Dual Mac setup
 

I’m planning to move from my retired Intel iMac, which had been stuck on High Sierra, to Apple Silicon hardware, whilst routinely covering a minimum of two separate locations, and at least one has to be a MacBook/portable that will not contain my personal data (work laptop). The other might be a Mac Studio, or potentially another MacBook generally in clamshell mode (TBC). Currently, an internal 2TB SSD contains all my Pro Tools data, VIs/samples, etc. The first of the new hardware is a MacBook Pro 16-inch M1 Max (10-core CPU / 32-core GPU / 32GB RAM / 1TB SSD). Notwithstanding the current Pro Tools compatibility situation with Apple Silicon/Monterey, which is beyond my control obviously, I plan to do fresh installs of all apps, plugins, etc. and migrate data from the iMac’s SSD (in an external enclosure) manually, as opposed to Migration Assistant, for example.

Questions/looking for advice on:

(i) Using external SSDs for all the data (including PT), VIs/samples, etc. - nothing too fancy e.g. Samsung T7 2TB drive(s). This setup allows me to simply carry my data with me without necessarily always moving the Mac(s). However, I am concerned regarding performance (understand it should be fine in theory but nothing like actual user experience), encryption (mounting these APFS-formatted drives on different Macs), using the same usernames/passwords (file-locking, etc.) and backups. For example, I assume that Time Machine backups on each Mac (with the external drive(s) connected) would be treated as an independent set? What about performance if using an external boot drive containing my whole system, in effect bypassing the internal drive in the work machine?

(ii) I previusly used Carbon Copy Cloner to create bootable external drives, however understand that in the ‘new world’, this either no longer works or has become quite complex. If just data however, could CCC still be used to update a ‘remote’ drive and sync back on return to ‘base’?

(iii) Alternatively, is there a genuinely reliable way to sync two Macs over the Internet, including data, library files, etc.? I’ve seen the likes of Resilio and understand the usual Cloud syncing options, including iCloud, however these require use of specific folder hierarchies, agents running in the background, etc. when I would have hoped that APFS might have allowed for something specifically for this type of use-case.

Thanks in advance - experience/comments regarding any of the above, or options I’ve not considered, are appreciated!

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

... bump - any advice/recommendations?

Basically, moving from a system where everything is stored on the internal 'Macintosh HD' system drive, to new Apple Silicon Macs, whilst trying to avoid upgrading expensive internal storage.

By using external drives for my PT sessions, large VIs, etc., I'm hoping to add the flexibility to switch easily between 2+ Macs. However, I can foresee various issues (apart from PT e.g. Mail data, backups, etc.) so hoping to better understand how others work with MacBooks, etc. with small internal drives.

It may well be quite straightforward and worrying about nothing! :)

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

With Intel, I used to clone my desktop boot drive to my laptop boot drive about once a month to keep software versions and preferences completely in sync between the two Macs. I haven't tried that yet going from my M1 Mac Studio to my Intel MacBook Pro. A few things that might help as you work out the details:

Chrono Agent
https://www.econtechnologies.com/chr...ronoagent.html

The new Sonnettech NVMe drive:
https://www.sonnettech.com/product/e.../overview.html

And the guru of professional Mac usage:
https://eclecticlight.co

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Many thanks, Nathaniel.

I’m aware of issues with bootable clones going forward according to Mike Bombich (Carbon Copy Cloner) - see below generic information in case it helps adapt your strategy for your M1:

http://https://bombich.com/blog/2021...lving-platform

… and I hadn’t come acress the Eclecticlight site before - very interesting! :)

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Your link doesn't work. Here's the correct one:
https://bombich.com/blog/2021/05/19/...lving-platform

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Folderssychronizer
,

For my systems, SuperDuper for cloning plus incremental clone updates.
FoldersSyncronizer for working volumes-folders.
NVMe - thunderbolt 3, for speedy mobility. Plus Slower media for addition backups.

VPN - Remote Desktop. Off site controlling.

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Thanks DetroitT!

I’ll investigate Folders Synchronizer - haven’t come across it before, however it does appear to address the remote sync issue. Will have to ‘research’ a bit e.g. I assume it uses APFS core/reliable functionality to track changed files, how it handles dropped connections, etc. I would have thought that this was a feature that macOS could have introduced by now, although maybe the potential security issues would make Apple uncomfortable?

Your SuperDuper use is essentially like mine with CCC, however it would be interesting to see if FS can do its thing e.g. to sync a folder named ‘Documents’ within the ‘Home’ directory on a personal Mac Studio, with a remote/mobile ‘Documents’ folder on an external drive (used with my work MacBook, where I prefer not to use the Home folder for personal data) … or if drive names/paths need to match, for example.

And thanks for fixing that link, Jack! Having now read up a bit on this, I figured there will be other CCC and equivalent application users who have learnt to rely on bootable clones, so worth giving this topic some air time. I imagine we’ll soon (?!) be entering the stage when the balance of pros vs. cons in moving from Intel to Apple Silicon starts to shift with a native PT version … eventually … and the impact on existing workflows clearly needs to be considered when making such a change.

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

I haven't followed this thread very closely, I just thought I'd mention that CCC can be used for synchronizing folders very easily, but I guess Righty's aware of that.

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Hi Righty27,
I just escaped a ASPF / NTFS trap by using Dropbox as a folder sharing solution and feeling quite surprised why i just didn't think about it before :confused::D

Re: Dual Mac setup
 

Thanks Andrea - sounds like a workaround ... although I've mostly moved to APFS already. Apart from a few old Firewire drives, I use APFS on all SSDs and also on my latest Time Machine and CCC backup spinning disks. Although this involves some performance pros vs. cons (apparently some cases where HFS might still be relevant), I trusted some expert advice on the matter. It can take some time for all partitions to load/become available (sizes are dynamic - another benefit), however the APFS benefits apparently outweigh the disadvantages in this scenario e.g. CCC application now works with the OS snapshots instead of having to keep track of changes itself.

Thanks Ben ... also just realised that CCC can also sync with a remote Mac (probably a bit too involved for my use-case however) - see https://bombich.com/es/kb/ccc6/using...n-your-network

I've recently posted in another thread as I've whittled down my options and will probably use the Mac Studio's internal SSD for just the System / Library / Applications. Not yet sure if I'll move my Home folder to an external - may leave that on the Macintosh HD also and potentially use iCloud Drive for Documents and Desktop. Therefore, all my Pro Tools sessions, VI samples, Final Cut libraries, Capture One files, photo and video files would go on external drive(s) - probably at least one for 'reference' files and another as a 'scratch' drive e.g. for current FCPX projects. This would involve installing all apps and plugins on both Macs, which is a bit more flexible than booting from a portable external drive that always has to be in the right location.

So, it's mostly now a matter of what external storage to use e.g. https://www.sonnettech.com/product/e.../overview.html with one or two NVME drives 'permanently' hooked-up to the Studio + occasionally syncing current projects to a more portable Samsung T7 Shield, for example. This would be more costly than e.g. getting the Studio with 2TB, so still contemplating whether to wait longer for a CTO Studio? Other than that, my main concern is that the 512GB internal drive on the base Studio Max will be insufficient even for the above setup! Decisions ... decisions ... :)