I'm pretty new at this myself, but here is some of my advice and I'll also pass on some of what I have learned.
If you haven't purchased hardware yet, get the Mac Mini Server. It is a slightly modified Mac Mini that has 10.6 server. It looks like you have this, a good first step. Get Applecare. Apple Care will get you three years of Enterprise level support. The answer to any GUI based server queries are only a phone call away. Applecare for the Mini can be had for $120-150. Enterprise level support is $149 per call. You'll make back your money on the first call. I made my first call the other day and talked to someone for over a an hour. He helped me solve my problem but also gave me good advice. I foresee using my Mini similar to how you will be using yours, so I'll pass on his advice.
Here is a connection diagram as best as I can do in a text world
Internet <--> Cable Router (CR) <-->Time Capsule( TC) <--> Internal Network
The Internal Network would be your Server, other Macs & PC's. The server would have a local static IP address. The other machines would be configured to use DHCP.
TC would be set up to share a public IP address. Its DNS would point to the DNS Server you would set up on your local server.
The Mac server can be setup to handle the DNS information from your local network and then reroute information to your existing DNS chain for information it doesn't know. If you want to resolve the server externally and internally, which is a definite if you want to access the web, server from the outside world, you'll have to do a little more work. Each of these steps can be a project unto themselves.
1/2) Get a static IP. You could do some of these other steps without a static IP, but some of the server setup requires a static IP, especially reverse DNS lookup.
1) Get a Domain name.
2) Get the public DNS configured so the reserve lookup (Public IP Address points to Domain Name) and forward lookup (Domain Name points to public IP address) refer to each other.
3) Set up a "Split DNS". This step was trivial...once I figured out how to do it. You'll have 2 IP Addresses in your Server Zone record, one pointing to the local IP address for the server and the other pointing to the public IP address.
A couple of advantages to this set-up:
1) TC works as a Hardware Firewall. This helps to relieve some of the load on the server, because it doesn't have to waste CPU cycles on Firewall activities.
2) SL Server recognizes the fact that you are using a TC and will be able to configure the TC to open up the ports that it needs open to let in stuff from the outside, like port 80 for web services. For this to work well, you will have to disable the firewall on your CR , but do not fear, the TC will be your Firewall. If you don't/can't disable the Firewall on your CR, you will have to open ports as needed on the CR for outside information to get in.
Hope this helps,
Stephen Magladry

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Configuring BT HomeHub 4 on home network with AirPort Express & Time Capsule

I have changed my broadband provider from Sky to BT in the UK and hence from a Sky router to a BT HomeHub 4 router but can't get the new router to work as before with my home network and an extended wireless network running off an AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule. I had the Sky router with the wireless network off acting as the DNS server and the AE and TC set to connect using DHCP, Create a Wireless Network and the Router Mode set to Off (ie Bridge mode).
I am not an expert but I think the issue could be due to the different BT hub IP settings (Hub IP Gateway Address and DHCP Network Range). From discussion forums I am also not clear whether it is better to use DHCP, Static or PPPoE settings for the AE and TC.
Has anyone managed to configure a BT HomeHub with a home network and an AE/TC for running the wireless network?

There is really very little difference in the setup between the sky hub and the BThub.
BUT the apple routers do not take kindly to sudden changes of management.
Reset both to factory and start over.
The TC or AE plugged into the BThub will still be in bridge mode with create a wireless network.. and the Extreme working in extend wireless mode.. unless you have them tied together with ethernet. (or visa versa depending on your layout.. AE in bridge and TC extending.. same difference).
You can just leave the BT hub wireless on.. or turn it off as you like. Setup can be a bit tricky as the airport utility seems to insist on the router plugged into the Hub taking over as main router.. this is wrong.. but it is hard to get it to do what you want.. so just finish the setup in the airport utility then manually edit the setup to do what you want.
Or do it fully manually.
I gave a full set of instructions here.
Linking AirPort Extreme to my bt home hub
Note:
You have express in the title and extreme in the text.. but it is same thing from setup point of view.

Simple Home networking with Mac OS X Server

Hi all,
Can anybody give me a quick guide to setting up a basic home network with the use of Mac OS X Server for central administration?
I have 2 desktop macs, 1 mac laptop and 2 PC laptops and occasionally I have a number of friends bringing around their laptops.
I would like to set up all the basic services so that guests and registered users can access share points and home folders . I would also like to be able to use the DHCP service for this and be able to use basic services like DNS and AFP.
Does anybody know how to quickly set this up on a private home network?
I am new to Mac OS X Server so be gentle
Thanks.

John Detroye works for Apple education in Colorado, USA. He has written what i consider the best practical guide to setting up a Server system for use in a School, which is essentially what you want to do. Although he wrote it initially for 10.3 Panther Server, almost all of it still applies.
http://homepage.mac.com/johnd
Then:
Downloads - T & T etc. > Latest_Tips >Panther_Tips > mini-basic-0205a.pdf
a zipped 2.5 MB .pdf file is downloaded (about 25 pages) I strongly recommend you Print it out. I marked up my paper copy as I worked with it.

How can I add a Time Capsule 3TB to a network with an older Time Capsule 2TB?

I have a 2010 Macbook Pro with 500 GB HD and a 2013 Macbook Pro with 1TB HD. I am using Mavericks and will migrate to OS X Yosemite when it becomes available. I tried backing both up with my older Time Capsule with 2 TB of space but it isn't enough. So, today I bought the new Time Capsule 3 TB to add on to my network. I want to use both TCs in order to have 5 TB for backup.
I have a Brother printer and my Comcast Cable Modem connected to the old Time Capsule. I also have an Apple TV with 1080p HD that uses the internet wirelessly through the old Time Capsule.
My first question is what should connect to what and in what order? Should the new TC connect directly to the old TC and if so, with what cable?
My 2nd question is: Can I move several 100 GB of old data that I rarely use onto the 3TB TC so that I could access the data from either computer whenever I need it, without having the data on either computer?
Thank you.

This is a pretty easy setup.
Basically just plug the new TC WAN port into the old TC LAN port.
Run the airport utility on the computer and it should recognise that the new TC is plugged into another one.. and setup bridge mode and create a wireless network.. if not you can jump in and edit it at the end of the setup.
You could also swap things around with the new TC as the main router.. and the old one as the secondary.. but people are experiencing some issues with WAN connection to some cable modems.. so you need to be prepared if you have issues to go back to the original setup.
You will use an ethernet patch cable to connect them. I recommend if you have them in the same area place them at least a couple of meters apart.. so buy a 2-3M patch cable at least.. (8-9ft). Even better would be to install the new TC closer to the clients that will use it.. to improve wireless in dark corners of your house.. but all that can come later.
My 2nd question is: Can I move several 100 GB of old data that I rarely use onto the 3TB TC so that I could access the data from either computer whenever I need it, without having the data on either computer?
This is a lot harder question.. not in how to do it.. it is simple.. copy and paste files onto the new TC.. that is not the issue..
The problem is backup of the files that no longer exist on the computers. Ironically the TC is problematic for one major reason.. it cannot back itself up.. nor can Time Machine (TM) backup network drives. Even though TM uses the TC to store the backup it cannot actually work to backup the TC. The problems are not insurmountable.. you can use a third party backup.. eg CCC but it will be extremely slow. A better strategy if one of your computers is a desktop is to install an external drive and share it to the network. The data rate will be hugely better.. and TM can backup as per normal.

Mac Mini & Time Capsule as fileservers on the same network

My Mac Mini is currently functioning as an AFP/SMB fileserver, and I have my Time Capsule forward ports 139 & 548 to the Mini to share publicly. This is working just fine and dandy, but I'm unable to use my Time Capsule as a backup drive. The error I get when I try to enable file sharing on my Time Capsule is:
"Enabling “Enable file sharing” conflicts with one of your port mappings. The port mapping has been disabled. Update its public port to continue using it."
But changing the port of my Mini file sharing breaks the AFP/SMB connections. Does anyone know how to configure the Time Capsule to forward ports to my Mini for file sharing, yet still allow file sharing internally for Time Machine backups? (Even better: allow my Mini Server to use the Time Capsule as a share point...)
Thanks!

Sorry, I'm a bit confused since you say in one sentence that:
....I am thinking about adding a new airport extreme....
Yet, you mention AirPort Express in the rest of your post as a product that you are thinking about adding to the network.
But first.....
If you configured your current AirPort Express to "extend a wireless network", but did not notice any improvement in wireless coverage, then you may have likely forgotten that a setting on the Time Capsule must also be enabled to "Allow this network to be extended".
So, if you did not also enable that option on the Time Capsule, it is true that you would not notice any improvement on the AirPort Express as far as extending the wireless network...because the Time Capsule settings would not allow the network to be extended.
Is it still possible to use the time capsule as a backup disc for time machine still if I add the airport express?
Yes. But before you add any new products, you might want to revisit the idea of using your current AirPort Express to extend....keeping in mind that both the Time Capsule and the AirPort Express must be configured correctly to allow the extension to occur.
Post back if you need more details on this.

Home Theater with Mac Mini and Mac book Air

We are currently using our Mac Mini 2GHz Intel with our Sylvania HMDI TV connected with HDMI cable. The only downfall is that our desktop has to be close to our tv. I would like to put the desktop in our bedroom and use the new macbook air for tv watching downstairs. The questions is, how would I get all of my content from the desktop down to the laptop to view on tv.
We will also be using Plex 9 when we get a bigger harddrive. Will we be able to run that on the laptop if it is located on the desktop upstairs?
A run down of how someone else has thier home theater set up using something similar would be great!
Thanks in advance!

The Plex software bundle you download and install includes two components, Plex Media Server and Plex Media Manager. The former (PMS) needs to be running on your desktop all the time, the latter (PMM) is the client that can find the content on your network. When you run PMM on your laptop, it can see the content on any system running PMS on your network, and stream the content from there. The PMM is the 'Plex' you see in your Applications folder.
For more in depth help with setting up Plex, you should consult the Plex Forums.

Extending Network With Skh HD, Time Capsule 1TB and Airport Express

Hi,
I'm struggling to achieve what I thought to be an easy setup process.
*What I want to achieve?:*
* Ground Floor - Sky HD Router with Sky Wireless Network & Time Capsule 1 TB(choice to connect Time Capsule by either WAN Ethernet or over wi-fi?)
* First Floor - IMac and MacMini connected wirelessly, along with Airport Express to extend wireless network
* Loft - Apple TV connected to Cinema setup, with need to be able to connect to Sky HD Wireless network
Note/Problenms: It doesn't appear to be possible to extend the Sky HD Wireless Network via Time Capsule using the wireless option? Error reads "not able to extend wireless network etc...". Secondly, as a result the WiFi signal in the Loft for the Apple TV HD is 50% approx. The download speeds for movies etc is also sufficiently slow that repeat buffering is required. Not ideal.
*Current Setup:*
* Ground Floor - TC connected to Sky HD Router via WAN Ethernet cable. Creating New Network, named exactly the same as the original Sky HD Wireless Network e.g. "SKY08323"
* First Floor - IMac and MacMini connected wirelessly to SKY08323 network. Airport Express connected wirelessly to same network.
*Possible Enhancement?*
I've tried a couple of times to extend the range of the Wireless network. I First tried to do this as explained by extending the Sky HD Router network wirelessly (not possible it seems). I then connected via Wan Ethernet and setup TC and AirPort Express to interact over a WDS. TC = Main Base Station and AirPort Express = Relay Station. This seemed to setup ok but once both were restarted both TC and AE were flashing Amber and AE was no longer visible in Airport Utility.
If someone would be kind enough just to outline a step by step approach for setting up my Sky Network and being able to extend it via TC and AE, then I would be really grateful.
Many thanks and Happy New Year!
Eugene

If someone would be kind enough just to outline a step by step approach for setting up my Sky Network and being able to extend it via TC and AE, then I would be really grateful.
As you have surmised, you will NOT be able to extend the wireless range of your Sky HD Router with the Time Capsule (TC) ... at least not wirelessly.
You basically have two options: 1) Run Ethernet between the ground floor and the loft, or 2) Consider deploying Powerline adapters. These adapters take advantage of your home's electrical circuit to create a pseudo Ethernet one.
In either case, the two routers would be interconnected by Ethernet and the TC could be place in the loft. You would then reconfigure the TC as a bridge to allow the Sky router to continue to provide both the NAT & DHCP services for all network clients regardless of which router they are connected to. In addition, you would configure the TC to use the same Network Name & wireless security type so that, for example, you could roam with a wireless laptop between floors and still be on the "same" network.

How do I extend an existing wireless network with a 2nd time capsule? I want to tether them with a gigabit ethernet connection.

I am having trouble with extending a wireless network using 2 timecapsules (1 is 1 terrbyte hdd, the other has a 2TB HDD.) The first one is connected to the WAN (cable modem) and our LAN. I would like to connect the 2nd one to the ethernet LAN and have it 'rebroadcast' the 1st ones wireless n network in order to expand the overall range of the network. Your help is very much appreciated.

Suggest that you download and install the much more useful AirPort Utility 5.6 for Mac OS X Lion.
I assume that Time Capsule 1 is operating correctly at this time.
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility 5.6
Select Time Capsule 1 and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons and make a note of each of the setttings on this Wireless page.
Make sure that the Ethernet cable is connected to the WAN "O" port on Time Capsule 2.
Open up AirPort Utility and select Time Capsule 2 and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the icons and enter the exact same settings that you wrote down for Time Capsule 1
Click the Internet icon, then click the Internet Connection tab
Make sure that the settings look like this:
Connect Using = Ethernet
Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
Click Update and allow 25-30 seconds for Time Capsule 2 to restart to a green light
Very important......perform a power cycle of the entire network as follows:
Power off every device in any order that you wish
Wait a minute
Power up the modem and let it run for minute by itself
Power up Time Capsule 1 the same way
Power up Time Capsule 2 the same way
Continue starting devices one at a time the same way until the entire network is back up

Small fast network with Mac mini server and Promise Pegasus?

I have 7 Mac Pros and iMacs that need to be connected to the same storage. I'm doing non MPI-based numerical modeling so the transfer rates have to be fast but not infiniband fast. I'm considering a setup with a Promise Pegasus thunderbolt RAID connected to a Mac Mini running Lion server for Access controll/Roaming homer directories. The Mac Pros and iMacs would the be connected via 1Gb ethernet.
My question is where the bottlenecks in this setup would be. The server software/hardware? The network? What else am I forgetting

I assume you're looking at Mac mini because you've already run the numbers on Mac Pro and ruled it out. I wonder how many buyers are opting for Mac mini solely for those Promise Thunderbolt arrays.
I also assume that each of your users is currently using a single gigabit Ethernet port to connect to the LAN.
If these assumptions are accurate, then I think that a Mac mini will work as long as you and your users have appropriate expectations. The win from putting this server in place won't be networked storage that outperforms an internal SATA drive, although in bursts it probably can. The solution you've described is smart because it's centralized, securable and adds a layer of data protection (RAID).
You asked about bottlenecks. I can think of three, two of which you can work around now or in the near future. The first is Mac mini's slow internal hard drive(s). You'll have a solution in hand: Boot Mac mini from the array. Some consider that to be a controversial choice, but you shouldn't spend extra for the Mac mini server with dual 7200 RPM drives. The less costly Core i7 configure-to-order upgrade will give you a bigger boost.
Booting from the array also protects you from the most likely "repair" scenario for Mac mini: Swapping out your entire machine.
The second issue is Mac mini's lack of an expansion bus. If you get more users or start using apps that demand more from the LAN, you might want to fire up additional gigabit Ethernet ports. Mac mini has just one. At present, the only way to add a gigabit port is with a Thunderbolt PCIe bus expander. Early next year, there should be more options that connect directly or via an intermediate bus like ExpressCard/34 or USB 3.0.
The one limitation you're powerless to work around is RAM. Mac mini tops out at 8 GB. That meets requirements, but it will be tight if you try to use Mac mini as a client and a server. I deploy them headless so no one's tempted to use the console.
You can improve your odds that gigabit will cut it by using heavy, short Cat6 cables and a switch dedicated to the Mac LAN. Use Mac mini's built-in Wi-Fi to keep Remote Desktop and other low-priority traffic off the wire.
Whatever solution you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

Mac Mini / Time Capsule

I have a Mac Mini server. It is connected brandband modem via UTP. The Time Machine backup is to external WD HDD via firewire cable. These 3 items are placed next to each other.
I have a Time Capsule, it is connected to the broadband modem via UTP. It is placed next to the above 3 items too.
I am planning to use this TimeCapsule for backup too (so I can "get rid" of the WD HDD).
How should I connect the Mac Mini to the Time Capsule, assuming I do not want to use "wireless" technology for network and backup.

What edition of server is on the mini??
If the Data is showing up in finder, then it should work fine.
Next I discover => System Preferences (not responding).
That is rather bad.. you have managed to freeze up the server.
That would be caused by something like duplicate IP addresses .. are you running the server as dhcp or static IP?
Did you reboot the whole network after the rearrangement?? Just to get IP sorted out.
Otherwise I have very little to suggest. Even if you have an error somewhere it should not freeze up the server. Check the system logs and see what is happening.. otherwise go back to how you had it running..
Oh and if you had any software from WD involved.. remove it.
WD has the worst most dodgy software apps for Macs. They cause all kinds of trouble.
See C17 for example. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

Setting up network with ATT Uverse, Time Capsule, and Airport Extreme..HELP

PLEASE HELP!
I have ATT U-Verse which provides their own router. My Time Capsule is connected to the router (in the living room) via an Ethernet cable and has been working fine, and is set up like this:
Wireless Mode: Join a wireless network (I joined the ATT network 2wire)
Network name: 2wirexyz
Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel: 5
Connect Using: Wireless Network
When I try to add my Airport Extreme (for wireless printing in the office) by adding it to the same network (I've also tried to extend the network option) the Airport Utility thinks forever then comes up with an error and the Airport continues to flash amber. I've tried resetting the Extreme multiple times and configuring different ways but same result.
What am I doing wrong?? Please help, my wife is giving me grief for not being able to print wirelessly from her MacBook!!
Thank you in advance for any help you can give me!

Thank you Tessarax....
So does that mean I need to create a separate wireless network? I apologize, I'm not extremely familiar with how to complete what you've suggested. I know I've seen the bridge mentioned before in the Airport Utility when I've been trying different things. Would you mind giving me some more specific instructions please? Actually I just tried messing around with Airport Utility, let me know if I'm headed in the right direction:
For TC wireless mode I want to "Participate in a WDS network"?
Then where does my WDS remote come from? is that the Airport Extreme? I've plugged in the AEBS but it's not showing up in the Airport Utility...
I'll mess around with it some more tomorrow morning. Thanks I'll let you know how it goes.
Message was edited by: Jerimy75

Home Server with Mac Mini... Best storage solution

I have a Mac Mini which I want to setup as a home server with SL Server. The OS will be installed on the internal disk but I want my data to be stored securely and delivered fast.
Which external storage solution do you recommend:
a.) A Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ (which I already own) with Gigabit ethernet connected to the Gigabit LAN
b.) A Lacie (or other) Raid disk connected via FireWire (400 in my case) to the Mac Mini
c.) Something else
My Mac Mini is a C2D 1.83GHz with 4Gb RAM and I want to connect my iMac, my iPhone and my girlfriends MacBook to it. A general "household/kids" iMac will be added later. I will connect the Mac Mini via USB to a UPS so that it can shut down safely when mains fails. Which does not happen often over here, but still...
In case b.) the disk shuts down nicely with the Mac. In case a.) the NAS will abrubtly shut down.
I am pretty green when it comes to server stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I have two mac mini servers setup as a primary server and secondary backup for our small business. I have two WD 2TB FW 800 drives on the primary with the second backup drive daisy-chained to the first (mini's only have one FW 800 port). I have the secondary drive setup as a timemachine backup for the primary drive. Works great even though my IT guy recommended a "server grade" backup solution like Syncronize or CarbonCopy. From my standpoint, timemachine does exactly what i need and pushes over a GB or two backup in seconds with limited to zero processor usage.
I inquired with my IT guy about getting two NAS drives plugged into my cabinet switch to have full data redundancy on both my primary and secondary server but he recommended against it. he had concerns on speed and couldn't confirm that NAS and mac ACLs worked well together. Any observations on this appreciated.
I would definitely recommend enclosing your setup in a cabinet and getting a UPS. I purchased a 6U cabinet that fits under my desk to secure the minis, data drives, rack UPS and switch after I had 3 bad situations of the drives getting accidentally unplugged.

Extend both main and guest networks with a 2nd Time Capsule?

I have a 4th generation 2TB Time Capsule set up to broadcast primary and guest networks. I am running out of storage. I would like to increase my storage and I would also like to extend both primary and guest networks.
I currently use an older Linksys router (WRT330N) operating in bridge mode (wired connection to the TC) to extend the primary network, but it does not extend the guest network.
If I purchase a second (5th generation) Time Capsule to replace the Linksys, can it be set up to extend both the primary and guest networks?
From searching the forum, it appears not, but I'd like to confirm. Is true for both both wireless and cabled range extension options?
If I'm not able to extend the guest network this way, I'm inclined to settle for extending the primary network as I currently do and look for other ways to increase my network storage capacity (e.g. by upgrading the drive in my existing TC).

If I purchase a second (5th generation) Time Capsule to replace the Linksys, can it be set up to extend both the primary and guest networks?
Yes, either using wireless or an Ethernet connection between the two Time Capsules, providing that the 4th Gen Time Capsule is running at least firmware version 7.6.3.
A wired Ethernet connection between the two Time Capsules is highly recommended. If you plan to extend using wireless, the second Time Capsule will need to be located where it can receive a very good signal from the first.

Can I configure a wireless home network with two cable routers (both with separate connections to the same cable company)? Issue is poor signal strength even with multiple Airport Expresses added to the network.

I have a wireless home network consisting of a time capsule, two airport expresses and a cable modem. Even with this configuration I get a very weak signal in much of be condo - the walls, etc. are solid concrete. I want to see if I can add another separately connected cable modem and connect one of the existing airport express to it by Ethernet cable. If so, this would give me two wired hubs and greatly improve signal strength. I do not know if this configuration will in fact work or if I will just wind up with two, separate and unrelateable networks. Unfortunately, there is no way to run any additional Ethernet cable and I doubt simply adding more Airport Express will help. Thanks.

Try Ethernet over Power adapters.. these are very popular for your kind of environment.. being able to make non-wireless link to another area where you can setup a wireless access point.
Airport Express are not great for wireless power.. if you really have issues with wireless strength in a bad environment apple stuff is not the way to go.
The comparison chart here.
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/lanwan/router-charts/bar/58-2_4-ghz-dn?see=P_F
This is their worst test location you can also see averages.. the latest airport extreme.. is there a long way down.. and that is a much better wireless device than Airport Express.
The Ubiquiti power AP is small cheap and designed for precisely this duty.. useless in an apple wireless network.. you will need to run ethernet or EOP adapters back to the main router.. but if the normal omni directional antennas don't provide enough signal you can get directional ones.. I suspect you can cover your whole apartment with a pair of these and high gain directional antenna.

HT3819 Is it possible to share a printer (attached to a Windows-7 PC) on my home network, with an iPad, iPhone or a Mac?

Is it possible to share a printer (attached to a Windows-7 PC) on my home network, with an iPad, iPhone or a Mac?

Possibly. You'd need to see if your printer has any programs you can put on that attached computer to allow it to be a print server.
I'd start with your printer manufacturer first. See if they offer anything. for your model. If not, then you can look for any printer apps or programs.

Home network with Mac mini, Time Capsule, etc.

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