SOLVED TimeMachine only works after rebooting

[TerryVog]

My FreeNAS server's main function to me is as a TimeMachine backup. It also runs Plex. For some reason, TimeMachine only works directly after rebooting the server. It immediately resumes the backup it couldn't update since the last reboot. The rest of the time, my Mac is unable to connect to it. However, I can still add movies to Plex using that same Mac.

How can I troubleshoot this weird problem? I don't think I should have to reboot my server daily.

My Mac runs Sierra and my FreeNAS server has an i3 CPU and 16GB RAM and runs FreeNAS-9.10.2-U3.

 

[Kevin Horton]

How is your server listed in the Time Machine pane of System Preferences? Is it listed by the server name, or by the IP address?

I had issues with Time Machine not backing up to my FreeNAS server. Those issues went away when Time Machine was looking for the IP address, rather than the server name.

If your server is listed by server name, delete that entry in the Time Machine pane of System Preferences. In the Finder, select Go => Connect to Server ..., and enter "afp://IP of server/Time_Machine_Share_Name". Then you should be able to select this volume in Time Machine.

Good luck

 

[fracai]

I'm not currently backing up with TM, but in the past I've had similar issues that I could resolve by turning the AFP service off and back on.

 

[TerryVog]

How is your server listed in the Time Machine pane of System Preferences? Is it listed by the server name, or by the IP address?

If your server is listed by server name, delete that entry in the Time Machine pane of System Preferences. In the Finder, select Go => Connect to Server ..., and enter "afp://IP of server/Time_Machine_Share_Name". Then you should be able to select this volume in Time Machine.

I had to test if this solution would stick, but it did. Thanks