Time Machine allows full backups of an entire Macintosh computer with zero effort. The idea is that once a second hard drive is connected to the computer, the Mac asks if that should be the Time Machine backup drive and once told yes, the configuration is done and the feature is activated. In theory, this works great but there are limitations and ways to get around them.
One of the biggest gripes from the Apple community when the feature was rolled out, was the lack of support for networked hard drives. People using Apple’s Airport extreme combined with an attached hard drive that was shared across a network were not able to take advantage of this feature. As Apple rolled out further updates to OS X, they enabled some features. It also rolled out some products to help as well.
Apple’s Solution: the Time Capsule
Shortly after the release of OS X letter, Apple decided it was time to update their Airport Extreme base station. A new version was rolled out that not only included the standard four port router, but also had an integrated hard drive for Time Machine backups.
This new device, called the Time Capsule, allowed multiple Macs to back up wirelessly across the network. The idea and the execution were fantastic, in true Apple form, but the price was very high at $600. The high cost of entry had people looking for alternate solution.
Shared Folders Saves the Day
One of the later OS X software updates allowed people to back up to a networked hard drive without the need for a Time Capsule. Though this ability was never publicized by Apple, people eventually figured it out. It ended up being a very easy solution.
In order to run time machine over a network both machines must be running Leopard. The computer with the attached hard drive must set the hard drive as a shared item in the filesharing area of system preferences. This allows the hard drive to be seen by the second computer and now by Time Machine.
Connect Once, Back up Forever
The Mac that needs to back up the Time Machine that does not have the attached hard drive just have to connect through the network to the shared hard drive. After connecting to the shared volume, Time Machine will see it and ask if it should use that to back up. After saying yes, the program begins its work. The second computer no longer needs to connect to that shared drive in order for Time Machine to do its job. From that point on, it will always see the shared drive and automatically perform its backups.
Time Machine is a fantastic backup application and works like a charm. This method, of using a shared network attached volume is a great update to OS X and makes backing up the second computer just that much easier.
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