Hello,
I use the latest version of Calibre on macOS 10.15.5. My main computer is a MacMini 2018 with a 3,2 GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 processor and 32GB RAM. The hard drive is the 1TB SSD original built in the computer.
I have two libraries. One is ~270GB and contains ~33k books. The other is ~60GB and contains ~7k books.
The performance speed is acceptable. Whenever I open the large library, the first search takes ~20''. Subsequent ones are much quicker, usually <5''. Once found, opening a given book is almost instantaneous.
I want to move my libraries on an external SSD. I expect to run them mostly on the same Mac, but I would like occasionally to work on a MacBook or another MacMini.
Before implementing this project, some advice from the Calibre community would be very helpful.
1/ Calibre Portable or Calibre for macOS?
It seems that Calibre Portable exists only for Windows (the installer is an .exe file). Is there a way to have a similar solution for Mac, where one SSD holds both the book files and the Calibre software/database ?
If not, it seems to me that I would need to install a local version of Calibre on every Mac where I want to open the library. If that's the case, how would the library reflect the changes done on another Mac? Would I need every time I switch Macs to create new libraries based on the folder with the book files? More generally, what are the best practices?
2/ SanDisk or Samsung
Another area of questioning is the hardware. I am considering buying either a SanDisk Portable Pro or a Samsung T7. Any recommendations or warnings would be very welcome. Also, should I expect to see a notable drop in perfomance?
3/ Backup strategy
Finally, do you have any suggestions of a sound backup strategy I could use? I am thinking of keeping the book files in a DropBox account, but all better or alternate ideas will be appreciated.
In any case, I appreciate you reading this post and thank you in advance for any replies to it.