Q: Multiple Laptops, Wireless Externals and Time Machine
I have three MacBooks I'd like to hook up to Time Machine, but getting three wired externals is not going to work. Nobody in my household sits down in a single location that would facilitate connecting themselves up to a device.
I've been looking at cloud based subscription services like Backblaze, but a subscription for three machines is more expensive then buying a wireless external that we can share. (Plus, I like, and want, the Time Machine interface, and Backblaze doesn't do that.)
The one that is sticking out to me, and was recommended by a friend is Western Digital's "My Cloud."
However, I'm trying to find out if I can have three machines use a single external for three different Time Machine instances. My initial thought was that I could split a 3TB drive into three 1TB partitions, but I called their customer services and they said that partitioning wouldn't work. However, I can create three separate "folders" that would work with the separate MacBooks. I didn't think that was possible. When I've used TM in the past, and I use it wired to a G5 Tower, it formatted the entire drive specifically for the backup. And I haven't found any instructions on using sections of a drive.
Before I spend any money, I wanted to make sure that what they are describing is possible.
Can you link Time Machine to specific folders on an external?
If anyone has a different suggestion, that would be welcome too.
Thanks.
Posted on Feb 5, 2016 8:51 AM
Can you link Time Machine to specific folders on an external?
Yes. I back up 2 computers to a Time Capsule that isn't partitioned.
Apple officially supports Time Capsules for Network backups. If you look in the refurbished section of the Apple Store, you can get one for a reduced price with the same warranty as a new one. After trying a couple of other brands for backing up to Network backups, I switched to all Time Capsules and in my experience, they just work.
Posted on Feb 5, 2016 9:05 AM