Time Capsule as a File Server - to replace existing Airport Extreme

Hi
I have a 4th Gen Airport Extreme connected to my cable modem. I was thinking of getting a 2013 Time Capsule to replace my existing 4th Gen 2009 Airport Extreme, to use for Time Machine Backups and also for storing other files which I can access from anywhere only.
Is Time Capsule just a great wirelsss router and backup device or is it any good as a basic file server / nas drive.
Thanks in advance.
Matt

Is Time Capsule just a great wirelsss router and backup device
Yes, it is that.
is it any good as a basic file server / nas drive.
It is not a good NAS.. primary issue.. no internal backup. No way for the TC to back itself up.
No way for Time Machine to backup a network drive.
It still lacks any proper high speed connections for a second hard drive.. usb2 doesn't cut it.
The tools are poor.. actually almost non-existent. No partitioning.. so mixing backups and data is not a great idea.
See Q3 Pondini. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
Nothing has changed with this new one.
There are no media servers. no ftp, http, or any other access method for files such as is common to the basic NAS of the world.
To say nothing of rsync and all those kinds of things.
It is still slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. fine for data.. not so great for streaming media.
Remote access can be difficult if you cannot get the TC as the main router in the network.

Similar Messages

Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule? It used to work with old Airport Extreme with updates thru Snow Leopard but now seems to only allow WEP encryption instead of WPA.

Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule? It used to work with old Airport Extreme network, run from a intel iMac with updates thru Mavericks but now seems to only allow WEP encryption instead of WPA and can't connect to Time Capsule. Airport Extreme Base was controllable from either computer up through Snow Leopard (I didn't do any of the Lion upgrades). Then when I upgraded to Mavericks I lost the ability to use Airport Utility with this hardware on the Sunflower but could still connect wirelessly to network without any problems. But now with the Time Capsule upgrade the Sunflower is blocked from network by a dialogue that requests ony WEP password, not WPA pwd used by Time Capsule. Neither can I use the old airport extreme base to extend the time capsule network since I can't input the correct password/encryption approach to join it. Is there a work around? Would a newer but old Airport Express be able to extend network to Sunflower? Or maybe a third party wireless (such as Netgear, Dlink, etc) that has browser type control rather than special utility?
Another question--before I used MAC addresses to control who could access network. Now on Time Capsule I don't see anything about this--so is it true now that the only access control is via WPA2 pwd now (which appears to be the encryption pwd and not the time capsule pwd)?

Is there a way to connect an old Sunflower iMac (OSX 10.4.11) to a new Time Capsule?
I can’t claim to completely grasp the issue(s) you’re describing, but the underlying problem is presumably your iMac’s obsolete AirPort card. Whatever the case, an obvious (if not particularly helpful) answer to your stated question would be to connect your iMac with an ethernet cable, using powerline adapters as an alternative if you don’t want to have wire running all over the place.
My still fully functional clamshell iBook, with an original AirPort card, connects wirelessly to my 4th Generation TC network by means of a cheap 802.11b/g/n USB Wi-Fi adapter. This might be an option for you too.
Another question--before I used MAC addresses to control who could access network. Now on Time Capsule I don't see anything about this
When you edit your TC's settings the access controls appear under the Network tab, don't they?

Time Capsule (SIM) expand network with 802.11b/g Airport Extreme

Hi, I try to expand a Airport-Network which is set up with a Time Capsule (SIM (latest model). I like to use an Airport-Extreme-Basestation to expand the network. The two devices will be connected wireless. In the helpfile there is a explantation how to do this with 802.11n-devices but when it comes to the 802.11b/g-devices it just says I should have a look on the apple support-pages. I do not find anything there.
I tried everything, but it did not work. I've had a Time Capsule (first model) which died some days ago (the well known powersupply problem). With this Time Capsule I did not had any problems to set up a WDS.
What to do?
Message was edited by: Kadege

Kadege wrote:
Ok Jolly, thank you, but I started this thread to get in contact to somebody who knows the solution, i.e. has done this before.
Jolly Giant wrote:
try automatic
Of course I've already tried this and the other automatics, but it did not work. That is the reason I am asking for help. So I guess I need special settings.
NOT good !
No protection is not good, ok. But I want it to set up and running and after this I can switch on protection to eleminate some mistake-reasons.
WDS-Mode: "remote WDS-Basestation"
when the UFO joins the TC's network this will no longer apply
But this menu exists and the UFO does not join the network, so I have to select any of this settings!
try these steps provided by Tesserax:
Setting Up Time Capsule as a Second Wireless Router
802.11g AirPort Extreme Base Station -> 802.11n Time Capsule
With "mixed" AirPorts, you will need to configure both routers into a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). Your neighbor's AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) will be the main and your Time Capsule (TC) will be the remote base station in this WDS.
To simplify setup, you should connect your TC directly to the AirPort's LAN port by Ethernet. Once the WDS is configured, you can disconnect the TC and place it at the desired location.
The following are the basic configuration steps to create a WDS:
(Note: To facilitate the WDS set up, jot down the AirPort IDs (MAC addresses) for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS. The AirPort ID and is printed on the label on the bottom/side of the base station.)
Main Base Station Setup - AEBS
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the main base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base
Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window.
o Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the
default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and then choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
o Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
o Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the base station you want to connect to this base station.
o Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.
Remote Base Station Setup - TC
o Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as a remote base station.
o Open AirPort Utility (in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
o Select the remote base station, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
o Enter the base station password, if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
o Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar and click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
o Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
o Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the WDS Main field.
o Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.
(ref: Pages 42-46 of "Designing AirPort Networks.)
802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station -> 802.11n Time Capsule
o Open AirPort Utility and select the base station that will connect to the Internet.
o Choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu, or double-click the base station to open the configuration in a separate window. Enter the base station password if necessary.
o Click AirPort in the toolbar, and then click Wireless.
o Choose “Create a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then select the “Allow this network to be extended” checkbox.
o Next, select the base station that will extend this network, and choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu, or double-click the base station to open its configuration in a separate window. Enter the base station password if necessary.
o Choose “Extend a wireless network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then choose the network you want to extend from the Network Name pop-up menu.
o Enter the base station network and base station password is necessary.
o Click Update to update the base station with new network settings.
does this fix it for you ?
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

Using Time Capsule as a File Server

In my current set-up, I need to use my 3TB Time Capsule as a router, time machine destination for a couple of Macs and as file server (about 1TB in size).
The file server files will not be on any of the Macs so need to be backed up separately to a 1TB USB drive.
Apple has confirmed that the TC can be partitioned easily and, although unsupported, you can use third party apps to back up the file server to an external drive.
Does anyone have any real experience of doing this?
I have the option to us e a different router and to sort the time machine back-ups without needing the TC which means the TC would be used only as a file server. Would you recommend another product to the TC if you only needed a home file server?
Any help much appreciated!

To answer your question, yes but I would not use two Time Capsules. Just purchase one Time Capsule and then one external hard drive (cheaper than a Time Capsule) and connect the hard drive to the Time Capsule via USB. You can use the Airport Utility to archive the contents of your Time Capsule to the external hard drive using the Archive feature (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1281).
In fact, it may be worth buying two external hard drives so you can keep one offsite in case of disaster, theft, etc. You then rotate the external hard drives weekly (or whatever you choose) so you always have a current backup offsite.

Replacing older airport extreme with time capsule

I am thinking of replacing my airport extreme with time capsule. I had a lot of problems setting up airport extreme a few years ago - now it is very reliable. I don't want to have the same issues with time capsule. Can I simply physically replace the airport extreme with time capsule using the same settings as previously
Advice gratefully anticipated

Welcome to the discussion area, pancuronium!
You will use AirPort Utility on your Mac for this operation:
(Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility)
Open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup
Click the File menu at the upper left corner of the screen near the Apple icon
Click Export Configuration File
Assign a name to the file and save it to a convenient location like the desktop
When you are ready to install the Time Capsule....
Open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup
Click the File Menu
Select Import Configuration File
Navigate to locate the file that you exported to import all the settings into a new configuration for the Time Capsule
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Time Capsule with existing Airport Extreme--Help

I just bought a new 20 inch iMac with a Time Capsule for home. I have an existing Airport Extreme and there are a number of peripherals (2 iBooks, Playstation 3) which feed off of this airport. What I want to do is make the Time Capsule accessible only to my new iMac and keep the other network intact. I disconnected my DSL from my Extreme and connected it to the Time Capsule. It works fine. My thought was then to run an ethernet line from the back of the TC to the Extreme. I did this, got a green reception signal on the ethernet from the TC, but am unable to make the Extreme work as it did before. I know I'm doing something wrong--possibly the config on the Extreme--but I'm clueless as to making this work. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks

Do exactly what you describe but place the secondary router in bridge mode then configure its wireless.

Airport Time Capsule as a Internet Server

Please, has anyone here formatted the Time Capsule as a internet server?
Is the a special way to format the Time Capsule for,
Macintosh Pro 5.1 Quad Core OS Mountain Lion 10.8, with Airport Extreme base station?
Thank you in advance for any shared informations.
RhythmCulture

Just note Apple states specifically not to store the iphoto library on network drives.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168 Although mostly about FAT32 it adds network drives.
In fact I think it dangerous to have any live files ie ones you are actually working on stored on the TC and not your local drive/s. If you store files on the TC be aware at least that you will also experience some slow operations of some things.

Time Capsule (A1409): slow file access problem and how do we create a back up of the files on timecapsule?

Time Capsule: We have a model no A1049 our network (installed by someone no longer working with us, so I don't know how it was set up or how to access any settings other than via Airport Utility)
We use it for our central file storage, and as a disk for timemachine backups from the several macs we use here.
The time capsule is running but we have slow access to files, it takes ages to bring up the list of files available, can I fix this?
I have just updated the firmware.
I would also like to know how I can back up these files to another disk.
I have searched the manuals and also the support community but I can't find the answers or any instructions other than the manuals and would appreciate help.
Thank you

The Time Capsule was designed to handle Time Machine backups from one or more Mac computers, and it will work reasonably well for that purpose.
But.....and this is a big BUT......it will not work very well at all if you try to make it act as a file server, since the disk spin up time is quite slow among other things like slow read times from the disk.
Suggest that you get with an IT specialist who can recommend the right file server solution for your network based on your needs.
As far as backing up the data on the Time Capsule, the simplest way to do this is connect a USB drive to the USB port on the Time Capsule and use the built in Archive function in AirPort Utility to make a complete copy of all of the data on the Time Capsule.
Unfortunately, the simplest way is also the slowest and the Time Capsule will not be available for Time Machine backups or file serving during the Archive procedure, which will likely take 4-6 hours or so depending on how much data might be on the Time Capsule. A good time to do this might be late at night, so the Archive copying will run overnight.
Another better option would be to use a commercially available application, like Carbon Copy Cloner to automatically back up the Time Capsule disk each day at a time that you choose. The advantage to doing it this way is that CCC will only back up the changes that have occurred since the last back up, so once the first "master" backup is done, the subsequent "incremental" backups will only take a few minutes each day.
Your IT specialist / consultant will likely have other suggestions for you as well. The advice that we have offered here is meant to be general in nature and not specific to your particular needs.

Time Capsule as a Media Server

I repurposed an old 500Gb Time Capsule into a media server by placing an iTune Library (160 movies and 5000 songs) on its HD. I can access from any Mac in the house by pressing OPTION and selecting the iTunes Library.
Is there a way to access the iTunes library on the Time Capsule from an iPad or AppleTV? I can play a movie or music from a Mac and AirPlay it to an AppleTV but would like to 'cut out the middle man' if possible and access directly from an iPad or AppleTV.
Is it possible?

Yes, I’m using my TC as a media sever, both audio and video, without any problem. At my home I have two laptops running Windows XP, one Scaleo media center running Windows MCE and a MacBookPro running Leapord. It was a hasle keeping media and docs upto date for all and backups as well. TC solved the problem. Sharing videos , docs and pictures was straight forward. For sharing audio on iTunes, I had to make more than one attempt. Now I have same iTunes libraries on three computers sharing mp3s from TC, I can even play same song on two computers at the same time. Only thing I did was unchecked ”Keep iTunes forlder organised” and ”Copy files to iTunes folder when adding to library” under the ”Advanced” tab of ”Preference”.

Replacing an Airport Extreme with Time Capsule

I have had my wireless network setup and working for a few years.
I've decided to replace my Airport Extreme with a Time Capsule.
Can I simply disconnect the Airport Extreme, connect the Time Capsule and configure it with the same SSID & Password? or is there a procedure for accomplishing this that I'm not aware of?
Rick

rickinlv wrote:
I have had my wireless network setup and working for a few years.
I've decided to replace my Airport Extreme with a Time Capsule.
Can I simply disconnect the Airport Extreme, connect the Time Capsule and configure it with the same SSID & Password? or is there a procedure for accomplishing this that I'm not aware of?
Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
What you describe should work, but first you might want to try this approach: Use AirPort Utility to put the Extreme into "manual setup" mode. Use the menu option File -> Export Configuration File to write the configuration to a file. Replace the Extreme with the Time Capsule, put it into "manual setup" mode, and use the menu option File -> Import Configuration File to read the Extreme configuration into the Time Capsule.
Full disclosure: I haven't tried this. If it works, you'll have saved yourself several minutes of configuring. If it doesn't work, then proceed as you originally planned. And let the rest of us know how things went.

I BEG of you: How do I replace an Airport Extreme base station with a 4th-generation Time Capsule as the base station?

I'll be damned if I can figure this out. I have a new late-2012 iMac (OS 10.8.3) connecting to my LAN via Airport wi-fi. (It will be Ethernet-connected, as soon as a hole is drilled into my new work table, but right now the Ethernet cable doesn't reach.) My wife uses a 2011 MacBook Air.
The LAN consists of a flying-saucer-looking Airport Extreme connected by Ethernet to the modem, plus 2 old Airport Expresses. I have an Ethernet switch too, through which I've got a TV connected and a printer connected.
I bought a 4th-generation Time Capsule about a year ago, but couldn't figure out for the life of me how to replace the Airport Extreme with it. I became so incredibly frustrated that I hid it away in a closet until now. I just tried again, with the same results. I've got both Airport Utility 5.6 (to use with the old Extreme and Expresses) and Airport Utility 6.2. I was using version 6.2 to set up the Time Capsule... or to try to. Once again, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to do it! I tried so many different Ethernet wiring connections that I now cannot remember them well enough to describe them here.
I distinctly remember that, when I tried this a year ago with my wife's MacBook Air and Airport Utility 6.2, I was presented at one point with the question whether I wanted to replace an existing base station with the Time Capsule I was trying to set up, but this time I never was presented with that option.
Is there anyone who can, in essence, hold my hand and walk me through this process step-by-step? At this point I even need to be instructed what to wire to what. I feel like a total incompetent.
My MOST sincere thanks in advance for help!
(I hope Time Capsule is the correct forum for this question. I considered the Airport forum as well, but I don't want to cross-post.)
(And, just to complicate matters, after I get this done-- assuming I ever do-- I want to use the old Airport Extreme on the outside of the house to extend the range of my LAN to the back yard... but that's for another day entirely.)

apikoros wrote:
The Utility transferred all of the AE's settings, so I still have to change the password, which leaves me with only 2 other questions, I think:
1) I assume it's just a matter of using the Utility, entering a stronger password and checking for it to be remembered in Keychain Access. But do I have to change the password for each individual unit-- the TC, the Extreme and both Expresses-- or will changing it just for the TC alone work for the entire network?
Resetting the password you will need to do for each device... the utility cannot even see those old units.
So you will have to do it for each one.. think it through.. because as you change passwords the others will lose connection.. so start from the express which are wireless extending .. change those first.. and go back up the chain.. as each one changes it will drop off the network.. until you reach extreme and change that. Then you might need to reboot the whole network to get everything talking again. If something goes wrong.. just pluck that one out of the mix and plug in ethernet.. reset and redo the setup. That is my preferred method anyway.. do everything in isolation one by one. By ethernet and then nothing goes wrong.
2) Who's the treasonous SOB who spilled the beans to you about the ICBM in my back yard?!?
N.Korean hackers.
[Edit] Whoops-- one more question: I want to partition the TC's disk, but Disk Utility doesn't see it. What do I need to do?
You cannot partition a network disk. And apple provided no tools for it in the TC itself. You can pull the disk out and partition it but that voids your warranty. (although done with care who is to know).
Look at Q3 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
Mixing TM and data on the TC is worth planning carefully. They don't necessarily sit happily together.

Can I use a time capsule as a itunes server to which my Atv v2 can connect to?

I have currently an Apple tv second generation, which streams video's from my Itunes computer when it's powered on. What I want to accomplish is to have all my library on a NAS somewhere and that my appletv can stream my whole library without any computer turned on. Can the time capsule do this?
Thanks,
filip

No. A Time Capsule has no media serving logic.

Does time capsule back-up files which I am currently working on in a program?

Hey everybody,
If I am working on a file in a program, does time capsule back this file up? So if the program(third party) crashes after half an hour for example, can I still get the file back or would it be incomplete because it was open during back-up?
Thanks in advance.
Jelle

Most apps don't work with the actual file on disk; they copy it into memory and make the changes there.
Like most backup apps, Time Machine doesn't (can't) back up anything in memory, only things on disk.
When you Save a file you're working on, or done with, it goes to disk and will be included on the next backup.
Similarly, if the app has an "autosave" facitity, that will copy the "working" version to disk. Many apps do that to a separate file (often named the same as the original, but with something like "autosaved" appended). Lion apps that support Lion's AutoSave facility save it to the original file.

Replacing Older Airport Extreme W/Time Capsule

Greetings,
Just received my new TC, and want to replace my existing Airport Extreme (older "Mushroom shaped' one).
Do I have to setup an entirely new wireless network, or is there a way to just transfer the settings, etc. from the older Airport (network name, password, etc.)
Trying to avoid having to reconfigure all the wifi devices in the house to work on the new TC.
Thanks
Jim

Thanks for the response Tesserax!
You are correct - during setup the TC provides several options including importing settings from a previous airport.
Setup was easy and I'm pleased with the results - faster WiFi in the house, and 3 separate Macs backing up seamlessly to the Time Capsule - good stuff

Can you use Time Capsule as a print server for printers connected via Ethernet or wirelessly?

Can you use Time Capsule as a print server for printers connected via Ethernet or wirelessly?
I know that it works marvelous for printers connected via USB, but I'd like to know if you can use it as a more general print server.

No, you can't, but what do you expect to gain by doing so?
The main advantage of the print server is to provide multi-user network access to a printer that typically only supports a single connection. Since, by definition, your printer already has a network connection and can be used by multiple users.

Time Capsule as a File Server - to replace existing Airport Extreme

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for