How to Use the Time Machine Server in Mac OS Mojave

Posted on 19th June 2023

Introduction

In Mac OS Mojave, Apple has introduced a new feature called the Time Machine Server. This is a central storage location where you can store backups for all the Macs on your network. This is a great way to keep your backups in one place, and it’s also a great way to save space on your local drive.

Setting up the Time Machine Server

To set up the Time Machine Server, open the System Preferences application and click on the Time Machine icon. Then, click on the Select Disk button. In the window that appears, select the disk that you want to use for the Time Machine Server. Make sure that the disk is large enough to hold all of the backups for your network.

Configuring the Time Machine Server

Once you have selected the disk for the Time Machine Server, you will need to configure it. To do this, click on the Options button. In the window that appears, you will see a number of options that you can configure. The most important option is the Backup Frequency. This is the frequency at which the Time Machine Server will make backups of your Macs. The default frequency is once per hour, but you can change this to any frequency that you like.

Using the Time Machine Server

Once you have configured the Time Machine Server, you can start using it. To do this, open the Time Machine application on your Mac. Then, click on the Select Disk button. In the window that appears, select the Time Machine Server from the list of disks. Time Machine will then start backing up your Mac to the Time Machine Server.

Conclusion

The Time Machine Server is a great new feature in Mac OS Mojave. It allows you to store backups for all of your Macs in one place, and it’s also a great way to save space on your local drive. To set up the Time Machine Server, open the System Preferences application and click on the Time Machine icon. Then, click on the Select Disk button. In the window that appears, select the disk that you want to use for the Time Machine Server. Make sure that the disk is large enough to hold all of the backups for your network. Once you have selected the disk for the Time Machine Server, you will need to configure it. To do this, click on the Options button. In the window that appears, you will see a number of options that you can configure. The most important option is the Backup Frequency. This is the frequency at which the Time Machine Server will make backups of your Macs. The default frequency is once per hour, but you can change this to any frequency that you like. Once you have configured the Time Machine Server, you can start using it. To do this, open the Time Machine application on your Mac. Then, click on the Select Disk button. In the window that appears, select the Time Machine Server from the list of disks. Time Machine will then start backing up your Mac to the Time Machine Server.

The next step is to configure your clients to connect to the Time Machine server. You can do this in the Time Machine preference pane on each client. Just click the “Select Disk…” button and choose the Time Machine share from the list of available disks.

Once your clients are configured, they will automatically back up to the Time Machine server whenever they’re connected. And that’s it! You now have a central location for all your Time Machine backups.

If you ever need to restore from the Time Machine server, you can do so by holding down the Option key while clicking the “Restore from Time Machine Backup…” button in the Time Machine preference pane. This will give you the option to choose any of the backups stored on the Time Machine server.

There are a few things to keep in mind when using the Time Machine server. First, it’s important to remember that only clients running macOS Mojave or later can backup to and restore from the Time Machine server. So if you have any clients running an older version of macOS, you’ll need to upgrade them before they can use the Time Machine server.

Second, the Time Machine server uses the same storage format as regular Time Machine backups. This means that each backup is a complete copy of the client’s drive. As a result, the Time Machine server can quickly fill up if you have multiple clients backing up to it.

To avoid this, you can use the “Local Snapshots” feature to limit the size of each backup. Local Snapshots are basically point-in-time copies of the client’s drive that take up less space than a full backup.

You can enable Local Snapshots in the Time Machine preference pane on each client. Just check the “Limit Disk Usage” box and choose the desired maximum size for each backup.

Finally, it’s important to note that the Time Machine server is not a replacement for a proper backup solution. The Time Machine server is designed to supplement your existing backup solution, not replace it.

So if you’re not already using a backup solution, I highly recommend that you start using one. Time Machine is a great backup solution, but it has its limitations. For example, it can’t backup to a network drive or an external hard drive.

If you want a complete backup solution that can backup to a network drive or external hard drive, I recommend using Carbon Copy Cloner. It’s a paid app, but it’s well worth the price.

And that’s how you can use the Time Machine server in macOS Mojave.

How to Use the Time Machine Server in Mac OS Mojave

If you have a Time Machine server set up on your network, you can use it to back up your Mac. Time Machine is a built-in backup feature of macOS that lets you automatically back up your entire Mac, including system files, applications, and user data. Time Machine is designed to work with a wide variety of external storage devices, including hard drives, Time Capsules, and network-attached storage (NAS) devices.

Before you can use Time Machine with a server, you’ll need to set up the server and share it on your network. Once the server is set up and shared, you can connect to it from your Mac and use Time Machine to back up your data.

Set up the Time Machine server

To use Time Machine with a server, you’ll need to set up the server and share it on your network. The exact steps for setting up a Time Machine server vary depending on the type of server you’re using.

Share the Time Machine server

Once the Time Machine server is set up, you’ll need to share it on your network so that your Mac can connect to it. The exact steps for sharing a Time Machine server vary depending on the type of server you’re using.

Connect to the Time Machine server

Once the Time Machine server is set up and shared, you can connect to it from your Mac and use Time Machine to back up your data. To connect to a Time Machine server, open the Time Machine preference pane on your Mac and select the “Connect to Time Machine Server” option.

In the “Server Address” field, enter the address of the Time Machine server. The address of the Time Machine server is the URL or IP address of the server, followed by the path to the Time Machine share point. For example, if the Time Machine server is located at example.com and the Time Machine share point is located at /time_machine, the Server Address would be:

example.com/time_machine

If you’re not sure what the Server Address is, you can ask the person who set up the Time Machine server.

Once you’ve entered the Server Address, click the “Connect” button. Time Machine will mount the Time Machine share point and open a Finder window showing the contents of the share point.

Use Time Machine to back up your data

Once you’ve connected to the Time Machine server, you can use Time Machine to back up your data. To start a backup, click the “Back Up Now” button in the Time Machine preference pane. Time Machine will start backing up your data to the Time Machine server.

Time Machine will continue to back up your data automatically in the background, making regular backups of your data as it changes. You can check the progress of the backup by clicking the “Show Time Machine in Menu Bar” option in the Time Machine preference pane. This will add a Time Machine icon to the menu bar, which you can use to view the progress of the backup.

When the backup is finished, you can view the backed-up data by opening the Time Machine share point in the Finder.