Is there a proper way to backup macOS via Time Machine to a network SMB share? I prefer to use a Windows share. If it's not possible, which OS would support Time Machine backup to a network SMB share?

Thank you.

EDIT I think I should clarify the things I have. So I have 1 Mac Mini with about 230GB used that's currently running Mojave that has APFS. I don't want to purchase additional hardware, because the hyperconverged 3-node cluster that I have has 40TB of usable space (about 1/3 of that space is used right now). With this hypercoverged 3-node cluster, I could use any Windows and Linux OS's. We set up data protection and it has its own node failover. I have a backup solution for this cluster as well. So basically, I would be backing up the Mac Mini on to a VM and then backing up the VM on to a backup drive.

I've set up the sparse bundle image and successfully backed it up via Time Machine on a Windows SMB share. Unfortunately, I was not able to restore the backup to a different Mac device that I'm testing right now.

I would like to know if there's an easier way to backup the Mac Mini without purchasing additional hardware.

Thanks again.