affected in case of disaster. Taking one data set off-site is therefore a necessity.
Whether you choose to take the backup from the studio to your home or someplace else is up to you. Just develop a routine in doing so.

3rd Step: Archive

Every photographer that started with traditional film and slides has his individual archiving experiences. It has always been necessary to move pictures from your desk into some kind of archive. You needed to free up space on your desk and it would sometimes be a long time until you used the same pictures again. The same goes for data. This time it is not the space on your desk but the space on the local hard drives that gets filled up. Space needs to be cleared up to make room for new projects.

Archiving data is the process of moving (or migrating) data from your workstation to another device or media. Deleting the archived files frees up space and completes the process. In order to keep the level of security that you established through backing up, you need to duplicate the archive. Files will no longer be backed up since you deleted them on the workstation. The archived version will be the only copy. The result is that you want to "duplicate" your archive.

In PresSTORE Archive this is done by cloning the storage pool the archive is written to. Storing one version of the archive off-site gives you a professional level of security. There is no archive option within a solution like Aperture.

Using both PresSTORE Backup and Archive gives you maximum security with flexible access through the browser.

Your archive needs to be a flexible tool that allows you to visually browse and search. Using filenames, archiving dates or meta data information will let you retrieve the specific files needed. Having access through the browser gives you additional flexibility and even the option of offering parts of the archive to clients over the web.

Internal vs. external Backup Solutions

Apples Aperture and Adobes Lightroom offer some level of backup. These solution, however, bring some limitations with them. Aperture’s Backup is very easy to handle and can save the day if Aperture is your main tool. There are some things to consider though. If you delete a file in Aperture from within the application, it gets deleted from the (internal) backup as well. Also, referenced masters are not saved with the backup. In contrast, PresSTORE Backup just adds files during incremental backups. So all files, even deleted ones are accessible for restore. Additionally, you have to manually start a backup to a vault in Aperture. PresSTORE Backup takes this task off your mind and runs scheduled backups according to your chosen times.

Long-term Workflow Considerations for Photographers

Backup ...everything!

Saved image files probably represent your most valuable assets. But everyone who has seen a machine go down knows that your pictures are only part of your assets. They also include: The operating system, the applications and most importantly their settings, as well as preference files. Over time you configure your favorite programs, add plug-ins and scripts, actions, filters, brushes etc. It takes a long time to rebuild all of that if you forget to save it. This is where a professional backup solution like PresSTORE saves the day because it takes care of your images AND your other data. It keeps track of changes in any area, collects the files and stores them for you. Of course all the other business related content is there, too: Spreadsheets for taxes, office documents or addresses. Your business consists of files, many files. Keeping them safe should be your concern in any case.

Access to your Archive

Most photographers use multiple tools to catalog and edit their images. ALL the created files should be accessible by different applications. A file oriented solution is therefore the most flexible way to ensure access. PresSTORE is available through the browser. You use it to configure all processes, run backup and archive jobs, monitor them, browse and search for files and restore them. You can do all of that from any workstation in the network or even through the internet. The flexible filter features allow you to create a drop folder for archiving. Including or excluding files by name, date, extension, or other criteria offers additional possibilities for adaptation to your workflow.

An archive is meant to grow with your body of work. It contains all final versions and all material that you choose to store for the long term. But archiving also means not knowing what size your archive will grow to in a few years. Multiple drives might be needed to hold all your files. Still access needs to be as flexible and easy as possible. PresSTORE Archive maintains (by default) one archive index that keeps track of all files in the archive. Here you can search and browse all media, even if the storage device they are on might not be available right now.

How to pick the right Storage Media

Hard disks are ubiquitous, fast and cheap. But there are other choices. Optical media like CD-R and DVD are used regularly. There are several problems with them: Long-term storage, capacity and transfer speed. Compared to today’s hard disks, the capacity of a DVD or even a blue-ray disk is ridiculously small. You need loads of them to archive even a single 1TB drive. After storing them for over one year you will discover that some of them already lost your data. They are not readable anymore. Even when trying to compensate this by only using high quality media, storage limitation and slow writing/reading will remain an issue.

Hard disks on the other hand seem tremendously favorable and the moderate prices make a useful choice. If you disconnect them and store them safely, dry and (not too) cool, chances are they will last you for a while. Still they might not startup the next time you connect them. Choosing two drives from different manufacturers (of the hard disk itself!) reduces this risk. Life expectancy of this type of media ranges from 2-5 years.

There is a solution that has been around for a while and has matured to a considerable level of efficiency and accuracy at the same time - tape. We are talking data tape of course by the name of LTO (there are other tapes but none as reliable and professional). Secured by multiple mechanisms ranging from pre-recorded servo tracks to checksums preventing data loss, to extreme long-term certification of up to 30(!) years, this is the medium of choice for a professional archive. In a very compact tape cartridge you can get from 400GB to 1600GB, making off-site storage really easy. Reading and writing speeds are faster than your local hard drive (80-200MB/s). The only catch to it: Many hesitate to use tape because of its initial cost. But this is only part of the story.

By installing a tape-based archive you save investment in ever growing hard disk storage, administration and infrastructure (how many drives can you connect to your machine?). In the long run, tapes pay off because they give you professional scalability (it grows almost endlessly) and proven durability at an unbeatable price per GB. And: PresSTORE will even help to keep your tapes organized.

Dr. Batschkus is a medical informatics specialist and author with more than 18 years of experience in media production and Mac OS. http://www.archiware.com/photography