Backing up with Time Machine to a NAS or other network storage is different. Here’s an account of how it creates and handles sparse bundle storage in Ventura 13.2.
Time Capsule
Is a NAS system worth considering for your backups? Could one replace your existing Time Capsule? Here’s additional information to help you decide.
A full Time Machine backup over SMB analysed in detail. This reveals that some of the measures reported in the log are likely to be inaccurate and misleading, and gives suggestions for improving performance.
Complete slides analysing the history of Time Machine from first release to backing up to APFS in Big Sur, with detailed diagrams.
Links to my presentation, and to a selection of useful articles about Time Machine backups to APFS, and more.
As Apple silently drops Mojave’s support, it releases a security update to iOS 12, which was originally released a week before Mojave. And its entire AirPort range also seems unsupported now.
From Apple’s basic Backup to your iDisk, through the first version of Time Machine in 2007, to Time Machine to APFS in Big Sur.
Most hard disks become increasingly likely to fail after 3 years. All Time Capsules are now in that zone, and should either be replaced or have their hard disks replaced.
Content Caching server originated in 2005, as a feature in Mac OS X Server, which sold Xserves. Time Machine came in 2007, to support Time Capsules. Those legacies are so different, though.
Slow performance when backing up to a network share is mainly down to SMB. Without its improvement, Time Machine over a network is still dead in the water.
The Eclectic Light Company 