HOWTO | install OS X Server and set up for Time Machine

1

Get the app

Search for, purchase and install OS X Server (on the App Store). Your regular account should already have the required Administrator privileges. Start it up and it runs through a short setup process to install its components. When done it boots to its main screen.

2

Turn on Time Machine

Select the Time Machine tab under Services and switch Time Machine server on. You’ll set up a destination for the backups that other users will make over the network. Click Choose and select a folder or drive. This may be on a large hard drive connected to this Mac.

3

Set quotas

You can limit each backup to a certain number of gigabytes that Macs running Mavericks will obey (though those on earlier versions of OS X will not). Click Create and specify a limit if you’re concerned about any particular user copying huge amounts of data.

4

Add more targets

If you like, add destinations to this list by using the ‘+’ button in the management window. You could, say, set different drives as backup locations and name them with people’s names so that users knew which ones they personally were supposed to use.

5

Manage backups

Users’ backups are visible in the Backups tab. You can see who’s backed up and when, and be able to delete backups. If you change a destination, users’ Time Machine preferences will automatically switch to use the new destination. The first backup will take longer.

6

User permissions

In the Users tab you can manage not only how much disk space access a specific user has but also whether they have administrator privileges. Users can also be assigned to Groups – useful for managing the permissions of multiple users in one go.