Update 3 – Apple’s release of its Lion (10.7) MacOS is causing NAS manufacturers to scramble to fix broken Apple Time Machine connections.
The problem is that the authentication system for AFP (Apple Filing Protocol) has changed in Lion. Lion uses a protocol called DHX2. Earlier Mac OSes used DHCAST128.
Attempting to connect with Lion to a NAS that supports Time Machine, but has not been updated to using DHX2 will result in the error shown below.
The problem has been known for some time. But NAS manufacturers have pursued the issue with varying aggressiveness. Some have been waiting for Lion’s release to ensure that no last minute changes affected their fixes. Others have been trying to lower authentication times that were lengthened by the change in authentication method.
The table below summarizes the status of fixes from leading NAS manufacturers gleaned from forum postings or email exchanges.
| Manufacturer | Status |
|---|---|
| Buffalo | Beta fix available for LS-XHL, LS-CHL, LS-WXL, LS-WSXL, LS-VL, LS-WVL, LS-QVL, LS-XL Series |
| HP | WHS based MediaSmart NASes broken. Possible third party fix coming. |
| Iomega | Waiting reply |
| LaCie | Updated utilities supporting Lion available. |
| LG | Problems reported. Workaround below may fix. |
| NETGEAR | x86-based products: update to RAIDiator 4.2.18 Sparc-based products: RAIDiator 4.1.8 Beta posted. |
| QNAP | Waiting fix. Scheduled for v3.5 beta? |
| Synology | Fixed in DSM 3.2 Beta |
If you’re willing to hack your Lion OS a bit, this workaround that enables the older DHCAST128 authentication method has been reported to work. Otherwise, hold off on upgrading to Lion if you want to maintain access to your Time Machine backups on your NAS.