Time Capsule as a NAS in a mixed (Mac/PC) network

Hi, I'm looking for a good NAS solution for a network of 3 PCs (WinXP Pro and Home) and 4 Macs (all 10.4.11) and thought that the Time Capsule might offer a good opportunity. I want to make it easy for everyone to back up often, and a decent NAS is much cheaper than buying a bunch of external drives for 5 people.
I have a router (not gigabit, with 802.11g), and am thinking that I should just connect the TC to the router via Cat5e to simplify things.
Has anyone been through this experience? How does the TC work in a PC system? Can I just assign a drive to it and off I go? Has it been reliable?
Thanks!
Keith.

I have a TC in a mixed Mac/PC network and it's working wonderfully. Just a few things to keep in mind:
Make sure to set the Workgroup in your File Sharing section of AirPort Utility. Be sure to type the same workgroup that your PCs are members of and you should be able to see the Time Capsule's disk drive as a networked drive. You might have to add your Time Capsule's network to the list of trusted zones/networks in your PC's software firewall settings. If that doesn't work, you could always install AirPort Utility for Windows from the TC install disc which will have AirPort Base Station Agent. This is a program that loads into the taskbar and allows you to connect to your Time Capsule's disk drive.
The other thing to remember, if you are connecting one router to another, set the second router to run in bridge mode and give them both a unique SSID. This allows the first router to do all the DHCP and NAT, and will just add a secondary wireless access point to your current network. I have my TC acting as my main router with a Linksys running in bridge mode. My TC is wireless-n only 5 GHz, and the Linksys is b/g 2.4 GHz, giving me a full speed N network while still allowing b/g devices to connect.
Edit: You could also disable wireless routing on the Time Capsule entirely and just have it act as a networked drive. Set the Time Capsule's Connection Sharing to Off (Bridge Mode) in AirPort Utility and disable Wireless Mode. AFAIK this should still allow the Time Capsule's HDD to be accessed from whichever network it is connected.
Try reading this pdf from Apple. It explains networking in a lot greater detail.
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPort_Networks10.5-Windows.pdf

Similar Messages

Can time capsule be configured to back up mixed pc mac networks?

Can time capsule be configured to back up mixed mac/pc networks?

That may work, but there are complications to putting Time Machine backups and other data on the TC's internal HD. See #Q3 in Using Time Machine with a Time Capsule for details and some workarounds.

Can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

can I use time capsule as an NAS devise with sonos, to play music library when iMac is off?

Apparently Sonos system can play from the library without needing iTunes running.
In that case yes, the library can be played directly from TC.
See https://discussions.apple.com/message/18562619#18562619
Sonos needs fully compliant SMB file system.. this is important.. and not what the Apple system is using to access the TC.
Moving the library has to be done correctly.
See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
There are plenty of discussions in forums and technical sites.. this seems well worth a read.
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/12/how-to-offload-your-itunes-library-to-a-nas /
TC is very non-ideal itunes library location.. unlike a real NAS.
Just so you are aware. If you have TM backups on it.. mixing backups and data is not a good idea.
At least consider moving backups to USB drive. You will need the speed of the TC internal drive for using the library though.
TC has no way to back itself up.
TC is slow to start.. you will get errors as the library is not found.
And quick to spin down drives.. it is not designed to stream media.. it is a backup target for TM.

Settting Up Time Capsule to Access NAS Device Via FTP

Have had problems accessing my NAS via FTP when trying to connect to it from an outside network. Have never been able to access and login either anonymously or using one of the user names and passwords that I have set up from outside the home. When at home I am able to connect to the NAS via FTP on the LAN no problem so I am almost positive that I have not properly set up the Time Capsule.
My NAS also uses a web server feature that I am able to use by forwarding the proper ports on the Time CApsule and setting up a DynDNS account.
I would just use the web server feature but it's limited to accessing files under 2TB.
Would GREATLY APPRECIATE any advice on how to solve this problem.

charliprkr wrote:
Have had problems accessing my NAS via FTP when trying to connect to it from an outside network.
Welcome to Apple's discussion groups.
It sounds like you need to configure your Time Capsule to do "port mapping" of FTP ports to your NAS. In AirPort Utility enter "manual setup" mode with the Time Capsule, then select the Advanced panel and the Port Mapping tab. Click the plus sign at the bottom, then choose "FTP Access" as the service. Supply the LAN IP address of your NAS. Now direct your FTP requests to the WAN address of the Time Capsule.

I purchased a new airport time capsul to use with my older MacBook Mac OSX 10.6.8 and am having trouble downloading the updated software for it .

I purchased a new airport time capsul to use with my older MacBook MAC OSX 10.6.8 Can't seem to download the upgraded software. Can anyone help?

Please review the System Requirements for the Time Capsule.
http://www.apple.com/airport-time-capsule/specs/
Setup and Administration
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 5 or later and AirPort Utility 1.3
Mac with OS X Lion v10.7.5 or later and AirPort Utility 6.3

Can I use Time Capsule as a secure Shared drive on my wireless network?

Can I configure Time Capsule as a secure Shared drive on my wireless network for the other 3 Macs in my family?
Thanks
Keith

You can require users to enter a password to access the Time Capsule disk, if that is what you mean by "secure".

How do i move my tv shows, movies and books from my mac to my time capsule to free up space on my mac?

how do i move my tv shows, movies and books from my mac to my time capsule to free up space on my mac?

Probably the easiest way is to drag the files from the iTunes window to the external drive. Make sure they have copied. Delete them from iTunes. Hold down the option key and drag the copied files back to iTunes. This will add them back but mapped to their new location and the option/alt key will stop the files from being copied to your Media folder on the internal drive.
In future if you are adding a batch of files in one go you can set preferences temporarily to store media on the external drive, then change back again. See also: iTunes 12 for Mac: Change where your iTunes files are stored - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH19507

I upgraded the software on my Time Capsule and outgoing mail stopped on my Mac Air

Hi
I upgraded the software on my Time Capsule and outgoing mail stopped on my Mac Air
My colleagues are using my Time Capsule on their Mac Air (with Lion OS System) and Dell with MS OS System.
I am on OS X 10.6.8 and was sucessfully using SMTP for outgoing mail .... after my update for the Time Capsule, Mail on my Mac Air stopped
Why?
Thanks in advance
Jan

Hi Garmulewicz,
Can you tell us a little bit about the SMTP service? What port is it set to use? Authentication SMTP? Have you tried manually sending over Port 25, 587 or 465? If you bypass the Time Capsule can you confirm that SMTP traffic still works behind the same modem?
I've personally never seen an update break SMTP, that would imply that the update somehow is blocking the port where SMTP is occurring. What if you configure a personal GMail account or something else, does that work?

Time capsule as a repeater in a mixed PC/Mac environment

Hello all,
I have a mixed environment network that has a Sonicwall TZ 200w as their main router. I would like to enhance the wifi signal either with an Access Point or some type of Repeater. Furthermore, I am looking for a NAS device for all the PCs and Macs. I figure since this is a mixed Win/Mac environment, that Time Capsule might be best since their preference is Apple.Has anyone ever 1) configured Time Capsule in a mixed Win/Mac environment as a Repeater? 2) Do Windows PCs get flustered with Wifi/Nas backups? Is there an alternative option?
The main thing here is that the Sonicwall must stay as the primary router for the network and that any device must support PC and Mac.

TC cannot repeat from non-apple router. Although that is not quite true WDS is so bad and so insecure you would never in a million years do it. if you have a security router like Sonicwall.
It would be like building a castle with a moat and the drawbridge can never be pulled up or the gate shut.
If you setup the TC in bridge and as an AP plugged into the sonic wall by ethernet.. that will work fine. You can setup a roaming wireless network.. which works well on Macs but generally PC fail totally. That is only relevant to laptops and portable devices though.
PC will be able to use the TC as a backup target.. it is not ideal and you will generally need to play around a bit but it does work.
You should note.. a TC is not a NAS.. it is primarily designed as a backup target for Mac Laptops with Time Machine. That is why the combo of wireless plus hard disk.
It is a dumb box.. really a hard drive hanging off a wireless router.. (only it is inside it.. well sealed inside).
It is slow.. fast enough for wireless clients.. but it is a single green drive.. no raid to mirror.. no esata or way to extend the drive.. no JBOD .. when it runs out of space.. it is out of space.
But principally there is no internal backup.. as a place to store files.. it stinks.. you will have to setup a manual backup.
If you want a NAS buy a NAS and plug it into the fastest router point you have.
To extend wireless use a proper repeater if you have to.. repeaters are never a great idea.. it is much better to use multiple AP's tied back by ethernet.
Cost wise the TC is very hard to beat if it suits your function.. but it has a short lifespan.. do not trust it after 3 years. It is sealed.. if it dies in warranty it is replaced.. no data will be recovered.. after all .. it is a backup device.. there are no parts available to fix it.. power supply being the chief thing that goes wrong.
Read in google a bit.. dead time capsule
You will see what I mean.

Time Capsule vs Synology NAS

Hey everyone,
So my current set up at the moment is a Mac Mini with a 3TB external hard drive hooked up for my iTunes library and a 1TB external hard drive used for Time Machine backups for the Mac Mini and 2 Macbook Pros.
I can't decide which would be better to use a Time Capsule or a Synology NAS for the following:
My iTunes library to share to my Apple TV, and other iDevices.
Time Machine backups for all 3 computers and 2 iPhones and 2 iPads
And possibly a file sharing location for use with OS X Server.
And Caching location for app downloads used with OS X Server
What device do you think would be better to use.

Is your mini running OSX server now??
If you plan to install a computer running Server, then I would work out that setup..
This is a "don't quote me" but when you use a server.. you don't want the files to be on network drives.
ie using a server and using network drives (either TC or Synology) means you have competing requirements.
Server should have local disks so it has full control over permissions etc.
Synology in particular is designed as a server replacement.. you don't use a small server plus a synology. You can use TC but only as TM backup location and router.
For your bullet points.
My iTunes library to share to my Apple TV, and other iDevices.
The Synology would be better.. but you still will need a computer running. Home serving of iTunes must be done via a computer.. therefore your library is located in the wrong place. The built in iTunes in the synology.. is really ??? Sorry cannot say much until I get it setup and running.. !!
Time Machine backups for all 3 computers and 2 iPhones and 2 iPads
Any will do as TM target. iOS devices backup to iTunes or iCloud.. There is no TM for iOS. And it will need a real iTunes.. not synology itunes.
And possibly a file sharing location for use with OS X Server.
And Caching location for app downloads used with OS X Server
You are using the Synology as dumb storage. A USB drive plugged into the OS X Server computer will be faster, cheaper and more reliable. You are effectively buying two servers and bypassing on of them to simply use its hard disk.. pointless.

ITunes library stored on Time Capsule or other NAS drive?

On the iPad, can I use an iTunes library that is stored on an external, network-attached disk?
In other words, I'd like to put all my music on the Apple Time Capsule drive (or other NAS disk drive) and play it from iTunes on my iPad. Is that possible? If not, are there any updates, software extensions etc. coming out that would make it possible?
Thanks!
Message was edited by: powerbookuser99

Actually I searched again and found this ipad app called FileBrowser:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/filebrowser-access-files-on/id364738545?mt=8
It says it supports NAS and people say in their reviews that they can stream music from their NAS drives using this app.
And after all, it would have been hard to imagine that ipad can't access the NAS when even my Android phone can do it.

Time Capsule as a NAS server?

I've both a MBP and an iMac. My music, videos, pictures are located on my iMac and I use PS3MediaServer to stream videos to my Playstation3. I'm thinking of buying a NAS (Synology) and place all my music, video, pictures on it. As far as I know I'll then be able to access all the files from my computers. And the NAS further has a build-in DLNA which means I can stream the videos directly from it to my PS3. Am I right?
What if I also bought an Apple Time Capsule? Can it be used as a NAS - maybe in cooperation with a Apple TV? Many of my files is mkv, so it's important that the setup can play these files.
Hope you have some ideas on which devices I need to setup this.

Dennis Madsen wrote:
For me, one problem with having my multimedia-files on the Time Capsule, is that the TC are not running RAID.
If RAID is important to you, that would be an argument against the Time Capsule disk.
Maybe it possible to make a setup with the AirPort Extreme Base System and a external hard disc?
Yes.
1) Would that allow me to enable Time Machine
That's not supported by Apple. See item 23 of this discussion post:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1964018
2) Would the backup of my devices be slower with a setup like that?
Backing up over a network (particularly wirelessly) would pretty much always be slower than to a locally-connected device.
3) Which external hard disc station with RAID1 would you recommend?
I have no experience with those, so won't comment.
Regarding some of your previous questions:
the NAS further has a build-in DLNA which means I can stream the videos directly from it to my PS3. Am I right?
You seem to know more about that than I do.
What if I also bought an Apple Time Capsule? Can it be used as a NAS - maybe in cooperation with a Apple TV?
As far as I know, an Apple TV can't communicate directly with a NAS but has to relay its requests through a Mac (or, I suppose, a Windows box).
Many of my files is mkv, so it's important that the setup can play these files.
I doubt that an unhacked Apple TV would be able to deal with such files.

Time capsule, router and NAS - a newbie q

Apologies in advance if this question may sound obvious...
I've got an ADSL wireless router, and a Time Capsule connected to it.
My ISP were in and configured things remotely (with permission of course) so that my Time Capsule acts as the WAN... that is, the IP addresses all went from 192.169.0.XX to 10.0.1.XX. ...this is a bridge, right?
I've now ordered a NAS unit (Synology 411J) which will be arriving home in a few days.
As is my nature, I've been reading the setup instructions for the NAS in anticipation, and realize I have a bit of a learning curve in front of me ;-). Not too bad really (I'm fairly swift), but it strikes me that I'm already unclear as to the setup configuration.
Would I connect the NAS to the router, as per the instructions? If so, would I then have to break the bridge to the Time Capsule so that it all transmits on the 192.168.0.XX ranges?
Or do I connect the NAS to the Time Capsule? Or am I already doomed if I'm asking these basic question? ;-)
Thanks kindly for setting me straight here...
/D

my Time Capsule acts as the WAN... that is, the IP addresses all went from 192.169.0.XX to 10.0.1.XX. ...this is a bridge, right?
No, this information indicates that the ISP configured the Time Capsule to act as the router for the network, not as a bridge.
Would I connect the NAS to the router, as per the instructions?
Yes, connect to a LAN <-> port on the Time Capsule.
If so, would I then have to break the bridge to the Time Capsule so that it all transmits on the 192.168.0.XX ranges?
No, the NAS will work just fine on the 10.0.1.x range.

Advice please: Time Capsule as backupable NAS solution?

*_The situation:_*
My girlfriend and I each have a laptop that are on a home wireless network. I've got a number of design work files that are currently on FireWire drives because my laptop HD isn't large enough to hold them all. We both use Time Machine to backup our individual systems to separate external hard drives.
I'm typically use my laptop in various rooms around the house so I tend to move around with it a bit. As such, having an external hard drive tethered to it is kind of a drag and I'd love to have some kind of file server that I can access wirelessly which will also be backed up.
*_My plan:_*
Buy a USB 2.0 hard drive for all the work files and attach it to a Time Capsule which I want to backup (1) the USB drive with all the work files (2) my laptop, and (3) the girlfriend's laptop.
*_What I want to know:_*
Is this a good idea? Will it work? Will accessing files from the attached USB drive be horribly slow? Am I risking anything in this approach? Is there a better solution?
Thanks in advance,
B.

You mean when I go into Time Machine on my Mac, that drive won't show up in the drives to include/omit section?
Yes, that is correct.
I guess I'm kind of baffled that the Time Capsule is billed as this great backup device, but can't back up the drive that's connected directly to it.
Yes, I would have to agree to that as well. It would be reasonable to expect that it could, but I guess the design goal was aimed more to making it easier for folks to back up their computers as seamless as possible.
Can you recommend a better solution for what I'm trying to accomplish?
Two that come to mind are solutions based on either Microsoft's Windows Home Server or FreeNAS, but either of these would require additional hardware. Both however support Time Machine backups.

Can I use Time Capsule to both wirelessly back up 2 Macs and as a file storage device that both Macs can access wirelessly?

In a perfect world I’d like to be able to download movies and music to my computer, both through iTunes and other ways, but rather than transfer everything to a portable hard drive and then plug the hard drive into a media box to get it on the TV, simply be able to wirelessly move it to the TV, or in the case of music the airport express or some such system.
I’d even like to take this one step further and have a central drive that the home computers are networked to, or at least can access files from (wirelessly), have it backed up to the cloud, and have it be the ‘hub’ for files, music and video.
Can Time Capsule serve this purpose?

Can Time Capsule serve this purpose?
No .. it cannot.
Here is why.
The TC can be pressed into service.. it is not designed for it.. and in fact is really poor mainly due to no backup..
You can plug in a USB drive which is slow but does work fine for wireless access.. ie wireless is even slower than the slow disk.
Take the following into account.
Store files on the TC.
This is asked several times a day.. obviously people are struggling with their latest SSD being too small.
The TC is not suitable for network file server.. but many people having no choice press it into service as such.
Major issues.
1. No backup.. no way Time Machine can backup a network drive. No place to backup to.. So all your files will be at risk. And you will need to buy a third party like CCC to do backup.
2. The TC cannot be partitioned and mixing TM backups and data is not great. It was and is and ever shall be a backup device for Time Machine.
3. The drive is slow to spin up and quick to spin down.. there is no control. In fact the TC is so lacking in controls for even the router side.. that you cannot do more than the most basic of setups.
The following are controls on the hard disk side.
Reformat it. You can name the share. You can do a full archive of the whole disk. This will go at a speed of aprox. 30-50GB/Hr so calculate how long an archive of a full 2TB will take.
4. iPhoto in particular can easily corrupt its entire library with wireless networking causing a disconnection to one photo. Even if you do this;;; do not move your photo library... you have been warned!!
Even apple btw say don’t do it.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS5168 Although mostly about FAT32 it adds network drives.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1198
5. iTunes can constantly lose connection to the library. The disk is slow to respond.. itunes on the computer will constantly spit out errors. Even in the midst of streaming the TC can spin down the disk due to caching.
6. Do not use any live files on the TC no matter what else you do.. if you edit files in whatever program the file must be on the local hard disk.
7. The only suitable location for most libraries is a computer. You can plug in an external hard disk.
Read pondini for some work arounds.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
A much better albeit slower device is the WD MyCloud.
It has no inbuilt wireless but you will just plug it into your wireless router.. hence wireless access.
You should still not use it to store iphoto library.
And the idea of streaming wireless from a central store basically is not going to work. Wireless networking is too slow, and has many limitations.
Buy a Mini and use that as a HTPC or media computer and use it plugged directly into the TV.

Time Capsule as a NAS in a mixed (Mac/PC) network

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