(apple) time machine backup to omv nas

    Hi, I came across an article from Jata1 that's over a year old and I was going to 'reply' to inherit context, but I saw a message to 'create new thread' so here goes:


    I want to backup iMac (intel late 2014-patched to sonoma) and 2024 Macbook pro (M3) to OMV NAS. I googled and (somewhat) followed directions of Jata1; which is to say creating new folders (imac_backup & mbp_backup) first from /storage/shared folders; and then defining same in /services/SMB-CIFS/shares. So far so good; but Jata1 seems to stress the use of encryption. Does that mean that I should check the box entitled "Transport Encryption" ? Otherwise, I've only checked "Time Machine support".


    OR is Jata1 suggesting that encryption only be setup from the Mac (client) side only... that's where I'm stuck: is it 'one' or 'other' or 'both'?


    Also, my iMac has network cable to LAN, but I figured on MBP running only off of WiFi... is that OK for backup to NAS?


    Any corrections to the above (if wrong) or additional advice would be greatly appreciated.

    So far you are doing right, a folder/share per machine. The encryption is for privacy of the backup and is from the mac client if you want it. If you are not worried about privacy because they are all your systems or you don't care if someone else looked throught the backup, you can leave encryption off as it will also slow down the backup and restore.


    the timemachine is best done over a wired connection for speed and integrity of the data stream, just like any network access, but in lieu of a cable wifi will work too.


    I have 8 or 10 mac's at the office that I do this exact same thing with. The only difference for me is that I have a different user created for each mac so I can institute a user based quota to keep a machine from chewing up all the storage.

    Thank you very much for the prompt reply. Yes, further to Jata1's instructions (and my logic) I have also created one user per machine (backup) so now have a total of 3 users... the first being the original omv setup. So if I understand correctly; given that I'm the only user in my LAN I don't need encryption either on NAS side or client (mac) side.... which also helps speed up backups.


    I haven't yet setup backup from mac side yet, so I may circle back if any issues there. Do you know of any posts / articles to test if backups are successful and properly configured if the worst happens?

    Correct, encryption is not a necessity.

    The folder per machine is important to help timemachine from getting “confused” by having multiple backup bundles visible to it.

    The user per system is only needed if you want to implement a server controlled limit on the amount of storage a backup is allowed to consume. If that is not a concern, the same user can be applied to each system.


    As for something to test if it is working, the only thing I am aware of is actually entering the time machine on the Mac and browse it and try to restore some files. If you can do this it is set up correctly.

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