Adding a Time Capsule to an existing network ...

Question

Adding a Time Capsule to an existing network ...

Hi,

I have a network at home. In my computer room all these devices are ethernet wire connected:

ISP cable modem
Airport Extreme Base Station (2nd genenration)
LaserWriter 16/600 PS
HP OfficeJet 8500
iMacIntel

We also have a MacBook Air, an iPad and iPhone that will connect to the network wirelesssly.

I bought a Time Capsule to use as a multi-partitions hard drive to

do real-time backup (CrashPlan or Time Machine),
daily update our computers's bootable backups (Carbon Copy Cloner),
use has a media library (movies, iMovie video, ...) and,
create an additional access point to our network (the AEBS is actually located at one end of the house and connecting to the network from the other end is often difficult/impossible)

The TC would either be hiden in a closet (wirelless) or in the basement (wired), because I want it to be as far as possible from the computer room.

Now for the actual TC setup ... I was thinking of simply adding the TC as an extension to my actual network.

Is there a better way of setting up the new Time Capsule ?

Best regards.

Joyful owner of an iMac Intel ... Fast as light !!! !!!!, iMac Intel - 3,06 GHZ - 21" - 12.0 Go

Posted on Nov 17, 2012 7:24 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 17, 2012 8:12 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

Oups .... problem ! I just read that I cannot partition my Time capsule. Bad news ! I just bought it to do exactly that. Is there a way around my problem ?

Reply

Answer 2

Nov 17, 2012 9:48 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

Do you have an idea what is the best way to handle my situation if the TC cannot ?

Reply

Answer 3

Nov 17, 2012 10:15 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

The Time Capsule was specifically designed for Time Machine backups, and it really should be used only for that purpose. I would recommend that you add another dedicated hard drive for your other "shared" needs.

It is technically possible to store other data on the Time Capsule disk other than Time Machine backups, but things get complicated quickly when you try to set this up. I would not recommend this for most users.

If you do not really need to "partition" the Time Capsule, it is possible to set up one or more disk images using Disk Utility to reserve a given amount of space on the Time Capsule drive. This is not really a "partition" in the normal sense of the word, but it will act like one in that a given amount of space that you specify will be reserved for each created disk image.

I do not know whether you will be able to use a disk image for a Carbon Copy Cloner "clone" or whether the iTunes Media Folder (which contains all of the stored music, movies, etc) can be placed inside a disk image or not. I have not tried this.

Best to wait for a response from another user who has actually done this before you try the disk image route.

Reply

Answer 4

Nov 17, 2012 12:54 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks Bob ...

Dedicating a hard disk only to Time Machine. What a waste !

Time Machine is esthetic, but is surperficially designed. It's limited options are inefficient to take charge of real time backup. CrashPlan and Dropbox do tyhe jog much better and simpler. Time Machine's files and folders selection is akward: you have to exclude files and folders while I think it would be easier and more effective to select the files and folders you want to backup. There are so many files and folders that do not need to be versioned, that including is simpler than excluding. So Time Machine will be useless for me. This is y point of view.

I thought that Time Capsule's hard disk would be much faster than a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme Base Station. That's the reason I chose Time Capsule.

I still need to partition my hard drive in order to have a bootable backup of my computers. One external hard disk should be sufficient. I will pass the question to CCC's forum ...

Thank you again for your input.

Reply

Answer 5

Nov 18, 2012 7:01 AM in response to Bob Timmons

So I think I should have talked about an Airport Extreme + USB drive instead of a Time Capsule. I will begin a new thread for this.

Thanks for your help.

Reply

Answer 6

Nov 19, 2012 3:17 PM in response to Bob Timmons

An after thought ... Cloning our computers to a sparse image will be an acceptable solution. Doing this, I will not need any partition on my Time Capsule.

I already have a bootable drive that I copy a week to a portable 2,5" drive that I always carry with me. The sparse image version is an additionnal copy.

I think that Time Capsule's hard disk will be much faster than a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme Base Station. Time Capsule should finally be perfect for what I need.

Reply

Answer 7

Nov 19, 2012 3:26 PM in response to Robert Lesperance

I think that Time Capsule's hard disk will be much faster than a USB drive attached to an Airport Extreme Base Station.

I would agree. The USB port on the AirPort Extreme is definitely slow with attached hard drives.

Reply

Answer 8

Nov 21, 2012 8:31 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Because this thread contained many sub question we have diverted the initial theme: What is the best Time Capsule setup ?

For my backup, I have decided not to use Time Machine. That gives me more flexibility to use it for other purposes, like to have a «Media» folder side by side with my «Backup» folder. For my backups, I use CrashPlan (on the TC and to CrashPlan's cloud service) and Carbon Copy Cloner to backup my computers over the network to sparse disk images.

This being done, I am still left with my 4th question:

create an additional access point to our network (the AEBS is actually located at one end of the house and connecting to the network from the other end is often difficult/impossible)

If my TC is installed as an extension to my actual Airport network, I don't understand how this will help extend my networks range ? Can somebody help me with this one ?

Regards.

Reply

Answer 9

Nov 21, 2012 3:23 PM in response to Robert Lesperance

What is the best Time Capsule setup ?

The best setup is always a direct wired Ethernet connection to the Time Capsule.

If the AEBS is acting as the "main" router, you would connect an Ethernet cable from one of the LAN <-> ports on the AEBS to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule. Then, the Time Capsule can be configured to provide more wireless coverage in the area where it is located, in addition to acting as a hard drive.

This is the only method that will maintain full bandwidth on the network.

Is an Ethernet connection possible from the AEBS to the Time Capsule? If yes, we need to know what operating system you are using on your Mac to configure the Time Capsule if you need setup help.

Reply

Answer 10

Nov 22, 2012 6:37 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks Bob ... your the Airport discussion's angel 😁 !!!

A wired connection is possible between the AEBS and the TC. I am running OS 10.8.2. For testing both will be side by side, but later TC will be moved further away in the house.

Is this type of configuration also possible wirelessly ?

Reply

Answer 11

Nov 22, 2012 7:25 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

Is this type of configuration also possible wirelessly ?

It is possible, but the Time Caspule will need to be located where it can receive a strong wireless signal from the AirPort Extreme to be able to "extend" it.

The big downside to wireless is that even with a good wireless connection, backups will be 3-5 tmes slower than a wired Ethernet setup, and the chances of an error are much greater.

Reply

Answer 12

Nov 22, 2012 8:33 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Even then, backups will be 3-5 tmes slower than a wired Ethernet connection.

You've got a point here. So I will stick with your first idea ... a wired connection.

Actually, the TC is connected to the AEBS through the WAN «O» port and configured as an extension to the AEBS. As I said, for testing purpose, they are both side by side, but eventually I will move it further. Then it will also be connected through ethernet.

Is there any other configuration to do ?

Reply

Answer 13

Nov 22, 2012 9:08 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

Just add an Ethernet cable of the correct length and you will be all set. You can run a CAT5e or CAT6 Ethernet cable up to 100 meters, or about 330 feet with wirtually no loss.

Reply

Answer 14

Nov 22, 2012 9:39 AM in response to Bob Timmons

If yes, we need to know what operating system you are using on your Mac to configure the Time Capsule if you need setup help.

What did you mean by that ?

Reply

Answer 15

Nov 22, 2012 10:05 AM in response to Robert Lesperance

The operating system on the Mac is something like Snow Leopard, Lion, Mountain Lion, etc. AirPort Utillty is different in different versions of the operating system.

If you want help with the configuration of the Time Capsule.....it sounds like you already have it setup......we need to know which version of AirPort Utility that you wil be using. The operating system will tell us that.

If you do not need any more configuration help with the Time Capsule, then there is no need to provide the operating system that you are using unless you intend to make future changes and are not sure how to do this.

Reply