Time Machine Backup Stability on the MyBook Live Duo?

[philharve]

Hi Chaos311

Answers to your questions ...

-  Snow Leopard (10.6.8) running on an early 2006 MBP. I also have a i7 MBP which is running Lion. I have not tested backing up the i7 with TM onto the NAS, yet. 

- Yes, I had not stored anything on it because I wanted RAID 1 configuration at the outset.

- the most difficult question last ... I don't think so! Let me explain ... my first TM backup was 420GB and it started out OK. After 5 days it had reached 485GB at which point I stopped the backup because I was not expecting this outcome. I have successfully backed up to directly-connected USB and Firewire drives dozens of times without a hint of a problem but this is my first attempt at backing up over a network. I have used Carbon Copy Cloner to create bootable drives, again without problem. But my first venture into using a NAS is ... underwhelming.

'Over estimating the backup size' ... hmm ... yes, I agree that appears to be what has happened to me BUT what would have happened if I had decided to let the backup continue? Would it pass 500GB, 600GB or completely fill all 3TB? I could be waiting weeks for an outcome. I decided life was too short and aborted the backup which I have since deleted.

Yes, I know about the backing up efficiency of small files versus large files; the large files back up faster. I have witnessed this happening.

An update comming ... ? I can't wait!

[Chaos311]

Phil,

Sorry it took me so long to respond. Got busy over the weekend. 

Yes, mine does show the time / date of the backups. I was thinking, perhaps your does not because be backup never completed. 

Not being able to see your problem myself, I don't know what to tell you right now. I will keep watching and think about it. Hopefully someone else will pick up this post with more information.

[philharve]

Hi Chaos311

I cannot fault you logic. It is undeniably true that I have not seen a Time Manager backup complete normally. However, when I tried to backup the 420GB on my MacBook Pro, the backing up continued beyond 420GB and I stopped it a 485GB because I thought something had gone seriously wrong. I deleted that backup and I've started backing up again. I am now wondering if my previous action was premature. Should I leave the current backup continue? Upon reflection it maybe my only course of acton just to see what happens next. However, it all takes time.

Another problem, echoed elsewhere, is the very slow backing up which rarely exceeds 5Mbps. Consequently, a backup will take many days to complete.

I have started a thread of my own where I mention these points and since writing to you I have submitted a service request to WD Support. I am hoping they will provide an answer.

I do not recall if I have mentioned that my domestic network comprises an N-type wireless setup using a Billion Bipac 7800N router with gigabit Ethernet ports. It is my belief that with this configuration I should be experiencing backups in the tens of Mbps, not single figures. I may now remove the wireless element and cable my MBP to the router. Will this configuration backup faster?

I cannot fault the WD User Interface / Dashboard which behaves as it should.

I am sure I will find a solution eventually but I was hoping my MBLD 6TB would work 'out of the box'. However, I seem to be experiencing teething problems. 

[philharve]

UPDATE

WD Support  replied: ...  they recommended a hardware reset by sticking a pin into the hole at the rear of the MBLD. I have done this but there is no improvement in backup performance. I will let the backup continue and see what happens next.

I have also tried using a more powerful wireless adapter with my MBP - a QuickerTek ExpressCard34 - in place of my Airport card. Backing up performance actually increased between 3x and 4x which seems to indicate I may have a wireless issue. Maybe I won't achieve maximum performance until I cable up to my router which would be very inconvenient? I don't want trailing cables around my home so I have ordered a long range USB wireless adapter from Alpha. That should do the trick.

[Chaos311]

Thanks for the update Phil. It is great to hear that at least part of your problem is working better. It is a good little bit of information for me too.

I am surprised they had you press the reset button. From the manual, it appears to only reset the password and network settings, and so should not have made any difference (which is consistant with your results).

I hope you are able to make it all work.

[philharve]

Hi Chaos311

Since we last corresponded I switched to using a wireless adapter from Alfa and it increased the wireless performance to 8MBps which when you think about it is actually quite fast. I have also tried a CAT6 cable instead of wireless and the backup performance peaked at 23MBps which is perfectly adequate for my needs. However, I want wireless operation so cables are out. The Alfa is a 2000mW adapter and has high power and sensitivity. There are several walls between me and the router but using the Alfa I get 100% signal and 100% quality. Yet it is still not as good as an Ethernet cable which is an interesting result.

My temporary substitution has proved one thing, the backing up problem is still present so I guess I can rule out wireless being the cause of the TM backing up problem. I now know I can backup faster using the Alfa and CAT 6 cable if I wish.

I went back to WD Support and provided them with an update. I now have around 430GB to backup using TM but my backup has now reached 765GB and still going!!!  WD Support's advice is to let the backup continue and report back to them what happens. Will the backup continue until it fills the whole 3TB? I would love to know what it is that's being backed up.

I have noticed something else (I think). Before I converted to RAID 1 I wasn't aware of any comms problem with the NAS. Now, everytime I launch the WD Dashboard I am getting the warning 'Network link down, the network link is down or has become intermittent, Please check your network connection.' I always close the warning window rather than suppress it which is the other option. But in using the WD Dashboard I have yet to encounter any problems with it. The WD Dashboard and NAS apparently communicate just fine. If there was any 'intermittency' I feel sure I would sense it. Is the warning an accurate reflection of a communication problem or is it false and possibly related to my backing up problem?

I have also successfully shutdown the NAS via the WD Dashboard and performed a reboot using the reset button on the NAS and monitored the lights front and back before, during and after the reboot. Everything is normal.

I am wondering if something unexpected happened when I converted from RAID 0 to RAID 1. Something that even WD is unaware of  - a bug in the firmware!

I am coming around to the view that I might go back to RAID 0 (factory default) and repeat my tests. I cannot put my finger on the problem but the NAS is the only new component in the LAN and the problem manifest with its installation.