how do i get afp to work through timecapsule

To start users will need to know your Public (WAN-side) IP address. Is your TC directly connected to the Internet modem or downstream of it behind another router that has NAT enabled?

If your Time Capsule (TC) is configured to be your Internet router, then you only need to do two things to allow access to it from the Internet:

• Using AirPort Utility, enable both the "Enable file sharing" and the "Share disks over Ethernet WAN port" options on the utility's Disks > File Sharing page.
• On the utility's Summary page, note the value of IP Address. This will be the TC's WAN-side IP address.

To access the TC from the Internet, use Finder's Connect to Server option and enter <i>afp://TC's WAN-side IP address</i> in the Server Address box, and then, click on Connect.

No only the TC's internal drive. Your iMac is behind the TC's NAT firewall and you would have to configure the TC for port mapping/forwarding to send AFP requests directly to the iMac.

It would be a lot easier, if you had a MobileMe account and just used Back to my Mac (BTMM) to do this.

Again, it would require that you open the AFP protocol port on the TC in order for remote AFP requests to make it to the iMac from the Internet.

You can find the appropriate ports in the following Apple Support article: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1629 AFP uses TCP port 548.

Port mapping should not be required to access the TC, but it would be for accessing the iMac for AFP.

Configuring for port mapping takes two basic steps:

1. Use the AirPort Utility to assign a Reserved DHCP IP Address for the iMac, and
2. Again, using the AirPort Utility, configure port mapping to set TCP port 548 to forward to the iMac.

You will need to know the iMac's MAC address when you go to assign a Reserved DHCP IP address. Depending on how the iMac connects to the TC (wire or wireless) that would be either its Ethernet MAC address or its AirPort ID. Both of these can be found under System Preferences > Network.

Port Mapping is configured from: AirPort Utility > Select the TC > Manual Setup > Internet > NAT > Configure Port Mappings...

• On the Port Mapping tab, click on the plus button to add a mapping.
• Service: Leave the default
• Public TCP Port(s): 548
• Public UDP Port(s): leave blank
• Private IP Address: enter the reserved DHCP IP address that you did earlier here
• Private TCP Port(s): 548
• Private UDP Port(s): leave blank

Ok, let's give this another shot. I am assuming for the following you will have users that want to access either the Time Capsule's internal or an externally attached HDD. Also, Connection Sharing = Share a public IP address. Note: I have only verified that this works using a single HDD attached to an 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBSn).

1. Using the AirPort Utility, select the TC. Note the value for IP Address.
2. Click Manual Setup.
3. Select the Disks tab, and then, select File Sharing.
4. Verify the following settings:
   • Enable file sharing: checked
   • Secure Shared Disks: With disk password
   • Guest Access: Not allowed
5. Click on Advanced, and then, click on the Port Mapping tab.
6. Click the plus sign ➕ to add a new port mapping.
7. In the Public UDP Port(s) and TCP Port(s) boxes, type in a 4-digit port number (e.g., 5666) that you choose.
8. In the Private IP Address box, type the internal IP address of your TC that you noted in step 1.
9. In the Private UDP Port(s) and TCP Port(s) boxes, type 548, and then, click Continue.
10. In the Description box, type a descriptive name of your choosing to describe that you are mapping the AFP ports, and then, click Done.
11. Finally, click on Update to write the setting to the TC and let it restart.

To test, using a remote Mac:

1. In the Finder, click Go, and then, Connect to Server.
2. Enter the Public (WAN-side) IP Address of the TC, plus a colon and the port number you choose earlier in the Server address box, and then, click Connect. For example: afp://123.456.789.123:5666
3. You should be prompted for a username and password. The username can be anything, and the password would be the you like; the password should be the File Sharing Disk Password you created in the AirPort Utility.

The TC's drive should now appear in the Shared section in the Finder's sidebar as a server.

Ok, thanks for clarifying that for me. In this case, just substitute the IP Address of the Mac on the internal network for the Private IP Address in the instructions I provided earlier.

Yes.