FYI - Test Speeds using Carbon Copy Cloner and different External Hard Drives

[IWT]

I've been using Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) for a long time. My iMac runs macOS 11 Big Sur. Over the last few months, I have used different External Hard Drives (EHDs) and timed the first Clone and subsequent incremental Clones. My iMac's Internal SSD has 600GB of data.

These are my results:

WD Spinner - USB-A connection. First Clone = 3hrs 40 mins. Incremental = 40 minutes (APFS)

WD SSD - USB-A connection. First Clone = 1hr 35 mins. Incremental = 27 mins. (USB C/Thunderbolt not available) (APFS)

Samsung T7 - SSD - USB C (Thunderbolt). First Clone = 23 mins. Incremental = 3mins, 20secs (APFS)

These figures will not surprise the many members who have been advocating Ext SSDs with APFS for CCC backups.

The addition of a USB C /Thunderbolt connection makes a significant difference of course, but even with a standard USB A connection, the time saved between the WD Spinner and its SSD counterpart is highly significant.

And the drop in time with the Samsung SSD + USB C/Thunderbolt is nothing short of amazing.

Hope this might be of general interest.

Ian

 

[ferrarr]

Thanks for posting your findings. I'm a believer that a regular backup is not needing of speed. It's only to protect for data loss, and not time sensitive, just ike most regular users require. People who tinker and test, etc. should know better than to not have a bootable backup, which should be on a device as fast as can be afforded.

 

[krs]

I'm a believer that a regular backup is not needing of speed. It's only to protect for data loss, and not time sensitive

I have the same opinion. For me reliability of the backup is the most important factor.
For some reason I think spinners are more reliable than SSDs - however when I do a search on the net it seems reliability between the two technologies is pretty much a wash.
I always run backup over night so time is not a factor for me.

 

[IWT]

I think part of the argument is that, should a bootable backup be required, then speeds of the sort seen in the creation of the Clone would render the bootable BU useable as opposed to the spinners where typing a sentence might take 5 minutes

Ian

 

[Slydude]

That's true. In a bootable clone situation, speed is something of an issue. Most users want to get back up and running as soon as possible.

Even though reliability/ integrity is more important than speed, Many users focus on how quickly the backup is completed. They may not be willing to leave their machines unattended while the backup completes and may not believe us when we say backup while using the computer

 

[krs]

I think part of the argument is that, should a bootable backup be required, then speeds of the sort seen in the creation of the Clone would render the bootable BU useable as opposed to the spinners where typing a sentence might take 5 minutes

Ian

I don't follow in what you are saying.
In what situation would a bootable backup be quickly required?
If it's to boot up from the backup because the main drive failed or behaves flaky it's a bit late to make a bootable backup at that time.

 

[krs]

...........may not believe us when we say backup while using the computer

I always wondered about that - backing up while using the computer.
I would think that there could be a potential problem when for instance one is downloading a file while that file's destination folder the is being backed up or when in the middle of a file update while that file is backed up.
Part of the reason I always back up at night.

 

[Slydude]

I've wondered about that too. I haven't really had issues with that using CCC. Perhaps the reason that I don't have issues is because of the way that I manage the backup process.

1. The initial backup is the longest/most time-consuming, so I generally save that backup for times when I'm either done for the day, or I'll be AFK for a few hours.

I've done numerous incremental backups while using the computer, but I tend not to download or run critical updates during that time.

 

[IWT]

I don't follow in what you are saying.
In what situation would a bootable backup be quickly required?

A fair question. Cloned backups are made in advance. So, you have an up to date cloned BU. Your Mac's HD fails. Dead. You can boot the Mac from the clone and carry on working until a replacement Drive arrives for you to replace on your Mac

Even if the notion of replacing the Mac's HD is a non-starter, you can at least, finish your project, send it off or present it, whatever.

And you can clone it back to the Mac's new HD whether replaced by you or Apple.

Ian

 

[pm-r]

I have the same opinion. For me reliability of the backup is the most important factor.

+1 for another user with the same opinion, especially regarding reliability.

The times are interesting but they never really affected me as my CCC backups work in the background anyway and don't really affect me too much and only take about 15± minutes for under 300 GB of data to either of the two External spinner Drives alternating at least once weekly.



- Patrick
=======

 

[chscag]

The times are important. Here's why:

As Ian pointed out his Samsung T7 completed his backup the fastest. (I use Samsung T5 SSDs which are not as fast as the T7)

Which one of Ian's bootable backups do you suppose will be able to boot up his new iMac the fastest in case he has to use it that way? The WD spinner? The WD SSD? Or the T7 SSD?

It's a no brainer. If Ian had to use that T7 to boot with and use as his main drive in the event it was necessary, he would want speed.

I can't imagine booting my iMac up with any of the spinner drives that I have and then using it as the main drive.

I have actually tested this before while doing beta testing of various macOS betas. I started out using a spinner drive and it was like trying to wade through mud. Later on I beta tested using one of my Samsung T5 drives attached as USB C/TB 3 and that was almost as fast as my internal SSD.

 

[krs]

The times are important. Here's why:

As Ian pointed out his Samsung T7 completed his backup the fastest. (I use Samsung T5 SSDs which are not as fast as the T7)

Which one of Ian's bootable backups do you suppose will be able to boot up his new iMac the fastest in case he has to use it that way? The WD spinner? The WD SSD? Or the T7 SSD?

Well, of course the SSD will boot up faster than the spinner.
But for the times that it is needed is it worth the extra money?
After my main drive fails, I don't really care if the boot time on the backup is one minute or 5 minutes, I'm just happy that I have a bootable backup.
Come to think of it, I can't even remember last time my internal drive failed and I needed the backup. My last few drive failures were the externals and then the electronic part, either the bridge or the on-board drive control. That's probably the reason I'm leery about the reliability of SSDs where the storage is electronic as well.

 

[chscag]

Well, of course the SSD will boot up faster than the spinner.
But for the times that it is needed is it worth the extra money?

Yes it is worth it and prices have come down considerably on fast SSDs. Maybe you've been lucky and haven't suffered from a hard drive crash, or maybe you don't get involved with beta testing. And that's okay.

But as for me, there is no way that I will ever use a spinner drive for making a bootable backup.

Also, don't forget that with Big Sur, Time Machine will by default format a new backup drive APFS even if it is a spinner. APFS very clearly is a format designed specifically for SSDs.

 

[krs]

Yes it is worth it and prices have come down considerably on fast SSDs.

But you live in the Land of Plenty
For us poor Canadians a 2 TB external spinner is typically $70 -$80, for example:
WD 2TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive, Black - WDBYVG0020BBK-WESN : Amazon.ca: Electronics
This typical 2 TB external SSD is over $300.-
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B078T9SZ3K/

I would probably pay a 50% premium for an SSD as a backup drive, not a 400% premium.
For the main drive I bit the bullet since I use that every day.

 

[MarkAllread]

A benefit of a Mac Pro is that it can handle several fast internal drives.

One of the things I do is to keep an internal SATA SSD mirror of my main bootable NVMe SSD.
Before I do any updates or crazy stuff on my main drive, I update the CCC backup to my mirror…only takes a few minutes and great for peace of mind if I boboo. I can be back up (oops, sorry about the pun) and running in no time at all.
Sometimes I don’t even touch the NVMe drive, I just do the updates or experiment on the mirror first.

A spare 480Gb internal SSD is only about $70 Cdn these days.

I also keep an internal 2TB spinner for my TM and an external CCC spinner which could be used as a startup drive in a pinch.

I love my Mac Pros and so far have found no need to go past Mojave.

Belt and braces.

 

[emiron]

Unmentioned in the cost/benefit equation of SSD vs spinner is the quietness of the SSD. My home office is part of my living room where I engage in activities such as listening to music. While Carbon Copy Cloner can be set to back up while I am asleep, Time Machine causes the spinner to make noise throughout the day.

 

[krs]

I'm surprised your spinner is that loud.
I had to test a bunch of old 3.5-inch bare spinners recently and I had to touch them to see if they spun up.

 

[Rod]

I'm also using a Samsung T5 SSD for CCC and my times are comparably to Ian"s. About 23min to create a new clone of my 500GB MBPr internal SSD. This is via USB-A connection to USB-C on the EHD.
The reason why speed is a big advantage for me is because there are currently only two ways to update the Big Sur OS on my clone:
a. Erase the CCC clone and create a new backup of the updated macOS version.
b. Boot from the clone and update from System Preferences > Software Update.
I have tried both.
If I go with method (a) I loose any data in my Safety Net so I now choose (b) because download and instal time is not much longer than "erase and create new" running on an SSD, whereas a HDD would take a long time.
I have also found booting the SSD clone in Safe Mode initially saves a bit of mucking around with dialogue boxes requesting email passwords, extension permissions ect. including the CCC app which inevitably asks if you want to restore your device.