Time Machine not working 386.8 GT-AXE16000

[DMcD-EMS-USMC]

Saw this thread here https://www.snbforums.com/threads/time-machine-does-not-work-in-386-4.77134/ but of course we are talking different hardware/firmware but same error message. I am not technically proficient at coding so all I can say is when I do a clean install of 386.8 and then trying to setup Time Machine on my Mac Studio the disk is not recognized (same error message as in the linked thread) but when I revert to latest stock ASUSWRT firmware (clean install Version 3.0.0.4.386.49533) Time Machine works without a hitch. Not sure if there is a fix that my simple mind can digest or just have to wait for an updated ASUSWRT-Merlin firmware (which I prefer-thanks Merlin). Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[sfx2000]

TimeMachine has changed quite a bit over the last couple of MacOS releases...

One is that the sparsebundle image now can support APFS vs. HFS.

Also, for newer releases, Apple has moved away from AFP (netatalk) over to CIFS/SMB for file sharing, and Apple Silicon Macs, IIRC, don't even support AFP

The point here is that TimeMachine is Apple's thing, and third party solutions may break without warning, as Apple doesn't document TimeMachine for external developers.

 

[DMcD-EMS-USMC]

TimeMachine has changed quite a bit over the last couple of MacOS releases...

One is that the sparsebundle image now can support APFS vs. HFS.

Also, for newer releases, Apple has moved away from AFP (netatalk) over to CIFS/SMB for file sharing, and Apple Silicon Macs, IIRC, don't even support AFP

The point here is that TimeMachine is Apple's thing, and third party solutions may break without warning, as Apple doesn't document TimeMachine for external developers.

Forgive me if I sound rather simplistic but if the current ASUSWRT stock firmware works with Time Machine without a hitch, and Merlin simply enhances the stock firmware, would you not expect the current ASUSWRT-Merlin would work as well? Just seems a logical it would work with 386.8.

 

[sfx2000]

Forgive me if I sound rather simplistic but if the current ASUSWRT stock firmware works with Time Machine without a hitch, and Merlin simply enhances the stock firmware, would you not expect the current ASUSWRT-Merlin would work as well? Just seems a logical it would work with 386.8.

TimeMachine outside of the Apple ecosystem rarely follows logic, and it is a moving target.

If you're trying to do afp over tcp, as I mentioned above, afp is going away - it's barely supported now, and M1/2 macs don't support it at all.

 

[RMerlin]

My netatalk, avahi, and the rc/timemachine.c source code are all 100% identical to Asus's 386_49634, with the only exception of a typo fixed in a logged message.

I have zero Apple devices here, so I can't help you with troubleshooting this.. TimeMachine has always been quirky with non-Apple products due to its proprietary, undocumented nature, where every implementation had to be reverse engineered. As mentioned, AFP is one of the common problems, switching to SMB fixed TimeMachine for a few users in the past.

 

[sfx2000]

switching to SMB fixed TimeMachine for a few users in the past

This is the right path moving forward with post-Catalina Macs (intel and apple silicon)...

 

[DMcD-EMS-USMC]

My netatalk, avahi, and the rc/timemachine.c source code are all 100% identical to Asus's 386_49634, with the only exception of a typo fixed in a logged message.

I have zero Apple devices here, so I can't help you with troubleshooting this.. TimeMachine has always been quirky with non-Apple products due to its proprietary, undocumented nature, where every implementation had to be reverse engineered. As mentioned, AFP is one of the common problems, switching to SMB fixed TimeMachine for a few users in the past.

Thanks for your input Merlin and thanks for all you do for our community!