Is it possible to hang this drive off of a network with the proper adapters?

[nk_e]

Hi all,

I have an OWC Thunderbay 8

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/thunder ... nderbolt-3

Given the shorter lengths of the TB3 cable and the fan noise, I can’t really use it. It sits too close to my mic and the noise is intrusive. I replaced it with a BlackMagic USB C rack enclosure that works great and is absolutely silent.

I’ve been having trouble finding a NAS device to use for general backups. I have a Drobo 5c, but a similar issue to the OWC drive (noise) makes it a PIA to use.

So….Is it possible to hang the OWC off of a wireless router in another room using an Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (and a second Apple Thunderbolt 3 Male to Thunderbolt 2 Female Adapter) and access it over the network?

If so, would it just show up as a drive?

I’m not overly concerned about speed, I’d use it for Time Machine backups in the background.

(I suppose I could do something similar to the Drobo if this works…)

Any advice appreciated. Thank you.

[mikehalloran]

A true TB3 drive needs a direct connection. If the longest cable is too short, an actual TB3 or TB4 powered hub in the middle should work. Only one of the USB-C ports in a TB3 hub will pass TB3 so you have to know which one it is. Multiple ports of a TB4 hub will pass TB3 but it requires you to have a TB4 port on your Mac (TB4 allows multiple TB3 devices on a hub or daisy chain).

Unlike most Macs, an iMac Pro has two TB3 busses. Even though there are four USB-C ports, Thunderbolt is one each, L & R.

NAS and Time Machine over WiFi are quite doable but I prefer Ethernet for my desktop Macs. My WD MyCloud docks are in a closet in another room hooked up to my WiFi hub. Best $100 I spent when I moved in 18 years ago was to a skinny college kid so that he'd run Cat5e to all the rooms in my house through the crawl space.

[nk_e]

Thanks Mike.

[nk_e]

One more quick question please: The WD stuff works fine for you? When last I looked into them, it seems there was some issue about the timeliness of their updates for Mac NAS software.

I might just give up on Drobo and go for one of those if they are available.

Thanks.

George

[mikehalloran]

One more quick question please: The WD stuff works fine for you? When last I looked into them, it seems there was some issue about the timeliness of their updates for Mac NAS software.

I might just give up on Drobo and go for one of those if they are available.

Thanks.

George

Works fine for me. I am notified of Updates as they are released — they are done by logging into the device through a browser and running them.

WD has phone support if you need.

By connecting the MyCloud to my wireless router, my portables access it through WiFi while my desktops access over Ethernet.

[Jim]

I’ve been having trouble finding a NAS device to use for general backups.

QNAP seems to be dominating the NAS market at this point, at least in the video post biz. They have many different sized enclosures. Seems like they introduce new models every month.

https://www.qnap.com/en-us/product/ts-433