Larger scale Time Machine setup, really bad performance

Hi,
we have 2 Intel XServes running OS X Server 10.5.2 with 2 XServe RAID setups, each with 5,2TB capacity. The first server now contains about 2TB data and we would like to try and use the second one as a Time Machine backup destination using AFP. The initial backup is still running after 10 days, and that backup is only 429GB. I've got a couple of questions:
- Somehow I seriously doubt even Apple ever tried a Time Machine backup like this, but has anyone ever tried something like this?
- The backup is running really slowly, only 300KB/s or something. The link between these servers is 1GBit. Is there anyway we can speed this up?
- What would be the best alternative for using Time Machine? It would be nice if we could offer the same functionality (e.g. retaining multiple versions of the same file for a period of time).
TIA

From what I can gather, TM is not intended for the type of use you expect out of it. That being said, what I suggest you do is test the throughput between your two Xservs. Create a 5GB file (which is a reasonable size for this test) on one of the Macs, then use a terminal window with the timer command to cp that file from its home volume to a volume on the other Xserve. You will see exactly how long the file takes to copy. If the copy is very slow, then it is unrealistic to expect TM to be faster, but you may be able to do things to improve your network throughput.
For an alternative, probably your best bet is EMC's Retrospect.

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No "OPTIONS" box in Time Machine setup window

just finished setting uo a Time Capsule as a WDS remote, for the time with a PB on its wired ethernet. added an external USB disk to the TC for trial.
TC and external disk show up correctly on PB and networked machines. external disk ca be used to stream video over the wired ethernet. too slow over 11g
slide the switch, confirm the TC drive as a backup disk, enter yr password, then after a few minutes "error - no backup volume has been selected, open system preferences" (thats where i came from)
interesting is that the "options" button has now disappeared from the Time Machine setup menu, and the slider doesn't go back anymore.
can somebody gimme some guidance pls? thks.

Apple has never fully committed support of the Time Machine/Airport Extreme combination. I have a Airport Extreme 6th gen that supposedly supports the Time Machine, (page 13 of the installation manual). After a year of experience I have concluded that it does not work - period. If you have any critical data on your system(s) I would recommend that you use a dedicated backup/recovery product like Carbon Copy Cloner.

Time Machine Setup Questions

Hey all, I am looking to upgrade my Time Machine setup and was looking for some tips. Here's my current setup:
I had two (now three - see below) external drives: a 320GB WD drive that currently houses all of my family's iTunes, iPhoto, and iMovie data as well as a few extraneous videos. We also have a second 1TB WD drive that currently has time machine backups from the iMac on it. Time Machine is also set up to back up the 320GB WD to the 1TB drive in addition to the iMac. Both drives are connected to our family iMac (Mid 2007).
The problem is that our 320GB WD that has all of our data is full. So, we bought a new 3TB (!!) Seagate USB3 drive. I am planning to have this drive be a backup drive for the iMac, our media (more on that in a moment), and two other computers (our 13-inch rMBP and my home-built mac (if you know what I mean)). This site suggested that I create partitions for each Mac that I back up. So I formatted the drive with three partitions: 2TB for the iMac and the media drive connected to it, 300GB for my MacBoook, and 700GB for the third Mac. BTW, I am planning to switch to using the 1TB WD drive that I currently use for backups as the new media drive, and retiring the 320GB WD.
I tried carrying the plan through, but I came across a few issues. First, I would like to keep the 930GB of backups that I currently have on the 1TB and move them to a new 2TB partition on my new 3TB drive. First, Finder refused to copy the backups.backupdb folder entirely, but I fixed this by reformatting the Seagate as a case-sensitive volume. Then, when I tried to do the copy it first just had the stripey progress bar for an hour at least saying "preparing to copy x number of items" and that number gradually went up. I left the computer running with Caffeine overnight, but it got stuck somewhere in the copy and I couldn't kickstart it again. Should I just abandon my old backups? 930GB is a lot of data to copy, but I don't see why it would get hung up somewhere. Maybe that was a sign that I should just start fresh with this new drive. Speaking of which, if I do start afresh, how can I get Time Machine to not format my drive as case sensitive? I've never used case sensitivity before (except when TM automatically formatted my last drive as such) and don't want it on my backups. Lastly, I still have the daunting task of copying all my data from the 320GB drive to the 1TB one. Should I just select all and copy, or should I use a tool like Carbon Copy Cloner? Additionally, would hooking both drives up to my rMBP speed up the copy? I'm just copying from USB2 to USB2. Does this sound like a good plan?
Thanks so much in advance for any answers,
Seamus

You propose to partition the 3GB this way ...
1 - iMac TM + media --> 2TB partition
2 - MB TM --> 300GB partition
3 - other Mac TM --> 700GB partition
That seems to abandon the use of any of the existing HDs. Why not do a partitioning this way?
3TB HD
1 - iMac TM --> 2TB partition (by itself rather than shared with media)
2 - other Mac TM --> 1TB partition (rather than a 700GB partition)
A - MB TM --> 320GB HD (rather than in a 300GB partition)
B - media backup --> 1TB HD (rather than in co-storage on a 2TB partition)
As to abandoning old TM backups ... To what extent do you believe that any of the prior backup files will be required in the future? To what extent can you pull those files separately from the TM backup and then archive them separately? IOW, to what extent can you look at your existing TM backup and say ... uh ... this is just old stuff that I will never need to (or have time to) see again or ... OH! ... this old file needs to be kept for the rest of eternity?
Unfortunately, I cannot speak for the process of copying an existing TM backup to a new drive, let alone partitioning with/without case sensitivity.
JJW

Time Machine Setup "Choose Backup Disk" Won't Recognize ANY Disks

I'm trying to configure Time Machine for the first time. I open Time Machine preferences and slide the slider to ON. Because no backup disk is selected, a window pops up where possible drives are to be listed. The Time Machine instructions say this...
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Time Machine.
Open Time Machine preferences
Slide the switch to On if Time Machine is off.
Click Choose Backup Disk (or click Change Disk if you have already set up Time Machine).
Step 4 - Choose a disk where backups will be stored, and click “Use for Backup.”
You see a list of every available disk that can be used to store backups, including internal hard disks (except for your startup disk), most external disks, and any Time Capsule devices set up for use with Time Machine. If you have partitioned a disk, the partitions are listed.
I do not see a list of any available disks, not even the internal hard disk on my computer. I only have two button options--Setup Time Capsule or Cancel.
When I click Setup Time Capsule it opens my Airport Utility and takes me to the setup page for my Airport Extreme. Why? My Airport Extreme Base Station is already setup and running. How do I get drives to appear in the Time Machine setup window?

My two external drives are connected to my Airport Extreme Base Station via USB. My tower is connected to the Base Station via Ethernet. My internal drive is, of course, internal and is supposed to show and it's not. Here's their formats...
Internal Drive - Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
My two external drives don't seem to show up in Disk Utility. In Finder the format shows as...
External Drive 1 - SMB (FAT)
External Drive 2 - Has two partitions (rather, 1 partition and two volumes) both of which are listed as Apple Share.
I just re-read your note. I connected External Drive 1 directly to the tower and Time Machine spoke right up and asked if I wanted to use the drive for backing up. The format then appeared in Disk Utility as MS-DOS (FAT32).
- It would appear the drive must be directly connected to the tower to be used by Time Machine. Is this true?
- Why does my internal drive not appear as the Apple Help file says it should?
- I may have to purchase another external hard drive. If so, is there a particular format it should be in for use with Time Machine?
Thanks...

Drives not mounting from old time machine setup

Hello all.
I had a time machine setup on a Lacie big disk 2 tb drive through firewire, but when i unplugged it (ejecting first) the plugged it back up in would not mount again.
I have done all the possible tests to diagnose the issue, new cable different port, different port type even a different disk drive. however it still wont mount. the drives will mount in a normal macbook but not in the xserve. my xserve is a 9g55 running 10.5.6 OSX server
The disk however will show up in the system information under the appropriate connection type..
Any ideas?? i have restarted the server multiple times now

Hi adamramage-
Greetings and welcome to the Apple Discussion boards
Did you try a different FW port on the XServe? Have you tried connecting via USB to see if the drive show up?
Have you tried resetting the PMU?
Link here: Resetting the Xserve G5 PMU
You may want to try resetting the PRAM as well.
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

Time Machine Setup using Raid Enclosure

I want to use Time Machine to backup my entire system (approx 6TB) including a very large Itunes Library, movies and photo's/video's. I purchased a sans 8TB raid enclosure and intend to run it in SPAN mode. At this juncture I am using a fire wire 800 connection pending installing a RAID controller card. The configuration is running on a MacPro (2007 Model)and 10.6.4 OS.
Which format should I use: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended?
Will the RAID Controller Card perform better than the Fire Wire 800?
Thanks, Koyangie

Use Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Yes, it will run faster from a RAID card than Firewire.

Time Machine setup with my Belkin N1 Vision

Hi, I purchased my first iMac (love it!) after being a Windows person forever. I have a home office setup with an Dell XPS One & my new iMac. Both are working perfectly with my Belkin N1 Vision router +(via direct ethernet connection, although both can access the wireless connection as well)+. I purchased the Time Capsule so that I can use it within my network (in partcular with the Time Machine for my iMac). I do NOT want to use the Time Capsule as a wireless network (+I like my Belkin too much and it is super strong within my home)+.
I plugged it directly to the ethernet port open on my Belkin to the Internet Wan port back of the Time Capsule. But no matter what I do, I can't see the Capsule on either computer. I have reset the Capsule several times and even reset my router a couple times. The Capsule appears to be working fine with a nice bright green glow. Can anyone help me or suggest something to get it working and or reconnized within my network? Have I connected it properly? I appricate any advice & keep in my I am a newbie with Apple OS +(expert with Windows)+. I am going to take the Capsule back otherwise, but I really wanted this to work! Thanks!!

On the screen of the Vision, can you scroll to the Devices pane? Are you seeing an IP address being issued for the TC you have connected?
From another angle, have you tried using only the Time Capsule and checking if the computers can see it then? Simply pull the plug on your Vision for a minute and try to connect to a wireless network (preferably not a neighbor, but that of your TC). The TC may be trying to host a DHCP server and is getting blocked by the Vision.
On a side note, having a Vision router and knowing someone with a TC, I believe the TC has better range than Belkin's product.

When I plug a LaCie external hard drive into my new Mac mini, [os 10.9.1], to use with Time Machine it effects the performance of my internet and email. Turn off Time Machine and unplug the hard drive and the internet and email are working normally again

When I plug a LaCie external hard drive to work with Time Machine into my new Mac mini, [OS 10.9.1] it drastically effects the performance of the internet and email, turn off Time Machine, unplug the hard drive, internet and email go back to normal. Why?

Maybe:
http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/usb-3.0-hard-drives-can-cause-wi-fi-inter ference

Time Machine Back Ups affecting performance.

Sitting here with a 24" iMac, 2.16 core 2 duo, 3GB ram, so fairly new right? Time Machine did its back ups, and is keepin the hourly thing pretty well. The problem is that I can tell that Time Machine is performing a back up as it noticeably slows my machine down. I then have to go to Preferences, Stop the back up, and let it pick up when I am not on the machine. IS anyone else having these issues? And what might a work around be?

It would be helpful to the rest of us and any future searches if you would tell us how the issue was solved. Please let us know.

Time Machine Setup

Hi could someone shed some light on this for me please.
Is it possible to use the Time Machine as a wireless repeater?
So I have an adsl wireless router at one end of the house but at the other end of the house I get poor wireless signal on my macbook. What I was wanting to do and couldn't get it to do in the setup is to have the Time Machine (Wireless) at the half way point for my backups but also to have it boost the wireless signal so I could get a good signal at the other end of the house.
Is this going to be possible?
Many thanks,
Tim

Welcome to the discussions!
The Time Capsule can be configured to "Extend a wireless network" and function as you want IF you are using an Apple wireless router with "n" capability to create the wireless network at the head end of your network. When you mention that you have an ADSL wireless router, this does not seem to be the case.
In other words, your wireless network would need to be created by an Apple AirPort Express(n), Airport Extreme(n), or another Time Capsule(n) for the new Time Capsule to be able to "extend" the wireless network.
If you have a compatible base station and need step by step instructions to configure your wireless network, please post back.

Time Machine Setup Issue

I recently had an issue where Time Machine gave me the following warning: "Time Machine completed a verification of your backups. To improve reliability, Time Machine must create a new backup for you." Figuring it was a drive issue, I retired that drive and setup a new one for Time Machine. It seemed to back up fine the first time, but then I got the following popup:
I should add that my Time Machine drive is not connected directly to my computer. It is connected to a USB hub on my Time Capsule. However, this same setup is used for another computer in my home and works just fine (as did this computer for years.)
Any help for solving this issue would be GREATLY appreciated!

ai. i am feeling very stupid today or i am dealing with too many computer issues.
i have a new motherboard which means it thinks i have a new machine. from the url it appears that /adding/ backups to the existing backups is not possible?
i mean, the last two paragraphs here are very confusing. is my case the first case or the second case or do i have an option here?
"If you are replacing an old Mac with a new one, and want the new one to use the backups from the old computer, click Inherit Backup.
If you plan to continue to use your old computer, click Create New Backup to preserve the old computer’s backup history and start separate backups for the new computer.
i am supposed to click "inherit backup history" even though "create new backup" preserves the old computer's backup history?
for some reason i am not understanding the options here but i THINK i want to try and retain any files that may have been changed or accidentally deleted on the computer so i can go back and retrieve them (if this is possible of course). AND if it isn't possible shouldn't i be wiping the drive clean and starting again??
THANKS

Time Machine setup message, some FileVault folders will not be backed up?

I want to set up my Time Machine for the first time on a Mac Pro running Lion. However, a Time Machine message says some folders will not be backed up because FileVault is turned on:
"When using FileVault, you cannot restore individual files in your home directory via the Time Machine browser. However, you can restore all files and folders by using the Restore System from Backup feature of the Mac OS X Installer. Important: Time Machine will perform backups only when you are logged out of your FileVault-protected account."

You're using the "legacy" (pre-Lion) version of FileVault (LFV). LFV is obsolete and should not be used under OS X 10.7 or later.
When LFV is active, your home folder is only backed up by Time Machine when you log out. If you use Time Machine and haven't logged out recently, do that now so the backups can be updated. If you use third-party backup software, the backups may or may not be up to date, depending on how the software works.
After backing up, follow the instructions on this support page under the heading "Migrating a Legacy FileVault home folder from an earlier version of OS X." You might get an alert that there isn't enough disk space to deactivate LFV. If so, see this support page.

Time machine setup - how to change 'wireless network name' and settings?

I have moved laptop to Mountain Lion.
This is the first time to backup to Timecapsule.
I went to Settings then Select Disk and selected existing Time Machine.
It took more than 30 minutes and seemed stuck on 'Preparing ....".
I cancelled and tried to 'Setup Time Capsule not listed"...
The system recognised the Time Capsule but I see that the network settings is my old 'wireless network' name.
How do I change this to the correct network name and ensure that the settings are correct?
I think if this is corrected, the backup will work.
Thanks in advance.

On the Home screen of the product control panel, touch the right arrow ( ) to view more options.
Touch Setup ( ).
Touch Network .
Touch Wi-Fi Protected Setup .
Touch PIN .
Touch Start . The product displays a PIN.
NOTE:The product begins a timer for approximately two minutes to allow you time to enter the PIN on the networking device.
Enter the PIN on the WPS-enabled router or other networking device.
I work for HP, IPGHT specialist in Officejet and Photosmart printers.
--Say "Thanks" by clicking the Kudos Star in the post that helped you.
--Please mark the post that solves your problem as "Accepted Solution" .....

Time Machine going REALLY slow!

I got my first apple product 3 years ago, and over the years have gotten more attached and I have kept up to date with everything. I decided I needed to backup my new 17" MacBook Pro (sucessing my old White MacBook). So I brought a 1TB Time Capsule, to use for my wireless network AND to backup. So, 4 days ago I set it up and began the Time Machine process before setting up my wireless network. I have 93.54 GB worth of data on my computer, I was up to 64.98 GB a few hours ago, when my MacBook decided to freeze. I was hoping that it would resume the backup when I restarted. But, no hope. I also noticed that my Time Capsule was an amber-orange color and was blinking. I went into Time Machine, it said it was not set up. I did everything. Anyway, I solved that. Now to the problem 3 hours ago I started (again) the backup process. And it is going REALLY slow, its 4.07 GB out of 93.54 GB. Is there any possible way to speed the backup up? thanks!

Are you using 802.11n or 802.11g connection?
If 802.11n, are you using 5GHz ONLY frequences, or are you using the 2.4GHz frequences? 5GHz will give you much (MUCH) faster transfer speeds.
Time Capsule -> Wireless -> Radio Mode -> 802.11n only (5GHz)
Is your Time Capsule -> Wireless -> Wireless Options -> Multicast Rate -> 24Mbps
and Transmit Power 100%
But as has been suggested, connect via Ethernet using Gigabit capable cables and you should be able to your initial backup much faster.
Also NOTE: If your initial backup was interrupted such that the Time Machine Sparse Bundle needed to be repaired, a lot of initial time when you restarted your backup could have been spend while fsck was being run against the volume.

HDD not located in time machine setup????????????

I recently replaced my hard drive w/ a 320gb one. I have only used 55gb. When i go to select backup disk (in time machine), nothing is there, not my hard drive! Am i doing something wrong?

Did you have an external you were backing up to?
Have you partitioned your new drive so that TM has a place to back up to? TM can't back up to the same partiton it's backing up.

Larger scale Time Machine setup, really bad performance

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