The new ASIF disk image type is now 18 months old. How well does it perform? Is it as good as claimed? It all depends on whether you want to use encryption.
sparse bundle
They come in a multitude of formats and variants, and are used throughout macOS and apps. How do you use them, and what should be wary of?
Updates to Cirrus (iCloud), Revisionist (versions), Spundle (sparse bundles) and T2M2 (Time Machine)
Four updates to popular tools, aimed mainly at compatibility with Tahoe, covering iCloud Drive tests, tools for document versions, creating sparse bundles, and checking your Time Machine backups are working properly.
Some services can only be run when a MacBook Air or Pro is awake and running on mains (AC) power. Here’s a list, and what you can do to ensure their work still gets done.
Why does compressing a 15 GB file within a sparse bundle run more slowly than would be expected from its write performance?
Why pay an extra $600 for a 2 TB internal SSD, after all fast external SSDs are cheaper. Maybe you need to check whether disk performance becomes a rate-limiting factor.
How do sparse bundles and read-write disk images compare with regard to their efficient use of disk space, and in maintenance requirements? Here are test results from Sequoia.
How to fit over 90 GB of files into a sparse bundle that’s only 13.8 MB in size, just like Doctor Who’s TARDIS. No APFS sparse files are involved.
Sparse bundles (UDSB), read-write disk images (UDRW) and sparse images (UDSP) compared on two SSD, with and without container encryption.
The only disk images of varying size used to be sparse bundles and sparse disk images. Now plain read-write disk images can also vary in the disk space they take, as explained here.
The Eclectic Light Company 