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OldCorpse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2005
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I'm trying to make a local home network consisting of a M2 Mac Mini server and my M2 MBA. All are running the same Sonoma 14.2.

I have several external hard drives (mix SSDs and HDDs) connected to the MM server. One of the MM's SSD functions as a TM destination for the MM. I want to be able to have another SSD connected to the MM serve as my MBA's TM destination.

Opening TM on my MBA won't let me select (or even reach) the MM's external drive to make it a TM destination for my MBA. I read that you can have a drive become a common TM destination for both computers, but that's not what I want. I want ONE of the MM's external SSDs to be a TM destination for the MM, and a *different* external SSD connected to the MM to be a destination for the TM from my MBA. How can I accomplish this?

I thought that as long as I have full disk access on the MM, I should be able to use MM's external drives from the MBA in any way simply as if they're part of the MM. But in reality I can't for example transfer a file from my MBA *directly* to the MM's external SSD, by dragging the file from my MBA to the MM's external SSD that I can see on my MBA through screen sharing - instead, I must first drag the file from the MBA to the MM (f.ex. to the MM's desktop), and only then can I move the file on the MM's desktop to the MM's external SSD. If I try to do it directly from the MBA-->External SSD on the MM, the message pops up that the transfer failed. Checking the "Shared folder" on the MM's external HDD doesn't do anything.

I want to be able to access all of MM's external drives from my MBA as if they were connected directly to my MBA, do direct file transfers, TM backups etc. Do I need to somehow turn all of MM's external drives into network drives going through the router? If yes, then how do I do it? I have the AT&T Arris BGW210, and it has a bunch of USB ports - but I read on their user's message board that these don't really do anything although someone claimed you can plug in a flash drive and read the files. In any case I plugged in a flash drive - nothing; I also tried an HDD in a powered enclosure - also nothing. Neither appeared on the network.

Anyhow, how do I accomplish what I want - so I can use the MM's external drives to establish a separate drive for the TM destination from my MBA (and be a different drive than the one for the MM's TM), and be able to directly transfer files from the MBA to the MM's external drives? TIA!
 

OldCorpse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2005
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compost heap
Thank you, Bigwaff, that did it. I was missing one crucial step hidden in a submenu - toggle on "share as Time Machine backup".

While I'm here, is there any tutorial or site or booklet or place where simple home network for mac is explained so that I don't have to come here and ask stupid questions? Apple has good resources, but I feel like they're all scattered in separate documents and only come up if you know how to phrase your quesion just right to bring up the resource from the database. I'd like to sit down with a booklet where I can see the whole schematic from the bottom up, a website or something. Anyhow, than you again, I'd just like to educate myself a bit more so I don't ask basic questions.
 
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