backup/sync drives

I've got two external drives. One I use for my files and the other for backup. I'm looking for a tool to sync those two drives. So when I save, resave, delete, create folders or whatever on the main drive, the second drive is automatically updated to be identical to the first. Perhaps there is such a tool running in the background?

Now I would have to periodically drag the content of drive 1 on to drive 2.

There are a few tools around, I think even Carbon Copy Cloner has an option to schedule backups, it's certainly a very good tool for copying one drive to another.

I've searched some more and as I understand it setting to drives to 'Mirror Raid' through 'Disc Utility' would do exactly what I wanted? So that whatever I do on drive 1, it is done exactly the same in real time on drive 2? Is that correct?

Meanwhile I've succeeded in creating a Raid set and I'm copying the content on the combined drive which appears to copy to both individual drives at the same time (lights on both are flashing). In the Finder I now get to see one drive icon which is set up to mirror both individual drives through Raid.
Is there a way to access/explore the two individual drives anyway through the Finder? Just in case I want to check if indeed both drives contain the same content?

Just to be clear, synchronising data across multiple drives ( ie. RAID ) is NOT a backup solution.... it provides resilience if a single hard drive fails.
All it does is synchronising .... so if you delete or change a file, that is immediately synchronised across all disks.

There is a sticky in the " Switchers hangout " forum on backups, read that when you think about backups.

Cheers ... McBie

Yes, I know. That is also what I was after for now. To have a copy of the main external drive in case that main drive fails for some reason. If I delete or change a file, it's ok for the file to be deleted in the 'backup' drive too (even if it's not really a backup solution).

I now have one 'combined' drive icon in the finder. Can I access the individual drives nevertheless?

Jiggy said:

Yes, I know. That is also what I was after for now. To have a copy of the main external drive in case that main drive fails for some reason. If I delete or change a file, it's ok for the file to be deleted in the 'backup' drive too (even if it's not really a backup solution).

I now have one 'combined' drive icon in the finder. Can I access the individual drives nevertheless?

Click to expand...

OK, just wanting to provide some info to you as in your first post you mentioned a drive for backup purposes.

No you can't access the drives individually they are now one logical unit.

What RAID level did you go for .... I hope it is not RAID 0 ( Zero )

Cheers ... McBie

I don't know, it didn't say anywere. I installed it as a 'mirror raid'. Googling some more on raid-0 I've read that 0 stands for 'striped' and 1 for 'mirror'? Is that correct? Think so: if 'striped' spans it contents among both disc, if one disc fails, that would make drive 2 fail or loose part of drive 1's content too.

As for real backup solutions: I'm still using 10.4.11 at our office. Time Machine is for Leapard. Are there also such tools for our system?

Another thing: in disc utility I have selected the option on the raid set to rebuild the raid mirror automatically. This stays selected while in disc utility. However, when I close and later open disc utility again this option is deselected again. Is this normal? Or does this option remain active when selected and is it just that disc utility assumes that I've removed/attached one or more drives in the mean time and giving me the option to select it again manually in order to rebuild the raid mirror?

I have no experience on OS X 10.4 so please be patient for other members of the forum to read this and provide feedback.

Cheers ... McBie

Has anyone selected 'Automatically Rebuild RAID mirror set' upon setting up a mirror raid in os x 10.4? In that case, does that option remain selected every time you visit Disk Utility? Of whether you select it upon setting up or do that afterwards, does it appear deselected upon visiting Disk Utility anyway?