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I've used an Apple Timecapsule for a number of years and through a number of iterations of the hardware. My latest device is the 2TB model and I've been running no problem for 12 months. I've diagnosed this with Apple who suggested a replacement device, the new device is exhibiting the same problems. I'm starting to doubt myself.

It's my understanding that the Time Machine software on Apple Macs detects the presence of a Time Capsule on the network and offers it up through the 'Select Disk' option. My Time Capsule is no longer showing in this list. If I use the Airport Utility and enable 'File Sharing' mode, then, I get the option of "Data on TimeCapsule", however, it's my understanding this is simply writing the SparseBundle over the network to the disk in share mode. It's my understanding that it should not be necessary to enable 'File Sharing' at all.

Can anyone confirm what the intended operation of the Time Capsule / Time Machine is, and, if this behaviour has recently changed with the introduction of a new firmware, or, with a service pack for Lion.

I have latest TimeCapsule running latest firmware, I have 2010 iMac running OSX Lion 10.7.4, but, I'm also having the problem with 2011 MBA running 10.7.4

Anyone got any observations/thoughts? I've tried all the usual, reboots/restores etc.

Thanks

Andrew

Hennes
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Andrew Taylor
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1 Answers1

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You are mistaken about not needing to enable file sharing on the Time Capsule. Time Machine backups over the network have always used AFP (the Apple Filing Protocol, a.k.a. "File Sharing"). Yes, Time Machine simply mounts the Time Capsule's disk via AFP and writes the backup to a .sparsebundle disk image on Time Capsule. Time Capsules have always required you to have AFP (file sharing) enabled in order to act as Time Machine backup destinations.

There has never been a different/special TM->TC protocol involved. It has always been AFP and sparsebundles.

Note, though, that the default "Data" shared volume you see is not actually the whole contents of the single HFS+ volume on the Time Capsule disk. Behind the scenes, it's actually just a shared folder on the Time Capsule's disk. If you set up the TC file sharing feature with accounts, then each user gets his own separate folder (outside of the main "Data" folder), and each of those user folders are available as shared volumes that are only shown to the correct user. If you set it up that way (that is, with accounts), then each user's Time Machine backup .sparsebundle goes in his own folder, which the other users can't see. So maybe you had it set up that way before, and since you never saw the .sparsebundle files in the main "Data" shared folder/volume, you thought there was a different protocol at work even though there never was.

Spiff
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