Arthur Cashin
asked on
Using a home/small office NAS with a Mac Mini
Hello, need to move from a no longer supported 2010 MacPro to a 2018 Mac Mini, Can't afford the new Mac Pros and don't want to pay the SSD tax that Apple is imposing. Internal SSD upgrades are not an option for the Mini.
Looking at using a NAS for the user directories so I can cut down on the amount of SSD I need to buy inside the Mini. Not working with large video, so a dedicated Gig Ethernet between the NAS and the Mini should be sufficient (leaves TB3 for video/eGPU and wifi for internet access).
Certainly don't want to maintain a Windows Server for this. Thinking about a box, like Synology and QNAP, for this kind of work. Preferably with 2 ethernet ports with one supporting Gig.
Has anyone successfully done this? If so, were you able to restore your user files off a Time Machine backup to the home directories?
Looking at using a NAS for the user directories so I can cut down on the amount of SSD I need to buy inside the Mini. Not working with large video, so a dedicated Gig Ethernet between the NAS and the Mini should be sufficient (leaves TB3 for video/eGPU and wifi for internet access).
Certainly don't want to maintain a Windows Server for this. Thinking about a box, like Synology and QNAP, for this kind of work. Preferably with 2 ethernet ports with one supporting Gig.
Has anyone successfully done this? If so, were you able to restore your user files off a Time Machine backup to the home directories?
I'm with serialband, hooking up a simple bare drive in a dock or a cheap RAID1 enclosure will likely suffice.
I use bare drives in docks, then rsync the entire drive to a backup drive each night.
I use bare drives in docks, then rsync the entire drive to a backup drive each night.
> Has anyone successfully done this?
Yes, using a Synology NAS. I have created and backup to a .sparsebundle file on my Synology NAS and it works seamlessly.
> If so, were you able to restore your user files off a Time Machine backup to the home directories?
Yes, I have recovered files from the Time Machine Backup on the Synology although it is slower than the local HD version.
I would ALSO recommend having a USB3/Thunderbolt external HD connected to the MAC MINI and set that up too with TimeMachine.
A lot of people are not aware that it is possible to have multiple TimeMachine backups running in parallel - see how to do it here https://www.backblaze.com/blog/use-multiple-hard-drives-time-machine/
Yes, using a Synology NAS. I have created and backup to a .sparsebundle file on my Synology NAS and it works seamlessly.
> If so, were you able to restore your user files off a Time Machine backup to the home directories?
Yes, I have recovered files from the Time Machine Backup on the Synology although it is slower than the local HD version.
I would ALSO recommend having a USB3/Thunderbolt external HD connected to the MAC MINI and set that up too with TimeMachine.
A lot of people are not aware that it is possible to have multiple TimeMachine backups running in parallel - see how to do it here https://www.backblaze.com/blog/use-multiple-hard-drives-time-machine/
+1 for Synology, great products and software.
»bp
»bp
@Arthur,
Are you all set with this now, or do you need more help? If all set, could you please close it out now. If you need help with the question close process take a look at:
»bp
Are you all set with this now, or do you need more help? If all set, could you please close it out now. If you need help with the question close process take a look at:
»bp
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It should be easy to set up time machine. https://nascompares.com/guide-to-synology-nas-with-time-machine/
How much disk storage space do you need? Do you have other devices that would need an actual NAS. Thunderbolt, USB-C or USB 3.1 would be faster than ethernet, but you'd have to connect it to a single computer. A single external disk or even 2 or 3 would be cheaper than a NAS. You can even put one offline as hedge against ransomeware.