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Coyote2006

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2006
512
233
Hi. I'm thinking about using my good old MacPro 5,1 as a Time Machine backup server in my network. Can you recommend this? Will it be woke-up when one of the other Macs try you start a backup? Thanks for any help and advice in advance.
 

HDFan

Contributor
Jun 30, 2007
7,257
3,315
I have never been able to get my MacPros to wake on network access, but I do run a lot of software which might interfere. Why don't you try it out? Just be aware that a 5,1 is an energy hog.
 

Coyote2006

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2006
512
233
I have never been able to get my MacPros to wake on network access, but I do run a lot of software which might interfere. Why don't you try it out? Just be aware that a 5,1 is an energy hog.

I've started testing, thanks. I just wanted to know if anyone has experiences with this and could recommend it or not.
 

ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
9,612
6,909
In my experience using Mac Mini as a time machine destination there were countless failed backups unless I kept the Mini on 24x7. Wake on LAN is problematic, and because the problem was inconsistent, it was extraordinarily difficult to fix and so I gave up and just left it on all the time.

But the MM uses like 6W when idle so it wasn't a big deal. I don't think I'd want to keep a cheesegrater on 24x7 just for occasional file server duty.

I have to admit that even when the MM was on 24x7, there were still many failed Time Machine backups. I do not have a good opinion of that feature.
 
Last edited:

bsbeamer

macrumors 601
Sep 19, 2012
4,313
2,713
But the MM uses like 6W when idle so it wasn't a big deal. I don't think I'd want to keep a cheesegrater on 24x7 just for occasional file server duty.

This is exactly why I would not choose MP5,1 for just Time Machine stuff.

Even picking up an older AirPort Extreme (not to use as router) with a USB hard drive attached may be a more reliable solution if you cannot find a compatible network attached drive.
 
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ActionableMango

macrumors G3
Sep 21, 2010
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Even picking up an older AirPort Extreme (not to use as router) with a USB hard drive attached may be a more reliable solution if you cannot find a compatible network attached drive.

Yes even my TP-Link branded wifi router has Time Machine compatibility for its USB attached storage.
 

Coyote2006

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2006
512
233
Thanks a lot for your answers. I do have two routers in my network and one of them is an older Apple router (to provide a 2nd WLAN in the area further away). I didn't think of attaching an external drive there (forgot about it as its in a different room and running without any problems :) ).
 

Flint Ironstag

macrumors 65816
Dec 1, 2013
1,334
744
Houston, TX USA
I don't know how you guys are configuring things, but I've run (and still run) Time Machine service on everything from Mac Minis to XServes to every model of Mac Pro in enterprise environments and they've never skipped a beat. This is usually as a convenience feature in conjunction with CCC or other backup solution.

My experience is that wake on lan issues are actually caused by some combination of Finder & bon jour screwing up. Use static IPs and everything works as advertised.

Do your own math on power costs - the price and satisfaction of working with what you have may well offset a bit of savings.
 

Coyote2006

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 16, 2006
512
233
I don't know how you guys are configuring things, but I've run (and still run) Time Machine service on everything from Mac Minis to XServes to every model of Mac Pro in enterprise environments and they've never skipped a beat. This is usually as a convenience feature in conjunction with CCC or other backup solution.

My experience is that wake on lan issues are actually caused by some combination of Finder & bon jour screwing up. Use static IPs and everything works as advertised.

Do your own math on power costs - the price and satisfaction of working with what you have may well offset a bit of savings.

Would you mind explaining your setup in more details please?
 

Flint Ironstag

macrumors 65816
Dec 1, 2013
1,334
744
Houston, TX USA
There's a server*, main data store volume, time machine volume, and local backup volume. All the volumes are physically independent devices.

All staff work from the main data store, and TM backs up the entire thing hourly. It's handy for those accidental deletes, etc. and is a popular feature.

Carbon Copy Cloner handles local and offsite backups duty.

* the server is sometimes hardware dedicated to TM, sometimes not.

As for details, make sure the TM server is on static IP on all interfaces. Disable sleep. Should work like a charm.
 
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