iPhoto '11 TROUBLE

franklahm wrote:
My iPhoto Lib is 12 GB big and resides on an AFP volume. It's not ta snappy, but perfectly usable.

Similar size to what I've tested with on average, but I've also gone up to ~30GB. In no sense was iPhoto usable for anything but the smallest of libraries (few hundred - upto 1000 photos) - I could wait 5-10 minutes just for iPhoto to start, and this was even with a brand new library of just imported photos. And I have seen many posts here and on other forums stating similar issues.

My last test was ~3 months ago using a brand new Ultra-4, a 3GHz iMac, connected via a Netgear GbE switch which has shown no issues previously, and 2m CAT6 cables. I tested along side iSCSI support (as did other users at the time) and there was just no comparison. iSCSI worked fine with no noticeable performance difference between the iSCSI host library and an local library, whereas over a network protocol it was unusable.

To quote another user who tested the same at the time but with the Ultra-6, i7 based iMac and Netgear GS108 switch: "I got the iphoto copied onto an afp share and it working but very slowly. Takes about 60 seconds or more to come up and quitting took forever. so long I did a force quit a few times because I got sick of waiting. So it works over afp but not very well..."

No it's not the same. CIFS gave him "not supported" because probably iPhoto 11 indeed checks if the Lib resided on a smb-vfs volume. He had an entirely different error with AFP.

You are quite correct - apologies - I was mixing things in my mind. But as I said, Apple have a history of doing such things - as in the last release with iMovie. If CIFS is now prevented, and AFP performance is poor as every test I've ever done over the last 2.5 years of having ReadyNAS devices has shown - I stand by my assertion that these applications just are not suitable for storing their libraries on a network share.

You are the first I've ever heard state that performance is acceptable, soI'd really like to understand is what is different about your setup to see if there is something that I've missed and can try

One idea comes to mind - I'm judging based on iPhoto '09 (and previous versions). Maybe iPhoto '11 actually does work very well with AFP and that's the difference. But based on history I'd be very surprised and in checking the available info on iPhoto '11 I see nothing that indicates improvements for libraries on network shares.

Maybe the OP can also try AFP and report back.

Afair we've got a large customer using Aperture across AFP with huge asset stores just fine. So at least it depends.

If you are correct, again I'd really like to understand their setup to figure what is different.

But are you sure the library is hosted on the AFP volume and not just the photos? Referencing photos on an AFP volume works perfectly and is ea key feature of Aperture, but try hosting the library itself or even a backup vault via AFP and performance again dies to the point of being unusable. I actually moved to Aperture in part to enable me to reference photos on the NAS. I host my library locally and now back it up to the NAS via iSCSI

Any idea how I can remedy this error.

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “iPhotos-NAS” can’t be found."

I am beginning to panic.

Thanks for all the input, from now on I will store the iPhoto Library on my desktop and back it up with the ReadyNas.

@camalexander

Sorry - we derailed the thread a little there...

The error may be due to naming differences between CIFS & AFP - if so it's going to be difficult to remedy with iPhoto '11 if CIFS support has been disabled.

Do you have a backup? In particular, do you have a backup of your '09 library? ie prior to any updates iPhoto '11 might have made. If you do then I'd suggest restoring that and iPhoto '09 - basically get back to your original working state and then we can look at options to migrate to '11.

@sphardy

No worries, it was fun to see where the thread went.

So I have no backup :( I was under the impression that since I had a redundant drive that I would be fine.

This of course is ridiculous, and as soon as this bit is sorted out I am going to plug in a simple drive into the USB port of the ReadyNAs Duo.

But to the problem at hand, When I try to open the Share that the iPhoto library was/is on I get the message:

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “iPhoto23” can’t be found."

I know it is still there the amount of disc space has not changed, but I am not sure how to point the application to the correct place.

I can downgrade to iPhoto '09 no problem as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated

thanks again

c

camalexander wrote:
So I have no backup :( I was under the impression that since I had a redundant drive that I would be fine.

A common but incorrect impression. RAID is good, first level protection. X-RAID with two disks protects you against a single disk failure in the NAS (RAID is important as disks can and do fail at any time, often with little to no warning). There are whole range of problems that RAID cannot protect you against. One of them is problems when storing data for an application on a networked drive, when the application is designed to work with data stored on local disks.

Have a read of http://www.readynas.com/?p=3153. If you have important data it should be stored on at least two devices, preferably with copies at two different sites at all times. The backup functionality in Frontview (e.g. for backing up the NAS to a USB disk) is there for a purpose.

camalexander wrote:
as soon as this bit is sorted out I am going to plug in a simple drive into the USB port of the ReadyNAs Duo.

Good.

camalexander wrote:
I know it is still there the amount of disc space has not changed, but I am not sure how to point the application to the correct place.

Perhaps try this: http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/move_your_iphoto_09_library_external_drive

You could try copying the library to a local disk. I'd do that first so you have a backup of the current status and then downgrade

I can't move it because I get this message

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “iPhoto-NAS” can’t be found."

That is my whole problem. Once I find the library then I can move it. Has this happened to anyone else? I know the library is still there, I think the Finder is having trouble finding it?

I'm sorry but I don't understand - do you not see the library on your NAS?

What do you mean by "Finder is having trouble finding it"?

When I open the NAS server window in Finder and double click on the iPhoto Share I get this message:

"The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “iPhoto-NAS” can’t be found."

When I go to Frontview the share is there and all looks good.

sphardy wrote:

franklahm wrote: My iPhoto Lib is 12 GB big and resides on an AFP volume. It's not ta snappy, but perfectly usable. Similar size to what I've tested with on average, but I've also gone up to ~30GB. In no sense was iPhoto usable for anything but the smallest of libraries (few hundred - upto 1000 photos) - I could wait 5-10 minutes just for iPhoto to start, and this was even with a brand new library of just imported photos. And I have seen many posts here and on other forums stating similar issues. My last test was ~3 months ago using a brand new Ultra-4, a 3GHz iMac, connected via a Netgear GbE switch which has shown no issues previously, and 2m CAT6 cables. I tested along side iSCSI support (as did other users at the time) and there was just no comparison. iSCSI worked fine with no noticeable performance difference between the iSCSI host library and an local library, whereas over a network protocol it was unusable.

Sorry to derail the thread further, but I just want to point out that I've had my iPhoto library on my ReadyNAS NV+ for a couple years now, and am using iPhoto '09 as I type this. My library is 13251 photos and 199 movies, and it takes up 46.7 GB. It's not zippy like a local one would be, but on a 2010 MacBook Pro it works pretty well for my setup that goes over a 25' CAT6 cable. Startup could be faster (I just restarted it at the same time as another computer is backing to with Time Machine to the same NAS, and it took a slow 45 seconds to start up... usually it's somewhat faster, though not "fast" for sure!)... But it's not at all like you described it!

I don't know why I would be getting these results and you're getting such different results.

BACK to the reported problem though... Question: Have you tried right-clicking on the iPhoto Library and selecting "Show Package Contents"? Not sure it would shed any light on it one way or the other... EDIT: Oh, I think I misunderstood... you can't even open the SHARE ("volume") that contains the library?? Ugh... Try using Terminal and navigating to it that way to see if you can get into it from there? Shooting in the dark here :?

My wife got a new laptop with iPhoto '11 installed, and now I'm scared... I'll have to tell her NOT to update the library until I have a better sense of what's going on here.........