Time Machine for clients + Network Home folders?

I currently use Retrospect to back up my client machines, but frankly I don't like it that much. I'd really like to have Time Machine working for all of the client machines so that the users can easily grab copies of their own backups, rather than having to request them from me. I plan to continue to use Retrospect to back up the data on the server and to back up non-Leopard and non-OS X clients.
However, I'm also hoping to move some or all of my OS X clients to network home directories. I saw some mention in a forum that Time Machine doesn't work with network home directories, but I can't find anything about this in the server documentation. Is this true? Can't I have my network home directory clients back up their home directories to another share point using Time Machine?
Thanks in advance for any information on this or alternative ideas.
Greg

found the answer ;-)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3247301

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This is a copy of a post that I have here somewhere...
"Personally I think apple is up to something...."
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Step-by-step instructions for NetBoot & Network Home folders?

I've only done this once and that was about three years ago and I was operating mostly on trial and error, so I need some help.
Let's say I have twenty Power Mac G5s on a network, each with a legal OS X license (of course). I have an Xserve G5 running 10.4 Server and a couple hundred gigabytes of free space. I also have a bootable FireWire hard drive that contains a complete system build (including the OS and applications) that will run on any of those G5s. The build is set up with a single "Administrator" user account.
Normally when I do machine deployment I would use a tool like SuperDuper to image the FireWire drive onto the hard drives of the G5s, then set up a user account for that user on that computer. But what I REALLY want to do is turn my FireWire drive into a disk image that I can host on my Xserve and have all those computers booting from it. Additionally, I want to set up a network home folder system so that a user can, if he/she wishes, use a different computer on the network but still retain all of his/her 'local' files and preferences and settings.
I've Googled quite a bit and came up with a number of pages that presume to explain how this is done but 100% of them are geared towards people who are already super-savvy with things like Unix command lines and such. I am not. Therefore, I need a very specific, very detailed set of walk-through instructions that spells out exactly how to do this. Does such a document exist anywhere? HELP!

For starters, all the info you need is contained within the OS X Server PDF manuals, which should have came with your Xserve. You can download them all here: http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/macosxserver/
Second, you should really post your questions in the OS X Server discussions, as they're obviously more geared toward the tasks you wish to accomplish:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=96

How to restrict disk space when using time machine for client backup on server?

We have 10 OS X SL Clients backing up on xserve SL with TM. Now 1 TB disk space is used and disk is full. The clients get the massage that the latest backup could not be finished due to target disk full. Clients run just OS X Standard Software plus Parallels with windows (max. 50 GB per client)
Why does TM not delete oldest backups like with external USB HD?
How can we restrict disk space on server to eg. 750 GB for total backup space for all clients?

johndave, did anyone ever respond to your post?

Lion server, time machine for clients on multiple hard disks

I'm trying to setup a macmini server with four different firewire drives (has this working in 10.6.8 working great) however in lion server you can only have ONE timemachine backup destination.
apple put an Share items/Backups folder with a .com.apple.timemachine.supported file in it. and set permissions to a group com.apple.backup_access
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Anybody has any ideas to get this working ?

found the answer ;-)
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3247301

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Changed from DSL to cable modem. Now Mac book pro won't connect to wifi - Time Machine?
One Mac ok, other not. Help?

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How to restart base station from airport utility? I used to be able to do it remotely I currently use a Mac Pro 10.8.4 and have a time machine for wireless 6.3 (630.34). Sometimes I cannot connect to the internet and use network preferences to diagnose t

How to restart base station from airport utility? I used to be able to do it remotely
I currently use a Mac Pro 10.8.4 and have a time machine for wireless 6.3 (630.34). Sometimes I cannot connect to the internet and use network preferences to diagnose the issue. This results in being told to restart the wireless. The airport utility includes the drop down option of restarting but is not clickable so I can't choose it.
With my prior macbook and same time capsule, etc if i had problems connecting to the internet I would run network diagnostics to help out. This included clicking on the airport utility ---> base station --> restart. This worked most of the time.
Bottom line, is there something I am missing in not being able to restart the wi-fi remotely? ]
Thanks in advance

You are likely forgetting a step.
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Time Machine for shared group folders

Hi,
I would like to set up time machine for a shared group folder on the server. I would like users to be able to use time machine from clients to see backup history of files in the group folder. Is this possible? How?
Gregor

+...would like users to be able to use time machine from clients to see backup history of files in the group folder. Is this possible? How?+
Yes. This is possible, but it isn't touted as one of the features that sells Mac OS X Server. The advertised Time Machine server solution is to host an AFP share point on the Mac OS X Server system which clients then use as a Time Machine backup destination, similar to Time Capsule.
But, what I think you're going for is something like this: You have a share point where multiple users can read and write, and you'd like the server to be able to backup that share point via Time Machine, but also allow its clients to connect and see those backups. This is kind of like "Time Machine for a sharepoint." Again, this isn't really touted, but it's possible. Here is an example which shows you how.
For starters, let's say that your server's disks are well-organized. You have one volume for the server's operating system (Boot), one volume for the share points (Data), and one volume for backup (Backup). Other scenarios could work, but this configuration will make this how-to easier to understand. Let's also agree that your server's hostname is junglecat.amazon.private.
Let's say that the share point (group folder) that we want backed-up is at /Volumes/Data/Group-Folder on the server. Let's also agree that your group members already have access to this folder - e.g. it is already a share point with an ACL entry that grants the group members read and write access.
You'll need to configure Time Machine on the server itself first, just as if it were a client. Open System Preferences, and use the Time Machine pane to choose the Backup volume as the server's backup destination. You'll want to make sure that only the contents of the Data disk (the disk housing the Group-Folder) are backed up. Skip anything on your boot disk, as you're using Time Machine to back up just the share points. Let the server at least start its first backup, which will create the following directory:
/Volumes/Backup/Backups.backupdb/junglecat.amazon.private
...where the server's Time Machine backups will be stored.
Now use Server Admin's File Sharing section to make the /Volumes/Backup disk a share point, with these properties: Share the folder via AFP, and enable it as a Time Machine backup destination. (Your clients will not really be backing up to the folder, but they will be needing to see it as a place that Time Machine can keep a backup. This creates the .com.apple.timemachine.supported file on the share point.)
It's also a good idea to disable guest access and add an ACL deny rule to the share point (/Volumes/Backup) which denies delete and delete_child for everyone:
chmod +a "everyone deny delete,delete_child" /Volumes/Backup.
This prevents people from storing other data next to the Backups.backupdb folder. The Backups.backupdb folder already contains an ACL deny rule that limits its access to read-only.
Back on a client, mount the newly-shared Backup share point. The client's Time Machine may ask permission to use this as a backup location (because it was defined as such), but don't let it. The important thing is that the client recognized it as a backup location.
To browse the server's Time Machine history, the client must right-click on the Time Machine icon in the Dock (or use the Time Machine menu extra) and choose "Browse Other Time Machine Disk," where the user can choose the server's backup volume. Now the client can go back in time on the server, star-field and all. If the user needs to restore a file, Time Machine will ask him/her where to save the restored copy; it will not overwrite the copy on the Group-Folder share point.
Hope this helps!
--Gerrit

I will be travelling abroad but use time machine and modem at home. Do I need to leave these switched on while away for iCloud to work?

I will be travelling abroad but use time machine and modem at home. Do I need to leave these switched on while away for iCloud to work?

No. iCloud has nothing to do with Time Machine on your computer, and as long as your computer has synched all desired content and settings to iCloud, not only does the modem not need to be switched on, your computer doesn't need to be on either.
Regards.

When installing maverick mailboxes disappeared, only have current emails. All the folders and content missing. Could anyone be of help. I do have Time Machine for backup.

When installing maverick mailboxes disappeared, only have current emails. All the folders and content missing. Could anyone be of help. I do have Time Machine for backup.

Solved the problem by clicking the gray triangle next to "On My Mac" and drilled down!

Time Machine for Macmini second hard drive to networked storage

I just got a Mac mini with OSX 10.6.5 Server and am a novice OSX Server user.
I want to backup both the primary hard drive and the second hard drive using Time Machine to a networked file server.
When I go to the setup for Time Machine on the Mac Mini, it allows me to backup the primary HD but doesn't give me an option to do the same for the second hard drive.
Is there a workaround for this?

You may want to use an additional backup method as well, since Time Machine doesn't back EVERYTHING up on a server.
http://derflounder.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/web-sharing-not-working-after-a-time -machine-restore/
http://derflounder.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/restoring-mac-os-x-server-from-time- machine/

Network Home Folders - Sometimes

Is there a way to have network home folders sometimes?
Here is the situation. (all servers and clients are at 10.3.9, but could be upgraded to 10.4.x)
In a school there is a 29 unit eMac lab and an iBook cart. The students each have a home folder on the server. When they log in to an eMac they use their OD/LDAP username and password. The OSX server authenticates them and then they use their network home folder. This works just fine.
But when they use the iBooks, they are using Airport to connect to the network. Network home folders are too slow to work over a wireless network, so they have to log in using a local account and then mount their network home folder to save files.
What I would like to do is have them login to the iBooks with their OD/LDAP information so that they can be authenticated using OD/LDAP but not use home folders when using the iBooks. (I could then put their home folders in the dock)
Is this possible?
Thanks
too many to list Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Considered, but won't work for this application.
The students use different computers at different
times. For instance the question is about users on
eMacs some of the time and iBooks some of the time.
So they would have at least 2 different computers and
many people might use either of them at a different
time. So a single computer could have many, many home
folders.
Just to press the issue: is there a reason this is a problem (disk space, for example, or security)? Because the whole point of PHDs is that you'll be getting synchronization even when multiple machines are involved. If you're worried about home directories piling up, you could implement a cron job to clean them. I'm not trying to suggest that PHDs really will work in your instance--just trying to suggest possibilities.
In any event, it IS possible to modify your users' home directory settings on a client-by-client basis. You could, for example, have your users' accounts set to use network home folders for your wired machines, but override that setting on your iBooks to point to homes on the client. To do that:
1. Open Directory Access on your iBook, select your LDAPv3 configuration, and edit it (Services pane > LDAPv3 > Configure, select it in the next window and click Edit. If you've checked "Use DHCP-supplied LDAP Server" you'll need to uncheck that and create a configuration for your server; consult the server documentation for more information.
2. When you click the Edit button, you'll get a window for the selected configuration, with tabs for "Connection" and "Search & Mappings." Click the Search & Mappings tab.
3. In the Record Types and Attributes pane on the left, click the disclosure triangle next to Users, and do two things:
- Select "HomeDirectory" and delete it.
- Select "NFSHomeDirectory" in the left pane, and replace the corresponding "homeDirectory" entry in the right pane with the following: #/Users/$uid$. Then, click OK to save your changes.
4. Reboot the client, and log in as one of your network users. Here's what should happen: on this particular client, Directory Access will still log your users in with the account settings on the server, except the HomeDirectory attribute will be reset with the value /Users/<short user name>. That's what the NFSHomeDirectory line does: the sharp sign tells Directory Access to ignore the attribute in the user's server account, and overwrite it with the string that follows. The $uid$ tells Directory Access to substitute the field with that value (the LDAP uid field). So, for user John Smith, whose short name is smithj, the client will create a folder called smithj in the folder /Users, which is on the local client.
You could in theory use this technique to place the home folders anywhere on your client (like in /tmp), but it's best to use the default /Users folder unless you have strong reasons not to.
The advantage of this scheme is that you only set up the Directory Access preferences this way on the clients where you want to have local homes--e.g., your iBooks. Once you've correctly configured the Directory Access preferences and have verified that everything works, you can copy the folder /Library/Preferences/DirectoryService to your other iBook clients, so you don't have to go through this process on every machine.
There is one caveat, however. Configuring Directory Access this way will effect ANY user who logs in to your iBook--that is, any network user on your server. You can't set this up differently for different sets of users on your server--for any client workstation, all users on the server get treated the same. This is presumably what you want, given that you don't want to server network homes over wireless, but it's important to understand the implications of what you're doing.
The instructions above assume that you're familiar with setting up configurations in Directory Access. If not, you might want to read up on it.
Power Macintosh G5 1.8/PowerBook G4 15 1.42 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Network home folders, collaboration sharepoint and Microsoft Word 2008

I'm hoping someone who knows how Microsoft Word 2008 works on network volumes can shed some light on our situation.
We run a small managed network with about 15 leopard clients and a leopard server. We've got two sharepoints, a "homes" share for network home folders, and an "Office" share with our shared office document folders.
Several times a week, users will encounter a situation where Microsoft Word 2008 will claim that a file is open by another user, or that the file can be opened in "read only" mode, even though the file is not in use. Naturally, the problem cannot be replicated when I am present.
### My Hypothesis ###
My users are in the habit of quickly borrowing machines from other users to pull up documents in the "office" share by using the "connect as" button. So, for example, userA is logged in to her machine (and is thus connected to the network home folder on the server). userB comes along and borrows her machine -- without logging out, will connect to the shared office folder, pull up and edit/print a document, etc. We're not currently auto mounting the office share.
I know that Microsoft Word creates lock folders located in the .TemporaryItems folder at the root level of the "office" share. The folders are named "folder.xxxx", where xxxx is the userid of the account that created the lock folder. Everyone uses a network account, so everyone has a unique userID. If I list the .TemporaryItems folder using the CLI, i can see lock folders that are several days or a week old. So Word doesn't seem to be cleaning up after itself immediately, at least not always.
So my question: when userB connects to the office share on a borrowed machine (logged in to the client machine using the network home folder of userA), is it possible that word will now create lock folders for userB, and will be unable to clean up lock folders created by userA?
Anyone have other ideas for investigating the "file in use" problem?

Switched user back to the network home folder and adjusted the MS Word preferences so that the autorecovery files would be stored on the local client machine. There doesn't seem to be a comparable setting in the Excel preferences.
My initial testing suggests that this has reduced how often this problem occurs, but has not eliminated it. I tested by repeatedly opening and closing a couple of different word files in rapid succession -- i was able to replicate the "file opens as read only" problem occasionally.
I've talked to Apple server support about this issue. While they were helpful, they didn't have an explanation or solution for this problem. There are a number of postings in the microsoft mactopia discussion boards site where people report similar problems.

Network Home Folders on NAS

hello all-
i have recently purchased a QNAP TS809U-RP. i want to move all my network home folders to it. here are the steps i have taken thus far:
1) created a new share on the QNAP via the QNAP web utility. the share is xServeData
2) created a folder called "Home" in the xServeData - this is where i want all the home folders to reside
3) went to Server Admin and created a new share for the "xServeData" share i created in the QNAP web utility
4) went to Workgroup Manager and created a test user called, oddly enough, "Test"
5) clicked the "Create Home Folder" for that user
when i look on the QNAP a Home folder is created called "Test" but with only 2 folders inside of it:
Library
Sites
when i go to one of the iMacs on the network i type the username and p/w for the user "Test" and the login starts but i get the error:
"You are unable to log in to the user account "Test" at this time
Logging in to the account failed because an error occurred."
when i go back and check the new "xServeData" share's permissions versus the permissions where the home folders currently reside (on Drive 2 in Bay 2 on the xServe) i see that the permissions are:
serveradmin, Allow, Read & Write, This folder
staff, Allow, Read & Write, This folder
others, Allow, Read Only, This Folder
on the new "xServeData" share these permissions are:
serveradmin, Allow, Read & Write, This folder
staff, Allow, NO ACCESS, This folder
others, Allow, NO ACCESS, This Folder
when i try and change the new share to match the old share and save it just reverts back to the "NO ACCESS" for staff and others. i am sure this is probably what is causing the user "Test" from logging in but i don't know how to solve the issue. i am new to NAS's and am certainly not the most advanced OS X Server user. i have this in my home and my users are my family. this is really more of a hobby but i love to learn and play with this stuff.
if someone has any experience setting up Network Home Folders on a NAS and hopefully on a QNAP NAS i would sure appreciate your help and knowledge to resolve this. it seems that i am very close but that i am just overlooking one or two issues......

I am in the same boat. I would like to create mobile accounts but never sync. This is like having a local account but this way the password is in sycn with OD. Then the Time Machine can do the backups to the home folder on the NAS instead of using home synching.
How do we get the NAS box folders available to WGM? I need to know what to enter in the home folder section and be able to hit create home now and save.
This will be using Snow Leopard 10.6 od master.
Lannie

Network home folders: iCloud password question re-appears at every logon

Hello,
Is there any way to enable iMessage and Facetime together with Network home folders. Im using Mavericks server (Directory services enabled) and two Mavericks clients. Every time a user that was using machine A logs on to machine B the iClouds password prompt re-appears and subsequently security questions are sent to iOS devices that a new device was added.
Is there a way to circumvent this? I think I tried once in combination with mobile home folders. However, even if I excluded iMessage/Facetime system files from syncing, questions still re-appeared.
The more iCloud services are tied into the system, the more you would like to use them; even if you are using network home folders.
Regards,
Thomas

I also have this question.

Time Machine for clients + Network Home folders?

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