Gigabit ATA (IDE) NAS vs USB 2 SATA+new Airport Extreme

Hi,
I'd like to share iTunes, iPhoto and video (HDV) content between two iMacs (G5s) on a Gigabit ethernet LAN. Would also like to stream DivX and VIDEO_TS files down to a media player via Gigabit ethernet. (Looking at TViX HD M-4000P media player as Apple TV won't do DivX and VIDEO_TS)
So I'm looking for a shared disk option.
Would a Gigabit ATA (IDE) based NAS provide read/write of this type of content faster than an USB 2.0 SATA based external disk plugged into the new Airport Extreme ?
I'm considering the new LaCie Ethernet Big Disk 1TB as the gigabit NAS.
Thanks for your help,
Tony

The short answer, Yes. The choke point for the USB 2.0 SATA drive is the Airport Extreme. Because the APE does not have Gigabit connectivity your link to the USB 2.0 drive is limited to a max of 100Mbps via cable or 200Mbps (real world N) via wireless. If you have the iMacs, Gigabit NAS device and the device you're streaming to all hooked to a Gigabit network that would be faster. I would check the specs carefully on the media players and assure that they are Gigabit (also noted as 1000Tx or 802.3ab).
This is my biggest complaint with the APE is no gigabit.

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Why won't my new Airport Extreme recognize my USB Hard drive? My MacBook recognizes it. I already have had a great deal of trouble connecting my printer to print wirelessly, but finally resolved that. Now I want to add the external drive with a USB por

Why won't my new Airport Extreme recognize my USB external hard drive. I put a USB port on the base station, and the system recognizes my printer. When I click on disks - it lists my printer, and when I click on Printers it lists my printer. What do I need to do to get it to recognize the external drive? BTW, the MacBook recognizes it, no problem. I have erased it and reformatted it. I am running the new Lion OS. Any help is appreciated.

Yes, I saw a post on one of these threads about a powered USB hub so I ran over to Office Depot and picked one up. I was finally able to see the HD in the Airport Utility. Yay!

I have a brand new airport extreme. I just ordered a WD My Book Studio 2TB Mac External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0 Can I partition this and use one 1tb as a time capsule and 1tb on my desktop of my mac as a wireless hard drive? If so how?

How would I do this?

To partition the WD My Book, you could temporarily connect it to your MacBook Pro via USB. Then use the Disk Utility to partition it into two separate partitions of whatever size you choose for each.
Once partitioned and formatted (I would recommend HFS+), you can then disconnect the drive from the MacBook Pro and attach it to the new AirPort Extreme. The Extreme should now "see" the drive as two separate drives. You would then use the AirPort Utility to share out both drives.
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Does the new airport extreme support backing up via time machine to an external hard drive pluged into the usb port

Does the new airport extreme support backing up via time machine to an external hard drive pluged into the usb port

Yes, but you might want to note that the port on the AirPort Extreme is only USB 2.0, and that it runs at about half the speed of the USB 2.0 port on a computer, so things are going to be quite SLOW as far as backups are concerned, or anything else for that matter.

New Airport Extreme -802.11 ac model is not detecting my USB Hard drive

My new Airport Extreme -802.11ac model is not detecing my External USB HDD when connected via the USB port in the Airport Extreme.
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Please help.
Cheers
SK

What version of firmware are you running on the 802.11ac?
There is a 7.7.1 update with USB fixes - http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1665
After my update to 7.7.1, I still cannot see the Seagate 3TB HDD.
The disk works on a 2nd Gen 802.11n Extreme.
This is

I have a new Airport Extreme that works well with my IMac but is intermittent with our Windows 7 PC. Any ideas?

I have a new Airport Extreme that works well with my IMac but is intermittent with our Windows 7 PC. Any ideas?

Thanks planb77. Your instructions worked but I had to do a little more than you stated. I did not realize that transferring files to a new computer was not enough. When the iPod synced I was told I needed to "authorize" my new computer to get my iTunes purchases to sync to the iPod. So after the initial sync, I ejected and disconnected the iPod, went into the iTunes store, set up "home sharing" and then authorized the new computer. When that was done I reconnected the iPod and was able to sync all my books and music. The only thing I couldn't do was rename the iPod as iTunes never asked me to. Is there a way to rename it after it has been set by iTunes as "owner's iPod"?

Adding new airport extreme to an existing airport express network...

i currently have a home airport network comprising two airport express units; one attached to the cable modem in the bedroom and the other downstairs in my study (extending the existing network and feeding a shared USB printer and airtunes speakers). i've recently bought an airport extreme, to improve network performance. i also plan to add a NAS in the next week or so.
ideally i'd like to situate the new airport extreme in the study, as i don't want to have to keep the NAS in my bedroom!
my question is this, if i add the new airport extreme to the existing airport network, will i see the benefit of the 802.11n connection, or should the extreme be set up as the primary base station?

... will i see slower transfer speeds (than if it was connected to the extreme) to / from the NAS when accessing it wirelessly from elsewhere in the house?
No. The transfer speed will be limited by the slowest connection, which is almost certainly your wireless connection speed.
If you buy a switch, buy a gigabit switch. Not because a slower one will limit your transfer speed, but because the Extreme is Gigabit and any newer equipment is likely to be as well. The advantage would only be relevant to the wired LAN.
The Express's Ethernet is not Gigabit but there is no reason for it to be, since it cannot connect to anything other than a slower wireless connection anyway.

Help!?! Can't read configuration of new Airport Extreme, Help!?! Can't read configuration of new Airport Extreme

Trying to set up to print with MacBook Pro, OSX 10.5.8, Canon MX870 series printer, and NEW AirPort Extreme. I get the message that "an error occurred while reading the confirguration (-6753)" At wit's end... tried using ethernet cable connection- MacBook Pro to Airport Extreme... same message. That was the suggestion from the Express Lane tech. That perhaps our WiFi at our physical location was interferring. Have tried ethernet cable to Airport... same. Also tried USB cable... same message. Used same MacBook Pro and Canon printer a year ago, but with an older Airport Extreme, and it worked perfectly... wirelessly. HELP please, please

Also am having problems with my roomates HP Laptop... It connects for only a few seconds/minutes then has an issue... Really shady??? Any Ideas? He is Running Windows XP
G5 1.8 (2003) Mac OS X (10.4.8)

How do I use more than one USB device with Airport Extreme?

I would like to plug a shared hard drive into my new airport extreme and still be able to plug in a shared printer as well. How am I supposed to do this with only one USB port. Do I use a USB hub???
Is it possible to connect a hard drive using one of the ethernet ports?

To use multiple USB devices you would use a powered USB hub.
You can connect a hard drive to one of the Ethernet ports providing the hard drive is a NAS and supports Ethernet connections. In that situation the NAS hard drive is just like any other Ethernet client and the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) does not handle the file sharing services. The drive itself would provide the file sharing services.

Problems getting an external hard drive to work on the new Airport Extreme

I have spent hours trying to get my 320GB external hard drive to work with the new airport extreme 802.11N. I have spent hours pouring over all of the posts here discussing possible solutions, all of which have not worked. This morning, however, I gave it another try and FINALLY, I have it working. I tried something simple. Here it is:
Using the Apple Disk Utility Program, I formated my drive using the MS-DOS mode, called my Hard drive "ItunesHD". It took about 20 minutes to complete (i'm assuming because of the size of the drive). I then unplugged the router and hard drive, turned on the hard drive, then the router. After my macbook pro reconnected, I clicked on the iDisk utility icon in my menu bar, provided my password and FINALLY saw the network drive icon on my desktop!!! It seems that formatting my drive using MS-DOS compatibility mode finally worked for me. I'm not saying this will work for anyone else who is having this problem, but you can at least try it. I tried all of the MAC formatting options and have had no luck.
What I would like to know now is (..if anyone has these answers, please let me know):
1. What is the maximum SINGLE drive capacity that this router will understand...500GB, 1TB, 2TB? I would like to get the biggest bang for my buck.
2. Keeping #1 one in mind, I purchased an Apple TV (still waiting on it to arrive) and I would like to know if it will read multiple hard drives connected to the Airport Extreme router (...say (2) 500GB hard drives). I know you can have multiple libraries in iTunes (which to me is a cheesy solutions, there should be an option in the preferences that would allow you to save your music in one place and your movies in another). Anybody have any idea on this one?
I basically want to rip all of my dvd movies on a big hard drive connected to my airport extreme to use with my AppleTV , so I just need to find out about the maximum size and hooking up more than one hard drive and getting the AppleTV to recognize them all.
thnks
MacBook Pro Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Sorry you had so much trouble hooking up a hard drive to the base station. I've done some experimenting with the feature and this is what I've found out.
You can use either the native Mac format, Mac OS Extended, or the Microsoft format known as FAT. Apple calls FAT, MS-DOS File System in Disk Utility.
If you use Mac OS Extended, the Macs on the network will be able to connect to the drive using the native AFP (Apple File Protocol) or the Microsoft native SMB (Server Message Block) protocol. PCs will only use the SMB protocol of course.
If you use MS-DOS File System both the Macs and the PCs will only use SMB to connect to the drive over the network.
Basically I've found everything works as expected with regard to volumes connected to a network.
One thing I don't have installed is the iDisk Utility. I'm wondering if it may be the cause of the problems you were having. But reading through your post it may also be the difference between expected behaviour and the proper procedure for discovering and mounting network volumes. Let me explain.
You only mention having trouble getting the drive to show up on your Desktop, you didn't describe how you went about discovering the network drive. It isn't just suppose to show up on your desktop when you plug it in to the Extreme base station. It doesn't work like the iDisk or disks connected directly to your computer using USB/Firewire.
Normally with network drives you're suppose to either browse for them using the Network icon in the Finder or using the Connect to Server command in the Finder's Go menu, you would type the address in directly for the network volume you want to mount. Try it and see what happens.
Now to answer your other questions.
I don't have a volume large enough to hit any limits the base station may have but I did read a post about someone who said they had a 1.5 TB volume connected and could only see 1 TB of it. They were forced to partition the drive to see all available space and of course the volumes showed up as two separate drives. One thing wasn't made clear though. They didn't say what volume format they were using to format the drive, Mac OS Extended or MS-DOS.
Everything having to do with the AppleTV is just speculation at this point since no one has one yet but from what has been demonstrated so far, AppleTV relies on iTunes. In other words, it won't pull data from network volumes on its own, a computer running iTunes needs to feed it.

Can't see HD on new Airport Extreme with TimeMachine software

Just bought a new Airport Extreme for which set up was easy -- I plugged it into my router via ethernet, ran the configuration and was good to go.
The AirPort Extreme is plugged in and appears to be set up correctly as the green light is glowing on the front and I can see it in the Airport Utility as well as surf the 'net and send and receive emails, etc.
I plugged a new 1TB FW800/USB drive into the Airport Extreme (via USB) after formating it on my MBP and verifying the two 500 GB partitions I created; one partition for the MBP and the other new Mini I just installed in my studio.
I can sign in succesfully into the Airport, but when I select the Tab for Disks, neither partitions nor the disk itself are showing up -- without which I can not designate the partitions to each Mac.
I have rebooted the AirPort and re-verified the 1TB FW800/USB drive ...
The goal is to use the Time Machine software for backing up each Mac to its respective partition wirelessly.
Any ideas?
Thank you ....

TM over network to FW shared drive is an interesting work around.
There are some tricks to this kind of setup.
See http://code.stephenmorley.org/articles/time-machine-on-a-network-drive/
Make sure BTW the drive is partitioned GUID .. if it was a windows drive at some point it may still have MBR.. and that will not work... in some cases.
It is better to connect AFP than SMB.. but I presume you are doing that although you don't state it.
I would try using ethernet to do the setup as well.. not just wireless.
Wireless should be in the same vlan as the ethernet.. but I have run into troubles recently where things weren't what they appeared.

Canon MP 620 not recognised since new airport extreme

I've been successfully using a Canon MP620 printer and scanner wirelessly for about six months but then my old Buffalo AirStation gave up the ghost and I replaced it with a new Airport Extreme. It was a joy to get something out of the box, plug it in and have everything work from the moment I switched it on. The only problem is the Canon has disappeared and I cannot get it to appear either wirelessly or as a USB device. I have tried just connecting it to one computer by a USB cable but it's just not being detected.
We have three MacBook Pro's in the family on airport, a MacPro and an old G4 that connect by cable, oh, and er...a Dell PC. We are running a mix of 10.5.8 and 10.6.1. The main MacBook Pro that was used originally to set up the wireless system is still on 10.5.8.
The Canon still has the same settings in it that it had before. I have downloaded the latest driver from Canon but when I get to the point where it scans for printers nothing comes up whether I set it to USB or Network.
I am so frustrated as it was working so well before.
Any ideas anyone?

Hello and welcome to Apple Discussions.
To add the MP620 on Mac OS X 10.5 as a networked wired or wireless printer, you need to select More Printers > Canon IJ Network. For Mac OS X 10.6, you add the network printer via the Default browser view. But there is every chance that the MP620 is not connected to your new Airport, so you will need to run the network setup tool again.
To configure the network settings in the printer, you will have to connect the MP620 to your Mac or PC via USB. This will let you open the Canon IJ Printer Utility, which lets you configure the network settings. Since this is a Mac forum, I will detail the Mac procedure.
With the printer connected via USB, open Print & Fax and select the MP620 in the list. If you haven't had the MP620 connected to this Mac previously via USB, then it may take a while for the printer to appear in this list. If it hasn't appeared after 30 seconds, then click + to add the printer. Select the MP620 shown as a USB device. At the point when you select to Add, you may be prompted that the printer is already installed. If so, just cancel the install. If not, continue the procedure.
With the USB printer queue selected, open the print queue and click the Utility icon. This will open the Canon IJ Printer Utility. This will show you the USB attached MP620. Select it and press the Network Settings button. This will open the Canon IJ Network Tool that will guide you through adding the MP620 to your new network.
Once the network setup process has completed, you can turn the MP620 off and disconnect the USB cable. Then when you turn the power back on, the printer should now be connected to your wireless network allowing you to add it as a network printer.
On 10.5, with Print & Fax open, click to Add and then select More Printers > Canon IJ Network.
On 10.6, open Print & Fax and click to Add. Select the Default browser view.
In both cases the MP620 should be visible, allowing you to select it and add it as a network printer.
Hopefully this gets you printing again. Please reply if you need more help.
Pahu

Help setting up Open DNS with new airport extreme

I cant seem to get Open DNS to work with a new airport extreme. The status says I am not using Open DNS and its not filtering anything. I have followed the exact steps for set up listed on their website, checked the dns settings, cleared both caches and restarted the computer, modem and router with no success. I set the airport up in bridged mode, although I tried the other option under setup, but not sure what I was doing? I picked up this router because I wanted easy set up and the apple store assured me it would work with Open DNS. Oh, and I also downloaded the latest firmware update on the router. Can anyone help me with the settings or what else I need to check?

Sorry, I am not familiar with this product, so I checked online to pick up some information. Here I am referring to the information found here:
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/6096
I found that your device is mentioned as follows in the intro under Section 1 of this document:
The BellSouth supplied Westell 2100, 2200 and 6100 models (Models A90-210030-04, B90-220030-04, and B90-610030-06/C90-610030-06, respectively) share many features and functions.
Next, I am referring to the information under Section 2, under the heading of Standard Default Mode Connection (separate hub or switch present). Unless you have changed the configuration on the Westell, this is how your device is operating. In this mode, the Westell device is acting both as a modem and router in one unit.
So, an attached router (AirPort Extreme) must be configured as a switch to work correctly. That is what Bridge Mode is....the AirPort Extreme is operating as a switch when it is in Bridge Mode (which would be the correct setting to use when the Westell is set to its Standard Default Mode).
Any changes that you want to make regarding DNS settings would need to be made on the Westell device, since it is acting as the main router on your network.
In Bridge Mode, the AirPort Extreme simply passes that information through to its connected devices. You will not be able to make any DNS related changes on the AirPort Extreme since it receives that info from the Westel device. Some service providers force you to use their DNS servers, so you might want to check with Bell South or AT&T for more information in this regard.
If you want to be able to configure the AirPort Extreme as the main router on your network, and instruct it to use the DNS information that you want, you will need to refer to the section under the heading of Bridged Ethernet Mode ( separate router present).
Please note that the first item under this heading specifies that "This is the preferred configuration when using a separate external router..." (which would be the AirPort Extreme in your case)
So, it appears to me that this would be the way that you must reconfigure the Westell device to allow the AirPort Extreme to function as the "main" router on your network. In this type of setup, you will be able to enter the DNS information that you want to use under the setup for the AirPort Extreme and it will act as you instruct.
The AirPort Extreme would not be configured in Bridge Mode for this....it would be configured to "Share a public IP address".
The next item in the article specifies that you "Must use a PPPoE client on the Router." This means that the AirPort Extreme would be configured to Connect Using = PPPoE as follows:
AirPort Utility - Manual Setup
Click the Internet icon
Click the Internet Connection tab
Connect Using = PPPoE
You would enter your user name (probably your email address), password, etc in this area. Leave the Service Area box completely blank. Set Connection to Always On, and Disconnect if Idle to Never
Click Update to save the new settings. Power off the Westell device after this and then restart it so that it will pick up the new information that you have programmed into the AirPort Extreme.
I want to stress that this is how I would try to configure the Westell and AirPort Extreme. But, as I said, have not used a Westell device, so I cannot say that this will work correctly for you.
It might be an excellent idea to contact Bell South or AT&T Support to ask for their opinion on this before you decide to change the configuration of the Westel device and the AirPort Extreme.
This type of thing can be intimidating for users, so you might elect to use the services of someone like the Geek Squad at Best Buy, or a similar service from a local computer firm. Perhaps the Apple store could help as well.
If it is not critical that you use Open DNS, you might want to simply leave things "as is", with the AirPort Extreme in Bridge Mode.

New Airport Extreme, new problems.

Hi all. I have just purchased and installed a new airport extreme and am having some issues with it already. Last night during install, When it got to the end of the setup process, the computer screen said that the Airport extreme was to restart. Well, that seemed to take forever, and then the airport that was visable from the Airport utility disappeared. The Green light on the unit was on, indicating no problems, but I was not able to access the internet. I played with it for a while, and tried resetting and going through the set up 2 more times, with the same result. I had given up and was going to contact apple in the morning when suddenly my Ipad received a message from my friend who had sent the message about an hour before. I assumed that the internet was now working, which I confirmed with my Ipad and my Imac. All seemed ok. I even downloaded the Airport app for my I pad and could see the device from the screen.
Today, my Ipad's airport app could not see the device, yet the network was working. Is this typical?
Also, can you hide the SSID (network name). My last wireless router had this feature, which I thought was nice.
Last thing. I can't seem to print from my wireless printer any more. My previous router worked fine for this. It now says it is not connected any more. The network name and password are the same with this Airport as my last router, so I figured it shoud work fine. In the manual, it doesn't seem to mention wireless printing, only printers connected to the Airport with a USB. Does it only work that way?
Sorry for all the questions. If This thing is not going to co-operate, it will be returned to the store. I normally love Apples products, but this one has me scratching my head in doubt.

First you can block the SSID, you need to go into Airport Utility and click on wireless then click the wireless network options and make sure the Create a closed network is selected. Regarding the iOS Airport Utility that could have sometimes. On your printer the Airport Extreme has a USB connector that you can connect a printer to it. It you want to add the printer to the network wirelessly then you may need to go in to you printer setup.

New AirPort Extreme Problems

Hello,
I just installed a the new AirPort Extreme connected to wired Ethernet as a Server for USB-Harddisks.
Unfortunatele, it seems to work very unstable. I want to use the connected disks with an iMac G5 and an MacMini Core Duo. Sometimes the Extreme does not appear in the Network list, sometimes it does but disappears after a while.
I got two updates (2007-1, 2007-2) on the Computer where I installed the disc that came with the AirPort Extreme. Is there any further step needed to actually upgrade the box or is it all done while "installing" the update?
2)
As I right now use the box as a file server only, can I disable WLAN somehow? The setup wizzard is not very clear and the former Admin Utility does not work with the new box.
3)
Is there a way to let the connected harddiscs sleep while no activity is going on? How to setup such details?
Thanks for helping,
Frank

The Windows AirPort Utility isn't constantly scanning for you network. Once it sees the network, it keeps it listed until you click the rescan button. If you were to click the rescan button when the network was not seen by your wireless card, I bet it would not show it then either. On the other hand, Windows itself is constant doing background scans. I've noticed with Windows, in general, networks come and go and you get those idiotic bubbles telling you so.

Gigabit ATA (IDE) NAS vs USB 2 SATA+new Airport Extreme

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