Inside macOS Sierra: Apple's Optimized Storage and management features
Apple's new storage management features on macOS Sierra could potentially save users with lots of data some drive space, but what it does, how it does it, and how to configure it isn't well known -- AppleInsider explains.
In pre-Sierra days, users were stuck with manually determining what was useful, and what wasn't. Files tended to stack up, and become demands on storage with some not accessed for years or months, sitting idle with no place to put them.
While the speed boosts that a SSD bring cannot be denied, the per-gigabyte price on SSDs is higher than that of spinning disks so users are now constrained to storage capacities that feel like they're from 2010. A few features in Sierra aim to help users identify what needs to be kept local, and what can be offloaded with little or no user impact.
The key to Apple's features is the concept of purgeable space -- a term spotted in a few locations in Sierra. But, what is it, and what's selected by the OS as expendable at a moment's notice?
Information on drives has been expanded in Sierra, with information available in various granularities across a few locations. A "get info" command on a drive still brings up the old familiar box, but with an addition of "purgeable space" listed.
Purgeable space is data on the drive that Sierra has determined is superfluous, and not necessary to be stored on the drive. Examples are files in the trash, videos that have already been watched, music downloaded from Apple Music (but not rips from CD), and other data synchronized with iCloud.
The same information can be found in the status bar, in the "About This Mac" storage tab, or from Siri.
What Sierra reports to the user as available space is no longer just empty, ready to be used areas of the drive. The number now includes actual free space as well as the purgeable space.
For example, in the "About this Mac" storage information above, Sierra is reporting 290.97 gigabytes of the SSD free, but 8 gigabytes of it will be freed should the need arise.
You may have already made the choice for Sierra to do so -- but that's fixable. During the initial setup process, users are presented with a dialog box, asking them if they want to store files in iCloud, keeping only recently opened files locally.
The controls for these settings are easily invokable by clicking on the "Manage" button in the storage window seen above.
On the left, notorious storage hogs are listed, and the user can select from here what to keep and what to delete. On the right are overarching settings, allowing users to set rules, such as having the trash auto-empty after 30 days.
Over the last month, we've been pretty happy with how the feature has been implemented. As of yet, we haven't seen any issues with filing being moved or deleted without our permission -- but any time an OS is making decisions for the user about data, things can go wrong.
We do recommend that for most users, that Sierra be allowed to manage purgeable space -- as long as there's a backup regimen in place.
Every version of macOS has needed some amount of free space on the drive to ensure smooth operation. The number has changed over the years, and getting Apple to admit to a specific number or percent has proven impossible.
Proper "sanitary data practices," for lack of a better term, is a good idea. Knowing generally where your files are without resorting to search functions is more efficient, and eases developing or implementing a sane backup protocol.
As with anything else computer-related AppleInsider recommends preventative maintenance, instead of trying to pick up the pieces after the fact. Keeping your drives trim and "sanitary" is one of those tasks that Apple is now helping with, but should be undertaken and understood by the user.
In pre-Sierra days, users were stuck with manually determining what was useful, and what wasn't. Files tended to stack up, and become demands on storage with some not accessed for years or months, sitting idle with no place to put them.
While the speed boosts that a SSD bring cannot be denied, the per-gigabyte price on SSDs is higher than that of spinning disks so users are now constrained to storage capacities that feel like they're from 2010. A few features in Sierra aim to help users identify what needs to be kept local, and what can be offloaded with little or no user impact.
The key to Apple's features is the concept of purgeable space -- a term spotted in a few locations in Sierra. But, what is it, and what's selected by the OS as expendable at a moment's notice?
What is purgeable space?
Information on drives has been expanded in Sierra, with information available in various granularities across a few locations. A "get info" command on a drive still brings up the old familiar box, but with an addition of "purgeable space" listed.
Purgeable space is data on the drive that Sierra has determined is superfluous, and not necessary to be stored on the drive. Examples are files in the trash, videos that have already been watched, music downloaded from Apple Music (but not rips from CD), and other data synchronized with iCloud.
The same information can be found in the status bar, in the "About This Mac" storage tab, or from Siri.
What Sierra reports to the user as available space is no longer just empty, ready to be used areas of the drive. The number now includes actual free space as well as the purgeable space.
For example, in the "About this Mac" storage information above, Sierra is reporting 290.97 gigabytes of the SSD free, but 8 gigabytes of it will be freed should the need arise.
"But I don't want the OS to make decisions for me!"
You may have already made the choice for Sierra to do so -- but that's fixable. During the initial setup process, users are presented with a dialog box, asking them if they want to store files in iCloud, keeping only recently opened files locally.
The controls for these settings are easily invokable by clicking on the "Manage" button in the storage window seen above.
On the left, notorious storage hogs are listed, and the user can select from here what to keep and what to delete. On the right are overarching settings, allowing users to set rules, such as having the trash auto-empty after 30 days.
Over the last month, we've been pretty happy with how the feature has been implemented. As of yet, we haven't seen any issues with filing being moved or deleted without our permission -- but any time an OS is making decisions for the user about data, things can go wrong.
We do recommend that for most users, that Sierra be allowed to manage purgeable space -- as long as there's a backup regimen in place.
Don't get too full...
Every version of macOS has needed some amount of free space on the drive to ensure smooth operation. The number has changed over the years, and getting Apple to admit to a specific number or percent has proven impossible.
Proper "sanitary data practices," for lack of a better term, is a good idea. Knowing generally where your files are without resorting to search functions is more efficient, and eases developing or implementing a sane backup protocol.
As with anything else computer-related AppleInsider recommends preventative maintenance, instead of trying to pick up the pieces after the fact. Keeping your drives trim and "sanitary" is one of those tasks that Apple is now helping with, but should be undertaken and understood by the user.
Comments
No thanks!!!
Personally, I have a very secure iCloud account from my end and nothing incriminating in my data, so I tend to like most of the conveniences offered by iCloud.
What you're describing is not a cloud attack.
I brought up a flaw with an Apple Genius when I had my iPhone replaced this past Summer. I have 2FA enabled, but when I put in my iCloud username and password for setup it sent the 2FA request to the iPhone which then auto-verified itself. I would at least like the option to use an alternate device to approve an iPhone.
As for an email being sent, I'm not sure what you mean. They do send an email, but it's to let you know that it happened.
You're right, 2FA doesn't resolve issues when the hackers have access to 2 or more factors for authentication, like a physical device.
Touch is convenient, and shouldn't be used never be looked upon as the primary security feature. That's certainly not the case with Apple as it's the passcode that is required if you restart the device, fail to use the device in a given time period, or have too many incorrect Touch ID attempts in a row. A PIN is not a good solution. It's very easy to type in a complex but short string of letters that increase your security exponentially. 6-digit PIN is only 1 million combinations, but a 4-letter string of characters is over 1 billion. Since you don't put your passcode in often, and since you can type it in quickly and with relative privacy, you should be secure if you're considering your surrounding when it comes to your security.
Thanks to Time Machine, I've kept my decades long streak of never losing important data to a mac alive. I did, however, lose data and files that I intentionally did not back up because they were not important.
I also secretly suspect the feature is part of Apple's business strategy to sell more cloud storage. With terrabyte drives available for very cheap, it seems building it into an OS, it offers people an opportunity to buy something purported to be better.
"Here’s what happened: I was editing a podcast in Apple’s Logic Pro X, and my project was stored on the Desktop. All of a sudden, the voice of one of my podcast panelists simply vanished from the mix. I quit and re-launched Logic, only to be told that the file in question was missing. Sure enough, a visit to Finder revealed that Sierra had “optimized” my storage and removed that file from my local drive. I’ll grant you, the file was a couple of weeks old, and very large as most audio files are. But I was also actively using it within a Logic project. Apparently that didn’t count for anything? So that’s bad. That’s enough for me to turn off that feature and never use it again—or at the very least, never keep my project files on the Desktop or in the Documents folder."
I don't want any of my files in the cloud, so I disable iCloud Drive. That appears to be the only way to prevent macOS Sierra from performing this scary task of deleting random files from your Desktop and Documents folders. iTunes also has a scary preference, buried on the last tab, under Advanced. "Automatically delete watched movies and TV Shows". What the hell Apple? What files will macOS Sierra delete? Only store purchased files, or any file that you have ripped from DVD in your iTunes library? My digital media files are stored on a NAS, set up as a RAID 1 for automatic redundant backup. Would I dare trust macOS Sierra and iTunes to ignore those files since they are on a separate drive, or does macOS Sierra and iTunes see those files simply because they are accessible in the iTunes library and start randomly deleting them directly off the NAS because it wants to delete any media file that I watch? Sorry, that is way too scary and there is no way I would turn that feature on.
If Apple had simply NOT automatically deleted all of the Documents folder files (which for me included my 90Gb Outlook file), most of my problems wouldn't have been so intense. I suspect that Apple will be revising this in a future OS X update.
Only a sleazy troll uses language like this. You're marked.
Give it a rest man. Enough.
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned TN Panels.