Network Time Machine Backups Best Practice without Time Capsule

The simplest and least expensive way to back up a Mac using Time Machine would be to simply connect a USB drive directly to the Mac. The downside.....it is not all that convenient to keep the drive connected if you have a Mac laptop.

IF.....you have a desktop Mac running High Sierra or higher......AND.....all of your other Macs are running High Sierra or higher......it is possible to connect a USB drive to the desktop and other Macs will be able to back up over the wireless network. This is bit tricky to set up, so if you want to consider this and need more details, post back for more information.

Synology NAS products fully support Time Machine backups, so if you want to consider a NAS, that would certainly be worth a look. We see Synology NAS products recommended frequently on this forum.

Another option......if you need a new router......would be to take a look at the Synology router or some of the upper end ASUS routers which do include a USB port that will support Time Machine backups, so you can connect a USB drive to the router and back up over the network.

“Best Practices” is a term of corporate art, loosely equating to requests seeking to out-source thinking about one’s own particular situation, requirements, limitations, and advantages. Corporate posterior-covering is one of the more cynical translations.

Here? You’ll want to ponder about what you’re backing up, and why, and for how long. Is this for client system recovery? For document preservation? Legal data retention requirements? Other reasons?

Also ponder about how you can and will get rid of data you no longer want, or no longer need, or are no longer permitted to possess, or data that’s now increasingly risky to have around.

Time Machine targets? Start here: Backup disks you can use with Time Machine - Apple Support

iCloud is a sharing service, not a backup service.

Backup services including SpiderOak and BackBlaze might be interesting for off-site storage.

DAS is cheaper.

NAS works fine, but is more expensive.

Wi-Fi NAS means no cabling when a laptop arrives back on the Wi-Fi.

NAS means fewer disks on desks, when used with a team of folks.

More than one Time Machine archive reduces the exposure to corruptions.

Rotating backups reduces the exposure to intentional corruptions.

Whatever scheme is chosen, try and then document the restoration. You’re under less stress when testing, too.

Whatever scheme or service is chosen, encrypt all backups, all storage devices.

That does not mean that Apple could not pull a swifty tomorrow and make 3rd party backups fail. It would hardly be considered a great move on their part.. but lots of brands do have issues with the change in High Sierra to using SMB for backups..

True. Apple could certainly change this, but they have also gone to some effort to openly document how Time Machine SMB works for interested third-party storage providers:

https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/releasenotes/NetworkingInternetWeb/Time_Machine_SMB_Spec/

Diverge from that too far or break too much, and both users and third-party providers will get cranky.

Synology has kept up a lot better than other 3rd party to Apple's changes in protocol.

That does not mean that Apple could not pull a swifty tomorrow and make 3rd party backups fail. It would hardly be considered a great move on their part.. but lots of brands do have issues with the change in High Sierra to using SMB for backups.. although AFP is still supported. I have had no issues with any Apple changes so far to my Synology NAS. And the experience around here is very good.

I would say my experience with Time Machine has been rather less than spectacular though.. Since Sierra it has become increasingly unreliable. And that includes to a Time Capsule.

The dreaded I shat in the nest and now need to start over became a annual or even biannual event before I changed over to Carbon Copy Cloner as my main backup. It has been reliable.. I do still run Time Machine for testing purposes but its continual

Now means my backups are still secure and working.. because it is done by CCC not TM.

Not quite sure what you mean by "updates". Time Machine is built into the Mac operating system, so any "updates" that might come along in regard to Time Machine will be packed into the Mac OS update or a new Mac operating system.

I don't currently use a Synology NAS for Time Machine backups, but have in the past and cannot recall any "updates" that were necessary for the NAS as far as Time Machine was concerned. Maybe one of the users who is currently backing up to a Synology NAS will see this post and offer more information.

If your MacMini is running High Sierra or higher as well as your other Macs, you might want to look over the article linked below to get an idea of how things work with Time Machine. I've tested this in the past with my wife's iMac and things worked just fine.

https://www.howtogeek.com/330288/how-to-set-up-your-mac-to-act-as-a-networked-time-machine-drive/