Small Mac network and backups

I run a small office - four users - all using Macbooks. We have a lot of shared data, currently on a hard drive attached to a PC. I want to ditch the PC, which is on it's last legs, and move to an all Mac set up.
Ideally I want something like an Airport extreme, attach the shared drive to that, and have another drive backing that up, and then probably a 3rd drive backing up the contents of the four laptops, with time machine.
I'm assuming that Time machine won't backup one external drive to another (i.e. the shared drive)... can you have network drives connected via ethernet to an airport extreme? Or would I need do get a USB hub for the 3 drives? What software should I be using - stick with Time machine for the laptops and something else for the shared drive?

Maybe a 500 GB or 1 TB Time Capsule might fit into your backup strategy: it also acts as an 802.11N router for the MacBooks & any other Wi-Fi clients using A or B or G or N. You can backup to the TC via Ethernet or Wi-Fi though I would recommend doing it over Ethernet at all times if possible since it's much faster than backing up over Wi-Fi.

Similar Messages

  • Force/Configure Agent communication network and backup data network

    Hi,
    I have a simple question but I cannot find an answer to it.
    question: How do i force DPM to have all Agent communication flow through the production Network and NOT use the backup Network?
    Situation: production Network  - this should be used for Agent communication - all Firewalls for this are open here - it works as Long as we do not add the backuplan to the Hosts we want to  backup.
    backup Network - this is configured in DPM as the backup Network - as stated on TechNet this subnet is also registered in DNS for all Hosts that we want to backup so DPM is able to resolve it
    Problem: Agent communication Fails regularly and backups too due to Agent communication errors
    Reason that we think is the cause of Agent communication: due to the requirement to resolve both the production net IP and backup net IP of every host we backup there are 2 records in DNS for each host. So what I have seen is that as long as DPM resolves
    the host Name to the production IP of the host, everything works fine (Firewalls are open for that network) but as soon as DNS returns the backup net IP, the Agent communication fails as this network is not open for Agent communication in our firewall. To
    make things worse I have seen that the DPM host Agent goes out on the production lan and tries to communicate with the Agent on the host using the backuplan. That is never going to work as Firewalls are only opened within the same subnet.
    I do not see any solution here. DPM offers powershell command to define a backup lan but how do I force the Agent communication to use only the production Network?

    You can separate traffic without consequences.
    Article in Russian
    http://blog.it-kb.ru/2013/05/25/system-center-2012-dpm-network-on-separate-nic/
    Add IP backup network address to hosts file (C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts) in DPM servers and protected server with agent DPM.
    NOT registered in DNS .
    ALSO
    Add-BackupNetworkAddress [-DPMServerName] <String> -Address *.*.*.*/subnetmask [-SequenceNumber]
    So You Want to Try a Backup Network?
    http://systemcenter-virtual.blogspot.ru/2012/01/dpmhow-to-force-to-use-alternate-path.html
    Have a nice day !!!

  • Format external HD for use with Mac Network and PC

    System config: Home network: Mac Pro & MacBook Pro connected via AirPort Extreme. Both run OS X 10.5.6. The Mac Pro also runs Windows XP Pro. Work computer: Dell, Latitude D830 running Windows XP Pro.
    Situation: I have a Western Digital WDMT5000TN 500GB Portable HD, (FireWire 800 & USB). The WDMT5000TN came formatted Mac OS Extended, which, as I suspected, could neither be read nor written to in XP. I reformatted the drive NTFS in XP Pro. This worked well with XP but was read only in OS X.
    Ideally, I would like to format the drive so that it is both read/write capable with both OS X & XP Pro and handle file transfers in excess of 100 MB. If this is not possible my second choice would be to have the drive read/write OS X & read only XP, given that I upload mostly in the Apple domain & would be able to perform backups of it’s contents using Time Machine with OS X.
    If anyone has a formatting recommendation or related information that may help I would appreciate your insight. Thank you.

    Two basic options:
    1. Format the drive FAT32 (MS-DOS) which is read/write on both Windows and OS X.
    2. Leave the drive formatted NTFS and install software on OS X to enable read/write access. The options are: a.) Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X - 6.5.1; b.) MacFuse and NTFS-3G 2009.2.1u1; and, c.) NTFS for Mac 1.0.

  • Time Capsule as Additional Wireless Network and Backup

    I have just purchased a 500Gb Time Capsule and I am seeking some assistance in setting it up. All this would not be a problem is Apple had just included a modem in their base stations like most other ADSL wireless routers, but hey ho! So my setup then:
    I currently have a Belkin N1 Wireless Modem Router connecting me to the internet through my phone socket and also creating a Wireless Network called Apollo. Connecting to Apollo are my MacBook Pro, Vista Laptop, iPod Touch and a HP wireless Printer.
    I really rather that the new Time Capsule (TC) act as my wireless router and that my exisiting Belkin just act as 'providing the internet to the TC', however I have several devices plugged into the belkin through ethernet and therefore cannot remove it completely.
    So how do I set up the Time Capsule to route the internet to the house as well as acting as a backup for my MacBook through Time Machine?
    Thanks

    Apple has never made modems for users to connect with broadband internet services. All you have to do is plug the RJ45 cable into the Time Capsule, run through the setup and it will then broadcast a wireless signal for your devices to connect to. You can also plug your other devices into the TC via the RJ45 connector.

  • OSX Server and Mac Mini and Simple Network functionality

    Hi not sure if this is the best place for this question but here goes.
    I am relatively new to Mac after a life lost to the PC/Microsoft world. Anyway I have a small home network and store all my documents on a network attached hard drive (Buffalo Terastation).
    I travel a lot and want external access to my files and email via the internet. I was going to set up a PC Server with MS Small office and Exchange to facilitate this but then started to think that an Apple solution would be better. I don't want to spend a fortune as it is basically just me, and maybe another user or two, that would use the server.
    I started to think that Mac OSX Server running on a 2GHz Mac Mini with 120/160gb drive and 2 gig Ram. If the mini would run OK then this would be ideal due to low noise, footprint, consumption, etc and pretty cheap as well.
    I run a iMAC 24 and 2 macbook laptops all running Leopard.
    Would this be a practical and workable solution to my needs ?
    Thanks in advance.
    Simon

    Would the "Back to my Mac" service with .Mac not work for you? You wouldn't necessarily need a server then...
    File sharing on the workstation is good as Dave says so you don't need to go whole hog for the Server platform.
    But if you wanted to go for Leopard Server, you'd be able to do a **** sight more than you could with Exchange - I wrestle with it every day at work but am happy to come back home to a Mac world!
    Stu

  • PC to Mac Networking

    I am trying to directly connect via the ethernet ports a Panther Mac to an XP PC for the purpose of transfering music files from the PC to Mac. I have not been able to get this to work even after following the instructions I have found on the web.
    I have moved the music files to the shared folder and enables file sharing but when I go to Finder and Networking I do not see the PC, and when I try the Connect to Server smb://... I get an error code -36.
    I was wondering if anyone here has done this, and if the could leave me the instructions on how to do this properly.
    Thanks to those who take the time to reply.

    If you are still thinking of giving this a shot.....you might want to try making sure both firewalls are switched off and.....
    Use the PC to "set up a home or small office network" and use this to make sure the PC is set to the workgroup called "WORKGROUP"........
    make sure both computers are properly connecting to your router and have IP addresses.....
    then, I would use the PC to try to connect to the mac. This seems to work better than the other way around. When you go into the mac preferences program and go to "sharing" and turn on "windows sharing" it will tell you the address to type into your IE explorer window to access your mac files.
    Hope this helps.

  • Setting up a small business network using mac and windows pcs

    Setting up a small business network using mac and windows??

    Ok that sounds great. What is your actual question as it relates to AirPort networking? Is it: Can I set up a wired/wireless network with an AirPort base station that support multiple Mac & PC clients? If so the answer is yes.
    If, instead, it is how to I configure an AirPort network to support a small business you will have to provide more details on both your networking & computing equipment in order for any of us to help you.

  • Small fast network with Mac mini server and Promise Pegasus?

    I have 7 Mac Pros and iMacs that need to be connected to the same storage. I'm doing non MPI-based numerical modeling so the transfer rates have to be fast but not infiniband fast. I'm considering a setup with a Promise Pegasus thunderbolt RAID connected to a Mac Mini running Lion server for Access controll/Roaming homer directories. The Mac Pros and iMacs would the be connected via 1Gb ethernet.
    My question is where the bottlenecks in this setup would be. The server software/hardware? The network? What else am I forgetting

    I assume you're looking at Mac mini because you've already run the numbers on Mac Pro and ruled it out. I wonder how many buyers are opting for Mac mini solely for those Promise Thunderbolt arrays.
    I also assume that each of your users is currently using a single gigabit Ethernet port to connect to the LAN.
    If these assumptions are accurate, then I think that a Mac mini will work as long as you and your users have appropriate expectations. The win from putting this server in place won't be networked storage that outperforms an internal SATA drive, although in bursts it probably can. The solution you've described is smart because it's centralized, securable and adds a layer of data protection (RAID).
    You asked about bottlenecks. I can think of three, two of which you can work around now or in the near future. The first is Mac mini's slow internal hard drive(s). You'll have a solution in hand: Boot Mac mini from the array. Some consider that to be a controversial choice, but you shouldn't spend extra for the Mac mini server with dual 7200 RPM drives. The less costly Core i7 configure-to-order upgrade will give you a bigger boost.
    Booting from the array also protects you from the most likely "repair" scenario for Mac mini: Swapping out your entire machine.
    The second issue is Mac mini's lack of an expansion bus. If you get more users or start using apps that demand more from the LAN, you might want to fire up additional gigabit Ethernet ports. Mac mini has just one. At present, the only way to add a gigabit port is with a Thunderbolt PCIe bus expander. Early next year, there should be more options that connect directly or via an intermediate bus like ExpressCard/34 or USB 3.0.
    The one limitation you're powerless to work around is RAM. Mac mini tops out at 8 GB. That meets requirements, but it will be tight if you try to use Mac mini as a client and a server. I deploy them headless so no one's tempted to use the console.
    You can improve your odds that gigabit will cut it by using heavy, short Cat6 cables and a switch dedicated to the Mac LAN. Use Mac mini's built-in Wi-Fi to keep Remote Desktop and other low-priority traffic off the wire.
    Whatever solution you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

  • I loaded in Lion - but my time capsule will not back up. I get an message: couldn't complete backup due to a network prolem. Also it says "make sure your computer and back up disk are on the same network, and that the backup disk is turned on.

    I installed Lion on my Mac Pro laptop. Regarding Time Capsul - I get a messaage as follows: couldn't complete backup due to a network problem. Make sure your computer and back up disk are on the same network and that the  backup disk is turned on. Then try again to back up. I have time capsul turned on. bill

    I have exactly same problem with my MBP and MBA, after upgrading to Lion. I've tried to fix this issue while cheking key chain issues and network setup, even formating hdd and time capsule firmware upgrade (ver. 7.6.1.). Nothing can help. It is very annoying.

  • Network G4 Power Mac PCI  and CRT imac

    Hi every one,
    I have just got my 2 computers networked with a Netgear RP614 wired router and the internet connection is working on both.
    How can I get them both to communicate with each other as I need to transfer some items from imac to G4 Power Mac.
    Thanks in advance for any answers.
    Regards from England,
    Alan
    G4 Power Mac 400 mhz PCI 512 meg. ram 80 &10 gig Hard drives.Radion 9200   Mac OS X (10.3)   indigo imac 350 slot loading + 256 mg Ram = 320. 6 gig hard drive OS 9.2.1

    Hi Alan,
    By "communicate" do you mean logging into one machine remotely from the other?
    You can transfer file several different ways between your G4s. If the amount of data is large (10s of Gb), I'd recommend using firewire. For file transfer via firewire, you'll need a firewire cable to connect the firewire ports on the two machines together. Then, reboot the machine you want to transfer files from , holding down the "T" key. That machine will show up on the desktop of the second machine as a firewire device. Once you're done transferring files, simply drag the firewire device icon to the trash and shutdown the first machine.
    If the amount of files to be transferred is small, you can use AFP (Apple File Protocol). To set AFP up, in System Preferences, under Sharing, on each machine, check the box next to "Personal File Sharing" and "Remote Apple Events". If you've not already done this, I'd turn on the Apple-supplied firewall rules, via System Preferences/Sharing/Firewall. Then reboot each machine in turn.
    If one the Macs you're using is only running OS9.x, you'll also want to check the box "Allow events from Mac OS9" and click on "Set Password" to set a password. This password will be needed by "Chooser" on the OS9 machine to gain access to the OSX machine.
    Then to connect from the OSX machine to the OS9 machine (for example), press Command-K (Connect-to-Server) to bring up a list of machines. Hopefully, the machine to want to connect to is listed. Select the desired machine, and click "Connect" and provide a user name and password, when prompted. Then select the "share", ie. user account on the remote hard drive to mount locally. A globe icon with the label of the "share" you mounted will appear on the local desktop. Then, away you go! To disconnect, just drag the globe icon to the trash.
    Ed

  • Various network setups for media serving and backups

    Are there any good sites, blog posts, etc that show different home network configurations with a Time Capsule, external HDs and Macs for handling backups and media serving? Right now I have a simple Setup where my TC backs up my MBP. I also have a couple externals HDs w a lot of music and video that's not in my iTunes library on the MBP, the HD of which is at capacity. I know I want to be able to easily access all of that content on my MBP, AppleTV, iPhone, iPad. I also want to have a good backup solution (possibly even a backup of the backup for redundancy). I just don't know the simplest way to do it and haven't found a good resource to see the alternatives and/or pros/cons of different configurations. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

    This is as I posted a Self help forum the only BT presence are the forum moderators your very likely to get help from other forum users it is just a matter of waiting until some one with gaming knowledge reads your post
    If you want to say thanks for a helpful answer,please click on the Ratings star on the left-hand side If the reply answers your question then please mark as ’Mark as Accepted Solution’

  • HT201270 Hello, I followed the instructions on my iPhone4s by going to Sett Gen About and nothing was new even thou I was advised to update as soon as I plugged into my Mac for a backup. Does this just mean that it tells all iPhone users to check just in

    Hello All,
    I followed the instructions when I plugged in my iPhone 4s to do a backup on my Mac. I was then prompted to update carrier settings by going to Settings>General>About. I did as instructed and nothing was new, even though I was advised to update as soon as I plugged into my Mac for a backup. Does this just mean that it tells all iPhone users to check for any available updates just in case ?

    Updating carrier settings isn't the same as updating iOS. You don't get any new or different features. It just affects, ostensibly for the better, how your phone connects with your carrier's network.

  • My mac book air connects to my network and gets internet access but time machine cannot find my airport base station to set up time machine

    My mac book air connects to my network and gets internet access but airport utility  cannot find my airport base station to set up time machine

    airport utility  cannot find my airport base station to set up time machine
    Normally, AirPort Utility is not used or needed to set up Time Machine backups......unless a default setting on the Time Capsule to Enable File Sharing has been changed.
    On the other hand, if you open AirPort Utility, a picture of the Time Capsule should be displayed. Are you saying here that the Time Capsule does not appear when you open AirPort Utility?

  • Have an airplay enabled AV Receiver - how do i set up Airplay    I have a Yamaha RX-V673 which is Airplay enabled, but i can't get Airplay to work either on my Mac book or my iphone. The receiver is connected to my network and i can control it using the

    have an airplay enabled AV Receiver - how do i set up Airplay
    I have a Yamaha RX-V673 which is Airplay enabled, but i can't get Airplay to work either on my Mac book or my iphone. The receiver is connected to my network and i can control it using the iphone App and via the web browser option.
    Do I need Apple TV or to change some settings somewhere?
    Any help would be greatly appreciated

    You are making some progress with setup of wireless network. Apparently there is reliability problem with the wireless connection. Perhaps you want to refer to following Apple support documents and start tweaking parameters in the router to improve the reliability. I used to have third-party routers such as Belkin and Netgear but switched to Apple Airport routers (Time Capsule then Airport Extreme for now) because of incompatibility issues whenever Apple upgrade Mac OS X. But since Apple develops Airplay protocol as alternative to Bluetooth for wireless audio/video streaming (with much better bandwidth) and must be deployed in any wireless network, there is no reason third-party routers not working for Airplay protocol.
    About AirPlay Mirroring in OS X Mountain Lion:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5404
    iOS: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4199
    Troubleshooting AirPlay and AirPlay Mirroring:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4215
    Good luck in setting up 802.11 wirelesss network.

  • HT4628 My Mac mini has decided to continuously drop off my wifi network and is incredibly slow to open a web page. Wifi is working perfectly with other devices.

    Hi my Mac mini will not stay on the network today and is slower than a pc to lad a web page.
    I've followed various suggestions off the web and still have the same problem. 1 second the network is available and working slow and the next it says in network diagnostics that ISP has failed. The router is fine as I'm using an iPad and iPhone and all is working perfectly at +5 Mbps however when I try to open yahoo in safari it take about 5 minutes to open the page and then when I try to create a new mail I get the same Tim delay and then can't enter a send to address!
    I've never managed to sort out email either but it not for a lack of trying about 30 different suggestions.
    I'm fairly new to mac and am getting very very frustrated with not being able to solve these problems.
    Can anyone please steer me towards a step by step or screen by screen resolution please please please help?

    Please answer as many of the following questions as you can. You may already have answered some of them; in that case, there's no need to repeat the answers.
    Restart your router and your broadband device, if they're separate. Any change?
    If possible, connect to your router with an Ethernet cable and turn off Wi-Fi. Any difference?
    Are any other devices on the network, and if so, are they the same?
    If you can connect to more than one network, are they all the same?
    Are all network applications affected, or only some? If only some, which ones?
    Is networking always the same, or is the problem intermittent?
    Disconnect all other devices from the network. Any change?
    Boot in safe mode and test. Any difference?
    If possible, turn off Bluetooth and disconnect any USB 3 devices. Any difference?

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