Apple fans - Time Capsule? Airport Extreme?

[Drew87]

What can you guys tell me about it? Is it a worthwile investment? I don't get what it is....Is it a router with a hard drive built in? Is it a NAS?


If I were to get it does it make my current router useless? Will I see a drop in my internet connection with the Time Capsule?


I currently have the Netgear 900 router.....


Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated - mainly from those that have Time Capsule.....

[wilsonlam97]

What can you guys tell me about it? Is it a worthwile investment? I don't get what it is....Is it a router with a hard drive built in? Is it a NAS?


If I were to get it does it make my current router useless? Will I see a drop in my internet connection with the Time Capsule?


I currently have the Netgear 900 router.....


Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated - mainly from those that have Time Capsule.....

Just get a airport extreme and buy a hard drive separetly. It's essentially the same thing.

[Drew87]

Just get a airport extreme and buy a hard drive separetly. It's essentially the same thing.


I'm trying to go with a minimalistic approach when it comes to buying new hardware if possible...

The Long version : (skip below to the short version if you want)

Right now I currently have a Desktop Western Digital 2TB hard drive and it's almost full and I have a 1TB passport that I can use as a back up to at least HALF the files on the desktop drive - If I do what you say I'd be adding two more items.

The problem I'm facing is I don't have a solid back up - I need to find a way to increase my storage, but I also need to add additional space....

I'm thinking I'll need to add at least one massive drive (4TB+ to back up the desktop drive and to give myself enough room to add files on a consistent basis.) - I'm a big downloader.....

I need suggestions.....I've thought out multiple scenarios, but I'm not sure what the best route is..... I'm a strictly laptop game and I don't have a desktop.....


Short version

Have a 2TB external desktop hard drive that's almost full
I don't have a back up of the files on that drive at all
The files are tv shows and movies so I'm constantly adding on to it
I have a 1TB passport drive - but I think it's only use is to take over to friends houses to exchange files or to take with my laptop when I travel etc....I bought the 2.3ghz Macbook so storage is limited...

Need suggestions going forward on what to do storage wise....


PS - I forgot to add - if I take all the movies off of the desktop drive and put them on the passport I'd have around 200 GB left free on the passport and around 5-600 on the desktop but I'd still need to find a way to create a back up of both so it's not logical to do I think.....

Again - Need suggestions..

[DRonline]

I'd say invest in the 3TB time capsule, but if you don't want it get the Western Digital 6TB its only like $1 more and should last you quite awhile.

[Drew87]

I'd say invest in the 3TB time capsule, but if you don't want it get the Western Digital 6TB its only like $1 more and should last you quite awhile.

It's appealing but the thing is I have a feeling that I'll fill the 3TB quickly......

[DRonline]

It's appealing but the thing is I have a feeling that I'll fill the 3TB quickly......

How many computers you backing up ? If its just the one how bout checking out drobo.com you can get any sized harddrive and use it in that, it has data protections just encase a drive dies on you, will notify you how much space is left. completely customizable.

[Drew87]

How many computers you backing up ? If its just the one how bout checking out drobo.com you can get any sized harddrive and use it in that, it has data protections just encase a drive dies on you, will notify you how much space is left. completely customizable.

Read post #3

[cloakster]

There is the WD My Net Central that comes out soon as alternative to the time capsule: http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/western-digital-western-digital-my-net-n900-central-2tb-hd-dual-band-storage-router-wdbksp0020bch-vesn/10208835.aspx?path=96068fcfe5b3da9a77f7e1ae179cd4a 3en02

[Anonymouse]

What the gentleman needs is a NAS that speaks AFP and supports Time Machine. QNAP makes good units; 4 bays is about right for his usage.

[Drew87]

Thanks for the replies.

[rivet]

I hope this does not hijack the thread. I have a similar but not the same question, how can I setup an external HD to run like time capsule (to back up automatically of my mac). Time capsule is too expensive for me. I have a windows 7 machine running 24/7, and a Asus RT-N13 router running dd-rwt.

[DJ Dennis]

What the gentleman needs is a NAS that speaks AFP and supports Time Machine. QNAP makes good units; 4 bays is about right for his usage.

I agree with this. It's better to have a backup solution that's has upgradeable storage. How does QNAP stack vs Synology's products?

[Blueroom]

All the Synology NAS's support Time Machine and are very OSX friendly.

[Drew87]

Just get a airport extreme and buy a hard drive separetly. It's essentially the same thing.

How does airport extreme compare to a standard router performance wise such as my netgear 900?

[Drew87]

I've done some research on the airport extreme but I'd like to hear from some actual users if possible.....

[hondanation09]

I've done some research on the airport extreme but I'd like to hear from some actual users if possible.....

Been using it for 4 years...what do you want to know?

[Drew87]

Been using it for 4 years...what do you want to know?

I just want to know if it's good performance wise - I have a netgear 900 router right now.......When I run speed tests ( i know the numbers are skewed ) I get 10mbps download speed over wifi and 25+ mbps download speed via ethernet connection....

I don't want to buy something and lose performance...... Is it worth the money? How is the set up process?

[brian.gerson]

Airport Extreme performance is going to be on par with anything out there. I get faster speeds, and I have a 3 Airport Extremes cooperating to extend my network into the wings of my house. Setup is easy.

[Drew87]

Airport Extreme performance is going to be on par with anything out there. I get faster speeds, and I have a 3 Airport Extremes cooperating to extend my network into the wings of my house. Setup is easy.

Interesting - thanks for the info - I wonder why I only get 10mbps over wifi - I wouldn't want to switch to the airport extreme and get less.

[MrFrugal1]

If you want high speeds, just run ethernet. There are too many variables for WiFi routers to deal with. That said, I ditched a D-Link for Airport Extreme six months ago, and am happy as a pig in shite. Super easy to configure (unlike the D-Link nightmare). I wired my whole house with Cat5, plus I have WiFi for my iPhone, wife's laptop, guests, etc.
As far as storage, NAS seems the best way to go. Drobo looks interesting, but I haven't looked into it seriously, since I haven't jammed my 3TB full yet.

[hondanation09]

Airport Extreme performance is going to be on par with anything out there. I get faster speeds, and I have a 3 Airport Extremes cooperating to extend my network into the wings of my house. Setup is easy.

I have same setup as above.

[Drew87]

I have same setup as above.

How do you think it performs?

[hondanation09]

How do you think it performs?

wifi = 12.8 mbps

[Drew87]

Hmmm - interesting....... I was just browsing through Google search and the airport extreme is ranked 4th or 5th on most lists....

My router is rated lower then the airport extreme....


On WiFi I'm getting 7-10 mbps depending on the day and time I run the test.....I think my current laptop doesn't support the 5ghz band because the light on my router is blue while the rest are green....

[enforcerviper]

Ive been running multiple airports for a while now. Ask away.
;)

http://i47.tinypic.com/bhelaq.png

[Drew87]

Ive been running multiple airports for a while now. Ask away.
;)

http://i47.tinypic.com/bhelaq.png

Why are you running multiple airports? Is the signal weak?


How's the performance? you're downloading? streaming? web browsing?

I have a Netgear N900 router now - over WiFi when I run speed tests I get an average speed between 7-10 MBPS

Through ethernet I get roughly 25-30 Mbps.....


I've got Rogers Extreme internet.

[enforcerviper]

Signal is good throughout my home even with one unit. My house is actually hardwired with ethernet. All airports are used for AP's or bridges. I wanted full signal everywhere in my home.

The airport expresses are used for their printer support and airplay to all my HT receivers.

I highly recommend Apple's networking. However lately their Airport Utility 6.0 sucks compared to the older 5.6

My only gripe is the airport express only has 100Mbps ethernet. I actually max it out using 5Ghz, and can't get more than 11MB/s. This includes the new 2nd Gen unit.

Things you need to know:

Apple limits the 2.4 band to 20Mhz only. No wide channel support. This means a max of 150Mbps only. You must use 5Ghz for 300Mbps(3:3:2) or 450Mbps(3:3:3).

Using a Macbook air to the TC (300Mbps Link) I get sustained 17MB/s sustained throughput.
Using the Time Capsule Gen 4 to the Airport Extreme Gen5 (450Mbps Link) I get 25MB/s sustained throughput.
Using a 2.4 Lenovo, I can only get 2-3MB/s (65Mbps Link) sustained.

Performance rocks for all my 5Ghz devices. (including iPads). Roaming throughout the house is seamless. Also it's all rock solid. No reboots, even after power outages.

[Drew87]

Signal is good throughout my home even with one unit. My house is actually hardwired with ethernet. All airports are used for AP's or bridges. I wanted full signal everywhere in my home.

The airport expresses are used for their printer support and airplay to all my HT receivers.

I highly recommend Apple's networking. However lately their Airport Utility 6.0 sucks compared to the older 5.6

My only gripe is the airport express only has 100Mbps ethernet. I actually max it out using 5Ghz, and can't get more than 11MB/s. This includes the new 2nd Gen unit.

Things you need to know:

Apple limits the 2.4 band to 20Mhz only. No wide channel support. This means a max of 150Mbps only. You must use 5Ghz for 300Mbps(3:3:2) or 450Mbps(3:3:3).

Using a Macbook air to the TC (300Mbps Link) I get sustained 17MB/s sustained throughput.
Using the Time Capsule Gen 4 to the Airport Extreme Gen5 (450Mbps Link) I get 25MB/s sustained throughput.
Using a 2.4 Lenovo, I can only get 2-3MB/s (65Mbps Link) sustained.

Performance rocks for all my 5Ghz devices. (including iPads). Roaming throughout the house is seamless. Also it's all rock solid. No reboots, even after power outages.

Interesting - thanks for the info - I'm moving into a condo soon so the need for multiple airports isn't there...

I prefer to run on WiFi and probably will.....

I have my current laptop - It's a Gateway 17" desktop replacement - specifically to be used for gaming - it's two years old... Until I acquire the money to buy a Mac pro or man mini - It's going to be the main laptop in my entertainment centre.... I plan on wiring it via Ethernet cable and connecting it to my HDTV via hdmi to stream movies/music etc...It'll also be the laptop I do all my downloading on....

I have "The New iPad" - It's my on to go tablet - I don't use it much at home, but all the time when I'm out and about - I also use it a lot when traveling - It's great on a plane, subway, or in a hotel. Compared to a laptop it's easier to carry, plus at airports they don't need to inspect it or ask to see it.

I ordered the new Mackbook pro with retina display...It's going to be my everyday laptop - work and recreation....

My Xbox 360 and my cellphone.....

I need a solid connection - I'm just weary about the airport extreme...

Right now when I run speed tests on my iPad I get 5mbps download speed - as I've said on my laptop I get high 7's-10mbps download speed - on my cell (blackberry bold 9900) I get 5mbps download speed...

Sometimes it seems slow to me and I definitely don't want to lose performance.

[HowEver]

I've had several of each of Time Capsules, Airport Expresses and Airport Extremes. Every one performed flawlessly, setup is pretty much instant. Nothing to complain about at all.

[Mars2012]

I hope this does not hijack the thread. I have a similar but not the same question, how can I setup an external HD to run like time capsule (to back up automatically of my mac). Time capsule is too expensive for me. I have a windows 7 machine running 24/7, and a Asus RT-N13 router running dd-rwt.

When you format the external hard drive, you have the option to set it to Time Machine backups, or you can partition it and use some for TM and some for storage.

[Drew87]

When you format the external hard drive, you have the option to set it to Time Machine backups, or you can partition it and use some for TM and some for storage.

Can you go into further detail please? I've ordered a Macbook pro w/ Retina display and i want to create a proper back up system....

Say I buy a 1TB Western digital passport - how do you create a back-up with it via Time Machine?

[synaptech]

Can you go into further detail please? I've ordered a Macbook pro w/ Retina display and i want to create a proper back up system....

Say I buy a 1TB Western digital passport - how do you create a back-up with it via Time Machine?

I have futzed with a few different backup methods using Time Capsule and different NAS that supported* Time Machine. Apple seems to like screwing these little NAS companies by changing the Time Capsule back end. The end result is you have to wait for the NAS maker to catch up... while you go without backups. You could use your WD Passport and manually copy, but then you have to ensure you do make copies. The same weakness the Time Capsule has is in the the WD Passport - only one hard drive. If the drive fails then all is lost. I've gone back to the Time Capsule with periodic DVD backups of the most important stuff.

[Mars2012]

Can you go into further detail please? I've ordered a Macbook pro w/ Retina display and i want to create a proper back up system....

Say I buy a 1TB Western digital passport - how do you create a back-up with it via Time Machine?

If you just plug in any external hard drive to the Macbook, it will ask whether you want it to be used for Time Machine backups. If you say yes, it can only be used for TM because the whole drive will be formatted to only read TM backups, which is a different system than your regular storage (ie. FAT32).

If you want to use some for storage and some for TM, then you need to format it for each. You can decide how much room to allot for each partition when you format the drive. It's not a difficult process, check for tutorials on Youtube if you aren't sure.

Once you have the hard drive formatted the way you like, as long as it is plugged into the laptop, TM will make back ups. When your TM portion is full, it will simply write over the oldest backups. You can then plug that hard drive into any other computer to share files from the storage portion, it just won't read the TM side.

[ancnfamily]

What can you guys tell me about it? Is it a worthwile investment? I don't get what it is....Is it a router with a hard drive built in? Is it a NAS?


If I were to get it does it make my current router useless? Will I see a drop in my internet connection with the Time Capsule?


I currently have the Netgear 900 router.....


Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated - mainly from those that have Time Capsule.....

If you have a Mac then I would recommend Time Capsule. I use mine in bridge mode, so no routing is done via time capsule.
For the 1st back up (if you decide to get one) I would definitely recommend to connect your pc directly to Time Capsule via ethernet cable (Cat6 if possible) as wireless will take a while if you have a lot of data.

If you want a clean look then go with Time Capsule. If you want to save $10 then you can get Airport extreme + external hard drive. Then remember, USB connection will slow you down.

[ancnfamily]

Can you go into further detail please? I've ordered a Macbook pro w/ Retina display and i want to create a proper back up system....

Say I buy a 1TB Western digital passport - how do you create a back-up with it via Time Machine?

As soon as you plug in external hard drive, it should ask you if you want to use it as back-up

[dsscpu]

I know its a bit old, but for what it's worth, its not worth getting IMO if your not running Mac OS X. With OS X its flawless, but there are better NAS options for Windows/Linux that with appropriate software will backup your entire machine.

Also, there is THIS (http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=483621)little trick for those who have Extreme's to enable unsupported Time Machine use. I had used it for many a year until a recent upgrade to a Time Capsule rendered it moot in my use.