Time Capsule as file server, backed up to external drive

Hello.
Is it possible to use Time Capsule as a file server, and have it back up to an external hard drive plugged into the USB port?  There will actually be two external drives, one plugged in, and the other stored off-site.  They'll be switched every week or so.
Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

It isn't designed for what you want.
Yes, you can do it, but the problem is the TC has no internal backup mechanism except to archive the entire disk to the USB drive.. it takes many hours as it is extremely slow. It is also manual and will require the TC to do nothing else for up to a day .. or more once you get up to 2TB or larger.
The only other way to do it, is to use some sort of backup software on the computer.. that will incrementally backup the TC.. but actually changes in the sparse bundles if you are using them for backups will take a long time as I doubt the software will be able to see inside and just backup the changes. If the USB drive is plugged into the TC it will still be copied across the network and then back again to the TC.. so that is pointless, and slow as molasses in Jan. (in northern hemisphere). You may as well plug the usb drive in the computer and run the backup there. Then you think.. why am I doing that. I should just backup straight to the usb drive plugged into the computer.. so you see, it is not ideal. Doable.. not can you be bothered and what happens if you forget.
IMHO the very definition of a NAS is a device that
1. Creates a mirror of the files stored.
2. Has some easy backup method to a drive plugged into the NAS, that uses rsync or some simple automated way to keep the backup in sync with the storage.. without human intervention.. because humans are feeble and fragile and forget.
The TC is a backup device designed for Time Machine and particularly for laptops, where plugging in a hard disk is messy, and ugly. And people want to do it automatically over wireless. In the end, TC is a router (it is identical to the Airport Extreme of the time.. minus antenna placement) with a hard disk hanging off it.

Similar Messages

  • Can time machine be used to back up one external drive to another external drive?

    I use the photography program Lightroom to organize and develop digital photos.  All my photos are stored on my iMac internal drive.  The internal drive is almost full so I want to move my photos to a new external drive.  At present, I have an external drive devoted to backing up my iMac using time machine.  I have no need to change this arrangement.  I would like to use a new external drive to serve as the primary location for my pictures, which I will move from the internal drive.  Then I would like to backup that drive to a third external back up drive.  Can time machine be used to automatically back up the second drive to the third drive as well as for continuing to provide ongoing backups to my internal drive as it is currently doing?
    Thank you in advance for your assistance.

    Jeffery t wrote:
    Thanks for the links, but I don't see in the pondini links, the scenario I am asking about.
    Time Machine can easily back up multiple internal and/or directly-connected external drives and partitions simultaneously (but Time Machine cannotback up data that's on a network).
    From the first link.
    Jeffery t wrote:
    ... Please note that my iMac internal drive is backing up to external drive number 1 using time machine.  I want my pictures on external drive two and those backed up to external drive three.  So are you saying that if I have 500 GB of pictures on drive number 2, I will need a third drive that is at least 1 TB?
    the confusion starts in your above statement...
    There should be Only One Time Machine Drive.

  • Time Capsule as File Server

    I am trying to determine a simple file server solution for a two macbook creative firm. Can the time capsule be set up to accomplish this? Or, is the Airport Extreme with a hard drive connected to it the better way to go?
    Also, I don't wish to use the time machine back up capabilities to b.u. the two laptops, but rather need some way to back up the time file server (time capsule or Airport Extreme with connected hard drive).
    Any solutions or help would be greatly appreciated as I can't seem to get a consensus from Apple support on this issue.

    Well, currently, the Time Capsule only has a manually operated feature for archiving its contents, so you would need an incremental backup program for doing that automatically (Retrospect?). But given that you're running a business, and assuming that your documents are important, you might consider getting a network storage device that uses RAID to keep automatically a redundant copy of everything that is written to it. If a hard drive fails, the other will have a copy and the NAS will continue working. I'd recommend the Netgear ReadyNAS Duo:
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  • Time Capsule as iTunes Server backed up to another Time Capsule

    Riddle me this:
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    bejonline wrote:
    Again, thank you very much.
    My current TC is 500GBs, not big enough for its current job of backing my my Macbook, which has a 500GB hard drive.
    This is why I was considering buying a new TC for backups and using my old TC as a hard drive for iTunes. The Apple sales rep. said this was possible. Everything I've read says that it's not.
    That much is possible (but expensive). Backing-up one TC to another isn't.
    An Apple genius at my local store recommended (today) I upgrade the hard drive in my Macbook to a 1TB drive and buy a less expensive hard drive and daisy chain it to my TC.
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    It would seem that both options would cost about the same. What would you recommend?
    A larger HD in your MacBook probably makes sense if you're going to keep it for a while. If you want to keep the music there, you'd always have access to it, of course; and it will be backed-up; and you could share it over your network with the AppleTV.
    Connecting a USB drive to your TC and backing-up to it, instead of the TC's internal HD, also makes sense. You can copy the existing backups from the TC to the USB drive, and continue backing-up to them, if you want. It takes a while, but can be done. See #18 in [Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions|http://web.me.com/pondini/Time_Machine/FAQ.html] (or use the link in *User Tips* at the top of the +Time Machine+ forum).
    Once you do that, you could erase the TC's internal HD and put your music on it, instead of keeping it on your Mac. Then your only problem is backing-it up.
    There is a facility that will "archive" the TC's HD to a connected USB drive; it has it's downsides, but would work, even to a separate partition on the USB drive. See [Time Capsule: Using AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or later to make a copy of the Time Capsule disk|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1281]. Chronosync might be able to do that better.

  • Time Capsule acts weird when i plug my external drive into it

    whenever i plug my toshiba canivo 1tb external drive into my time capsule it stops even letting me access the time capsule period in finder and in airport utility it keeps asking for the password even though i know its correct! works fine when drive isnt plugged in and ive been using it with the tc for a while it just started doing this tonight..any suggestions?

    You must use a powered hub.. the internal power supply is not able to supply power to the USB drive.
    Even if you have an external power supply on the USB drive you might still need a powered hub.. it is way under powered.

  • Time capsule first said the back up was delayed no it won't connect to my home network. my internet is working fine and so is everything else but when i try to connect to the time capsule it says to check my server and ip address help!

    time capsule first said the back up was delayed, now it won't connect to my home network. my internet is working fine and so is everything else but when i try to connect to the time capsule it says to check my server and ip address and if it continues to contact system administrator.. i didnt change anything, please help!

    Lion networking.. just need to reboot everything.. modem TC and the clients.. then it will work.. Sometimes just the TC is enough.. sometimes just the computer. .. Vista golden networking award.. did you turn it off and on again??

  • How can I be sure that the back up to my time capsule has backed everything up as when I enter time capsule and interogate the back ups i can't identify individual music or picture files?

    How can I confirm that the back up to my time capsule has backed everything up as when I enter time capsule and interrogate the backs ups I can't identify individual photo or music files?

    You cannot browse a Time Machine backup with the Finder. To restore individual music files or any other files normally available in the Finder, open your Music folder then "Enter Time Machine" using the Time Machine icon.
    Restoring individual photographs is slightly more cumbersome. Apple recommends restoring the entire iPhoto Library, but if you want to locate an individual photograph you could use Time Machine to restore the old Libary. Restore it to an alternate location to avoid overwriting your existing one. Open iPhoto while holding an Option key, open the restored Library, find the photo you need and export it, close iPhoto, re-open it with your usual Library, and import the photo.
    Time Machine depends upon a number of sound engineering principles for reliable operation, one of which is "faith"
    Your files will remain intact until your Time Machine backup device becomes inoperative.

  • Can i use my time capsule as ftp server

    Hello to everyone,
    resently I have read in the net that it is possible to set the time capsule as ftp server and also as a local server.
    Can enyone explain me how to do it pracally?
    Thank to people hwo will help in advance.

    You heard wrong.. there is no ftp server in the TC..
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  • Time Capsule and Windows 7 Back Up and Restore

    Hello,
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    I am using on my time capsule the file sharing with the disk password, but it doesnt seems to work.
    Can u please help ?
    Thx !

    Open the guest access and give read and write permissions.
    Also make sure you actually give the WORKGROUP name in the WORKGROUP area, correct to the win7 workgroup..
    If you still cannot access the TC try turning off the firewall in win7.. you may also need to ensure that win7 is recognised as in home, ie local network, not work or public.
    Open a command window and ping the TC to make sure you have network access.
    In windows explorer type \\ipaddressofTC\ into the address bar.. that being its IP address. You can also try netbios name.
    If none of that works post again but it should.. on latest firmware on the TC??
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  • I am planning on using my time capsule as a network and essentially an external hard drive - not just back up, is this ok?

    I am planning on using my time capsule as a network and essentially an external hard drive - not just back up, is this ok?

    Most users should use the Time Capsule for backups. This assumes that "original" copies of your data are on the computer and backups of this data are stored on the Time Capsule.
    If either the Time Capsule or the hard drive on your computer fails, there are at least copies of your important data on the other drive.
    If you are asking if you can place "original" files on the Time Capsule, do you have a plan to backup those files?
    If the Time Capsule drive has a problem....and your only copy of your important data is on the Time Capsule....you will lose everything.
    If you are asking if this is OK, the answer for most folks would be "no".
    Can you clarify if this is what you are asking?

  • I recently moved my Aperture Library file to an external hard drive.  Can I now create a vault to be saved on my Time Capsule for the Aperture library on this external hard drive?

    I recently moved my Aperture Library file to an external hard drive.  Can I now create a vault to be saved on my Time Capsule for the Aperture library on this external hard drive?

    One thing to bear in mind, if you are using Time Machine on your Time Capsule and have it set so the TM backup includes your external drive, you will effectively be backing up your Aperture library twice on the same drive, once with Time Machine and once with the vault. This isn't a problem unless you start to run out of space.
    Another thing to note, vaults on network drives used to be flaky (i.e. not really supported) and required workarounds to be able to use them. I'm not sure if this has changed, but I just managed to create a vault on my TC ok.

  • Can I use Time Capsule for a server ?

    hi,
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    Let's say I have an ubuntu server, and I'm running some websites and web applications on it.
    I would install these appications on ubuntu but then store the "file folders" of each website or application (with images, videos, etc.. ) on Airport capsule and leave only the application files on the server.
    Is this feasable ?
    Thanks
    Patrick

    Welcome to the discussions!
    +Is this feasible ?+
    Feasible, yes. Practical, no...unless you are willing to put up with very slow access to files that are on the Time Capsule.
    Keep in mind that the Time Capsule was designed primarily for Time Machine backups, not as a media server for quick access to data. You might want to explore other options that would allow much faster access to files when you need them.

  • Where are my photos?  just tried to access time capsule after my first back up and am unable to open iphoto to verify they were backed up.

    where are my photos?  just tried to access time capsule after my first back up and am unable to open iphoto to verify they were backed up.

    You can't open your backups directly with apps.
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    If you're on Lion with iPhoto '11, you can use the Finder to see the iPhoto library, per the beginning of that same link.  All you can see there is the library and size.

  • Can I backup my laptop on the time capsule that is currently backing up my iMac data?

    Can I backup my Apple laptop on my time capsule which is currently backing up my iMac?

    Yes, assuming that there is ample room on the Time Capsule disk for all of the files on your laptop.

  • Is there a capability to save/export the time capsule settings file when using the iphone/ipad airport utility. the "file" button does not exist on the latest airport utility app.

    is there a capability to save/export the new airport 2TB time capsule settings file when using the iphone/ipad airport utility. set-up wasn't a problem but the "file" button does not exist on the latest airport utility app v6.3 to save the configuration file.

    the "file" button does not exist on the latest airport utility app v6.3 to save the configuration file.
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    Latest AirPort Utility version for the iPhone / iPad is 1.3.3.  There is no option or capability to export/import settings on the iOS version(s) of AirPort Utility.....although you could take a series of screen shots and save them for future reference.
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