Network-based Time Machine frequent backup corruption

Originator:sasmito.adibowo
Number:rdar://15728629 Date Originated:27 December 2013
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:OS X Product Version:10.9.1
Classification:Crash/Hang/Data Loss Reproducible:Frequent
 
When Time Machine backup is used over the network (most notably wireless network), it prompts to remove the entire backup set and start from scratch at an interval of about every two weeks. This have been happening since the early days of Time Machine and hasn't been fixed as of 10.9.1.

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Setup Time Machine encrypted backup over a wireless network connection.
2. Keep it running every hour (as per normal Time Machine backup schedule) for about a month while actively using the computer.
3. Once in a while when Time Machine is currently running, disrupt network connection by turning off Wi-Fi or putting the machine to sleep and taking it outside wireless range.


Expected Results:
Backups are supposed to be reliable – intermittent network connection may be an excuse to skip a few files from being backed up (which should get corrected in the next backup cycle), but not to corrupt the entire backup set.

Actual Results:
Within a month you should experience a "Time Machine completed a verification of your backups on <backup host name>. To improve reliability, Time Machine must start a new backup for you". Then a full re-backup could easily take overnight, even on Gigabit ethernet (at least my 2011 MacBook Air with about 200GB data takes about that much time whenever this happens).

Version:
OS X 10.9.1 / Build 13B42

Notes:
There have been claims of workarounds available around the Internet, but none of these are capable to eradicate the problem:

 - Overriding the file permissions in the backup volume to be public-writable.
 - Increasing the sparse disk image's band size: http://arzur.net/2010/08/31/time-machine-on-a-network-drive-you-will-need-to-increase-the-band-size/

Maybe you should switch to a better method than having a disk image mounted over the network. Failing that, you could try using a more robust file system for the remote disk image – a file system that could survive and recover from random disk corruptions (as what happens when you issue low-level disk commands over a wireless network connection).


Configuration:
This affects network backups on both 3rd party NAS and Apple's own Time Capsule, as per what the forum discussion thread linked below (and several others on the Internet) have shown.

Forum discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/message/21530110?ac_cid=tw123456#21530110?ac_cid=tw123456
 
Whereas the following is my specific configuration:

- MacBook Air 13" Mid 2011.
- OS X 10.9.1
- WD MyBook Live

Comments

Re-surfaced again in 10.10.1

This issue has resurfaced in 10.10.1 and being reported as bug ID 19067934

By sasmito.adibowo at Dec. 7, 2014, 1:50 a.m. (reply...)

Fixed in 10.9.5 (according to Apple)

Apple Developer Relations

09-Oct-2014 03:19 AM

Engineering has provided the following:

Based on the engineering notes in the original report on this issue, Bug ID 15560145, the issue is resolved in OS X Mavericks 10.9.5.

If this is still an issue for you in Yosemite, please file a new bug report on the most recent release, with fresh diagnostics.

We are leaving this report closed.

If you have questions regarding the resolution of this issue, please update your bug report with that information.

Please be sure to regularly check new Apple releases for any updates that might affect this issue.

By sasmito.adibowo at Oct. 12, 2014, 3:37 a.m. (reply...)

Marked as duplicate

This is marked as duplicate of bug 15560145

By sasmito.adibowo at Jan. 30, 2014, 12:30 p.m. (reply...)

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