Backing up two Macs to a mirrored NAS using Time Machine, and then on to the cloud

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Backing up two Macs to a mirrored NAS using Time Machine, and then on to the cloud

I'm going to be moving home in the next few months, and I want to use this as an opportunity to get my home technology rig set up properly. I wrote a blog post about this at

http://state68.com/content/moving-edinburgh-sorting-out-technology-rig

A few friends of mine have read this over, and the weak link in the chain seems to be my backup strategy. As per

http://state68.com/content/moving-edinburgh-sorting-out-technology-rig

What I'd now like to do is to backup both Macs (a Mac mini that stays on my desk at home and a MacBook Air that travels everywhere with me, in case you haven't read the links above) to a mirrored NAS via Time Machine, and then have the mirrored NAS backup to the cloud. I'm aware of the potential compatability problems between Time Machine and certain NAS drives, but as for the rest, well:

Has anyone got this to work? Is there a specific cloud service that you could recommend? And what do the Time Machine files actually look like: would I be screwed if my office caught fire while the NAS was in the middle of sending data to the cloud?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Apr 23, 2012 2:21 PM

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Answer 1

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Linc Davis

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209,547 points

Apr 23, 2012 2:49 PM in response to jim0203

Using a third-party NAS as a Time Machine backup destination is unsupported by Apple. Search this site for reports of the resulting data-loss catastrophes. If such a catastrophe happens to you, your only recourse will be to the NAS vendor. Neither Apple nor anyone here will be able to help you.

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Answer 2

jim0203 Author

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Apr 23, 2012 2:55 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks, Linc. Is that a marketing decision by Apple (possibly to push sales of Time Capsule) or is there another reason why Apple doesn't support third-party NAS solutions?

All that being said, I'm happy for the fallout from a NAS meltdown to hit the vendor so I'm happy to continue this line of enquiry with regards to putting together a backup strategy. I'm also open to completely different backup strategies that will work for my scenario, if people would like to share these.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Apr 23, 2012 3:08 PM in response to jim0203

If you intend to use a third-party NAS with Time Machine, you must verify that the device meets the Time Machine Network Interface Specification (TMNIS).

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Answer 4

jim0203 Author

Level 1

8 points

Apr 23, 2012 3:13 PM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks Linc, will do. I'm intrigued as to why Apple doesn't support third-party NAS solutions. Maybe I was too cynical in my earlier post, and this is just standard industry practice: i.e., responsibility for data integrity rests with the media manufacturer or vendor (in this case, the NAS manufacturer) rather than the manufacturer of the computer. That would make sense to me.

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