Time Capsule issues, do I need to rename my sparsebundle?

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Level 1

12 points

Time Capsule issues, do I need to rename my sparsebundle?

I recently started having issues with my Airport with Time Capsule, and after doing a bunch of other updates to my system, I am wondering if the name of my sparsebundle might be causing issues. There is a bit of history behind what I did, so please bear with me while I explain it all.

I bought my AirPort with Time Capsule back in November of 2014 and it had been working fine until February of this year. We changed our internet service provider, and the day we did that, I had to unplug everything on my desk to rearrange things. I plugged everything back in, my wifi was working fine, and I had never had an issue with my Time Capsule, so I didn't even think to check it. But then I got an alert one day saying my machine had not been backed up in 12 days. I tried to do a backup at that time, but got stuck in the "Looking for backup drive" phase. Through trial and error, I found if I power cycle my AirPort, I can get it to find the drive and do the backup, but it seems to be a temporary fix. After a day or two, or sometimes later that day after the computer had been put to sleep and woken back up, it was going back into the "Looking..." phase.

I did some research online, but most of the post I was finding were from 2008, 2012, etc., so I was concerned the info may be outdated. At this point, I would prefer not to erase my Time Capsule and start over, so I am trying various things to see if I can fix the problem before having to go the extreme route of starting over. I have run Disk Utility on the sparsebundle multiple times. The first time I ran it on the iMac one, there was an error, but the second time I ran it, everything seemed fine. And I am getting this error when I backup my iMac and my MacBookPro. Both are set to back up to the same Time Capsule, so it seems to be an issue with the actual Time Capsule and not the machines.

I did a bunch of research, and one of the things I found was that it could be my computer name causing some issues. My computers were named "Lauriena's iMac" and "Lauriena LastName's MacBook Pro" (not putting my last name in the post, but it is the same number of characters). I have since read that having spaces and even the apostrophes could be causing issues, so I have changed the name of both of the computers. I shortened them to "Reenas_iMac" and "Reenas_MacBookPro" (although now I am wondering if I should get rid of the underscore as well). I also renamed the Time Capsule from "Lauriena's AirPort Time Capsule" to "ReenasAirPortTimeCapsule". After I renamed the Time Capsule, I made sure to go into Time Machine and reselect the drive to be used for backup, since it was looking for the one on "Lauriena's AirPort Time Capsule".

One of the things that I had read was that if you changed the name of your computer, the next time you did a backup it would take longer to back up, and it would also change the name of the sparsebundle to match the computer name. I wanted to do this, since my sparsebundle name mimicked my computer names before, which means there are spaces and apostrophes in the names. But to my surprise, the name did not change. The backups took longer, which I expected based on what I had read, but the names stayed the same.

So far today, even with putting the computer to sleep overnight, the automatic backups seem to be working, but I am concerned the the name of the sparsebundle may come back to haunt me. At this point, I am trying to do whatever I can to avoid future issues and I am hoping to avoid having to wipe out my sparsebundles and start over, if at all possible. Mostly because I get nervous at the thought of not having a backup, even if it is just for a short period of time. If it turns out that I do need to do this, I will, but I wanted to see if I had other options.

So my main question becomes, would the name of my sparsebundle potentially be causing issues, and if so, is there a way to change it without deleting it and starting over? If it helps, I am running a Mid 2011 iMac and an Early 2011 MacBookPro, both running El Capitan 10.11.2. Right now my sparsebundle names are "Lauriena LastName's MacBook Pro.sparsebundle" and "Lauriena's iMac.sparsebundle".

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Apr 18, 2016 6:56 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 18, 2016 2:22 PM in response to MissReena

I am not enamoured of the idea of changing the sparsebundle names..

I applaud your name changing.. as I think that leads to better network reliability.. but the fact is Time Machine is a delicate little beastie and unfortunately to know when it is messed up is often at just the point you want to use it.

My recommend is exactly what you don't want to do.

I am trying to do whatever I can to avoid future issues and I am hoping to avoid having to wipe out my sparsebundles and start over, if at all possible.

Due to the mutual exclusivity of avoiding future issues.. and starting over. Your desire is to have your cake and eat it.. but one or the other is going to give way.

If you want to keep your existing backups.. do an archive from the airport utility to a USB drive suitably formatted. You only have to keep it 3-6months to build up enough history that you are unlikely to ever need it again.

Then do a quick erase of the TC and start over. The backups can be done much faster using ethernet.. one at a time.. and there is no time you will be missing a backup.

One of the things that I had read was that if you changed the name of your computer, the next time you did a backup it would take longer to back up, and it would also change the name of the sparsebundle to match the computer name.

Just to explain this.. The first part is right.. a backup should take a long while as it will check the files..

The second part is not correct.. TM cannot change the name of the sparsebundle to match the name.. What I would expect it to do in most cases is start a new backup. Often it does just that.. I have trialled it and found that it started a new backup.. but by design TM does NOT use the computer name.. It is linked to UUID of the disk.

http://pondini.org/TM/Works.html

Read through Pondini's great KB if you want to understand more.

IMHO if it is using the existing backup.. then the name change to the computer was irrelevant.. and the backups should be fine.. but my trust in TM is diminished.

Since you do seem concerned about having good backups.. let me suggest a dual approach. Keep running TM as you are.. it does a good job of incremental backups.

But download Carbon Copy Cloner (it is about $40 and covers multiple computers in your household). You can trial it for a month to see if you actually like it. Create a bootable clone on a USB drive plugged into your computer.. you will need separate ones for the computers.. but it only needs to be a small self powered drive of the same capacity as the boot disk. (or as large as the files with a bit of space) so 1TB units are fine unless either of your Mac's has monster drives.

Then trial a boot from the clone.. hold down the option key while the computer is booting and select the USB drive.. and you will know within a couple of minutes that you have a fully viable functional backup. All your files will be there and everything work exactly as before.. because this is a true clone.

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Answer 2

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 19, 2016 7:25 AM in response to LaPastenague

I think I knew that I was probably not going to be able to get away with not erasing it, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

My trust in it is becoming more and more diminished... It was working fine yesterday, but now today, I am back to the "Looking for backup disk" situation that I was in for a while. It is frustrating because I had my backups for over 2 years on an external drive with no issues, and then had it on my Time Capsule from November of 2014 until February of this year with no issue...then all of a sudden, nothing but issues.

The last successful backup was at 4:36 pm yesterday, while I was still online. Since that time, I have put the computer to sleep and woken it back, and have been working on it for about 2.5 hours now before I decided to check on the backups, which are now not happening. I would have to power cycle my AirPort again to get the two machines to find the disc and do the backups.

Will just erasing it be enough, or do you think I may need to do a reset on the whole thing? I can try erasing first and see what happens.

It is funny how I have this tendency to hold on to my backups. I just found the hard drive I was using for TimeMachine before I bought the AirPort, and it has my backups from 2012 to 2014. For some reason, I am hesitating on erasing it to move my backup of my sparsebundle on to it. Totally silly...especially since I have not touched it since November 2014, when I got my AirPort.

I have read through some of Pondini's site, but not all of it. Looks like I will have time while I am erasing my Time Capsule and doing my new backups.

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Answer 3

Apr 19, 2016 1:26 PM in response to MissReena

For some reason, I am hesitating on erasing it to move my backup of my sparsebundle on to it. Totally silly...especially since I have not touched it since November 2014, when I got my AirPort.

Every few years disks grow in size by 2x or 3x although that is not happening now.. and disk reliability is 3years.. so there is nothing wrong with retiring an old disk and hanging on to it.. I have disks going back to XP computer.. which is 120GB.. !! Amazing how much stuff we used to cram onto such a small drive. I have rebuilt one computer where data stored on a very old drive saved the day.

The pressure today is to do everything in the cloud.. but that also requires internet with decent speed.. something missing from where I live.. so local storage is requirement.

It sounds like you have network issues.. sadly the TC which can behave perfectly for a year or more, when it does become unreliable is hard to get working reliably again. It is a combo of the latest OS (El Capo in particular seems buggy but this is continuing the tradition since Mavericks).

I recommend CCC and use local USB drives.

I also recommend a different router.. and bridge the TC and use it for TM backups and wireless. It seems to behave better that way.. bridge or static IP.

I have to admit I have now moved my TM backups to a Synology NAS. And use the TC as just a wireless AP.. overall it has provided a more reliable network.

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Answer 4

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 19, 2016 1:40 PM in response to LaPastenague

First off, thanks for all of your help. It is really appreciated. I do have a few more questions. I feel like I used to understand all of this stuff a lot better than I do now... but lately, technology is kicking my butt LOL

Do you think the network issues are as a result of the OS/Time Capsule getting buggy? Or could something else have caused it? This all started to happen when we changed internet service providers, but the only thing I did different was to unplug from the old modem that was sitting on my desk and plug in the new ethernet cable that was plugged into the wall (which is run to the modem on the other side of the room, all run by an electrician and verified by the ISP when they set everything up). I still have an cable plugged into the back of my iMac and then into the back of the TC, so that has not changed, which would make me thing the connection between my computer and the back up drive should not have changed. But, this is technology, and you never know when it is just going to go buggy on you!

Other than that, nothing changed, but I did notice that the day we updated our provider was the day that the backups stopped working properly. I wonder, could it be as easy as there being an issue with the cable running from my iMac to my Air Port? Or maybe changing the port in the back of the Air Port?

I have though of just buying a new drive and backing up that way, but then it seems like a waste to have bought the AirPort with Time Capsule if I am not using the drive. Although, better to have drives that are connected and working, and have a good backup! I did see a couple of 2 and 3 TB drives on sale for pretty good prices. Would plugging them into the AirPort, which both my computers are hard wired into, work? Or would there potentially be the same network connection issue? Just trying to avoid having to remember what drive to plug in where for backups 🙂

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Answer 5

Apr 21, 2016 3:18 PM in response to MissReena

Do you think the network issues are as a result of the OS/Time Capsule getting buggy?

At least partly yes.. I do not know the full answer.. why?? I wish I did and could give you a simple easy solution.. but I do not have the level of equipment and expertise required.

I am happy to go through every stage of this.. and determine where the problem is.. even if I cannot say exactly what causes it.

The TC has been buggy with some modems.. So far we have been looking at the TC backup in isolation from network.

But your current symptoms are typical of poor networking and we have struggled with this problem for the last few years.

Changing ISP and modem is exactly the kind of thing that will cause this.

So this is going to be a bumpy ride.. get ready.

1. I am really glad to hear your iMac at least is using ethernet.

OK, I see the laptop is plugged into ethernet as well.. Is it experiencing the same issues?

2. Who is your ISP and what modem do you have now? Make and model please.

3. Even if the TC has dropped off the network from TM point of view I am assuming it is still working ok as a router. Or bridge device.. and the computer has no issues with internet.. again this is typical. Open finder and see if you can mount the TC and access the drive.

I need you to give me some screenshots.

Open your Airport Utility and click the TC.. post this short summary page.

4. IPv6 has become a problem.

I need the answer to ISP and also if you are moving to IPv6 eg Cox cable has known issues.

Mostly we tell people to setup IPv6 as link-local only both in the computer and in the TC.

And in the computer. For your iMac you should have wireless off and the link-local only setup on the Ethernet..

However if your ISP is now on IPv6 the answer to this could be wrong.. if IPv6 is set to auto.. that is wrong.. auto can select the wrong setup. And often does.

could it be as easy as there being an issue with the cable running from my iMac to my Air Port? Or maybe changing the port in the back of the Air Port?

Electricians often have not a clue about data cabling.. so just make sure the link to the airport over the connection is running gigabit.

The easiest way is to open a terminal session and type ifconfig. Copy and paste or post a screenshot of the result.

Here is mine.. nothing in here is going to be a problem.. it is all private addresses.. meaning used on everybody internal LAN systems and not traceable.

ifconfig

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384

options=3<RXCSUM,TXCSUM>

inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1

inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000

inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128

gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280

stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280

en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

options=2b<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_HWTAGGING,TSO4>

ether 3c:07:54:0e:97:a4

inet6 fe80::3e07:54ff:fe0e:97a4%en0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4

inet 192.168.2.213 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.2.255

media: autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex,flow-control,energy-efficient-ethernet>)

status: active

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

ether 28:37:37:15:4d:6f

inet6 fe80::2a37:37ff:fe15:4d6f%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5

inet 192.168.2.203 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.2.255

media: autoselect

status: active

p2p0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 2304

ether 0a:37:37:15:4d:6f

media: autoselect

status: inactive

fw0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 4078

lladdr a4:b1:97:ff:fe:1e:3f:1c

media: autoselect <full-duplex>

status: inactive

Would plugging them into the AirPort, which both my computers are hard wired into, work? Or would there potentially be the same network connection issue? Just trying to avoid having to remember what drive to plug in where for backups

This is a network problem.. if you are not going to use the drives locally then they are even more unreliable plugged into the TC.. so don't do that.

Lets see if you can crack the network issue.

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Answer 6

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 20, 2016 5:55 AM in response to LaPastenague

Let's see if I can get you all the info you are looking for 🙂

1 - Both the iMac and the Laptop are experiencing the same issue. Both are wired directly into TC, and when this issue happens, I get the "Looking..." on both of them.

2- I am in Canada, and my ISP is Eastlink. I have an Arris model, model DG2470. I just called them and they told me that they do not use IPv6, they use IPv4, so that should help, because from what I can see, everything on my network is setup wrong with regards to IPv6.

3 - You are correct that it is working for everything else. I use it for my wireless network and have not had any problems with that (save a few trying to get an Airport Express to work as an extender, but that seems to have had more to do with a defective unit). Other than the backup issue, not problems at all.

As for seeing it in Finder, when the backups stop and I open Finder, I can see the Time Capsule, but I can't connect to it. Sometimes it will let me click the Data folder, but then not show me the sparse bundles, but most times it basically times out. I also just tried opening it through Disk Utility, and when I click on it in the left side pane, I am getting the Connecting... window, but it does not actually connect. I have to power cycle the TC in order for either Finder or Disk Utility to be able to see it.

I checked both spots, and the IPv6 is set to Automatically in both places. I will make that update and see if that helps. Here is from Airport Utility

And here is from my Ethernet connection (note that my Wireless shows the same thing, so I didn't bother to take pictures of both)

One thing I did notice is that you said the computers should only be wired, and the wireless should be turned off. That is going to be a problem for me because my printer is wireless and I need to be able to connect to the printer via the wireless network to use it, and I used it multiple times a day.

Our electrician is really good with this type of stuff, and the wiring he has set up for us was working fine with our last ISP, although they were much slower. We just went from 1.5 Mbps to 200 Mbps, so maybe there were issues but we just didn't know it.

Here is how everything was set up before

Main line into the house, hooked into Cat-5 electrician ran into a port in the wall
Cable from port in wall to back of modem
Cable from modem to Air Port
Cables from iMac and Laptop into back of Air Port

It is slightly different now. They moved the configuration so the router is closer to the beginning of the setup, partially because we have a second wired connection run upstairs for my husband's computer. The spot where the cable is coming in had room for the router and had the electrical plugs that were needed, so we did a bit of a swap. The technician from the ISP tested it all and said that everything was fun, and was fairly happy with the setup

Main line into the house, then into the modem
Line out from Modem to port in the wall
Cable from port in the wall to back of Air Port
Cables from iMac and Laptop into back of Air Port

When we set it up, we first tested it by running a cable from the modem to the computer directly, then from the modem to the Air Port then we hooked the modem up to the port in the wall and plugged directly into the computer, and then from the port in the wall to the Air Port. In all cases, we did internet speed tests and they were all pretty consistent, and there did not seem to be any issues. I do, however, have a lot if issues with my work connection dropping (I connect via VPN and have to have a constant ping running in the background, or the connection drop). Now I am wondering if the IPv6 is the cause, since I remember having to fix that years ago on an older modem.

And finally, here is the data from the ifconfig. I seem to have a lot more info in mine than you have in yours.

ifconfig

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 16384

options=3<RXCSUM,TXCSUM>

inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128

inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000

inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1

nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>

gif0: flags=8010<POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST> mtu 1280

stf0: flags=0<> mtu 1280

en0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

options=10b<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,VLAN_HWTAGGING,AV>

ether 3c:07:54:57:66:49

inet6 fe80::3e07:54ff:fe57:6649%en0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4

inet6 ::3e07:54ff:fe57:6649 prefixlen 64 autoconf

inet6 ::129:5f2f:2f98:fd2e prefixlen 64 autoconf temporary

inet 192.168.0.3 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255

nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>

media: autoselect (1000baseT <full-duplex,flow-control>)

status: active

en1: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

ether 04:54:53:0b:16:ab

inet6 fe80::654:53ff:fe0b:16ab%en1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x5

inet6 ::654:53ff:fe0b:16ab prefixlen 64 autoconf

inet6 ::9851:6b47:f5b5:3ad6 prefixlen 64 autoconf temporary

inet 192.168.0.4 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255

nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>

media: autoselect

status: active

en2: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500

options=60<TSO4,TSO6>

ether d2:00:1c:9b:f5:80

media: autoselect <full-duplex>

status: inactive

en3: flags=963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX> mtu 1500

options=60<TSO4,TSO6>

ether d2:00:1c:9b:f5:81

media: autoselect <full-duplex>

status: inactive

fw0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 4078

lladdr a4:b1:97:ff:fe:c9:bf:58

nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>

media: autoselect <full-duplex>

status: inactive

p2p0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 2304

ether 06:54:53:0b:16:ab

media: autoselect

status: active

bridge0: flags=8863<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500

options=63<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,TSO4,TSO6>

ether 3e:07:54:75:2f:00

Configuration:

id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 hellotime 0 fwddelay 0

maxage 0 holdcnt 0 proto stp maxaddr 100 timeout 1200

root id 0:0:0:0:0:0 priority 0 ifcost 0 port 0

ipfilter disabled flags 0x2

member: en2 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>

ifmaxaddr 0 port 6 priority 0 path cost 0

member: en3 flags=3<LEARNING,DISCOVER>

ifmaxaddr 0 port 7 priority 0 path cost 0

nd6 options=1<PERFORMNUD>

media: <unknown type>

status: inactive

utun0: flags=8051<UP,POINTOPOINT,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 1280

inet 10.23.23.4 --> 10.23.23.4 netmask 0xffffff00

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Answer 7

Apr 21, 2016 3:18 PM in response to MissReena

Thanks for all the screenshots.. and explanation of the setup.

I do want to see the summary page from your airport utility. Same as that first screenshot I posted.

Is the modem router new??

Does the wireless network in the TC have a different name to the wireless in the main router?

I am interested in multiple connections because that leads to issues.

One thing I did notice is that you said the computers should only be wired, and the wireless should be turned off. That is going to be a problem for me because my printer is wireless and I need to be able to connect to the printer via the wireless network to use it, and I used it multiple times a day.

The wireless printer in on the network.. and the network is available to all users unless you are using some guest wireless setup. Or wireless isolation.

If you turn off wireless on the computer.. the printer should still be available so something is wrong there.

Is the printer connected to the TC or the main router?

That leads to the vpn problem.. all of these things tend to be related.

I do, however, have a lot if issues with my work connection dropping (I connect via VPN and have to have a constant ping running in the background, or the connection drop). Now I am wondering if the IPv6 is the cause, since I remember having to fix that years ago on an older modem.

What VPN client software and type of vpn are you running?

Now that you have altered the ipv6 setup.. you can certainly hold off doing anything until you see the issues are ongoing.. I kind of doubt just fixing IPv6 will fix everything.. but it is better to get results to one change before launching into more of them.

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Answer 8

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 20, 2016 7:32 PM in response to LaPastenague

Sorry, I thought that first one was just showing me how to get to the second one... really gotta wake up in the morning before I reply to these posts (which is why I am replying at night this time)

Here is the screenshot.

And I think I figured out quoting, although I am probably doing it the hard way, but what the heck...will give it a shot.

Is the modem router new??

Yes, the modem is new. They actually came out and replaced it when I was having the issues with my VPN, just to make sure it was nothing on their end.

Does the wireless network in the TC have a different name to the wireless in the main router?

I am interested in multiple connections because that leads to issues.

The wireless on the main router is turned off. Again, something we did when troubleshooting the other issues. The only wireless in my house is through the AirPortTimeCapsule and through the AirPort Express in the living room, which is extending that wireless network.

The wireless printer in on the network.. and the network is available to all users unless you are using some guest wireless setup. Or wireless isolation.

If you turn off wireless on the computer.. the printer should still be available so something is wrong there.

Is the printer connected to the TC or the main router?

Well, I'll be ******... I was convinced that I had to be connected via wireless to make the printer work, because the printer is not actually wired to anything. It is on the other side of the desk, and there are no USB cables plugged in anywhere. Thanks! That is awesome. I guess I should have actually tried it before assuming it would not work...

I was worried about using both a wired and a wireless connection, even though the ISP tech people kept saying the computer will use the Ethernet connection over the Wifi. It is good to know I can turn off the wireless but still access everything.

What VPN client software and type of vpn are you running?

I am using the built in VPN, using Cisco IPSec. As with everything else, this was working properly until we switched to the new ISP, and then all of a sudden we had problems. The ISP says it is not them, my work says it not that connection (although another co-worker with the same ISP in a different province has the same issues, so I think someone is lying). And to be fair, I am not sure if it is a VPN issue or a Remote Desktop issue. What will happen is as long as I am actively working on my Remote Desktop session, everything is fine. But the moment I either step away to go get a drink, or I tab out of the RD to do something on my desktop, the RD freezes and I have to Force Quit and reconnect it. I don't usually lose the VPN connection at that point, just the ability to do anything on RD. I can see everything, but none of my keystrokes or mouse movements will register.

I have updated the IPv6 on the laptop, desktop, AirPort Time Capsule and Airport Express. I just rebooted the TC just so my machine would actually recognize it again (couldn't even get it to open in Finder, like before, but hadn't rebooted since I got that issue yesterday I think it was). Right now it is backing up the desktop, then I will back up the laptop, then I will put the computer to sleep and see if it behaves better in the morning.

Again, thanks for all your time and help with this. You are saving me countless hours of Google searches and some apparently totally incorrect attempts at fixing it (hence the whole "sparesebundle will change names when you change the computer name" debacle)

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Answer 9

Apr 21, 2016 2:09 AM in response to MissReena

There is a series of tests you can do for the vpn setup issue.

1. Turn on the main router wireless again.

Connect to that wireless with your Mac.. you should get enough speed to run the vpn at least.

Turn off the ethernet (ie unplug it) from the computer so you have now bypassed the TC.. and test.

Does your VPN still have issues.. if yes.. it is nothing to do with the TC.

2. Use DMZ.. it should be available in the router firmware.. put the computer into DMZ.. although I tend to prefer to do this plugged directly to the modem router by ethernet you should be able to do it over wireless as well. DMZ exposes the computer fully to the internet.. then try again with the vpn..

Make sure if there is a vpn passthrough it is checked.

If it still misbehaves..

3. Tether your phone to the computer and use the VPN over your 3G network.

If this fixes the problem.. I have a nasty feeling it will.. since this was no issues on your older setup.. then the ISP is at fault.. or the modem is not handling vpn passthrough very well.

The ISP says it is not them, my work says it not that connection (although another co-worker with the same ISP in a different province has the same issues, so I think someone is lying).

If the old setup was using the TC as router it could be very different.

Was the old router the same as this one??

It might be possible to fix it by forwarding the exact ports required.. the TC can be problem in port forwarding.. so it is worthwhile doing this.

Your posts are getting better.. very clear.. Maybe early morning is just not your time of day..

The StingRay

LaPastenague.

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Answer 10

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 21, 2016 9:46 AM in response to LaPastenague

I am pretty sure this is not a TC specific problem. It happens when I am connected either wireless or wired directly to the modem as well. That was one of the first things my IT guys at work had me try. And I have tested it in other locations (hotels while on business trips) and those seemed to be fine, so I don't think this has anything to do with TC. I was mostly mentioning it because it started to happen at the same time as the other issues, when I changed my ISP.

I am not familiar with DMZ, and am on a tight deadline with some stuff for work, so I may have to wait until the weekend to try that, although based on some other things you suggest and that I have tried, my guess is that it wont help...that it is going to be an ISP issue. They have said that they have done everything they can do, and insist that the issue must be on my employers end. They even set me up with a free session with their "Beyond Tech" team, which is a paid service that is supposed to work with third party software. Their technicians had me do some things in the router with port forwarding, and those did not work. The constant ping in Network Utility is a pain in the butt if I forget to set it up, but it seems to be working, so I might just leave it for now and try to tackle one problem at a time.

The old setup is almost the same as this setup, except for the placement of the modem (see post above). I did have it set up directly through the modem before I got my TC, but once I got the AirPort Time Capsule, everything went through that. And it all worked fine before the new ISP.

Early morning is definitely not my time of day!

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Answer 11

Apr 21, 2016 2:30 PM in response to MissReena

Ok.. you have done most of what I have and would have suggested.

VPN can be a pain on some routers.. I can download the manual to yours so I might take a bit of time and see if it has anything useful in it.

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Answer 12

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 21, 2016 3:20 PM in response to LaPastenague

I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't worry too much about it right now. I have the workaround of the constant ping, and I only use the VPN to connect to my work computer. As long as the workaround is still working, then I am not too concerned. If that stops working, I might ask for your assistance again 🙂

It is amazing the troubleshooting steps you take when you have two people trying to prove that the issue is the other person's fault! I am inclined to believe it is the ISPs fault, but if I tell my IT guy at work that, then any time I have an issue, he might just say it is the ISPs fault and not try to troubleshoot anymore. As as far as the ISP is concerned, they have done everything they could and they don't support third party programs (VPN and Remote Desktop), so they are not going to do any more. And I don't feel like paying for their Beyond Technical team to do the same things they did last time and call it a success, even though it does not work

My computer has gone to sleep at least twice since I rebooted TC the last time, and so far (knock on wood) the backups seem to be working fine, and I can see the drive in Finder, so that is a good sign. I want to give it a few days before I declare anything about it, but am hoping we may have resolved most of my issues.

You have been awesome though, and I really appreciate it.

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Answer 13

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 22, 2016 1:03 PM in response to LaPastenague

I haven't tested it for very long (only about 10 minutes so far), but I am starting to wonder if the IPv6 fix is helping my VPN issue.

I turned off my continuous ping bout 10 minutes ago when I was about to log off for the day, then decided to leave the Remote Desktop running in the background while I checked my email and did a few other things on my desktop. All behaviour that usually locks my RD up solid if I do it for more than about 2 mins. So far I can still go back and my RD is active, not frozen.

I also have gone over 24 hours at this point with my computer going to sleep multiple times, and my backups are still working. I had one issue earlier, but that was because I had mounted my sparsebundle (didn't know I could do that until I read some of Pondini's knowledge base) and forgot to eject it afterwards, so the backup would not work because my sparsebundle was in use by Finder.

As I said, I want to give it a few more days to know about the backups, and on Monday I will try to go all day without the unlimited pings, and see if that fixed it, but so far so good.

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Answer 14

Apr 22, 2016 1:27 PM in response to MissReena

Thanks for the update. And overall good report. 🙂

IPv6 is a necessary complication in our lives, since the IPv4 address space is exhausted.. but I expect it will be a few years before it all runs without issues.

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Answer 15

MissReena Author

Level 1

12 points

Apr 26, 2016 7:32 AM in response to LaPastenague

So after a couple of days, I can say that the TC issue appears to be fixed. I have had no issue with the backups since the IPv6 change.

I thought the VPN/Remote Desktop issue was fixed as well, but I has some intermittent issues during the day yesterday so I have gone back to the constant ping fix. Everything was fine for the first couple of hours, but then the VPN connection started to drop periodically, and then later in the after noon, it went back to the RD freezing up on me if I was idle for too long. It seems to work, and for now, that is good enough.

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