Time Machine

This container runs a Time Machine server for remote backups of computers running macOS.

Usage

1. Create a .env file following the template provided in .env.schema.
2. Create a symbolic link called data pointing to your preferred backup location. Example command: ln -s /media/TimeMachine data.
3. Start the container with docker-compose up -d.

Notes

Auto discovery

To enable auto discovery you need to use Avahi daemon. On Ubuntu you can install it by running sudo apt install avahi-daemon avahi-utils.

To configure Avahi to broadcast Time Machine you can follow these instructions (adapted from docker-timemachine's README):

• Copy the file from docker-timemachine/avahi/nsswitch.conf to /etc/nsswitch.conf
• Copy the service description file from docker-timemachine/avahi/afpd.service to /etc/avahi/services/afpd.service
• Restart Avahi's daemon: sudo /etc/init.d/avahi-daemon restart

Performance

macOS throttles Time Machine services to keep the OS more responsive, which can result in slower backups. You can disable this behavior with sudo sysctl debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=0. This can be useful during the first backup, since it can involve transferring hundreds of gigabytes. After executing the command you should immediately notice higher disk and CPU usage and increased network activity. Time Machine's remaining time should also decrease drastically.

Once your backup is done, don't forget to run sudo sysctl debug.lowpri_throttle_enabled=1 to revert the change, else your machine may end up noticeably slower for everyday tasks.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/5vb66w/speed_up_your_time_machine_backups_tremendously/