LTO compatibility with a Hackintosh

[Ty Harper]

I've seen people extolling the virtues of using LTO drives for long term archival purposes.

But I haven't seen a lot of info on whether it works with Hackintoshes.

I was looking to pick up an HP LTO5 Ultrium 3000 and connecting it to my Hackintosh via an Atto SAS/SATA bus adapter. 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/760459-REG/ATTO_Technology_ESAS_H680_000_ExpressSAS_H680_8_Channel_SAS.html

My motherboard is a ga z97 ud5h and I'm running Mavericks. I've got Windows running on it too so I was going to set it up on that side as well cuz I've heard searching for archived files is much easier via Windows.

I'm going with the LTFS format.

Does all this seem doable?

And are there any other things I should be considering before going ahead with this?

Any constructive insight would be sincerely appreciated. 

 

[Ty Harper]

No one?

[Marco_A]

Ty,

You may have better luck posting your questions on reduser.net - there are numerous LTO users (a must for raw workflow backup and archiving) and a handful of Hackintosh users. 

I gave up on Hackintosh many moons ago due to lack of 3rd party driver support and instability caused by OSX software updates.  I have been using the HP LTO5 drive you are considering on a 2013 Mac Pro with BRU software (http://www.tolisgroup.com/) with great success!  LTFS never worked for me - too slow for large directories and somewhat unreliable.

If I were you, I would start with Windows and explore LTFS and see if it meets your needs.

Best of luck,

Marco

[Ty Harper]

9 hours ago, Marco_A said:

Ty,

You may have better luck posting your questions on reduser.net - there are numerous LTO users (a must for raw workflow backup and archiving) and a handful of Hackintosh users. 

I gave up on Hackintosh many moons ago due to lack of 3rd party driver support and instability caused by OSX software updates.  I have been using the HP LTO5 drive you are considering on a 2013 Mac Pro with BRU software (http://www.tolisgroup.com/) with great success!  LTFS never worked for me - too slow for large directories and somewhat unreliable.

If I were you, I would start with Windows and explore LTFS and see if it meets your needs.

Best of luck,

Marco

Thanks Marco. I definitely know that with a Hackintosh you have pretty limited OSX upgrade options. 

Does the BRU software allow for better access to files as far previewing files on a disc or faster file transfers if you wanted to move a file from LTO disc to a regular hard drive?

[Marco_A]

What was most disconcerting with my Hackintosh experience was lack of stability.  Although I had turned automatic software updates off, the version I was running stopped working with Apples cloud services (iMessages, Backup, ...).  I also experienced way too many crashes and apps that ran on vanilla OSX would not work on the Hackintosh version.  I hope your experience would be far better than mine.

BRU has many features and allows you to perform, full, partial or incremental backups and restores.  It allows you to tune its parameters (buffer sizes, read/write blocks, etc.) to get the best transfer rates out of your controller and LTO drive.  It also has a reasonable UI (not as elegant as Apple's) to navigate volumes and archives.  I have been using it to backup my 12TB RAID and make archival backups of my RED mini-mags after shoots.

BRU is primarily a Mac app (they also support Linux), if I were you, I would ask users on reduser.net or Tolis Group if Hackintosh is supported and viable.  They do offer a free trial for their software - you should try before you buy.

Best,

 

Marco

[Ty Harper]

3 hours ago, Marco_A said:

What was most disconcerting with my Hackintosh experience was lack of stability.  Although I had turned automatic software updates off, the version I was running stopped working with Apples cloud services (iMessages, Backup, ...).  I also experienced way too many crashes and apps that ran on vanilla OSX would not work on the Hackintosh version.  I hope your experience would be far better than mine.

BRU has many features and allows you to perform, full, partial or incremental backups and restores.  It allows you to tune its parameters (buffer sizes, read/write blocks, etc.) to get the best transfer rates out of your controller and LTO drive.  It also has a reasonable UI (not as elegant as Apple's) to navigate volumes and archives.  I have been using it to backup my 12TB RAID and make archival backups of my RED mini-mags after shoots.

BRU is primarily a Mac app (they also support Linux), if I were you, I would ask users on reduser.net or Tolis Group if Hackintosh is supported and viable.  They do offer a free trial for their software - you should try before you buy.

Best,

 

Marco

Yes that would be frustrating. My Hackintosh has no Internet capabilities so that won't be a problem. Honestly the only reason I'm considering going the LTO route right now is a colleague is offering me the HP LTO5 Ultrium 3000 drive for $500. I'm nowhere near the data range that makes LTO a necessary backup option but the buy-in just seems too low to turn down (am I wrong???).

I figure even if it doesn't work on my Hackintosh I can either use it on an older mac desktop I have or just sell the LTO drive.

Thanks for your advice!

[Marco_A]

$500.00 is a good price if the unit is in good working order.  Please make sure it has the latest firmware (HP provides an upgrade tool) otherwise LTFS won't work on OSX.

Marco

[Ty Harper]

1 hour ago, Marco_A said:

$500.00 is a good price if the unit is in good working order.  Please make sure it has the latest firmware (HP provides an upgrade tool) otherwise LTFS won't work on OSX.

Marco

Good call, will check that as well, thanks!