Turn your router/NAS into a Time Machine server: what to check (and how we test)

Are you tired of plugging and unplugging an external drive every time you back up your Mac with Time Machine? Many routers and NAS devices can act as a Time Machine server, so you can enjoy seamless, wireless backups at home.

Before you set this up—or if you’re choosing a device specifically for Time Machine—there are three parts to consider: the router hardware, the router software/firmware, and the external drive. Below is the checklist we use at RouterFly, plus how we test each device.

1) Router hardware

USB

• Number of ports
• Type: USB-A / USB-C
• Throughput: USB 2.0 vs USB 3.x (3.0/3.1/3.2)

Networking

• Wi-Fi generation: Wi-Fi 5 / 6 / 6E / 7
• Maximum link speed
• MIMO/stream count and antenna design
• Ethernet LAN speeds: 1G / 2.5G / 10G (matters for wired backup)

2) Router software (firmware features)

• Disk formatting options: can you format the drive in the router UI, or must it be pre-formatted?
• Setup experience: GUI vs CLI, web UI vs mobile app, and how many steps it takes.
• Network file sharing: Time Machine over SMB support, share creation, per-user quotas.
• Service discovery: Bonjour/mDNS (Avahi) advertisement so Macs auto-discover the backup target.
• Multi-user management: separate users and quotas for multiple Macs.
• Remote backups: support via site-to-site or client VPN and Bonjour relay/reflector (for discovery across subnets).

3) External drive considerations

• Interface: USB 3.x (recommended) vs USB 2.0
• Capacity: plan for 2–3× your Mac’s used space
• Drive type: HDD (cheaper, larger) vs SSD (faster, silent)

4) The overall backup experience

• Stability: long-running reliability, recovery after power blips, and resume after Wi-Fi drop.
• Performance: first full backup time vs incremental backups; restore speeds.
• Support: vendor documentation, firmware update cadence, and community resources.

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How we test at RouterFly (methodology)

1. Baseline setup
   • Fresh external drive (cleanly formatted as recommended by the device/vendor).
   • Create a dedicated SMB share for Time Machine with a unique user and a storage quota.
2. Discovery & setup
   • Confirm the macOS client auto-discovers the Time Machine target via Bonjour.
   • Record how many steps/clicks and any non-obvious settings.
3. Performance
   • Measure initial full backup of a known dataset (e.g., 200 GB).
   • Measure three incremental backups (5–10 GB each).
   • Test both Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet where applicable.
4. Stability & resilience
   • 24–48 hour soak: continuous incremental backups while the Mac sleeps/wakes.
   • Mid-backup interruptions: Wi-Fi toggle, router reboot, power cycle of the USB drive—verify clean resume.
   • Error handling: full-quota behavior and recovery once quota is increased.
5. Multi-user
   • Two or more Macs backing up concurrently to separate user shares with quotas—watch for throttling and failures.
6. Restore tests
   • File-level restore from Time Machine.
   • Optional: full system restore to a spare Mac or VM to confirm integrity.
7. Observability
   • Check router logs for SMB/USB errors.
   • Note CPU/RAM utilization (if exposed) during heavy backup.
8. Remote/VPN (optional)
   • If supported, verify backup/restore over VPN and document discovery requirements (Bonjour relay/reflector).

We’ll publish per-device scorecards with weighted ratings for Hardware (25%), Software (35%), Drive/Storage (10%), and Experience (30%), plus setup notes and gotchas.

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