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Dirk5D13
Participating Frequently
November 19, 2023
Question

Data Usage over LAN/Internet/VPN Help

  • November 19, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 5178 views

My 35000 photos are stored on a NAS, the catalog and the previews on the local Laptop. The data consumption over Network when scrolling through the photos is enormous: each photo is literally downloaded. It doesn't matter whether I'm on the LAN at home or dialing in from outside via VPN. With RAW, 25MB is added with each view and with jpgs 5MB correspondingly.
This quickly adds up to several GB and you soon reach the mobilephone data limit when you access them via mobile hotspot.
The preview folder contains about 35000 files, the catalog also contains about 35000 photos, 5GB are reserved for the camera-raw cache, but contains only 120 files.
LR uses 1,8GB RAM at the moment with 16GB installed.
By the way, I'm only talking about scrolling through the library module in grid view, without developing or using the magnifying glass.
How can I limit this data consumption? Thank you in advance!

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    3 replies

    J
    Jao vdL
    Community Expert
    November 19, 2023

    This is very similar to my setup. If you are scrolling through images in library, the original raw will get fetched every time only if the requested preview resolution is bigger than what you are displaying. So what matters enormously for this type of scrolling is the standard preview size you have set up. If it is too small (and you don't have 1:1 previews or are using embedded previews) yeah, it will hit your raw files every time. If the preview size is set correctly, it won't hit the raw files (I tested this extensively). So check this in the catalog settings menu item - File handling tab. Usually Auto is the right setting there but not necessary if you have dual displays as it might choose the lowest resolution screen for the auto setting. For my Mac Book Pro with retina XDR screen Auto defaults to 3456 pixels which should indeed be enough for the 3456x2234 screen. This does not help if you like to zoom in 1:1 when just going through images in library. If you do and don't have 1:1 previews, it will hit the raw file. 

     

    Because of the above, another really good trick to avoid hitting the raw files as much as possible is to import using the "embedded and sidecar" preview setting. This will create the initial preview database for newly imported files from their embedded jpeg previews and is lightning fast. This works especially well when you combine this with a raw default setting (preferences->Presets) of "Camera Settings". It will enormously speed up workflow and prevent your computer from needing to access the raw files when just culling through even if you are in the habit of zooming 1:1 when doing culling. 

     

    Another thing: Smart previews do not matter for this type of scrolling (they are never used for this except if your originals are offline) and are actually detrimental to speed on the modern high resolution screen as they are simply too small resolution (they are 2560 pixels on the long end and often too small nowadays) and they just fill up your SSD without any benefit and therefore can slow down performance by making your internal SSD too full. Smart previews are highly counteradviced nowadays except if you often want to edit without your originals available. 

      D
      Dirk5D13Author
      Participating Frequently
      November 20, 2023

      So, I've now recreated the previews of a large part at the recommended resolution. Unfortunately, Lightroom obviously doesn't use these local previews, but always downloads the original ones over the network. If the original is 2MB in size, 2 MB will be downloaded when clicked, if the original is 5 or 25 MB in size, 5 or 25 MB will be downloaded.

      I don't make any changes to e.g. the metadata and I don't perform any file operations. Just looking at the images in the library module generates the traffic.

      By the way, if the NAS with the Originals is disconnected, LR tries to reload Data (Screenshot attached).

      What surprises me is that the documentation recommends >2048 px for a 1920px monitor. I'm going to render the default previews at the new resolution again.

      johnrellis
      johnrellis
      Brainiac
      November 20, 2023

      When it is trying to load the image over the network is the preview black like your screenshot 5.png seems to suggest? That seems to imply there is no correctly sized preview for this image somehow and that is why it is fetching (or trying to fetch) the original over the network. It is possible that your preview database is corrupt somehow as it definitely shouldn't do that when the preview is available. You might want to optimize the catalog and delete the Lightroom preferences (often helps resolve weird behavior like this). 


      @Dirk5D13: "I've now recreated the previews of a large part at the recommended resolution. Unfortunately, Lightroom obviously doesn't use these local previews, but always downloads the original ones over the network"

       

      @Jao vdL: "It is possible that your preview database is corrupt somehow as it definitely shouldn't do that when the preview is available. You might want to optimize the catalog and delete the Lightroom preferences (often helps resolve weird behavior like this). "

       

      I agree that this smells like the previews database is corrupted. Assuming resetting preferences doesn't fix the issue, I recommend cutting to the chase and simply deleting the entire preview database, following these instructions:

      https://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom-classic/kb/lightroom-gives-error-preview-cache.html

       

      (An easier way to ensure you get to the correct catalog folder is to do Catalog Settings > General > Show.)

       

      After restarting LR, enable the option Preferences > Performance > Generate Previews In Parallel, select all photos, and do Library > Previews > Build Standard-Sized Previews.  The rebuilding should go  at least one photo/second, so at 35,000 photos, should complete overnight.

       

       

      ouiouiphoto
      ouiouiphoto
      Known Participant
      November 19, 2023

      Hello

       

      If you have preview of the size of your display, 1:1 preview and Smart preview, the network consumption is supposed to be low. In fact you can even stop you NAS and it will work. My best guess is probably because you don't have the good previews

       

      .Sheepdog trying to help Lightroom and Photoshop beginners
      D
      DS256
      Inspiring
      November 19, 2023

      FWIW, IMHO, you are asking LrC to do something it wasn't designed for.

      That being said, here are a couple of thoughts:

      • Check to see what you PREVIEW setting is. A lower quality preview may help with bandwith consumption.
      • How are you are running LrC from a mobilephone? You may want to investigate Adobe mobile solutions which are designed to run over the Internet.
      • If could be tricky, but investigate local cache software solutions that would at least prevent new downloads 
      JohanElzenga
      JohanElzenga
      Community Expert
      November 19, 2023

      Generating smart previews may help.

       

      -- Johan W. Elzenga
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