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Time Machine and Akitio Network Devices Compatibility
- Thread starter chris1981
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Usually these third party NAS devices that do support Time Machine will say so in the specs and I don't see it listed in the specs for either of these.
To work with Time Machine, it would also need to support the AFP network protocol, and I don't see that in the specs either.
So I'm going to say no.
To work with Time Machine, it would also need to support the AFP network protocol, and I don't see that in the specs either.
So I'm going to say no.
Any network storage that can be mounted on your mac can be used for Time Machine backups. Check out the "Setup each Mac Client" section of this wiki
http://guides.macrumors.com/Fedora12_Based_Time_Capsule_Server
It sounds strange, the Wiki is for setting up a Fedora based time capsule, but fundementally, it is explaining how to use a non-apple compliant device as the backup storage server. That is exactly what you are trying to do... and it works (I wrote the Wiki
http://guides.macrumors.com/Fedora12_Based_Time_Capsule_Server
It sounds strange, the Wiki is for setting up a Fedora based time capsule, but fundementally, it is explaining how to use a non-apple compliant device as the backup storage server. That is exactly what you are trying to do... and it works (I wrote the Wiki
Time Machine needs AFP to work reliably (like Netatalk in your wiki), but absent that it will not work properly and your data may not be there when you need it.
There have been quite a few posts on this over the years, and some people get it working okay for a while, then it just seems to stop. Or the data is corrupted when you go to restore. I would not trust my backups to an unsupported hack.
Just my opinion.
Guys thank you for your replies. I wouldnt also trust my data to a hack. Data is very very important.
I have found the Western Digital My Cloud Hard Drive that has Time Machine compatibility in its specifications.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705103.pdf
Whats your opinion on this one ?
I have found the Western Digital My Cloud Hard Drive that has Time Machine compatibility in its specifications.
http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/UM/ENG/4779-705103.pdf
Whats your opinion on this one ?
I have seen posts on here from users with that WD it is seems to work fine. The only issue with those third party Time Machine solutions is sometimes as OS X version update (like from Mountain Lion to Mavericks) can break Time Machine until the drive manufacturer comes out with a firmware update to address the OS X changes. This happened to a lot of people with Mavericks.
So as long as you hold on on diving in to OS X updates (like Yosemite coming up soon) until you make sure it works with your NAS device, you should be okay.
If you want to use Time Machine networked the only "officially supported" methods by Apple are a Time Capsule, a USB drive attached to the new tower shaped Airport Extreme, and a Mac running OS X Server version.
Everything else you are reliant on the NAS vendor keeping it updated. Which is okay as long as you are aware of that.
I used the WD My Cloud for about a month and didn't like it. It was very slow and the software was extremely buggy. The software issues may have been resolved since I had it which was when it first launched.
I like the option to use my own usb drive with an Airport Extreme.
So I simply buy the Airport Extreme, connect the USB drive I already have and TM will find it as a Backup destination ?
As Weaselboy mentioned above, for an officially Apple supported and trouble-free setup with an Airport Express, make sure you get the current model Airport Extreme (tall, "6th generation," 802.11ac, A1521) and not one of the older flatter models. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort_Extreme)
Any working USB drive is fine.
A Time Capsule (of any generation -- tall or flat) can also allow you to use an external USB drive as a backup destination and is officially supported. I've got a 1st-gen Time Capsule (yes!) with a 4 TB external drive plugged in and it works great. So a used TC (even if it has a too-small internal drive) may also be an option.
(Beware, though: many of the 1st-gen TCs had defective capacitors that caused the power supply to fail prematurely. Mine has been great for six and half years, but I wouldn't recommend buying a 1st-gen unless you know what you're getting into. From my reading, it seems the 2nd-gen ones didn't have this problem.)
Though not very speedy, I think you'll find it very convenient. The first backup can take hours; if you have lots of data you might want to connect your Mac to the Airport Extreme with an Ethernet cable temporarily to speed it up some. Subsequent backups include just the changed data and are no problem, wired or wirelessly, in my experience.
Can I even use the Airport Express USB port to connect my USB drive for backup ?
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=4d
I ask because I dont really need all the Ethernet ports the Airport Extreme offers and also Airport Express is smaller and I can hook it to the wall which is convenient for me.
If I could use it for Time Machine it would be great.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=4d
I ask because I dont really need all the Ethernet ports the Airport Extreme offers and also Airport Express is smaller and I can hook it to the wall which is convenient for me.
If I could use it for Time Machine it would be great.
I checked Answers & Questions under Apples US website and they state that it works.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=4d
Here is the exact text:
Yes. The USB port on airport express and air port extreme will serve either a network printer and/or a network drive. I use mine for a shared drive across the network. It is compatible with all three windows machines and 2 macs. Before I bought a wireless printer I used the USB on my airport extreme to serve the printer I had at the time...
I got confused now
Wow--I guess I'm not the only one with a 1st gen still kicking. Mine is from the first shipment from China and have been totally reliable. I had a WD USB drive attached with my iTunes library and it also served its purpose well but somehow the drive managed to get corrupted--fortunately I had a backup--the drive appears to be fine after reformatting.
Well, there is this purpose-built wall bracket: http://www.h-sq.com/products/airmount/. Looks like it will even hold the external drive.
I suppose a small shelf would work well, too!
I checked Answers & Questions under Apples US website and they state that it works.
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC414LL/A/airport-express?fnode=4d
Here is the exact text:
Yes. The USB port on airport express and air port extreme will serve either a network printer and/or a network drive. I use mine for a shared drive across the network. It is compatible with all three windows machines and 2 macs. Before I bought a wireless printer I used the USB on my airport extreme to serve the printer I had at the time...
I got confused now
That is from a user and not Apple and they are mistaken.
See these three Apple support docs. Express only runs a printer off USB.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5924
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2421
This is interesting to me. I bought mine in May 2008 which I believe was very soon after they were available. Maybe mine is also a "first shipment" unit. How did you determine that?
My 1st-gen TC has been perfect. When the original 500 GB got too small, I opened it up, put in a 2 TB WD drive and used it that way for years (and the original drive in a different use). Five months ago I decided the 2 TB wasn't enough for my backups. I put the original 500 GB back into the TC (use it for my MacBook Pro backups), and plugged an external 4 GB into the TC for my iMac backups. The thing has been in constant use since 2008 and it just keeps chugging away! Guess I got lucky!
Brian Thank You this is a fantastic product but since I am in Europe i dont know if I can find it, but I will try.
Weaselboy Thank You for this fantastic information. You are correct this is a mistake that Apple hasnt seen and I have to admit that it is pretty frustrating. They should remove it... You saved me from buying something that will not fit my needs.
I will go for the extreme.
I ordered my iMac and the Time Capsule in Jan 2008 and got it around the May Time Frame as you did. It was not available yet when I ordered the iMac and was shipped direct from China when the Time Capsule first became available. I would guess you got one of the first ones out of the factory as well.
I don't back up my iMac with TC anymore--don't do anything on it except listen to music--so I use the TC for my MacBook Pro and since the SSD is only 256, I have plenty of room left. Like you, my TC has been on constantly since May 2008.