Make Ubuntu a Mac file server and Time Machine volume
Filed under tips & tricks, network on feb 08, 2010
The folks at Kremalicious have written an excellent article about how to setup an AFP-fileserver on your Ubuntu server. If you have your storage attached to an Ubuntu server like me, this is an excellent solution for hassle-free Time Machine backups in OSX.
To summarize, building netatalk with SSL support to allow for encryption required by your Mac:
user@pc ~$ mkdir ~/src/netatalk user@pc ~$ cd ~/src/netatalk user@pc netatalk$ sudo apt-get build-dep netatalk ... user@pc netatalk$ sudo apt-get install cracklib2-dev fakeroot libssl-dev ... user@pc netatalk$ apt-get source netatalk user@pc netatalk$ cd netatalk-2* user@pc netatalk-2.0.x$ DEB_BUILD_OPTIONS=ssl dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot ... user@pc netatalk$ cd .. ; dpkg -i netatalk_2*.deb ... user@pc netatalk$ echo "netatalk hold" | sudo dpkg --set-selections
Configure AFP:
user@pc ~$ sudo vi /etc/default/netatalk ... ATALKD_RUN=no PAPD_RUN=no CNID_METAD_RUN=yes AFPD_RUN=yes TIMELORD_RUN=no A2BOOT_RUN=no user@pc ~$ sudo vi /etc/netatalk/afpd.conf ... - -transall -uamlist uams_randnum.so,uams_dhx.so -nosavepassword -advertise_ssh user@pc ~$ sudo vi /etc/netatalk/AppleVolumes.default ... ~/ "$u" allow:username1,username2 cnidscheme:cdb /home/username/TimeMachine TimeMachine allow:username1,username2 cnidscheme:cdb options:usedots,upriv user@pc ~$ sudo /etc/init.d/netatalk restart
Install and configure Avahi (Multicase DNS):
user@pc ~$ sudo apt-get install avahi-daemon ... user@pc ~$ sudo apt-get install libnss-mdns ... user@pc ~$ sudo vi /etc/nsswitch.conf ... hosts: files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns mdns4 mdns ... user@pc ~$ sudo vi /etc/avahi/services/afpd.service <?xml version="1.0" standalone='no'?><!--*-nxml-*--> <!DOCTYPE service-group SYSTEM "avahi-service.dtd"> <service-group> <name replace-wildcards="yes">%h</name> <service> <type>_afpovertcp._tcp</type> <port>548</port> </service> <service> <type>_device-info._tcp</type> <port>0</port> <txt-record>model=Xserve</txt-record> </service> </service-group> $ sudo /etc/init.d/avahi-daemon restart ...
Enable networked Time Machine volumes on your Mac:
user@mac ~$ defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1 user@mac ~$
Enjoy your Time Machine Volume! Your server should pop up in Finder as an Apple X-Server and your should be able to access the volumes after successful authentication.
If you have any issues, head over the the Kremalicious article for tips and tricks. Most of the issues you may come across are explained elaborately. I had to use the Sparse Bundle Hack myself, after creating an empty sparse volume in Disk Utility, Time Machine started synchronising like a charm!
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