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MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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I haven't done it but it was done by a YouTube 3 part series by Ask Uncle Dave.

Here is the first one:


Thanks for that, i will check it out. Can never have too much info in regards to DD-WRT.

I do have all the info for the install, I was more curious to peoples experience. The good, the bad, and the ugly...
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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If anybody has any links to successful setups of DD-WRT running Time Machine over wifi with recent versions of OS X please send them my way.

I can't find any so maybe there aren't any :/
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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From what I've learned if you're able to set it up and get it running in some manner it is still unsupported and likely unreliable which defeats the purpose.

Thanks that's what I've been seeing too.

I have been using the USB for NAS which has been great so I thought why not give Time Machine a go but getting it straightened out is beyond my technical aptitude. Maybe someone will figure it out soon enough.
 

deeddawg

macrumors G5
Jun 14, 2010
12,466
6,563
US
Why not pick up a $170 Synology DS216j? Toss one or two 3.5" drives into it , plug it into your router (or a switch on your LAN) and you're there. Time Machine works great on it, plus it provides a bunch of other features.
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
779
806
01000011 01000001
Why not pick up a $170 Synology DS216j? Toss one or two 3.5" drives into it , plug it into your router (or a switch on your LAN) and you're there. Time Machine works great on it, plus it provides a bunch of other features.

I've been running DD-WRT for about a year now and I'm just tinkering with it in my free time to get as much use out of it as possible.
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
779
806
01000011 01000001
I got Time Machine backing via DD-WRT over Samba! (even if it is only @ 16MB/s)

I've connected a spare drive to test. This is not replacing any backups drives I have, it's just a guinea pig at this point. I hope it doesn't crash in the coming hours/days, fingers crossed!

I will update as needed :D

Note: This setup won't allow me to restore using OS X Recovery. I'll have to Install a fresh copy of OS X and then use Migration Assistant.
[doublepost=1461180547][/doublepost]
Switch to gigabit ethernet maybe?

I'm still being capped at ~23 MB/s via Cat5e. It must be the firmware or the port.
 
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MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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So far so good, I've browsed through the Time Machine backup and everything seems to be as it should. It's still very early so only time will tell.
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
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Instructions for anybody wanting to try this. It was a lot less daunting to do than anticipated, actually it was really quite simple.

These instructions are for those who already have their NAS setup.

1) You need to go Disk Utility and create a sparse bundle disk image formatted as OS X Extended (Journaled) with GUID Partition Map

2) Copy the sparse bundle disk image to the network folder you want to use for backups

3) Within the network folder mount the disk image you just moved over.

4) Now you tell Time machine to use the disk image created in step 2 via terminal

sudo tmutil setdestination -a /Volumes/Name of disk image

(Change "Name of disk image" to the name of the disk image you created in step 1)

That's it! Do this at your own risk. Remember this is a "hack" and not officially supported by apple so your milage may vary.

*I would not recommend this as a sole backup drive, this should be in addition to your current backup plan.
[doublepost=1461245461][/doublepost]Should be noted that interrupted connections can lead to a corrupted disk image.

I haven't had this issue but then again I've only been running it for a day.
 
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satcomer

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Feb 19, 2008
9,115
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The Finger Lakes Region
I got Time Machine backing via DD-WRT over Samba! (even if it is only @ 16MB/s)

I've connected a spare drive to test. This is not replacing any backups drives I have, it's just a guinea pig at this point. I hope it doesn't crash in the coming hours/days, fingers crossed!

I will update as needed :D

Note: This setup won't allow me to restore using OS X Recovery. I'll have to Install a fresh copy of OS X and then use Migration Assistant.
[doublepost=1461180547][/doublepost]

I'm still being capped at ~23 MB/s via Cat5e. It must be the firmware or the port.

CAT 5e is run at it's maximum when running on a Gig network. You wood be better off switching to at least CAT 6! I get mine cheaply at MonoPrice.com. If you are running Ethernet near electrical cables the get CAT6 Shielded because then you won't get electrical signals interference in your data!
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
779
806
01000011 01000001
CAT 5e is run at it's maximum when running on a Gig network. You wood be better off switching to at least CAT 6! I get mine cheaply at MonoPrice.com. If you are running Ethernet near electrical cables the get CAT6 Shielded because then you won't get electrical signals interference in your data!

This setup is for wireless use only. I only connected the CAT5e to investigate the bottleneck. From further research it seems the speeds I'm getting are in line with what are to be expected using a router like this for NAS. Not being a proper NAS theres no hardware optimization, it's relying on the routers CPU and that being the bottleneck. All and all I'm happy with it's performance and amazed at what this little router can do under DD-WRT.
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
779
806
01000011 01000001
I can confirm the CPU has been the bottleneck. I just overclocked the Broadcom BCM4708 from dual 800MHz to 1.2 GHz and my speeds have gone from 16 MB/s to 21 MB/s.
 

MRxROBOT

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2016
779
806
01000011 01000001
UPDATE:

I learned the Linksys EA6900 and the Asus AC68U have virtually the same hardware so I flashed the Asus CFE to the Linksys. I now (for all intents and purposes) have the Asus AC68U. With the AsusWRT platform I now have native AFP for Time Machine backups. No more hacks or anything, it just works. So Although the DD-WRT setup was great, I no longer have to worry about getting corrupted disk images. As a bonus the USB 3.0 port works now and I'm getting speeds up to 42 MB/s write and 65MB/s Read! :D
 

rwst

macrumors newbie
Oct 23, 2016
1
0
well there is a guide regarding how to do this on open-wrt. if u use dd-wrt and install open-wrt's opkg handler using this guide: https://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1051785#1051785 it should be possible to afterwards use this guide: https://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/timemachine to create a fully working timemachine backup.

im still having problems installing/using shadow-useradd, shadow-groupadd and sudo on dd-wrt. maybe someone can help.

when i do groupadd i get "cannot open /etc/group"
the permissions on /etc/group are lrwxrwxrwx
when i install sudo i get i get /bin/sh can't open /etc/rc.common
 
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