How to Add NAS as a device?

[anield]

How do you add a NAS as a backup device?

 

I click add on the device page, fill in the name etc, click add, then on the next screen there is no way to select the NAS share.

 

All the screen shots I've seen show an add share button bottom left of dialog, but I don't have that button and the share isn't shown in the list of drives.

 

Netgear ReadyNas if that makes a difference.

Retrospect 10.5 multi-Server

Mac OSX 10.6.8

 

Have tried with connecting with finder first and without connecting first, using SMB and AFP but can't find any way to get the device added.

 

Thanks.

[Lennart_T]

From what I have read, you should NOT have the device mounted in Finder.

[twickland]

I click add on the device page...

Can we assume you mean the "Sources" page?

 

... fill in the name etc, click add, then on the next screen there is no way to select the NAS share.

What do you mean by "next screen?"

 

When you first click on the Add "+" button in the sources window, the default is to add a client. To add a share, you need to select "Share" from the menu bar at the top of the window. You should then enter the complete address of your NAS share and your logon credentials (unless you have Guest access). When you click "Add," you should end up at pretty much the same screen, except there will either be a green arrow or red X next to the Add button. If you see the green arrow, the share should have been added to the sources list. A red X means either that the address or your logon credentials were incorrect.

 

Did you follow the above steps and still have no success?

[Don Lee]

I'm not sure precisely what's going on in this case, but I have had the same frustrations.  The conditions under which a network-attached volume is "visible" to Retro is not well defined, and sometimes volumes that should be visible are not. I have had success with internal, AFP, and direct attach (firewire). Whether/how SMB, NFS, ".dmg" volumes, and others work is not well specified.

 

I would like to see these things either documented or disallowed. At present, they just don't work, and produce strange (or silent) errors.

[anield]

Can we assume you mean the "Sources" page?

 

No, I am trying to add it as a device, because I want to write my backups to the NAS.

 

Add source is used for adding clients that need to be backed up?

 

So are you saying I need to add it as a source even though I want to use it as a destination?

[anield]

From what I have read, you should NOT have the device mounted in Finder.

 

Thanks.

 

I'm not sure precisely what's going on in this case, but I have had the same frustrations.  The conditions under which a network-attached volume is "visible" to Retro is not well defined, and sometimes volumes that should be visible are not. I have had success with internal, AFP, and direct attach (firewire). Whether/how SMB, NFS, ".dmg" volumes, and others work is not well specified.

 

I would like to see these things either documented or disallowed. At present, they just don't work, and produce strange (or silent) errors.

 

Thanks, I've put in a support ticket.

 

Is a bit annoying when a backup program doesn't recognise a backup device...  

[Lennart_T]

No, I am trying to add it as a device, because I want to write my backups to the NAS.

 

Add source is used for adding clients that need to be backed up?

 

So are you saying I need to add it as a source even though I want to use it as a destination?

 

 

I misread your (original) question. 

 

A NAS can not be a destination, per se. A destination is always a Media Set. You can have the volume on the NAS as a Member of a Disk Media Set.

 

So mount the NAS volume in the Finder.

Create a new Disk media Set and make the NAS volume as a member. (Do not store the catalog file on the NAS.)

Now you should be able to create a script which has your newly created Media Set as its destination.

[anield]

I misread your (original) question. 

 

A NAS can not be a destination, per se. A destination is always a Media Set. You can have the volume on the NAS as a Member of a Disk Media Set.

 

So mount the NAS volume in the Finder.

Create a new Disk media Set and make the NAS volume as a member. (Do not store the catalog file on the NAS.)

Now you should be able to create a script which has your newly created Media Set as its destination.

 

I can create a new media set but then can't add the NAS as a member of the media set.  The NAS volume is not listed on the 'add a new member' dialog, so I can't add it...

 

Have tried with the volume mounted in finder [tried afp and smb] and with it not mounted.

[anield]

Ok... Fixed:

 

First go to sources and add the NAS as a share.

Then it is available to add to a Media Set.

 

The share can be added from either the Add-Sources or Add-Media Set dialog (as they both have a share button/tab)

 

(It is better if the NAS share is not mounted first, as if it is it appends -2 to the volume name)

 

Thanks for the help 

[hvar]

::snip::

(It is better if the NAS share is not mounted first, as if it is it appends -2 to the volume name)

::snip::

 

You may want to check your /Volumes/ folder. If you log in to a server as different users at the same time, Mac OS will add a -1 -2 etc to the volume alias in the /Volumes/ folder. (to distingush user access rights etc on the server volume). If it adds a "-2" it looks like you may be logged in to the NAS as bob, fred and backup.

 

Any software that reads this path and saves it will be in trouble next time you are NOT logged in multiple times from this Mac. You may be up for some interesting "invalid paths" or file or folder does not exist.