Defining Archives

[Dale]

After reading the book several times, I'm thinking through what archives I need. Here are the selections I see to choose from. I've tried to use the terms consistently with the book, but if I've missed it, please correct.

Pre-workflow Archives

• Virgin Download - Raw and Sidecar with no adjustments
• Raw - unmodified DNG with lossless rotation applied

Mid-workflow Archives

• Mid-flow - DNG with metadata presets, location/GPS data, and hierarchical keywords but no rendering

Post-workflow Archives

• Working (Original) -- DNG with all metadata entry including rendering
• Derivative - All metadata entry and any non-PIE edits

I see the need for Working and Derivative archives.

I see why Raw archives are advantageous over Virgin Download archives.

However, I keep coming up against two questions:

• Why do I want either a pre-workflow or mid-workflow archive if I have robust backup?
• If I do want one, why do I want a Raw archive rather than a mid-flow archive?

Put another way, what does a pre-workflow or mid-workflow archive give me that a robust 321 backup of the Working and Derivative archives doesn't? The difference in roles between archives and backups is probably not perfectly clear to me.

And, if I do want it, do I really want the tediousness of entering all the non-rendering metadata when I recover all the files--a mid-flow archive eliminates this--or does the use I'd make of it mean I'm more likely to recover only one file at a time?

Dale

[BeckyMalaria]

Hi Dale,

The difference in roles between archives and backups is probably not perfectly clear to me

Yes, I also had this problem until my second read of the book. As the book uses the terms, they are not interchangeable. "Archive" refers to images which have been through ingestion and the Working pipeline and have been moved to their permanent home. After being put in the Archive, the files will not be physically moved again (until you upgrade storage.) It's not a backup. "Archive" is opposed to "Working" files, which are still moving through the Workflow pipeline (getting metadata and ratings added.) When an image has moved through all the steps of the Working pipeline, it moves into the next available bucket in the Archive and isn't in the Workflow pipeline anymore. Thanks to magic cataloging software, the metadata you added remains associated with it.

"Backup" is a duplication of your files so they can be recovered if lost or stolen. You want a Backup of Working files and also Archive files, since that represents your entire inventory of images.

The Virgin Download backup and/or pre-workflow backup is a separate issue. The ingestion moment is a vulnerable one, since the images aren't backed up anywhere yet and you are "touching" them when you do the transfer from the media card. If you want an extra layer of protection as you are downloading from the media card, you can have your ingestion tool do the download to two places -- into your Working folder to start the pipeline, and a Virgin Backup folder somewhere else, ideally on a separate drive in case something goes wrong with your computer holding the Working folder structure.

This is my admittedly newbie understanding of the material. Hopefully a more experienced poster or the author himself will weigh in and correct my mistakes!

Becky

[Dale]

Becky,

As the book uses the terms, they are not interchangeable. "Archive" refers to images which have been through ingestion and the Working pipeline and have been moved to their permanent home. After being put in the Archive, the files will not be physically moved again (until you upgrade storage.) It's not a backup. "Archive" is opposed to "Working" files, which are still moving through the Workflow pipeline (getting metadata and ratings added.) When an image has moved through all the steps of the Working pipeline, it moves into the next available bucket in the Archive and isn't in the Workflow pipeline anymore. Thanks to magic cataloging software, the metadata you added remains associated with it.

"Backup" is a duplication of your files so they can be recovered if lost or stolen. You want a Backup of Working files and also Archive files, since that represents your entire inventory of images.

I think the light bulb just came on. An archive is nothing more than an image in its permanent home. Therefore you only have two archives -- The RAW archives for non-destructively edited images, and the derivative archives for derivative images. in essence any image, original or derivative, appears in only one of three places -- working folder, RAW archive, or derivative archive.

The original camera raw file is backed up, but never archived.

Rereading the book with that in view is enlightening. It also makes thinking about the whole backup process much simpler.

The Virgin Download backup and/or pre-workflow backup is a separate issue. The ingestion moment is a vulnerable one, since the images aren't backed up anywhere yet and you are "touching" them when you do the transfer from the media card. If you want an extra layer of protection as you are downloading from the media card, you can have your ingestion tool do the download to two places -- into your Working folder to start the pipeline, and a Virgin Backup folder somewhere else, ideally on a separate drive in case something goes wrong with your computer holding the Working folder structure.

Thinking about this is much easier now, realizing this is a backup, not an archive.

Thanks for jumping in with just the clarification I needed!

Dale

[BeckyMalaria]

Yes -- that sounds right to me! Glad you had a light bulb moment, this forum has given me a few as well!

Becky

[peterkrogh]

Becky and Dale,
Sounds like you have basically got it.

Workflow, at it's most basic is a path from the camera to a permanent home. The archive is that home.
The backups for archives are more or less permanent, since the file is pretty stable there.

Until the file is archived, it is a working file. That means that it is changing, and needs a backup that reflects the current state of the file.
Working backups are harder to implement, and more expensive as well. (Swapper drives, for instance, mean you need an extra hard drive copy, and you need to move it offsite.)

Peter