Accelerate network backups
QWe set up a Mac mini for shared Time Machine backups over Wi-Fi in Big Sur, but found those backups may take forever to complete. How can we make them faster?
ATime Machine has had problems with backing up items like the hidden version database and apps like Xcode containing huge numbers of small files. Although Big Sur’s new ability to back up to APFS backup volumes brings great improvements, when it backs up over a network this old problem returns, largely because of performance problems, even bugs, in Apple’s SMB implementation.
The simplest answer is to exclude folders containing a great many files. Big Sur does this automatically for the version database, and you can manually add others such as Apple’s Xcode app. If you’re unsure which items are causing this problem, The Time Machine Mechanic (T2M2), free from bit.ly/ mac368t2m2, can help find them so you can add them to the list of inclusions using Options in the Time Machine pane. Working around SMB problems is harder. Apple’s older network file protocol AFP can perform better, but is now being progressively removed from Macs. If your Mac mini server can share backups using only AFP, you may be able to get your other Macs to back up as AFP clients. However, M1 Macs can’t serve using AFP at all, and Time Machine may refuse to recognise an AFP share for backup storage.
Most important of all, though, is keeping macOS updated fully on all your Macs. For instance, Big Sur 11.4 updates SMB which should improve performance.