Author Topic: Bvckup 2 is in open beta ! (Read 101199 times)

TaoPhoenix · « **Reply #50 on:** December 11, 2013, 08:01 AM »

Is there a way to exclude, say, files larger than 10 MB? I can only make rules for name and attributes I think.

I'm not sure. I can think of use cases where Media files of a category can easily be hundreds of files, all over 10 megs. For example, European orchestral hard rock music would do it! Or maybe certain resource files.

-apankrat (November 18, 2013, 01:57 AM)

Armando · « **Reply #51 on:** December 13, 2013, 12:19 PM »

Everything works as expected here. Thanks!

A couple things (haven't got the time to delve into other details yet): :

1- When setting the paths in "Backup From" and "Backup To", the browse button picks the last opened path. So if, presumably, the last picked path was for "Backup To", setting up Backup From" for another profile will point to the last "Backup To" path.

This could lead to (serious) mistakes if the user just cloned a backup profile with the idea of just slightly modifying a few parameters (like the source and destination) and if the paths are somewhat similar.

IMO, the path for source and destination should be stored/memorized separately by Bvckup.

2- Some kind of "simulated run" option with a log showing what would be done is often useful. Most backup solutions have that feature and I always use it to make sure all is fine. Even if a backup is only a backup, destroying 4TB of data because of a slight mistake could be time consuming.

apankrat · « **Reply #52 on:** December 13, 2013, 12:27 PM »

Everything works as expected here. Thanks!
-Armando (December 13, 2013, 12:19 PM)

Awesome. How's your copying and updating speeds? :)

A couple things (haven't got the time to delve into other details yet): :

1- When setting the paths in "Backup From" and "Backup To", the browse button picks the last opened path. So if, presumably, the last picked path was for "Backup To", setting up Backup From" for another profile will point to the last "Backup To" path.

Aye, thanks. It is meant to start with an already selected folder or start at My Computer level. I fixed this a couple of days ago (another person noticed it). Some sort of obscure COM hiccup, doesn't happen often, but it always happens against everything that's written in the documentation. Go figure.

(edit) I should get the update out tomorrow or on Sunday.

2- Some kind of "simulated run" option with a log showing what would be done is often useful. Most backup solutions have that feature and I always use it to make sure all is fine. Even if a backup is only a backup, destroying 4TB of data because of a slight mistake could be time consuming.

OK, that's actually very easy to do. There's a formal planning module that compiles a backup plan, so a dry run would be just a matter of dumping that plan without executing it. The question is in which format should it be dumped - any thoughts on this?

apankrat · « **Reply #53 on:** December 13, 2013, 12:31 PM »

I am using the current beta and find it very good. I only want copies of files; not compressed files, so I have very easy retrieval. I use 2 type of backup; one is instantaneous to a second hard drive in the PC and second to a USB connected drive. This gives "instant" backup as well as a weekly snapshot.
-Chris (December 11, 2013, 01:51 AM)

Thanks, Chris. Glad to hear this.

The one feature that is missing BUT is promised is some form of version control. This will greatly improve the program for me.

Yep, I want to add it, but I want to do it right and that takes time.

Armando · « **Reply #54 on:** December 13, 2013, 01:17 PM »

Awesome. How's your copying and updating speeds?
-apankrat (December 13, 2013, 12:27 PM)

I don't have any stats -- yet. However, I tested it across a network (where delta copying will be most useful) and I can say it's fast. I also tested it on USB 3 external hard drive, and it's also fast. Perceptibly faster than what I currently use.

For now I plan on using Bvckup to keep a music collection (stored on a server) constantly updated. Will see if I should eventually use it for other purposes. Probably, since I like speedy backups.

Armando · « **Reply #55 on:** December 13, 2013, 01:21 PM »

OK, that's actually very easy to do. There's a formal planning module that compiles a backup plan, so a dry run would be just a matter of dumping that plan without executing it. The question is in which format should it be dumped - any thoughts on this?
-apankrat (December 13, 2013, 12:27 PM)

Thanks.
I'm not sure I understand your question. Like HTML vs plain text vs xyz ? Or how many details should it show (all operations vs summary) ?

apankrat · « **Reply #56 on:** December 13, 2013, 01:24 PM »

I'm not sure I understand your question. Like HTML vs plain text vs xyz ? Or how many details should it show (all operations vs summary) ?
-Armando (December 13, 2013, 01:21 PM)

Ah, no. What I can do is have it list all steps, just as it does in the log during the normal run.
Or, I can do something fancier, like display how a file tree of the destination would look after the run.

Armando · « **Reply #57 on:** December 13, 2013, 02:02 PM »

Ah, no. What I can do is have it list all steps, just as it does in the log during the normal run.
-apankrat (December 13, 2013, 01:24 PM)

This seems fine to me.

Second option sounds good to, but is it worth the trouble? Maybe -- can't really say.

apankrat · « **Reply #58 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:14 AM »

Beta 60 is out.

Took me a couple of months to rework the logging module, but the net effect is that now the memory usage during backups is flat. I tested it against a 1.5 million file backup and it kept within about 300 Megs.

[attachimg=#1][/attachimg]

--

This reduction was achieved by keeping logs almost entirely off the memory. This sounds damn trivial until you remember that Bvckup logs are hierarchical and as such their arbitrary parts can be collapsed and expanded at will. Then think of what happens when there's a million-item log and a well-caffeinated user starts dragging scroll bar thumb up and down, up and down. The log viewer needs to compile the list of relevant visible items almost instantly, which is easy enough if you pre-compute the visibility list. However, the visibility list changes with every node expansion and collapse, so any pre-computation has to be done nearly instantly as well. Now, stir in a million-item log into the mix and you are looking at a data structure that simply does NOT exist :)

If I were in SV, I could've probably built a small, but loud and cocky startup around this log viewer. Got myself an .io domain, bootstrap'ed website, a viral sign-up form and market it as a service, got acquired by Twotter or another and then teach people how Knuth is not quite up to speed with modern computer science anymore. But I'm not in SV, so I won't do that.

--

In any case, other things in this release include monitoring of network locations (appearing/disappearing), few bug fixes, few UI improvements (see screenshots over here).

If you use the app, update. If you don't, you should give it a try, it's really quite awesome :)

Jibz · « **Reply #59 on:** February 18, 2014, 04:52 AM »

Nice

.

The only thing I can point my finger at is the flickering of the progress text while it is updating.

apankrat · « **Reply #60 on:** February 18, 2014, 06:21 AM »

the flickering of the progress text
-Jibz (February 18, 2014, 04:52 AM)

Hmm, do elaborate. What is flickering exactly?

Jibz · « **Reply #61 on:** February 18, 2014, 09:43 AM »

the flickering of the progress text
-Jibz (February 18, 2014, 04:52 AM)

Hmm, do elaborate. What is flickering exactly?
-apankrat (February 18, 2014, 06:21 AM)

In the update dialog, after pressing update, there is a line that shows progress while downloading, saving and verifying the package. This line of text flickers like it is being erased and then redrawn each time it updates. When it gets to applying the update, the rest of it is smooth.

I've repeated downgrading to beta 52 and upgrading to beta 60 a couple of times and it's consistent.

apankrat · « **Reply #62 on:** February 18, 2014, 09:47 AM »

Aye, thanks. I thought I fixed this ... :-/

apankrat · « **Reply #63 on:** February 18, 2014, 05:17 PM »

Should be fixed now, in Beta 61.

KirovAir · « **Reply #64 on:** February 19, 2014, 03:40 PM »

Should be fixed now, in Beta 61.
-apankrat (February 18, 2014, 05:17 PM)

I just wanted to say I just picked up your program and this probably the best gem I've found on the internet. Incredible UI and exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for developing and keep it up.

Just one question: When released, do I need to buy a license for every computer I want to backup? Currently Beta testing with a family of 5.

Armando · « **Reply #65 on:** February 20, 2014, 11:01 AM »

>I tested it against a 1.5 million file backup and it kept within about 300 Megs.

Amazing improvement. Congrats!
Here, the app keeps my desktop and server "in sync", fast, reliably and unobtrusively. Update went without a hitch.

apankrat · « **Reply #66 on:** February 21, 2014, 03:21 AM »

I just wanted to say I just picked up your program and this probably the best gem I've found on the internet. Incredible UI and exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for developing and keep it up. :)
Just one question: When released, do I need to buy a license for every computer I want to backup? Currently Beta testing with a family of 5. :P
-KirovAir (February 19, 2014, 03:40 PM)

Thanks, really happy to hear all of that :)

It is licensed per seat, correct, however there are progressive volume discounts - it keeps track how many licenses one has bought so far and discounts the next one appropriately (so the total amount paid wouldn't depend on whether you get 2 now and 3 later or all 5 at once).

>I tested it against a 1.5 million file backup and it kept within about 300 Megs.

Amazing improvement. Congrats!
Here, the app keeps my desktop and server "in sync", fast, reliably and unobtrusively. Update went without a hitch.
:Thmbsup:
-Armando (February 20, 2014, 11:01 AM)

Aye. I am running out of things to fix, damn it :)

apankrat · « **Reply #67 on:** March 24, 2014, 06:23 AM »

Bump.

I just released Beta 65, which is a the release candidate for the production version.

All in all, I'd say this was a damn good beta -

11 months in total, 5 - in public beta
65 releases
140,000 lines of code
700 git commits
300+ forum threads
1000+ support emails
Over 10K downloads

If you are using betas and planning to moving to the production release, make sure to grab a beta license in the next few days. This will be your 50% off coupon for the license.

And if you haven't checked Bvckup 2 out yet, now might be a very good time to do so - http://bvckup2.com ;)

PS. As I must've mentioned before, for those not wanting to update to the production version, the latest beta will remain perpetually available and I am planning to back-port critical fixes to it.

Jibz · « **Reply #68 on:** March 24, 2014, 07:09 AM »

Just to let you know, I updated from beta 64 to 65, and the flickering seems to be fixed now

.

apankrat · « **Reply #69 on:** May 14, 2014, 04:52 AM »

Bump.

Just released the final beta. Next release is a production version.

http://bvckup2.com/beta/#!/topic/356

PS. Do things take 10x longer than planned with you guys too or am I the odd one out? Damn. I thought I could get it completed in 2-3 months, but it's closing in on 2 years now.

Armando · « **Reply #70 on:** May 14, 2014, 07:49 AM »

"10x longer" is approximately right in my case...

tomos · « **Reply #71 on:** May 14, 2014, 09:10 AM »

PS. Do things take 10x longer than planned with you guys too...
-apankrat (May 14, 2014, 04:52 AM)

yes (oh the joys of self-employment) $:-\$

Jibz · « **Reply #72 on:** May 19, 2014, 08:09 AM »

Congratulations

.

apankrat · « **Reply #73 on:** May 19, 2014, 09:28 AM »

Thanks. I am now torn between attending to a keg of beer and a much neglected exercise equipment :)

Joe Hone · « **Reply #74 on:** May 20, 2014, 09:59 PM »

Alex should start an announcement thread or something, but I've been beta testing for the past year and this is simply an excellent program. And for you coders who might not have been aware of the beta process, visit the bvckup forum (https://bvckup2.com/ - click on the support tab) for some enlightening reading. This was an input intensive development and I think the program is that much stronger because of it. Bvckup2 has been error free for me since early into the beta cycling, although others have had issues that have been addressed. I currently backup three hard drives daily - if I told you I'm an attorney you'd understand.

I also have a parallel life producing for radio and it handles 580mb files with ease. This quickly became an indispensable part of my daily routine.