Airport Extreme and Hard Disk.

Question

Airport Extreme and Hard Disk.

Hi,

Can an external hard disk be attached to the Airport Extreme USB port in order to be assessible to computers in your network? In case this is possible, can a USB hub be used for this purpose? I am currently using this port to connect a printer and would like the printer to remain connected?

In case the above isn't possible, what other choices are there to have a external hard disk connected and made available to a local network? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a network drive with an Ethernet connector versus a standard drive with a USB connector?

I would prefer to make this drive read only to all computers on the network and read/write only to my computer to avoid accidental erases or edits to the files. How can this be done in OS X?

Thank you in advance.

Posted on Jun 16, 2012 12:45 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Jun 16, 2012 8:30 PM in response to apple_customer

Can an external hard disk be attached to the Airport Extreme USB port in order to be assessible to computers in your network?

Yes.

In case this is possible, can a USB hub be used for this purpose? I am currently using this port to connect a printer and would like the printer to remain connected?

Yes. You can have multiple USB HDDs and/or printers attached, via a USB hub. In turn, this hub would be attached to the AirPort's USB port.

I would prefer to make this drive read only to all computers on the network and read/write only to my computer to avoid accidental erases or edits to the files. How can this be done in OS X?

File sharing control is somewhat limited. You basically have three methods to share out an AirPort Disk (a USB HDD attached to an AirPort Extreme): 1) By disk password, 2) By base station password, or 3) By user accounts. Most likely, to accomplish what you're trying to do, you would use the last option.

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Answer 2

Jun 23, 2012 10:10 AM in response to Tesserax

Hi, Tesserax.

Where can I find instructions on how to do this ?

The connection part is easy. I have a printer currently connected to the USB port on the Airport Extreme but can easily get a USB bus so that I can connected both the printer and external hard disk.

The part I need instructions and help with is the one related to assigning different levels of access permission to different users. As I read your last notes I feel that you are right. It sounds like option number 3 (user accounts) may be the easiest and/or simplest to do. Where can I find instructions on how to do this ?

Basically I want to have one computer (mine) as an administrator with read/write privileges while every other on the network can read the files but not write or delete them.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you.

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Answer 3

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Jun 23, 2012 10:27 AM in response to apple_customer

Use a hub with a power adapter.

Beware that the external disk better not be used for TimeMachine.

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Answer 4

Jun 23, 2012 10:37 AM in response to Lexiepex

HI, LexSchellings.

The hub I have has a power adapter. Thanks for pointing this out. Just out of curiosity, why must the hub have its own power adapter ?

In regards to Time Machine, I will not be using it with this disk. The disk will be used so computers on the network can all have access to the same files (although with different levels of access privilege).

Thank you for your reply.

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Answer 5

Lexiepex

Level 6

14,102 points

Jun 23, 2012 11:29 AM in response to apple_customer

Every equipment connected uses power from the USB port, more than one is easily to much for the max power from the port.

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Answer 6

Tesserax

Level 10

148,453 points

Jun 23, 2012 2:03 PM in response to apple_customer

The part I need instructions and help with is the one related to assigning different levels of access permission to different users. As I read your last notes I feel that you are right. It sounds like option number 3 (user accounts) may be the easiest and/or simplest to do. Where can I find instructions on how to do this ?

For help with this, I would recommend the following Take Control eBook: Take Control of your 802.11n AirPort Network. Unfortunately, what you will find is that file access control is quite limited, even with the Using Accounts method.

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Answer 7

Jun 24, 2012 2:04 PM in response to Tesserax

HI, Tesserax.

I will definetely purchase the book and find out the details of how to do it. Looks like a good source of information for learning more on how to manage my network.

Thank you for the information and for your help.

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