Time Machine Solution?

[Incisus]

Hi guys, my 15" tbMBP is on order and should be arriving around late January. I've been away from MacOS for a few years and am trying to figure out the ideal Time Machine solution.

Is there a reliable external drive that you can recommend? Are there are NAS solutions that have Time Machine integration that are better?

Any and all recommendations are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Note: I don't need Time Machine backups for actual data backup. I use them in case I need to revert changes, all of my important data is cloud-based.

 

[GatorGhost]

Hi guys, my 15" tbMBP is on order and should be arriving around late January. I've been away from MacOS for a few years and am trying to figure out the ideal Time Machine solution.

Is there a reliable external drive that you can recommend? Are there are NAS solutions that have Time Machine integration that are better?

Any and all recommendations are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Note: I don't need Time Machine backups for actual data backup. I use them in case I need to revert changes, all of my important data is cloud-based.

I use a Seagate 2tb backup plus USB 3.0 which I partition and a Samsung T1 SSD USB 250gig and use them simultaneously for two live backups and have never had them fail on any unit I have used. I am a firm believer in Time Machine and test it periodically to make sure I can restore a file or two to make sure it is working. I tried cloning and did not like it and not sure it could not be anymore reliable. Just my experience....maybe others have a better backup mousetrap...but for me my method is spot on.

 

[Dukat]

I use a Synology NAS. It supports creating a share that works with Time Machine. OSX automatically detected the share as an option for Time Machine backups.

Does anyone know if there's an advantage to connecting to a NAS via SMB or AFP? The only advantage I've noticed so far is AFP mapped shares can be added to the Finder sidebar, it won't let you favorite the share when connected via SMB.

Is there any performance benefit choosing one over the other?

 

[Weaselboy]

Is there a reliable external drive that you can recommend? Are there are NAS solutions that have Time Machine integration that are better?

Drives are pretty much a commodity now and all the same. People have their favorites, but it is kind of like arguing if Ford or Chevrolet trucks are best.

Just decide if you want a 3.5" powered desktop drive, or a 2.5" laptop self powered drive, then choose the size you need (usually around 2X the total amount of data you expect to have)... then find whatever you can get the best price on for that model. Most drives in stores and still USB-A, so you will need an adaptor or cable for USB-C. I'm using these and they work well.

Some NAS devices support Time Machine, but I would not necessarily say it is a better solution. The downside to a NAS is often an OS X update will break compatibility with the NAS and Time Machine.
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I use a Synology NAS. It supports creating a share that works with Time Machine. OSX automatically detected the share as an option for Time Machine backups.

Does anyone know if there's an advantage to connecting to a NAS via SMB or AFP? The only advantage I've noticed so far is AFP mapped shares can be added to the Finder sidebar, it won't let you favorite the share when connected via SMB.

Is there any performance benefit choosing one over the other?

The AFP protocol is deprecated starting with Mavericks Apple has said you should use SMB2.

 

[Dukat]

The AFP protocol is deprecated starting with Mavericks Apple has said you should use SMB2.

Is there a way to map a drive forcing it to use SMB2 vs 1 or 3 or does OSX automatically use the appropriate one?

Thanks, you've already been more helpful than the many times I asked Apple about this!

 

[Weaselboy]

Is there a way to map a drive forcing it to use SMB2 vs 1 or 3 or does OSX automatically use the appropriate one?

Thanks, you've already been more helpful than the many times I asked Apple about this!

I know Sierra is now using SMB3, but I don't know a way to specify using another version. It will just use SMB3 if you are on Sierra.

 

[Incisus]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went ahead and picked up a dual bay Synology enclosure and picked up two 3Tb NAS drives. I figure I could use the space for convenience anyway.

If I have any issues, I'll buy a regular external drive and use this for other things!

 

[Incisus]

An update on my end:

The NAS came today and I set everything up with daily backups to AWS Glacier for data redundancy. This is a sweet solution, and I have a ton of local storage now too!