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Time Machine with NAS? Experiences?

C

chaoticbear

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2007
265
1
I've found a couple of guides online to make a generic NAS work with TM, instead of having to drop the coin on a Time Capsule. Some of them warned about instability - that seems like the opposite of what I'd want on a backup!

Has anyone done this? If so, what's your setup and experiences? We are considering buying some sort of NAS for the house (gonna be very handy with an MBA!) and if I could make this work, well bonus for me. +
 
There are some NAS drives out there that support Time Machine out of the box. I would highly suggest getting one of these as they are designed and supported to work with Time Machine. Just make sure Time Machine support is listed in the features of the product you purchase.
 
Ah. So there are!

Maybe I should ask this moved to the Buying Tips forum, but I'll ask anyway: anyone have any recommendations for one that supports TM and also Linux? Newegg has so many to go through that it is intimidating, they all seem so similar!

This one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108065

for instance has good reviews, supports OSX and Linux, but doesn't mention Time Machine. Is that a common feature for them to advertise?
 
That one actually supports Time Machine out of the box. Reading the reviews, the second one states that the user has multiple Macs using Time Machine with that NAS. So I went to the manufacturer's website and looked up that specific model, and lo and behold, Time Machine support out of the box!

http://www.synology.com/enu/products/DS211j/spec.php

Backup Solutions
  • Network Backup
  • Local Backup
  • Desktop Backup (using Synology Data Replicator 3 or Apple Time Machine backup application)
  • Time Backup - Max task number：2
  • USBCopy
  • 3rd-Party Backup Support
Click to expand...
 
I run FreeNAS setup to emulate a TimeCapsule in a VM on my home server. It works exactly as expected and is very easy (for me at least) to setup. I just have an extra 1TB drive in the system setup for it. It's very easy and looks to my MBP exactly like an official Apple one would.
 
Last edited:
skorpien said:
That one actually supports Time Machine out of the box. Reading the reviews, the second one states that the user has multiple Macs using Time Machine with that NAS. So I went to the manufacturer's website and looked up that specific model, and lo and behold, Time Machine support out of the box!

http://www.synology.com/enu/products/DS211j/spec.php
Click to expand...

Thanks for doing the hard part for me lol - I didn't think to click through to their website to look at it! I figured that they'd advertise it as a bonus feature if it were indeed supported.
 
chaoticbear said:
Thanks for doing the hard part for me lol - I didn't think to click through to their website to look at it! I figured that they'd advertise it as a bonus feature if it were indeed supported.
Click to expand...

Yeah, usually Newegg is good for listing all of the features, but it's always good to check. To be honest, I wouldn't have thought to check if it weren't for the review that spoke of Time Machine backups. And you're welcome, glad I could help. I realize my previous post could have been misconstrued as rude or sarcastic, but it honestly wasn't meant to be. Hope it wasn't interpreted that way.
 
After researching this myself, I recommend the Synology DS211j. I like it a lot.
 
Ok - it turns out that we need a new router anyway, so we've pulled the trigger on a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH (long story, involving my roommate's love for custom firmware on routers) - it has support for plugging in an external hard drive, and I realized that neither of us really NEEDS the utility of an NAS or a home-built server. This should be just fine. If I can't get Time Machine to work with it, I'm sure I can backup my files through some other solution.

Now for the dumb question: What format can I use for an external HDD that Mac/Windows/Linux can all use? From what I understand, FAT32 will work with Mac, but has a 4GB max file size, and Windows doesn't particularly care for HFS+. I don't know anything about Linux, but my roommate uses it for her primary computer, so ideally, it'd run on there too.
 
My guess is that the Buffalo will use SMB (Server Message Block), AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) or some other network filing protocol to share whichever drive it has connected. If this is the case, it really doesn't matter what format the drive is so long as it's a format supported by the Buffalo router.

For example, the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule routers allow computers to use either AFP or SMB to access the hard drives that are connected via USB. This way, a hard drive that is formatted as HFS+ connected to the router can be accessed by a Windows computer using SMB and a Mac using AFP.

As for your Buffalo router, if it does not support HFS+ and/or AFP, chances are Time Machine will not work with it without using a Terminal hack on your Mac to allow it to use non-supported network drives for Time Machine.
 
I use a QNAP NAS which works fine with Time Machine (as long as you are on v3 firmware - all new ones should be). When browsing files though I need to be on ethernet though as wi-fi browsing seems to be extremely slow!
 
skorpien said:
My guess is that the Buffalo will use SMB (Server Message Block), AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) or some other network filing protocol to share whichever drive it has connected. If this is the case, it really doesn't matter what format the drive is so long as it's a format supported by the Buffalo router.

For example, the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule routers allow computers to use either AFP or SMB to access the hard drives that are connected via USB. This way, a hard drive that is formatted as HFS+ connected to the router can be accessed by a Windows computer using SMB and a Mac using AFP.

As for your Buffalo router, if it does not support HFS+ and/or AFP, chances are Time Machine will not work with it without using a Terminal hack on your Mac to allow it to use non-supported network drives for Time Machine.
Click to expand...

I officially love the internet. My knowledge of networks ends at the level of knowing what wires to plug in where and being able to navigate menus in setup. I can't wait for my toys to show up so I can get started on this!
 
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gdeusthewhizkid said:
Im one of the fools that went with the TIME CAPSULE. It's fast and gives you piece of mind. Im ok with the fact that i bought one of these. Im also considering adding a NAS to it. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822108042

This one is right up my alley. If anyone has experience with these type of NAS. Is it true that you just drap and drop files into it from your desktop?
Click to expand...

I would be interested in the Synology DS110j too to use with Time Machine backups ( 2 Macs, one wired and the other wireless).

Specs of Synology say TM support out of the box but I already tried Western Digital My Book World edition and a Seagate GoFlex Home that said support out of the box too that finally turned out to be a disaster...so I was wondering if performance with this product will be better...Thoughts and experience will be helpful.

Thanks
 
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