4 ms·

For TimeMachine backups, the file system problem can be alleviated. A possible destination is a Linux/* based Samba server that accesses, e.g., a ZFS or ext4 fi

For TimeMachine backups, the file system problem can be alleviated. A possible destination is a Linux/* based Samba server that accesses, e.g., a ZFS or ext4 file system.

Tijdreiziger 4y ago
NAS boxes (e.g. the ones from Synology) work great for this ever since Apple discontinued the Time Capsule. You can get a cheap box for €100-200, configure it easily via a GUI web interface, and it will work for years without having to touch it (if you turn automatic updates on). In fact, Apple even lists this option in their Time Machine documentation: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202784 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202784
- ksec 4y ago
  Well you want BTRFS support at least, but Synology's kernel are stuck in the 3.x and 4.x era.
  - Tijdreiziger 4y ago
    Synology has been running Btrfs on their boxes for years. https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Which_Synology_NAS_models_support_the_Btrfs_file_system https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Which_Synolog...
    - ksec 4y ago
      My point is their BTRFS version are stuck in the 3.x and 4.x kernel era.
      - Tijdreiziger 4y ago
        Which isn't great, but the point of such boxes is that you just use the GUI interface to configure it and don't worry about what's under the hood. SSH isn't even enabled by default (and most users probably never enable it).
sgerenser 4y ago
Time machine can only back up to HFS+ or APFS. When you back up to a Linux server, it creates an HFS+ (maybe APFS now?) formatted disk image then backs up to that. So ultimately if the FS was problematic, you’d have the same issue (just inside the disk image).
- kennend3 4y ago
  I dont think this is the case. I use time machine to backup to a Ubuntu server's ZFS share. Time machine creates a folder for each machine [my first machine.sparsebundle], etc. I can navigate to the "sparsebundle" directory under linux and it is not an image. Works just fine. Edit: this is what is inside "mymachine.sparsebundle" 252G ./bands 35M ./mapped 252G .
  - sgerenser 4y ago
    That .sparsebundle folder is a sparse disk image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_image What you're seeing is the raw storage for that disk image. If you copied the whole thing to a Mac (or anything that understands MacOS disk images) you could mount it then you'd see the actual files. The filesystem of that mounted image would be HFS+.

For TimeMachine backups, the file system problem can be alleviated. A possible destination is a Linux/* based Samba server that accesses, e.g., a ZFS or ext4 file system.

Tijdreiziger 4y ago

NAS boxes (e.g. the ones from Synology) work great for this ever since Apple discontinued the Time Capsule. You can get a cheap box for €100-200, configure it easily via a GUI web interface, and it will work for years without having to touch it (if you turn automatic updates on). In fact, Apple even lists this option in their Time Machine documentation: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202784 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202784

ksec 4y ago
Well you want BTRFS support at least, but Synology's kernel are stuck in the 3.x and 4.x era.
- Tijdreiziger 4y ago
  Synology has been running Btrfs on their boxes for years. https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Which_Synology_NAS_models_support_the_Btrfs_file_system https://kb.synology.com/en-global/DSM/tutorial/Which_Synolog...
  - ksec 4y ago
    My point is their BTRFS version are stuck in the 3.x and 4.x kernel era.
    - Tijdreiziger 4y ago
      Which isn't great, but the point of such boxes is that you just use the GUI interface to configure it and don't worry about what's under the hood. SSH isn't even enabled by default (and most users probably never enable it).

sgerenser 4y ago

Time machine can only back up to HFS+ or APFS. When you back up to a Linux server, it creates an HFS+ (maybe APFS now?) formatted disk image then backs up to that. So ultimately if the FS was problematic, you’d have the same issue (just inside the disk image).

kennend3 4y ago
I dont think this is the case. I use time machine to backup to a Ubuntu server's ZFS share. Time machine creates a folder for each machine [my first machine.sparsebundle], etc. I can navigate to the "sparsebundle" directory under linux and it is not an image. Works just fine. Edit: this is what is inside "mymachine.sparsebundle" 252G ./bands 35M ./mapped 252G .
- sgerenser 4y ago
  That .sparsebundle folder is a sparse disk image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_image https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_image What you're seeing is the raw storage for that disk image. If you copied the whole thing to a Mac (or anything that understands MacOS disk images) you could mount it then you'd see the actual files. The filesystem of that mounted image would be HFS+.