Disk Utility RAID on a Pair of Networked Drives

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Disk Utility RAID on a Pair of Networked Drives

My Time Capsule has been running for 10 years and has bailed me out from 2 catastrophic drive failures - but that's a long time to rely upon one device. Kudos to Apple for its longevity yet now it's time to retire the Capsule.

What I'd like to do is use a pair of 8TB drives in RAID 1 but instead of connecting those drives directly to my Mac I'd like to connect them directly to a new router that has a pair of USB ports. I'd run Time Machine to back up my Mac and another MacBook to the networked drive(s) and let Disk Utility RAID mirror to the other.

Before I pop for all the new hardware, will Disk Utility even see drives if they aren't connected directly to my Mac and subsequently allow for RAID setup? I'm not presently interested in a NAS device.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 22, 2020 3:07 PM

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Answer 1

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HWTech

Level 9

69,416 points

Mar 16, 2020 5:43 PM in response to weitrhino1

You cannot create a RAID using drives connected to a router. You really should purchase a dedicated NAS such as one of the Synology devices (there are a lot of options). I personally would not trust a router to support your drives properly. Many routers are very poorly made and supported with lots of vulnerabilities. Get the right tool for the job at hand.

And remember even a NAS or RAID device needs to be backed up as well. A RAID is not a backup.

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Answer 2

chris_g1

Community Specialist

Feb 25, 2020 12:11 PM in response to weitrhino1

Hi there, weitrhino1!

Thanks for reaching out to the Apple Support Communities! That's a great question you have about being able to use Time Machine to a networked drive. I suggest checking out this article to Back up your Mac with Time Machine. Specifically, check out this section with the information about the methods for backing up that Apple supports for Time Machine:

"Connect an external storage device

Connect one of the following external storage devices, sold separately. Learn more about backup disks that you can use with Time Machine.

External drive connected to your Mac, such as a USB, Thunderbolt, or FireWire drive
External drive connected to an AirPort Extreme Base Station (802.11ac model) or AirPort Time Capsule
AirPort Time Capsule
Mac shared as a Time Machine backup destination
Network-attached storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine over SMB"

Thanks again for the question and have a great day!

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Answer 3

weitrhino1 Author

Level 1

7 points

Feb 25, 2020 12:23 PM in response to chris_g1

Thanks for the response, Chris.

I have read that article although it doesn't really answer the question at hand which is really about Disk Utility and whether or not it will allow RAID configuration on a pair of drives connected into a network rather than directly to a Mac. So it's not so much a Time Machine question at all.

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Answer 4

weitrhino1 Author

Level 1

7 points

Mar 15, 2020 5:30 PM in response to weitrhino1

So I guess nobody has any idea on this question? No one?

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Disk Utility RAID on a Pair of Networked Drives

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