Core - Incremental Backup

What are you backing up to, NAS or USB HDD? Rich. 

I've just checked my Core backup. Here goes; like you it asks to create new backup which I accepted. I then found I could navigate to my old backup location. It then did an incremental backup without asking, took a few seconds because there was only 3 files to update. Hope this helps. Rich 

There is a firmware bug with the Core which sometimes won't recognise an existing backup. The way to sort this is to power cycle the Core (so power off completely, not just wake it up) and then try the backup again. This time it should find your existing backup and then when you do the backup it will be incremental.

best

David

Rich 1 posted:

I've just checked my Core backup. Here goes; like you it asks to create new backup which I accepted. I then found I could navigate to my old backup location. It then did an incremental backup without asking, took a few seconds because there was only 3 files to update. Hope this helps. Rich 

I think it only works like this if it's a NAS you are backing up to? But if it's a USB HDD then it wants to format the disc before it will do a new backup. That's why I suspect a restart of the Core is needed. This worked for me recently and I gave same advice to another forum member a few days ago and it worked for him too. Naim told me they have replicated the issue and are looking for a fix for a future firmware update.

best

David

Hi David, I must be lucky because I have double backup, NAS and HDD and touch wood apart from an issue in creating the very first NAS backup, both HDD & NAS work very well in incremental backup. I suppose that there's so many different permutations of equipment especially concerning the Android app that issues will arise that will effect some but not all. Rich 

Hi Rich

It worked fine for me the first few times too, but the third incremental backup I ran into the problem I described. I'm sure if it always failed then it would have been noticed by the development team or by users before this; it's the things that sometimes happen that are hardest for them to weed out, which is partly what beta testing is about of course. Anyway hopefully Jas will tell us what he/she found.

best

David

Everyone

Thanks for the input.  Just to clarify i am backing up directly to a drive I connect to the Core.  There is no NAS.  Data is stored inside the Core drive (8TB Drive with now about 6.6TB loaded) and I simply attach another drive (8TB Powered) to the USB on the rear of the Core.

I guess what I need to try is to power down the Core and restart.  Maybe i have the firmware bug issue.  When I try to backup with the backup already attached it wants me to configure a new drive (which presumably would wipe out the backup that took 3 days to do...no thanks).  It sees the backup...but doesn't seem to offer an incremental option.  That strikes me as a big problem...I would imagine that some or maybe even many of Naim's customers - being deeply into music - would have large collections.

The other possibility is just give up on the Core Backup system and just do it from my Mac over the network.  That would give me full control.  I have been doing that for the "Music" folder which is the one where most of the change is happening.  Problem is going over the network is even slower than directly to Core...I would have to do it in pieces (maybe 0.5TB at a time) or else the 3 days it took direct might end up literally being a week or more.  Just crazy.

Jas

Jas

Try restarting the Core like I said. It will probably solve the problem for you (and it takes only one minute to do).

best

David

jverlen posted:

...  Problem is going over the network is even slower than directly to Core...I would have to do it in pieces (maybe 0.5TB at a time) or else the 3 days it took direct might end up literally being a week or more.  Just crazy.

Jas

It is indeed crazy if you consider that, under Linux, rsync has been used used since more than 20 years. It is extremely flexible and reliable and can be used, among others, to make incremental backups of very large drives. It seems that Naim are not up to the task when it comes to applying well established tools. Just connect the backup drive to a networked computer that sees the Core's internal drive and use rsync (or OS X tools that rely on rsync) on that computer. The workaround requires file transfer over the network and but it will give you full control and, most importantly a safe backup!       

Can the Core be used while it is being backed up?

docmark posted:

Can the Core be used while it is being backed up?

Yes. It has plenty of spare computing capacity and it allows multiple simultaneous readings of the same files because it can simultaneously serve music to different streamers, that music being the same or different.

best

David