AirPort Time Capsule
Airport Extreme
Airport Express
AirPort Time Capsule
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirPort_Time_Capsule
Time Machine backup software utility
macOS Tahoe will be the last version of macOS to support AFP, with macOS 27 onward only supporting Time Machine backups over SMB version 2 or later. Time Machine backups using AirPort Time Capsule routers will no longer function.[6]
"Warning: Apple Says macOS 27 Won't Support AirPort Time Capsule Backups". MacRumors. June 10, 2025. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
Starting with macOS 27, Time Capsule backups will require a storage drive that supports more current file-sharing protocols like SMBv2 and SMBv3.
Time Machine works with locally connected storage disks, which must be formatted in the APFS or HFS+ volume formats. Support for backing up to APFS volumes was added with macOS 11 Big Sur and since then APFS is the default volume format.
Local network volumes connected using an SMB3 share
Back up your Mac with Time Machine
Use a storage device with at least twice the storage capacity of your Mac. For example, if your Mac has 1TB of storage, your backup disk should ideally have at least 2TB of storage. If Time Machine needs more storage space, your Mac will let you know.
Use your Time Machine backup disk only for Time Machine backups, not for storage of other files.* * Advanced users: If you add an APFS volume to the external storage device, you can use one volume for Time Machine backups and the other for storage of other files. The Time Machine volume should be twice the storage capacity of your Mac.
Back up your files with Time Machine on Mac - OS 26
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Backup disks you can use with Time Machine
Time Machine can back up your Mac to any of these storage devices that are compatible with Time Machine.
Network-attached storage (NAS) device
Time Machine can back up to a third-party NAS device that supports Time Machine over the SMB network protocol. Check the documentation of your NAS device for help setting it up for use with Time Machine. Time Machine backup to NAS devices over Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) is not recommended and won't be supported in a future version of macOS.
AirPort Extreme Base Station or AirPort Time Capsule
These solutions are no longer recommended, because they use Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), which won't be supported in a future version of macOS.
Network-attached storage (NAS) device
Time Machine can back up to a third-party NAS device that supports Time Machine over the SMB (Server Message Block) network protocol. Check the documentation of your NAS device for help setting it up for use with Time Machine. Time Machine backup to NAS devices over Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) is not recommended and won't be supported in a future version of macOS.
Popular brands like Synology and QNAP offer NAS devices that work with Time Machine over SMB, requiring you to enable SMB, Bonjour discovery, and set up a dedicated folder in the NAS settings (e.g., Synology's DSM) to function as a Time Machine destination, which your Mac then finds and uses automatically.
Can I partition the NAS? One partition for Time Machine backup and one for Roon backup.
Network-attached storage (NAS) that supports Time Machine over the SMB network protocol.
You need a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device that supports Time Machine via the modern SMB protocol, not the outdated Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), as Apple is removing AFP support in macOS. Popular brands like Synology and QNAP offer NAS devices that work with Time Machine over SMB, requiring you to enable SMB, Bonjour discovery, and set up a dedicated folder in the NAS settings (e.g., Synology's DSM) to function as a Time Machine destination, which your Mac then finds and uses automatically.
Key Steps & What to Look For
Check NAS Compatibility: Look for NAS devices from brands like Synology, QNAP, or others that explicitly mention Time Machine support over SMB (Server Message Block).
Create a dedicated shared folder for backups.
Enable SMB file sharing.
Enable Bonjour service discovery and Time Machine broadcast over SMB within your NAS settings.
Connect your Mac to the NAS over the network.
Open Time Machine settings and select the shared folder as your backup disk.
Why SMB over AFP?: SMB is the current standard, offering better performance and security, while AFP is being deprecated by Apple, making it unreliable for future macOS versions.
Example Brands & Setup (Synology)
Brands: Synology and QNAP are leading NAS providers with robust Time Machine support.
Synology (DSM 7+): Go to Control Panel > File Services > SMB, enable it, then go to the Advanced tab to set Time Machine folders for your share.
By following these steps and ensuring your NAS uses SMB, you'll have a reliable Time Machine setup that's ready for future macOS updates.
Can I partition the NAS? One partition for Time Machine backup and one for Roon backup.
Yes, you can create separate areas on your NAS for Time Machine and Roon backups, but it's best done using separate shared folders with quotas, not actual drive partitions, on a single volume for simplicity; however, using separate physical drives for each backup is ideal to avoid a single point of failure, as a drive issue takes everything down, but separate shares on one volume (e.g., Synology SHR/RAID 1) still protects against data corruption within the other share. Roon also strongly advises not backing up its database within a watched folder, so keep those locations distinct.
Recommended Approach: One Volume, Separate Shares (Folders)
Create One Volume: Set up your NAS drives in a single storage pool (like SHR or RAID 1/5/6) and create one large volume using it.
Create Shared Folders: Inside that volume, make two distinct shared folders: TimeMachineBackup and RoonDatabaseBackup.
Apply Quotas: Set storage quotas on each shared folder to limit how much space Time Machine and Roon can use, preventing one from hogging everything.
Configure Backups:
Time Machine: Point Time Machine to the TimeMachineBackup share on your NAS.
Roon: Configure Roon to back up its database to a folder inside the RoonDatabaseBackup share (e.g., RoonDatabaseBackup/RoonCoreBackup).
Why This Works (and Caveats)
Logical Separation: Shared folders act like logical partitions, keeping data separate.
No Physical Partition Limits: Avoids complexities of physical disk partitioning within the NAS OS.
Single Point of Failure: If the entire drive/pool fails, both backups are lost, so ideally use separate physical disks for Time Machine and Roon if possible.
Roon Database: Keeping the Roon backup folder separate from the watched music folders prevents Roon from trying to back up its own backup, which causes errors.
What to Avoid
Actual Disk Partitioning: NAS systems (like Synology) often don't use traditional drive partitioning; they use volumes and shares.
Putting Roon Backup in a Watched Folder: Never set the Roon backup destination to be inside a folder that Roon is actively monitoring for music files (like Music).