Which to buy? Time capsule or Airport Extreme with USB drive(s)?

I'm getting either a TC or an Airport Extreme with an external drive.
Archive:
I noticed that TC can archive to an external drive. It seems this can be handy for creating off-site backups. Can I do this with a drive on Airport Extreme (with a powered hub and another drive)? Or do I need to move the drive to a Mac and copy there? Or should I use a network backup instead in either case? I guess this is my main question: Can archive work with Airport Extreme?
Mounting:
Is mounting the Airport Extreme for WiFi range any easier than the TC?
Drive failure:
Is the TC drive likely to fail over the next couple years? And the other way, if the TC breaks, is the drive something I can use elsewhere? I'm a little concerned about having all my eggs in one basket.
Other:
Anything I should be aware of in making this decision?

+Are there any constraints in the orientation of TC that the AirPort Extreme does not have?+
No, not really as long as you give either device plenty of airspace as they both tend to run warm to very warm. I thought mounting the AirPort Extreme might improve the signal strength a bit, but it made no measurable difference for me.
+Is the TC significantly heavier?+
The Extreme is under 2 pounds, the TC comes in a bit over 3 pounds.
+Is mounting on a pegboard bad for the HD?+
I think you may be asking if you can mount it vertically. That's not a problem and the Apple store even sells wall mounts for either device.
+Yikes. I got bad info. I read the "unsupported" constraint was dropped a couple versions ago. I thought all the comments on this were referring to the older versions of AirPort Extreme.+
Here's the Apple document. Nothing changed with Snow Leopard and I saw a specific Snow Leopard document about this...just can't find it at the moment. I'm sure other forum regulars will confirm as well if they see this post.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2038
+Is there a list of file servers that Time Machine is compatible with?+
Sorry, I don't have first hand knowledge on that and my policy is to only offer advice on things that I've done myself. That question might be worth a separate post since few people will see this question buried where it is.
Message was edited by: Bob Timmons

Similar Messages

Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme + External Hard Drive for iTunes Library

Hi, I currently have an Airport Extreme (Gigabit) and am planning on getting a MacBook Pro. What I want to do is keep my iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive and attach it to my AirPort so I can access it anywhere in the house (and world). Now I have been reading various reviews that perhaps a Time Capsule would be better for my needs. I don't plan on using it for Time Machine backups right now, just as a NAS Drive. If anyone has any experience with this I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Mr. Macintosh693

Hi,
I have something like that working at the moment. My setup is based on a Mac Mini Core Duo [ OS 10.5.6 ] connected to a Time Capsule. I have configured iTunes to store all archived music on the Time Capsule. I use the Apple Lossless format for my CDs and approx 420 titles have taken approx 130Gb from my 1Tb Capsule. In general this setup works well [ especially the optical out of the Mac ] but be aware of the following potential pitfalls:-
1. The Time Capsule is a little on the noisy side and depending on the quality of your playback equipment, your choice of music, ambient noise and your values of "satisfactory" you may want to put your Capsule or HDD in another room. This seems OK for generic playback, but in my experience wireless is not a good way to go for streaming content.
2. iTunes v8.0.2 has a preferences capability to allow you to redirect it's archive to the Time Capsule. However, even if you leave the Capsule switched on it goes into a "sleep" mode. Rip a new CD and iTunes won't tell you this; instead it will silently reconfigure itself to store on your local hard drive and then you're left with the challenge of moving your collection piecemeal if you want it in one location, followed by manually updating iTunes to "point" it to the new location of the music.
One nice thing about the Capsule is that it does allow other connection types. I have mine networked to a PC running Ubuntu Linux and a music player called Amarok and I am able to stream the Mac-Ripped lossless files and play them over Linux perfectly... Works very well. Apparently you can do this with a Windows client and iTunes for Windows, but I don't run Windows as a matter of principle and can't validate that.
My 1Tb Time Capsule runs hot, too. Not dangerously so, but hot to the touch. There are no cooling fans, but you might want to think about placement; it needs plenty of fresh air circulating around it.
For what it's worth [ and I appreciate this is going beyond your question ] I also wanted my setup to be able to store and retrieve recorded TV. I have Elgato EyeTV and a USB Freeview decoder. I quickly learned that despite claims to the contrary the performance of the wireless connection just isn't up to streaming video content. So I went out and purchased a pair of Ethernet-over-mains adapters from Zyxel that are absolutely perfect for the job.
Yes, the Capsule is a little pricey for what is little more than a Hard Drive in a box, but it does work very well.
Beware the timeout disconnections and the silently re-configuring iTunes thought...

Is it possible to use time capsule or airport extreme as a wireless hard drive for iphone?

Is it possible to use time capsule or airport extreme as a wireless hard drive for iphone.
I would like to strem movies from the hard drive to iphone.
I have already seen the Goflex Stellite, which works this way.
Is there any other device that could do this?

I did a typo. My current computer is a 2010 1/2 iMac. The stand alone monitors are still out of my price range so I'm looking for other options. By buying an external hard drive and a broken iMac, I'm still ahead. Still, if I understand you right, the 27" 2010 and earlier iMacs would be possiblities.
Are there adapters that would allow me to run a 2011 and newer iMac as an external monitor from my 2010 1/2. There are so many adapters out there these days.

Extending a network with Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme (via Belkin powerline)

Hello -
I've seen many topics about extending wireless networks here, but none seems to resolve the issue I'm having. I currently have a setup where a DSL cable modem is connected to a Time Capsule and I need to extend this network to another room using an AirPort Extreme.
I live in a very old apartment in Brazil and the walls seem to block the signal from one room to another, hence the need to extend it. Since wireless signal is very weak between rooms, I bought a Belkin powerline AV500 so I could connect both Time Capsule and AirPort using the electrical power at home (just installing a regular Ethernet cable between rooms is not an option).
I started with the basics: configure the Time Capsule + DSL as a standalone network, and it works perfectly within it's range. Then I connected the Belking powerline, plugged a MacBook via Ethernet on the other end and still got very good results (actually better speed than expected). Used it for a while with streaming and other network intensive tasks to make sure it could sustain the connection.
Finally, pluggned the AirPort Extreme on the Belking powerline and this is where the problems started. AirPort Utility 6.3.1 only gives me the option of extending a network wirelessly - it doesn't seem to give me the option of extending it via Etherenet (roaming), which is not good in my case. Luckly I had a copy of AirPort Utility 5.6 which seems to do the job (or I thought so), but it's still not working well.
Although I managed to configure both with the same name, it doesn't seem reliable and some devices (the iPhone 5, for example) are unable to connect and end up with a self-asigned IP address. I'm almost sure I'm doing something wrong on the setup, as I've seen a similar setup working before, so if anyone out there has any clue of what can be done, it will be much appreciated.
Attached the screenshots of both Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme configurations.
Thanks a lot,
-TM
AirPort Exteme:
Time Capsule:

Hello JuliaApple. Welcome to the Apple Discussions!
You have several ways to configure both base stations for what you are trying to do.
The simplest would be to configure the Time Capsule (TC) to "join" (AirPort Utility > Manual Setup > Wireless tab > Wireless Mode = Join a wireless network) your existing 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn). In this type of configuration the TC would perform as any other wireless client and not perform as a router. It will; however, still allow for both backups and sharing USB devices attached to it.

Should I get a Time Capsule, an Airport Extreme, or a Linksys Wireless N?

Hi I have several questions before I make my purchase. I've got 2 computers in my upstairs bedroom that are wireless. I currently have a Wireless router which is a Linksys WRT54G.
It's already getting on in age so I was thinking of replacing it with a better wireless router. I'm deciding weather I should go with a Linksys N or go the apple route.
Will I get faster internet if I go with a Linksys Wireless N? What is the difference between G and N?
I was thinking of getting a Time Capsule because I wanted an automatic backup of my data.
Is a time capsule going to perform the same as a Linksys? Which router is better?
what is the difference between Time Capsule and Airport extreme. Are they basically the same with the only difference being the hardrive?
If I get a Time Capsule then do I still need a Linksys router? Is it easy to setup a wireless network using a Time Capsule or Airport Extreme?
Last question. My mom's computer upstairs uses a Linksys Wireless G usb adapter. It is also getting on in age.
The connection is always labeled as low and sometimes she can't go on the internet. What would be a much better wireless adapter for my mom's computer?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Stuart Lawrence wrote:
Hi I have several questions before I make my purchase. I've got 2 computers in my upstairs bedroom that are wireless. I currently have a Wireless router which is a Linksys WRT54G.
It's already getting on in age so I was thinking of replacing it with a better wireless router. I'm deciding weather I should go with a Linksys N or go the apple route.
Will I get faster internet if I go with a Linksys Wireless N? What is the difference between G and N?
Enough of a difference for it to be worthwhile.
I was thinking of getting a Time Capsule because I wanted an automatic backup of my data.
The backup app is Time Machine, not Time Capsule. TM can work with any external HDD connected to the Mac, but only TC is officially supported for wireless backups by Apple. Hacks are possible to connect a USB HDD to an Extreme.
Is a time capsule going to perform the same as a Linksys? Which router is better?
Better if we are talking N vs. G.
what is the difference between Time Capsule and Airport extreme. Are they basically the same with the only difference being the hardrive?
Yes, but that is a significant difference.
If I get a Time Capsule then do I still need a Linksys router?
No.
Is it easy to setup a wireless network using a Time Capsule or Airport Extreme?
If you can setup your Linksys, you should be able to setup the AirPort as well.
Last question. My mom's computer upstairs uses a Linksys Wireless G usb adapter. It is also getting on in age.
The connection is always labeled as low and sometimes she can't go on the internet. What would be a much better wireless adapter for my mom's computer?
Sorry, none off the top of my head. Maybe you can provide the details on the computer she has.

Airtune Over Ethernet with Time Capsule or Airport Extreme

Can the previous generation Time Capsule or Airport Extreme bridge an ethernet client to an Airtunes network?
Current Setup: I have an aluminum iMac wired to my Time Capsule; currently, I use the aluminum as a music server by connecting to several Airport Express clients over the the iMac's built-in Airport for Airtunes support.
Problem: I have 3-802.11g clients dragging my wifi network. I would like to dedicate the iMac's internal network to the g-clients so I don't have to use compatibility mode for my n-network. However, I will lose Airtunes speaker support when I use internet sharing over the built-in Airport. Airtunes does not appear to support the Time Capsule ethernet client.
Nodes:
-AE 802.11g (Airtunes only)
-AE 802.11n (Airtunes and USB printer)
-1st gen Time Capsule (Internet gateway, "creating network" 802.11 g/n,
-iMac 8,1 (Music server via internal wifi, wired TC client)
-Macbook 4,1 (wifi client)
-iPhone
-Canon MP620 (USB to iMac, wifi to Macbook)

Further to Bob's comments..
A Gen1 TC will be using marvel wireless chip and your 2008 and 2010 Macbook will use atheros and/or broadcom cards.. Just open your system profiler and look for info on the airport. We find the mixture of wireless chipsets especially older draft N and later N products can give very varied results.
The very fact you are linking at 270 and not 300mbps shows some reduction from theoretical max speed.. and really to get over 100mbps with any wireless you need perfect setup.. matched wireless chips etc.
Do a test uploading and downloading a file to the TC to see if the LAN speed is better than internet speed.
In reality I think you are doing especially well.. we see loads of people complaining about slow internet here who are getting less than 10% of the speed they get direct when routed through the TC. And on most occasions the limit in speed is not really going to affect what you do, as the real links to the internet are not that fast.

Time capsule and airport extreme!!! or something else?

Hi
i have been looking into a new wireless device but do i really need a time capsule or a Airport extreme or is there something better out there?
thanks

Thanks for the additional info.
The AirPort Extreme would support a hard drive, but unfortunately Time Machine backups are not supported by Apple to a drive at the USB port of the AirPort Extreme, so to meet both of your requirements, you would need to look at either the 1TB or 2 TB versions of the Time Capsule.
In addition, either the Time Capsule (or AirPort Extreme) would provide you with simultaneous dual band wireless capability, so you'll have a 5 GHz band for faster, newer devices and and a traditional 2.4 GHz band for slower devices. With this type of setup, the slower devices will not slow down the faster devices on your network.
There's a Guest Network feature as well if you plan to use the Time Capsule or Airport Extreme or Time Capsule as the main router on your network.

What is the default ip address for the Time Capsule and Airport Extreme?

What is the default ip address for the Time Capsule and Airport Extreme?

Open Airport Utility to find out the real IP address of the network connection. DHCP addresses are assigned by the router in the range chosen in Airport Utility.

HT4356 I have an HP 4500 printer connected to airport extreme with usb. All our portable notebooks print via air but cannot get iPad to be recognized for printing. Do I really have to have one of the other HPs listed?

I have an HP 4500 printer connected to airport extreme with usb. All our portable notebooks print via air but cannot get iPad to be recognized for printing. Do I really have to have one of the other HPs listed?

Rufus Cat-
Even if it was compatible, AirPrint does not work through a USB link, only Ethernet or WiFi.
I do not see your HP 4500 listed on Apple's list of AirPrint compatible printers. <iOS: AirPrint 101> Therefore you need to take another approach. To start, I suggest you download the free HP App, ePrint Home & Biz. It has limitations, but should get you printing with your existing setup.
There are other printing Apps with more features such as Print n Share and PrintCentral, but they can only be accessed from within other Apps that have the "Open In" option.
Your best option may be to share your computer's printer as AirPrint over WiFi. Programs that are reported to do that well are Printopia and FingerPrint. Your computer must be on and awake any time you want to print. <Printopia for Macintosh> <FingerPrint for PC and Mac>
Fred

Time Capsule and Airport Extreme in different modes (n vs. g/n)

Hello,
I already have an Airport Extreme. I am very much looking forward to buying the new Time Capsule when it becomes available.
Can I set up these two to create one wireless network so that the Time Capsule is n only and the Extreme is g/n? Without a cable? I have an adsl box with the extreme in our bedroom and plan to place the time capsule in another room with a couple of usb disks, where the noise does not disturb our sleep.
If yes, could you give me short instructions how to do that.
Help is much appreciated!

Hi,
here are the set-up instructions, starting at page 47 - http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPort_Networks_Using_AirPortUtility.pdf
Regards

Adding time capsule to airport extreme and airport express

I am new to the Mac world. I have the airport extreme with an airport express extender at home. I want to buy the time capsule. Will this replace the airport extreme?

You could configure it that way. If so, the easiest way to configure it is probably to use AirPort Utility to do a File > Export Configuration File with the AirPort Extreme followed by a File > Import Configuration File with the Time Capsule.

How to set up 6th Generation AirPort Extreme to cable modem as a wireless router and then connect my 3rd Generation Time Capsule to AirPort Extreme as a wireless extender?

What is the best way to set up my 6th Generation AirPort Extreme (A1521) to my cable modem as a wireless router and then connect my 3rd Generation Time Capsule (A1355) to my AirPort Extreme as a wireless extender? I live in a small 1 story house and I currently have the Airport Extreme connected to my cable modem in the living room and the Time Capsule plugged into the wall in my bedroom. I am able to wirelessly connect to the internet using the AirPort Extreme as my router and I can also do wireless back ups to my Time Capsule. My problem is that my connection seems to be really slow! My 1TB Time Capsule back up is only half way complete and it has been 3 days! My computer has been backing up all day and night for almost 72 hours and its still not even 75% complete. I have backed up to this Time Capsule in the past and it never took this long. I am thinking that when I set up my AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule using AirPort Utility I must have set it up incorrectly or something.
How do I set up my Airport Extreme and Time Capsule for the fastest possible internet speed and back up speed?
Thank you,

AirPort Utility 5.6 works with AirPort Extreme 802.11g base stations.
It works with N version airports.
It will also show details of the AC model but cannot be used for the setup.. mostly.
I purposely got the new 6th Gen Airport Extreme so my internet connection would be a lot faster!
Your network will be much faster when you have AC client directly connected to the AE. Older client will go no faster.. but what is worse.. extend wireless is mixing new and old wireless standards.. guess what one wins.. OLD.. So when you extend wireless.. you have no improvement whatsoever. This whole post is about extending wireless.. so you cannot extend to older equipment and do any better.. maybe slightly better signal although from your comments that isn't happening either.
I would rather not have to use an ethernet at all with the TC and I don't know EOP adapters are!
If you do not use ethernet then you are going to be forced to accept slow speed.
EOP (ethernet over power). Also called homeplug in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HomePlug
Provides a method of networking over power cabling that already exists in your house.
So what your saying is for the fastest internet speed and back up speed possible I should keep my Airport Extreme plugged into my Modem and keep my TC set up as a wireless extender? Then when I want to do back ups I should plug an ethernet cable from my TC to my MacBook Pro?
To spell this out.
A wireless link to an extended device will go very slowly.. if it is not direct.
So lets say you have a laptop sitting in the lounge.. Your connection goes.. Laptop- - - - - AE- - - - -TC.
That means two wireless links.. wireless has this nasty half duplex and single channel nature.. it can send or receive (Tx or Rx) but not at the same time.
Ethernet by contrast does both at once. It is full duplex.
Wireless can talk to one client at a time.. so if there are multiple items using wireless lets say 4 devices.. then your computer gets a 25% time slice. Since wireless cannot handle multiple simultaneous connections.
Ethernet by contrast can connect multiple computers to multiple destinations at the same time.. all transmitting and receiving at full speed.
When you put all this together.. there are a couple of rules for fast connection.
1. Use ethernet at all times. Where you cannot use ethernet use anything but wireless.. eg EOP (homeplug) at least to try and get rid of wireless.
2. Where you must use wireless use it sparingly and make sure it is never more than one hop.. ie never have an extend wireless (repeater is more usual term). Repeater will cause instant slowdown of 50% and maybe up to 75% just because it is so inefficient.
3. Fastest wireless is 5ghz but it has very short range.. you need to be up close and personal to get it working.
Apple routers however unless you do manual setup I suggest are set to connect to best signal strength not best speed. It will therefore use 2.4ghz at 25% less speed than 5ghz because it is 1db better signal.. this madness means you need to setup manually for the best setup.

Airport Time Capsule and Airport Extreme connection

I have replaced an Airport Extreme in my study upstairs by a brand new Airport Time Capsule 2T. It is the Airport Time Capsule that is connected to the Internet. The Airport Extreme has been moved downstairs and connected to the Airport Time Capsule by an Ethernet cable (run in a ventilation channel).
First, I configured the new Airport Time Capsule alone (without the Extreme). Then, I connected the Extreme and, unfortunately, configured it as a new network. Now, I would like to undo the last step and have, as they should be. both the Time Capsule and the Extreme in the same network.
The Airport Utility does not like it. Obviously, I am not doing things correctly.
1. Should I reset both the Time Capsule and the Extreme, in what order and how ?
2. How to delete unwanted networks from the list ?
Regards - Kris

You do not have to change the TC.. leave it as the standard setup.. as long as it is right.
Reset the AE to factory and try again.. or just manually edit it.
Click on the AE in the airport utility then click on edit.
Go to the network tab and make sure it is set to bridge.
Go to the wireless tab.. and setup .. create a wireless network.. NOT EXTEND.
Use identical Wireless Name to the TC.
Use identical Security setting (WPA2 Personal is only valid one really).. and same password as the TC.
Then update your AE.. it is now part of the same network with the same wireless name..

Time Machine, Airport Extreme, External USB Drive

Having some challenges using Time Machine on an external drive connected to my Airport Extreme. I've tried several configurations all of which started with formatting the drive with a single partition Mac OS Extended (Journaled) GUID.
The first configuration was where I did a 100GB Time Machine Backup to the drive while it was connected (so I wouldn't have to deal with a slow first backup over wireless, because my MacBook Pro is of the older 802.11G wireless versus N). Then moved the drive over to my Airport Extreme, mounted the drive and started the backup. It failed with the following error message "The backup volume is not in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) format, which is required."
The second configuration was where, after reformatting to single partition to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) GUID, I connected the drive directly to the Airport Extreme without having done a Time Machine Backup. After mounting the drive, I started Time Machine and it began to run. I left it over nite to back-up and, while it got started, it did not make it past about 9GB after over 6 hours.
Any help here would be most appreciated...
Happy New Year

See solution in this thread.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8742787

AirPort Extreme with USB hard drive

Hi...I have an AirPort Extreme with a Maxtor OneTouch 250MB hard drive attached (via USB port). I have two computers which access the internet and the hard drive through the AirPort.
The first computer is a 1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 (with 3GB of SDRAM). The second is a 2 GHz Intel Core2 Duo IMac (with 4GB of SDRAM).
Both computers have full signal strength via AirPort and both computers have no connection/speed issues with the internet. It's when trying to copy to/from the USB disk that there are problems. The older Mac, the G5, has no problems at all. Great copy speeds in both directions, I can even work off of files on the USB disk without a problem.
The iMac, though, has a problem writing to/from the external hard disk. It connects without a problem, but after that, things come to a standstill.
For example, I can copy a 25MB file from the AirDisk to the G5 in about 15 seconds. If I try to copy the same file to the iMac, it takes as long as 5 minutes. I've tried every setting I can in AirPort Utility, including trying each of the channels individually, and nothing helps. I've disconnected the G5 from the network and that didn't make a difference, either.
Other info...the AirPort firmware is updated to version 7.3.2 and both Macs are updated to System 10.5.4.
If anybody has any advice, I will be eternally grateful.

I have a very similar problem. I have a 2.8 GHz iMac with 2GB RAM and am using OS X v10.5.4, and an Airport Extreme (v7.3.2), both updated to latest firmware. I have a 500 GB TrekStor external HD connected to the AEBS via USB. The TrekStor HD was pre-formatted in FAT32 and is visible on my iMac's desktop and in Finder but I cannot transfer files to it or see files on it. When I drag and drop a file on the TrekStor, it sometimes seems to go well but then the file is not visible via Finder, and sometimes I get an "insufficient privileges" message. I repair permissions on the iMac's internal HD without any change. I am logged in as the admin. All assistance is much appreciated!

Which to buy? Time capsule or Airport Extreme with USB drive(s)?

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