APFS File System to Replace HFS+

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timbutt2

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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostTue Mar 28, 2017 7:04 pm

Yesterday Apple had updates for their various devices, which included the beginning of their switch to APFS instead of HFS+. So, my question is whether anyone here believes Blackmagic will have to switch from HFS+ to APFS for card formatting?

I believe that Blackmagic will have to add it as an option along with the two we currently have. According to reporters APFS is supposed to be better than HFS+ and flash media benefits the most from the change.

Sound off below.


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostTue Mar 28, 2017 7:25 pm

The question is "when", not "if." Given that Blackmagic is often at the forefront of change, and that NAB 2017 is just around the corner, I would expect an announcement from BMD at NAB. Might that change to add support for APFS coincide with the next major release of DaVinci Resolve?


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Mar 31, 2017 1:45 am

Rick, I did a little bit of digging. Apparently this is still pretty experimental on the macOS platform. It seems that if you were to format a drive in any current APFS architecture there is no guarantee that it will be able to be read by a future version. So it may still be a few years off. Looks like the updates to all the Apple devices are simply laying the groundwork for the eventual switch.

So, yes, it is a matter of "when." However, it may still be two to three years before the official implementation.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Mar 31, 2017 2:35 pm

The question is also if Apple does release a whitepaper with the specs for APFS and if you need a payed license for using it.
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Mar 31, 2017 3:39 pm

Thanks, Tim. It seems to be working well for me on my iPhone and iPad. The file system data conversion during the software update was a nail-biter as it took much longer than a normal update, but all is well. My iDevices are over half full with 128GB capacity.

Because my iMac only uses the internal 2x flash storage, I hope you're wrong about the years away from Mac OS X. I think it will be the default file system with Mac OS X 13 in June/July. Or will Apple (and Resolve) bypass release 13 and jump to 14?

That said, I likely will wait before changing the file system on my Pegasus2 R6 RAID 10. Screwing that up would not be a good idea! I'd talk directly to Promise before then.

HFS+ has been around longer than I've owned a Mac (bought in January 2004). APFS likely will outlive me.


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Last edited by rick.lang on Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 4:02 pm

As we get closer to the release of MacOS High Sierra I think its a good idea to bring this conversation up again.

Apple's Support Document on APFS: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208018

The good thing is that HFS+ formatted devices can be read by Macs with APFS on High Sierra. The question however is whether the new APFS would be better to format the cards to on Blackmagic Cameras? Will it be more efficient?

The one thing I start to worry about is generating LUTs through Resolve on a Mac running High Sierra and whether those LUT files made on a APFS system will still read on the Blackmagic cameras, which still format to HFS+.

It's a challenging time. I'm usually one of the first to update my computers to a new OS. However, this might be the first time in a decade that I feel the need to delay due to uncertainty. I have no problem letting Final Cut Pro 7 go. However, there are still other variables at play.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 4:08 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:The question is also if Apple does release a whitepaper with the specs for APFS and if you need a payed license for using it.

This may answer your question: https://developer.apple.com/library/con ... ction.html
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 6:15 pm

It remains to be seen whether Apple will ever seriously push APFS for exchangeable storage media. Maybe it's meant for system volumes only.
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 6:39 pm

I suspect it is a good idea for Blackmagic to add support for APFS in their cameras that use flash memory for media storage such as the CFast 2 cards. The HFS+ filesystem was designed for spinning hard disks. The APFS has been designed for solid state drives. It can improve efficiency and decrease storage requirements as we've seen on the iOS devices that already use APFS. Granted most people still have internal and external drives with spinning hard disks, but solid state drives are becoming more common for general use and especially for those managing a digital video suite.

Apple hasn't given any indication that external drives (RAID, SDXC, CFast 2, etc.) would not be able to convert to the new APFS. That would be indefensible. When you upgrade to High Sierra, I imagine all your system drives will be converted while you are praying to the gods that it completes successfully. But they'll have a recommended approach to convert external drives where it is supported such as the SD cards. I don't see it happening on my Pegasus2 RAID though until Promise releases APFS support and a firmware update converts the drives. Even praying to the gods may not be enough considering the complexity involved.

It may take years before APFS is broadly supported by all the manufacturers that currently support HFS+ in their devices that read and write to storage devices of any kind. Blackmagic tends to be an innovative leader though and I expect there will be support for APFS this year.

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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 9:14 pm

timbutt2 wrote:
Robert Niessner wrote:The question is also if Apple does release a whitepaper with the specs for APFS and if you need a payed license for using it.

This may answer your question: https://developer.apple.com/library/con ... ction.html


Thanks Tim!

From the above linked FAQ:

Is APFS open source?

An open source implementation is not available at this time. Apple plans to document and publish the APFS volume format specification.


Can I use Apple File System with my existing hard disk drive?

Yes. Apple File System is optimized for Flash/SSD storage, but can also be used with traditional hard disk drives (HDD) and external, direct-attached storage.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 9:20 pm

timbutt2 wrote:The one thing I start to worry about is generating LUTs through Resolve on a Mac running High Sierra and whether those LUT files made on a APFS system will still read on the Blackmagic cameras, which still format to HFS+.


As High Sierra will still be able to format, read and write HFS+ there is nothing to worry about.
You can create your LUTs on your APFS formatted system and copy them over to your HFS+ or exFAT formatted CFast2.0 cards.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Aug 26, 2017 10:18 pm

Robert is correct (as always). And thanks, Tim, for pointing out that Apple still controls APFS. I hope BMD can use it anyway as it has the potential to improve performance and reliability. Very important to us.


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSun Aug 27, 2017 1:22 am

No, APFS is a new closed source propriety standard and does not have a proven track record such as HFS+. Despite the fact that its closed source and exclusive to apple and apple alone why would you want to switch to a brand new untested file system!?
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSun Aug 27, 2017 4:11 am

And don't forget that Apple is forcing APFS onto your drive if your system is not on a spinning platter, AFAIK.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSun Aug 27, 2017 2:35 pm

Taylor Cahill wrote:No, APFS is a new closed source propriety standard and does not have a proven track record such as HFS+. Despite the fact that its closed source and exclusive to apple and apple alone why would you want to switch to a brand new untested file system!?

Untested? It is successfully running on millions and millions of iOS devices without any problems.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSun Aug 27, 2017 10:27 pm

Robert Niessner wrote:
Taylor Cahill wrote:No, APFS is a new closed source propriety standard and does not have a proven track record such as HFS+. Despite the fact that its closed source and exclusive to apple and apple alone why would you want to switch to a brand new untested file system!?

Untested? It is successfully running on millions and millions of iOS devices without any problems.


IOS , case closed hahaha. More proof that apple want to turn my mac into an iphone. No thanks.
Comparing a filesystem that is safeguaring a few family snapshots on milions of phones with server level requirements for a grading stations . Come on.... Lets stay serious, but be my guest jump in and tell us in a year or so. And do tell us when you are about to repair a large raid that blew up on you how you where helped by the nice lady/gentlemen on the phone from the apple support center ,which keeps saying that this does not happen with apple stuff and its likely your fault.
Anyway, thanks for the laugh. I needed that today.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSun Aug 27, 2017 10:40 pm

Glenn, APFS was designed to be an improvement on HFS+ including better reliability. And to consume less resources is unusual for Apple who often benefits when things consume more resources. I'm not planning on that upgrade until it has proven itself on a Mac, but I've found it to be very good on my iPhone and iPad and iPods.


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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Aug 28, 2017 6:48 am

rick.lang wrote:Glenn, APFS was designed to be an improvement on HFS+ including better reliability. And to consume less resources is unusual for Apple who often benefits when things consume more resources. I'm not planning on that upgrade until it has proven itself on a Mac, but I've found it to be very good on my iPhone and iPad and iPods.


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'Designed to be ' != 'is' in more then a few cases, so i wait and see, like you.

Ps the thrascan heat management system was designed as well to be an improvement..........
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Aug 28, 2017 9:44 am

Glenn Venghaus wrote:IOS , case closed hahaha. More proof that apple want to turn my mac into an iphone. No thanks.
Comparing a filesystem that is safeguaring a few family snapshots on milions of phones with server level requirements for a grading stations.


I am sure you can tell me how file handling of your grading station will completely differ from file handling in iOS devices.

Glenn Venghaus wrote: Come on.... Lets stay serious, but be my guest jump in and tell us in a year or so. And do tell us when you are about to repair a large raid that blew up on you

No one forces you to change the file system of your RAID.

Glenn Venghaus wrote: how you where helped by the nice lady/gentlemen on the phone from the apple support center ,which keeps saying that this does not happen with apple stuff and its likely your fault.

This is absolutely not my experience with Apple support. A friend of mine somehow almost totally trashed his file system and Apple support was very helpful. They called back as promised and even talked to some of the core system developers about the problem. Finally I could get everything back on track.

Glenn Venghaus wrote:Anyway, thanks for the laugh. I needed that today.

Happy I could entertain you. Let's have a look back onto this thread in about a year and laugh together.
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Aug 28, 2017 8:45 pm

Anyway, thanks for the laugh. I needed that today.

Happy I could entertain you. Let's have a look back onto this thread in about a year and laugh together.

Deal !! here we agree totaly :-)
In this case i hope it actualy does what it says on the label. There is always room for a new and improved filesystem. And in the end we can even mix and match. Some FS are better at redundancy and extreme safety, while others focus on pure performance ,while yet others are ideal for clustering. Have done a lot on that front. Takes a lot of research to pick the right one, specialy if you design it for petabyte sized clustered ERP servers or more recently for in memory HANA databases (yes they still need extreme disk based stuff for cold storage/change logs/replication/etc)

P.s. Unfortunately due to my occupational history, i always look at these new developments from the negative side, so feel free to ignore me a bit :-) ,as have been designing building and testing disaster recovery/backup/recovery solutions for large (xxl) enterprices for years on end and been in few real ones. You see and haveto see the bad stuff in everything untill you have yourselve proven it otherwise repeatedly. Most stuff only works as advertised when things are shiny, but at first problem they often brake down catastropicaly, with in the real world huge consequences, either financial but more often then you would expect human lives at stake.
The part i love the most is destructive testing. Walking in to a server room semi unannounced and start pulling disks and cables , swithcing of severs at random to test the DR procedures. You make lots of friends that way hahaha.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Sep 01, 2017 2:02 pm

Reading that Apple document HT208018 referenced earlier, I’m finding it’s far from comprehensive and there must be more information coming closer to the High Sierra upgrade.

“Apple File System (APFS), is the default file system in macOS High Sierra for Mac computers with all flash storage. APFS features strong encryption, space sharing, snapshots, fast directory sizing, and improved file system fundamentals.
When you upgrade to macOS High Sierra, systems with all flash storage configurations are converted automatically. Systems with hard disk drives (HDD) and Fusion drives won't be converted to APFS. You can’t opt-out of the transition to APFS."

My take is that this refers to your Mac “system” drive usually called “Macintosh HD” with can be a real hard disk or flash storage or a hybrid of the two. I can’t come to any conclusion other than Apple’s upgrade won’t automatically touch any drive except your flash-based “system” drive. What is doesn’t talk about are other drives whether they be internal or external. It assures you that you’ll still be able to read and write to them from High Sierra (or the latest Sierra), but it doesn’t say if there is any prohibition on a user to convert the other drives manually.

Regarding my Promise Pegasus2 R6 system, a recent response from Promise on APFS:
“Pegasus 2 units are officialy tested till mac OS X 10.12.3 with HFS+ file system and APFS Apple File System is optimized for flash and solid-state drive storage, with a primary focus on encryption. Pegasus comes with Sata hard drive and the support for APFS may be added in the next firmware release. As of now, we do not have an ETA on this."
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Sep 01, 2017 6:08 pm

rick.lang wrote:Reading that Apple document HT208018 referenced earlier, I’m finding it’s far from comprehensive and there must be more information coming closer to the High Sierra upgrade.

“Apple File System (APFS), is the default file system in macOS High Sierra for Mac computers with all flash storage. APFS features strong encryption, space sharing, snapshots, fast directory sizing, and improved file system fundamentals.
When you upgrade to macOS High Sierra, systems with all flash storage configurations are converted automatically. Systems with hard disk drives (HDD) and Fusion drives won't be converted to APFS. You can’t opt-out of the transition to APFS."

My take is that this refers to your Mac “system” drive usually called “Macintosh HD” with can be a real hard disk or flash storage or a hybrid of the two. I can’t come to any conclusion other than Apple’s upgrade won’t automatically touch any drive except your flash-based “system” drive. What is doesn’t talk about are other drives whether they be internal or external. It assures you that you’ll still be able to read and write to them from High Sierra (or the latest Sierra), but it doesn’t say if there is any prohibition on a user to convert the other drives manually.

Regarding my Promise Pegasus2 R6 system, a recent response from Promise on APFS:
“Pegasus 2 units are officialy tested till mac OS X 10.12.3 with HFS+ file system and APFS Apple File System is optimized for flash and solid-state drive storage, with a primary focus on encryption. Pegasus comes with Sata hard drive and the support for APFS may be added in the next firmware release. As of now, we do not have an ETA on this."

Thanks Rick for the update! Yeah, I'm lucky I opted for the Fusion Drive on my iMac 5K then because that means I won't automatically be switched. My MacBook Pro on the other hand will be automatically switched.

As for external drives I think you have to Partition them in order to change them over to APFS from HFS+ and that results in all data on the drives being erased. Thus, unless you have all the files backed up and you format the drive to then transfer the back up over there's no reasonable way APFS can automatically be applied to an external drive. However, future drives probably can be formatted in APFS.
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Sep 01, 2017 6:19 pm

I think I need to buy an external LaCie 10TB TB2/3 drive to backup my Pegasus2 R6 24TB RAID 10 (which means 12TB available) before I attempt to reconfigure the RAID as APFS. I'll follow Promise guidance on this when they have their APFS firmware ready and when Resolve 14 final release is confirmed working with APFS externals just to be safe.

This needs to happen about the end of September before my RAID gets too full to backup to the LaCie via Time Machine. I don't want my backup to get too expensive by going to higher capacity solutions.


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Sep 01, 2017 9:59 pm

rick.lang wrote:APFS Apple File System is optimized for flash and solid-state drive storage, with a primary focus on encryption.

For the life of me i do not understand why you would want this besides beeing not even supported by your raid manufacturer, on your muli TB raid.... Zero to very minus zero benifits
Going to be slower (as with most encryption, thats probably why they say its for flash storage) and more problematic to restore in case of problem (as with any encryption), and certainly with a new filesystem)
Unless you just want to play with it and have fun, that i can absolutely get. Always. But then you could also just put in on a simple usb throw away drive and beat the hell out of it for a a few months, see the pros/cons and when and how it dies.

Its a definate pass for me.
And p.s. Forcing a computer boot drive filesystem conversion in your throat. Who does that ? I say, lawsuit (as in US people get sued for putting their dogs in microwaves, i wonder how they look at something like this. Specialy when , and 100% it will, blow up on some people catastrophicaly . And unlike for your phone , which is bad enough, you will loose abit more then just your dog snapshots.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Sep 02, 2017 3:53 am

Glenn, I can't apply APFS to my RAID until Promise supplies the appropriate firmware update. I don't want to use encryption if that's an option. The savings in storage is about 10% and that's an appealing result. I'm expecting better performance and less resources. If the reports come in after High Sierra installs that it isn't worth doing on a hard disk RAID, then I'll pass too. I imagine Barefeats or Tom's Hardware will performance test this extensively too. Thanks for your note.


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Sep 02, 2017 7:13 am

rick.lang wrote:Glenn, I can't apply APFS to my RAID until Promise supplies the appropriate firmware update. I don't want to use encryption if that's an option. The savings in storage is about 10% and that's an appealing result. I'm expecting better performance and less resources. If the reports come in after High Sierra installs that it isn't worth doing on a hard disk RAID, then I'll pass too. I imagine Barefeats or Tom's Hardware will performance test this extensively too. Thanks for your note.


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Hey Rick,

Do keep us posted on your tests, as if (without ecryption) it improves on storage space and performance while maintaining or even improving reliability for raid sysems, it will become a different story.
Time will tel. Lets hope its all real and no hot air wrapped in a new fancy wrapper

Tnx for the testing and investigating efford.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostSat Sep 02, 2017 2:36 pm

Will do, Glenn. I imagine the tech forums will have a lot to say about APFS on Macs. This implementation in macOS, beyond the simple all flash storage 'Macintosh HD' systems like my iMac, is so much more potentially complicated and risky compared to the closed and controlled world of iOS devices as you eloquently indicated.


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Sep 04, 2017 9:18 pm

LAB != Real World
Unfortunately still the case. Thats why i am still afraid/convinced apple is trying to turn all macs into iphones (metaphoricaly speaking). That way you have a controlled environment. The big bad angry world of mixed configs they realy hate.
Also by making large assumptions all the time how we users use/should use their hard/software, they miss looking at their wonderfull solution from different angles.
One thing that always stayed with me when i studied aerospace engineering as a young lad, was the socalled idiot test.
When a airplane interior was designed and put in a mockup , they send in the idiot to try and use everything, open copboards , try and brake stuff , etc etc
The stuff that comes out of such a test is mindblowing. Obvious stuff that any user would immediately pickup is a blindspot for engineers who are trapped in technology tunnelvision.
You canextrapolate that to any complex system.
I bet they never thought that their thrashcans would instead of only for safari browsing , also be used for 24x7 renderjobs and therfore overlook the most obvious heat issues that every 15 year old with a soldering iron could see , and most of the internet mumbled on day one of launch.
But of course safari ran fine........
And we just use it wrong.
Took them how many years to finaly admit they may have had it wrong.

Anyway, lets see what happens indeed with that filesystem and i hope its all good stuff. As when they have it right they tend to have it reaaaaaaaaly right.
But when they have it wrong with a filesystem, bad stuff happens on all scales.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Sep 04, 2017 10:57 pm

I also doubt Apple's engineers write the ad copy which tends to hyperbole. Of course they're not alone in that. More engineers should be involved in vetting systems, not just building them. Them the engineering schools teach those skills and make their employers understand it's part of their job too. Crime doesn't pay, but ad copy sure does!


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostTue Sep 05, 2017 8:56 am

Glenn, I have to agree. I used to work for some years as a software testing engineer and it was mind blowing how often programmers don't even get the basics right (sometimes out of tunnel vision sometimes out of pure arrogance).
And how many times I had to send bug reports because some software tripped over Umlaute and other special characters in input fields or during file system access. Or the classic address range error where for example a graphic card with more than 2GB of memory was not properly recognized because back than when the routine had been written no such card existed and therefore we do not have to think about such a possibility. Or to prevent characters in numbers only input fields. Accidentally typing in a character crashed the whole program.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostTue Sep 05, 2017 9:45 pm

Ps while we are the subject of quality control on storage subsystems, softraid users alert if you think about Sierra
https://www.softraid.com/pages/support/ ... tices.html
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Sep 11, 2017 11:14 am

Some more reason to stay away from High Sierra for at least 6 month to a year:

https://eclecticlight.co/2017/09/10/las ... n-trouble/
https://eclecticlight.co/2017/07/24/sie ... n-10-12-6/
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostMon Sep 11, 2017 5:43 pm

Glenn, while I'm reading both articles, I kept thinking what ends up being the author's own conclusion:
"Apple will need to release a further update to Sierra no later than the release of High Sierra to ensure that those deficiencies are addressed. That update should include all the command tools and Disk Utility."

I've always thought that there would be a Sierra 10.12.7 available around the same time that High Sierra is released 10.13.

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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostWed Sep 13, 2017 4:52 pm

We will have to wait and see. But at least we are warned.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostWed Sep 13, 2017 5:19 pm

Glenn Venghaus wrote:We will have to wait and see. But at least we are warned.

Yes, true. I may update to High Sierra within the first 6-months. But we'll have to see. I would only be updating the iMac 5K in the event that that is what is required for me to watch my iTunes purchases in 4K on it. Since I got confirmation that I will be able to watch 4K movies on the iMac 4K and iMac 5K, then it is a good platform until I purchase an AppleTV 4K. Right now the AppleTV 4K is a X-Mas item...

Side note, no work right now in my area of Florida due to Hurricane Irma, so I have to be stringent on money spending. Several projects have already been postponed/cancelled.

Otherwise, if I don't have to update to play those movies the other reason for upgrading is for the curious testing nature. I am not a beta tester on the Apple MacOS X upgrade primarily because of worry that OS Betas are more dangerous than a Resolve Beta for professional work. In the case of High Sierra this is especially true. So the solid OS release is where I would test the waters so to speak.

That all said, I may wait 3-months to update. I'm going to approach this very warily. I have high hopes for APFS, so hopefully things work out well.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostWed Sep 13, 2017 7:16 pm

Remind me, Tim, is your iMac all SSD like mine or using the hybrid system drive?


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostWed Sep 13, 2017 7:38 pm

rick.lang wrote:Remind me, Tim, is your iMac all SSD like mine or using the hybrid system drive?

Fusion Drive. So the Hybrid. I wanted 2 TB of storage, and if I remember right the SSD for the 2015 model only had 1 TB SSD.
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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostThu Sep 14, 2017 3:38 am

That's correct, I'm living with a 1 TB machine. I believe the iMac Pro will have 4 TB of flash System memory. That would sure be useful!


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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostThu Sep 14, 2017 1:46 pm

rick.lang wrote:That's correct, I'm living with a 1 TB machine. I believe the iMac Pro will have 4 TB of flash System memory. That would sure be useful!k

The two major reasons for needing so much internal space:

1) Drop Box. I pay for 1TB of drop box space each month/year in order to share files with clients and colleagues. Now, do I ever really use all of that 1 TB? No. But I have shared up to 450 GB at one point in terms of some footage. Since I use the Finder connected Drop Box folder that means I need that internal space free on my computer to do it. Thus the need for a lot of internal storage for a time.

2) Plugins & Assets. This would fall under Video Copilot stuff like the Action Essentials, the Element 3D models, so on and so forth. Those model packs from Video Copilot for Element 3D take up a decent amount of space. So it's nice to have the space for these assets. With the Final Cut Studio assets this was also true, although most of those assets are gone now. But guess what another part of these assets are: Common Sound Effects. Having certain Sound Effects that you'll always use is something that will happen, and you'll want to access them quickly without pulling out an external drive with them stored on it.

So there you have it. That 4TB of internal Flash Storage would be so amazing to have. However, I need to make the 2015 iMac 5K last a few years. So I'll eventually upgrade. It won't be anytime soon. I'm looking forward to the iMac Pro however, but if Apple finally updates a Mac Pro that is the machine I would want to go to.

However, the Fusion Drive on the iMac may save me a bit with the High Sierra update, or it may screw me. That's something I'll have to test for myself... in about 3 months.

High Sierra comes out on September 28th.
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APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostThu Sep 14, 2017 5:20 pm

Tim, High Sierra on a Mac with a Fusion Drive does not convert the system drive to APFS. It remains HFS+.

It will convert my all flash system drive automatically with no option to keep HFS+.

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Re: APFS File System to Replace HFS+

PostFri Sep 15, 2017 2:01 am

The Fusion drive in the 2017 iMac has been claimed to be faster.

I'll report when mine arrives, it should come next week. I bought the best model of the current iMac with the Radeon 580, but with the Fusion drive, since I don't want the new file system forced upon me.
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