https://eclecticlight.co/2021/02/28/last-week-on-my-mac-users-are-losing-out-against-big-surs-sealed-system/ Skip to content [eclecticlight] The Eclectic Light Company Macs, painting, and more Main navigation Menu * Downloads * M1 Macs * Mac Problems * Mac articles * Art * Macs * Painting hoakley February 28, 2021 Macs, Technology Last Week on My Mac: Users are losing out against Big Sur's sealed System Big Sur's sealed System volume seemed like a good idea. Although the read-only version in Catalina may look impregnable, guaranteeing integrity using a Merkle Tree of hashes, then locking the whole lot in a snapshot, looks even more robust. Like other good engineering ideas, though, it also needs thinking through thoroughly. Even in a perfect macOS development cycle, there are normally at least five substantial updates. In addition, there are often compelling reasons for urgent patches. The recent sudo bug is a good example in which no one is at fault, although everyone might be to blame for not spotting this in a decade. Even in non-pandemic times, rolling that fix into 11.2 would have been disruptive, hence the need for 11.2.1, which works so much better in the new version numbering. Then Apple must have received reports of a severe hardware/firmware problem which was actually damaging recent Mac models, and a firmware update for the affected Macs was even more pressing. So came 11.2.2, just over two weeks after 11.2.1, which was a mere eight days after 11.2. In macOS past, those two patches could have been small, whether installed by the system or using a downloadable Installer package. Several factors now conspire to turn a few kilobytes of changes into several gigabytes of update: * Firmware updates are only provided as part of a macOS update, and Apple deems it necessary for every macOS update to include a complete set of current firmware for Intel models. This contributes around 600 MB to every update, perhaps more now to cater for T2 and M1 models too. * The dyld cache, nine files occupying about 4 GB when compressed in /System/Library/dyld, which contains a dynamic linker cache of all the system-provided libraries. These fall within the SSV, and appear to have to be freshly provided in every macOS update. * Full support for both Intel and ARM-native code, with the exception of Rosetta 2, which only resides on the Data volume of Apple Silicon models and is managed separately. The Big Sur 11.2.2 update is a good example of what's almost a null change, yet requires 2.6 GB of installer files to be downloaded for an Intel Mac, and 3.1 GB for an M1 model. For comparison, a minimal update to Catalina required less than 1.2 GB, and for Mojave less than 1 GB, much of which were the seemingly obligatory set of firmware for every supported Mac. The time required to install these much larger updates has also increased substantially. Before the installation can even start, Big Sur updates now require a minimum of 15 minutes 'preparation', just as those for iOS/iPadOS do. The similarities here are made more obvious by a typo in log entries during this 'preparation' phase, which refers to the "BRAIN" being used not as macOS but "iOS 11.2.1 20D74 (Customer)", for instance. Minimising download time with a local Content Caching Server, second and subsequent updates still require a minimum of around 40-45 minutes, to which M1 models have an additional 1 GB which has to be downloaded from Apple's servers, and can't be obtained from the local cache. As Jeff Johnson has reminded us, Apple still claims that Big Sur has "Faster updates. Once macOS Big Sur is installed, software updates begin in the background and complete faster than before -- so it's easier than ever to keep your Mac up to date and secure." Anyone who has been keeping Big Sur up to date over this last month knows that's simply not true, and its reasoning is flawed. Whether updates are downloaded in the background or not, when a null update like 11.2.2 takes more than half an hour to install in addition to its 15 minute 'preparation', today's updates are far more time-consuming than ever before. What this month has demonstrated, reiterated and rubbed in until the wounds bleed again, is how massive and debilitating updating Big Sur has become. Fixing an issue in the firmware of a few models now requires that everyone running Big Sur downloads 2.6 to 3.1 GB of installer files, then waits as their Mac is unusable during the preparation and installation process of more than forty minutes. For most users with high-bandwidth internet connections, that comes to a total of at least an hour, which is longer than major updates took in Mojave and earlier. Worse still, if you have the misfortune to be running from an external bootable SSD on your M1 Mac, chances are that you can't even update macOS, and that can apply to Big Sur running in VMs too. Had Apple explained these costs and penalties of the SSV at last year's WWDC, wouldn't it have been booed from the virtual stage? To make this work for users, rather than its own engineers, Apple needs a radical approach. Instead of every update being based around a universal set of data files, the installer brain needs to work more intelligently. Why does every Mac need a copy of the firmware for every model? How can the burden of dylds be minimised? If Apple can't come up with a better solution designed to accommodate the needs of users around the world, many are not going to keep updating, and Big Sur will become the lemon it doesn't deserve to be. Share this: * Twitter * Facebook * Reddit * Pinterest * Email * Print * Like this: Like Loading... Related Posted in Macs, Technology and tagged Apple, Apple silicon, Big Sur, Content Caching, dyld, firmware, M1, macOS 11, SSV, update. Bookmark the permalink. 14Comments Add yours 1. 1 [60c0a04809a2] EcleX on February 28, 2021 at 8:20 am Reply Thanks. And security updates like MRT and XProtect not being shown at all in "Apple - About This Mac - Software Update" and not being installed by macOS updaters either. Yet, SilentKnight sees them! Hopefully, Apple will fix all that. LikeLiked by 1 person 2. 2 [2b8c86c6f1dd] brightlondon on February 28, 2021 at 12:43 pm Reply Thank you Howard, you have summed up my own frustrations with Big Sur precisely. I'm very much in favour of changes that enhance security. Running a computer from a read-only snapshot of a cryptographically verified system volume seems like a great idea on the face of it. But the huge overheads this creates for updates, backups and restoration from backup, not to mention the considerable additional complexity (and reduced flexibility) in these processes, seem like too heavy a price to pay on a desktop/ laptop computer. Yesterday I started setting up a new M1 MacBook Pro. Bringing it up to date (from 11.2, I think) took well over an hour. Even the download took forever, I assume because all over the planet M1 Macs were downloading a multi-gigabit update from an Apple CDN that is struggling to cope with this new demand. I could have done a complete re-installation of the OS or a major version upgrade in less time with earlier iterations of macOS. I agree with you that this will put off many people (and small organisations) from updating, which then exposes them to greater security risks. And don't get me started on the latest the UI!! Riccardo Mori has already provided a detailed analysis of its ergonomic failings ( https://morrick.me/) so I won't repeat those gripes here! LikeLiked by 2 people + 3 [6986a746f627] hoakley on February 28, 2021 at 4:27 pm Reply Thank you. I'm actually not so concerned about the UI. It can and will change in the future. That's the nature of the UI. But unless Apple does something to improve macOS updates, it's going to lose a lot of users, and those who remain will increasingly opt for older versions of macOS, not Big Sur. Given many other improvements which Big Sur does bring - and I'm still a supporter of the concept of the SSV - that would be a tragedy for macOS 11. Howard. LikeLike 3. 4 [f7be08659ee0] Joel Bruner on February 28, 2021 at 3:30 pm Reply So it's "not just me" then, eh? Thanks for sharing your thoughts as always. The update process too seems to love repeatedly asking for my password on my M1 Air. It's like "Did I stutter macOS!? Yes, update already!" first a password so it can update "later tonight" but then when I want it to run immediately it asks again. And if that gets interrupted, to run it again, it needs a password, again. Aye. LikeLiked by 1 person + 5 [6986a746f627] hoakley on February 28, 2021 at 4:28 pm Reply Thank you. Keeping four Macs up to date is a nightmare, and has stolen so much time and effort this month. Howard. LikeLike 4. 6 [bad9cb7421de] Tudorminator on February 28, 2021 at 4:49 pm Reply Thank you. I'm not getting nowhere near Big Slur. Partly because my 2014 Mac mini was left behind, and partly because of all your findings. Where I beg to differ is that I think it very much deserves to be a lemon because of all the user hostile changes it brings. LikeLiked by 1 person 5. 7 [756558c33261] jlforrest on February 28, 2021 at 5:01 pm Reply As someone who has nothing at stake in MacOS itself, but who is interested in the new Apple Silicon processors, this is all very discouraging. I've decided to wait until a production quality version of Linux for Apple Silicon comes out before considering buying a new Mac. I realize that might take a while, or might even never happen. LikeLiked by 1 person 6. 8 [9b3493fad4ab] Bruce Michel on February 28, 2021 at 5:03 pm Reply Big Sur updates continue the tradition of the infamous "Less than one minute remaining" message. Last update to 11.2.1, I timed it at four minutes plus. Most of the other time estimates are also way off. LikeLiked by 1 person 7. 9 [5f67b6a31559] Robin K on February 28, 2021 at 7:15 pm Reply Of course, everyone wants enhanced security. Unfortunately, there is no objective measure of how much more secure Big Sur is than Catalina. Or Mojave. The risk assessment in my view is completely opaque. I stood on the sidelines while the teething problems of Catalina were slowly resolved. Big Sur is even more problematic. I don't see moving to Big Sur at all, even though I was looking forward to an Apple Silicon Mac. Our 2018 MBPs work just fine as they are. Your assessment is correct: lots of folks will avoid these issues by standing with older Apple hardware or finding alternatives. LikeLiked by 1 person 8. 10 [55a5cdd87ff9] Steve Roggenkamp on February 28, 2021 at 7:49 pm Reply I bought my first Mac about two years ago, a MacBook Pro, after using Linux based systems for many years, primarily Ubuntu and Debian distributions. Most Debian and Ubuntu updates are very painless with just a few minutes of downtime but only when when kernel or system software is involved. The Mac update is very painful and has becoming increasingly frequent. It seems Apple does not have its system software engineering processes together. I have not installed Big Sur installed yet and probably will not for quite some time. i will not partake of Apple's new M1 system, so this will probably be my first and last Mac. LikeLiked by 1 person 9. 11 [d57b3c5f2902] Mauro on February 28, 2021 at 8:12 pm Reply I regret to have update to Big Sur. Beside all already mention I own a dockstation, DELL WD15 precisely, and become Just useless since I update, but on a less personal note the amount of issues reported on flickering display is absurd. And these are just some of the issues I stumble on... LikeLiked by 1 person 10. 12 [1f5e013aba23] Joe R. on February 28, 2021 at 8:54 pm Reply I feel vindicated for staying on Mojave every time I hear these type of stories. Unfortunately this short lived victory will be meaningless if I can't move up at some point in the future, which will be very sad since the alternatives are not very appealing. LikeLiked by 1 person 11. 13 [60c0a04809a2] EcleX on February 28, 2021 at 9:21 pm Reply Does SSV stand for Systems Software Verification? LikeLiked by 1 person + 14 [6986a746f627] hoakley on February 28, 2021 at 9:25 pm Reply No. As I explain in many articles here, it's Sealed System Volume, as opposed to Catalina's regular System volume, which isn't sealed, or a snapshot. Howard LikeLike Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here... [ ] Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: * * * * Gravatar Email (required) (Address never made public) [ ] Name (required) [ ] Website [ ] WordPress.com Logo You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out / Change ) Google photo You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out / Change ) Twitter picture You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out / Change ) Facebook photo You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out / Change ) Cancel Connecting to %s [ ] Notify me of new comments via email. [ ] Notify me of new posts via email. [Post Comment] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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