mlu 25 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I have just subscribed to Crashplan, and if it is true that you can request a restore at any time backwards (from the service started of course) and get a backup from that moment, this is really great. But I do not really understand how this can be possible as Evernotes exb file in the database folder is being updated many times every day. My exb file is currently 4.6 GB and growing, and this would mean that every day this file would upload for example 20 time meaning an upload of 92 GB. Such amounts of data cannot be offered at that price, considering that it should be a time machine !?Anyone has a deeper knowledge about how this works? the only explanation I could see is if Crashplan can make incremental backups of only changes in such large files. Link to comment
Level 5* gazumped 11,664 Posted October 10, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 10, 2014 If Crashplan attempts to copy the database while Evernote is open, the resulting copy would be useless anyway - if you're using the application, data would be cached and in transit as the file was copied. I don't use Crashplan and have no special expertise here, but I'd imagine that it copies recently changed closed files that are marked as ready to archive - and Evernote's database won't be in that state until you exit the software. Link to comment
ScottLougheed 1,316 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 CrashPlan has support documentation that covers some of this:http://support.code42.com/CrashPlan/Latest/Backup/Backing_Up_EvernoteCrashplan has pretty robust data de-duplication (below the file level, I think) and really good compression, so it might not need to do the whole exb file in its uncompressed entirety. I've used Crashplan for a long time on Mac with Evernote, but EN on Mac doesn't use a single database file, so unfortunately I have little experience with how it will behave on Windows.However, from experience with other database files, such as my photos databse file (30gb Aperture databse), it is NOT the case that editing one photo triggers a 30gb backup. So CP seems to be pretty efficient with databases. Link to comment
Level 5* s2sailor 2,191 Posted October 10, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 10, 2014 If Crashplan attempts to copy the database while Evernote is open, the resulting copy would be useless anywayI wouldn't assume that at least for Windows 7 or 8 backup programs. Many of them handle open files just fine. I think they use something called VSS that allows shadow copying of files in use. I would be surprised if Crashplan didn't use this as well. I do agree that any active changes occurring during that backup could get missed but should get picked up in a subsequent backup. Link to comment
Level 5* JMichaelTX 4,117 Posted October 10, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 10, 2014 I have just subscribed to Crashplan, and if it is true that you can request a restore at any time backwards (from the service started of course) and get a backup from that moment, this is really great. But I do not really understand how this can be possible as Evernotes exb file in the database folder is being updated many times every day. My exb file is currently 4.6 GB and growing, and this would mean that every day this file would upload for example 20 time meaning an upload of 92 GB. Such amounts of data cannot be offered at that price, considering that it should be a time machine !?Anyone has a deeper knowledge about how this works? the only explanation I could see is if Crashplan can make incremental backups of only changes in such large files. I think you're best off directing this question to CrashPlan directly. Everyone here, including me, is just guessing, and I wouldn't want to bet the reliability of my backups on guesses. In addition to CrashPlan I would also do a local full backup of the Evernote folder, the more frequent the better. I use Mac Time Machine, which does the backup hourly. Having said that, the bigger issue, IMO, is restore. Evernote doesn't really provide for, or allow a true restore.The Evernote process always ends up actually creating NEW Notes with NEW GUID that must be uploaded within your monthly allowance. If your EN DB is > 4GB, then you will have to buy more allowance if you had to recover your entire account. Link to comment
ScottLougheed 1,316 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 I have just subscribed to Crashplan, and if it is true that you can request a restore at any time backwards (from the service started of course) and get a backup from that moment, this is really great. But I do not really understand how this can be possible as Evernotes exb file in the database folder is being updated many times every day. My exb file is currently 4.6 GB and growing, and this would mean that every day this file would upload for example 20 time meaning an upload of 92 GB. Such amounts of data cannot be offered at that price, considering that it should be a time machine !?Anyone has a deeper knowledge about how this works? the only explanation I could see is if Crashplan can make incremental backups of only changes in such large files. I think you're best off directing this question to CrashPlan directly. Everyone here, including me, is just guessing, and I wouldn't want to bet the reliability of my backups on guesses. In addition to CrashPlan I would also do a local full backup of the Evernote folder, the more frequent the better. I use Mac Time Machine, which does the backup hourly. Having said that, the bigger issue, IMO, is restore. Evernote doesn't really provide for, or allow a true restore.The Evernote process always ends up actually creating NEW Notes with NEW GUID that must be uploaded within your monthly allowance. If your EN DB is > 4GB, then you will have to buy more allowance if you had to recover your entire account. As per the CrashPlan support document I linked to, indeed restores are all or nothing. You cannot restore individual notes. This would, indeed, chew through your quota, if it needed to re-up those files. The support document has a table that shows the pros and cons of backing up exported notes and backing up the entire .exb. Link to comment
Level 5* JMichaelTX 4,117 Posted October 10, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 10, 2014 @Scott: Sorry, I forgot that you provided a link to the CrashPlan support document. If reading that doesn't satisfy anyone's concerns, I would still contact CrashPlan, and/or post in their User Discussion Forums Link to comment
ScottLougheed 1,316 Posted October 10, 2014 Share Posted October 10, 2014 Their support is pretty top tier so I'm sure they'll have some useful information! Link to comment
Level 5* JMichaelTX 4,117 Posted October 16, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 16, 2014 Scott is correct, the CrashPlan support is excellent. Even though I don't use or have an account with them, I sent their Support team a question about Evernote backup/restore, and they responded within 2 days, with a very complete answer. My biggest concern about Evernote backup is the restore part. With a local backup system like Mac Time Machine, I can restore just about anything within minutes. But I wondered about the restore process for online systems like CrashPlan.So, I asked them. Here is their response: CrashPlan Restore Time My Question:Hi. I have an Evernote Mac data folder of about 11,000 Notes, that uses about 6GB in storage.How long would it take to do a full restore of this folder?I have a high-speed broadband service of > 40 Mbps. CrashPlan Answer: CrashPlan users can expect to back up about 10 GB of information per day on average if their computer is powered on and not in standby mode. We are a shared service, which means that upload and download speeds depend on the number of users connected at any given point. CrashPlan restores tend to go somewhere between 2 and 5 times as fast, so your 6 GB folder would likely take between 2 and 6 hours. IMO, that's pretty good for an online backup system. 2 hours is certainly a lot longer than it would take my Mac TM, it's still decent, and probably acceptable for most personal (not business) users. But, for me, Mac TM will remain my primary backup system. I might use CrashPlan for catastrophe coverage when my entire house is destroyed, and as a backup to my backup in case my TM external drive crashes. Link to comment
Level 5* JMichaelTX 4,117 Posted October 16, 2014 Level 5* Share Posted October 16, 2014 I have just subscribed to Crashplan, and if it is true that you can request a restore at any time backwards (from the service started of course) and get a backup from that moment, this is really great. But I do not really understand how this can be possible as Evernotes exb file in the database folder is being updated many times every day. My exb file is currently 4.6 GB and growing, and this would mean that every day this file would upload for example 20 time meaning an upload of 92 GB. Such amounts of data cannot be offered at that price, considering that it should be a time machine !?Anyone has a deeper knowledge about how this works? the only explanation I could see is if Crashplan can make incremental backups of only changes in such large files. mlu, I'm not sure that your question was ever answered. As a subscriber to CrashPlan, I'm sure their Support would answer your question.Contact CrashPlan Support: http://support.code42.com/Contact_Us Please post answer here if you do. I'm sure many of us (including me) would love to know the answer. Link to comment
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