Home Time Machine backup without a Time Capsule/Airport Extreme

[AustinIllini]

I am getting a little annoyed by the fact that Apple has abandoned network tools but still doesn't have a great solution for Time Machine outside the time capsule.

Does anyone use something like an Eero but still manage to get Time Machine working? What did it take? Did you set up a server somewhere in your house?

 

[malcky77]

I no longer have any Apple routers, I now use a Ubiquity router and access points and use a western digital nas as a storage point for time machine back ups for my Mac mini. Never had a problem with this method for a couple of years now.....although I have never had to actually use any of the back ups to fully test it.

 

[mpainesyd]

You can just use an external drive plugged directly into your Mac using USB or Thunderbolt. I use a Lacia USB-c drive as my main backup. I also use an SSD drive as a second backup and store it offsite. Time Machine automatically alternates between multiple backup drives.
if you have more than 1 Mac on your network you can also backup to that drive from another Mac.
I used to have a Time Capsule and it was great since it was password accessible from any Mac on the network. But it broke

 

[Plutonius]

I have a Mac Pro 5,1 and I use one of the internal drives for time machine backups.

On my MacBook Pro, I network over the local network to my time machine drive in my Mac Pro.

 

[cmaier]

I am getting a little annoyed by the fact that Apple has abandoned network tools but still doesn't have a great solution for Time Machine outside the time capsule.

Does anyone use something like an Eero but still manage to get Time Machine working? What did it take? Did you set up a server somewhere in your house?

You can do this with synology equipment. Either one of their NAS’s, or plug a hard drive into their router (I believe - haven’t tried their router yet).

I have two NAS’s in my house, and have been all the macs in the house set up to wirelessly time machine backup to them. Been working for many years. Functionality is built into the NAS.

 

[cynics]

I've always used a NAS for time machine backups. Currently I've been using an inexpensive Synology from 2015. This is a slightly more modern version.

Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation DS218j (Diskless)

Synology Disk Station DS218j is a 2-bay NAS server which perfectly fits home and personal users to build your own personal cloud. Simple yet powerful, Synology DS218j offers effortless data sharing, multimedia streaming, and cloud synchronization. Synology DS218j is backed by Synology's 2-year li...

www.amazon.com

Prior to that I used a Qnap and I liked both brands.

I have 2 x 3tb WD RED HDD using Synology RAID (RAID 1).

Western Digital 3TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 64 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD30EFRX

Packed with power to handle the small- to medium-sized business NAS environments and increased workloads for SOHO customers, WD Red Plus is ideal for archiving and sharing, as well as RAID array rebuilding on systems using ZFS and other file systems. Built and tested for up to 8-bay NAS systems, ...

www.amazon.com

Once setup properly the NAS route will provide a better experience (faster, some data redundancy (if one drive fails you replace it and the RAID will rebuild itself), monthly HDD diagnostics emailed to me, etc). Only thing I would consider is more bays and one with the power to be used as a HTPC.