Using the same External Drive for Time Machine over both USB and Ether.

[robstarobotard]

Calling all Uber Geeks (from a confused Uber Geek)...

Been reading these forums for some time now, as usually find my questions have been pre-conceived, however, I think my next is away from the norm.

Basically, my question relates to time machine backups. Okay, nothing unusual just yet; but my girlfriend spends most of the year here with me in England, and 3-4 months a year in Luxembourg. This is where it gets complicated...

She is about to upgrade her macbook HD to a 320 GB as she's a little short on capaciousness. This, in turn suggests she'd need a new Time Machine setup, drifting away from the 120 GB 2.5" drive.

Now my suggestion was to have a half TB 3.5 incher (to keep it cheap) that could be connected to my WRT54G wireless router, so when she came home, we could auto backup any changes. Again, nothing too crazy yet.

The problem arises when she goes back to Luxembourg, where she may not have access to plug a NAS in to a wireless network.

I was thinking to suggest/buy (the problem with being a geeky boyfriend is you need to facilitate the HW, and usually the cost!) a USB/Ethernet external drive, but don't know whether or not Time Machine will play nicely with the destination drive being either USB based, or IP based.

Will it pick up the drive based on the information inside, or does it need to base things on the hardware itself... As in can she use the same drive as a destination for her time machine backups if it's plugged into a WiFi network one day, but the next day it's plugged in directly over USB?

I look forward to speaking with anyone who accepts the challenge...

Robsta