minhala

Q: time capsule connect with hardwired network

I just bought an i27 Mac & Airport Time Capsule, thinking I can use the TC as a wireless router as well as an external storage/server for the entire home office network.  Along with the new i27, we need to  connect to a PC/Win XP and other MacBooks + PC Laptop.

Would the TC be able to serve as a crossed platform server and be connected to the existing hardwired network?

Also, we're using Comcast as the internet provider.

thanks.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), Mac OS X (10.7.5), Window XP

Posted on Jul 10, 2015 3:51 PM

Close

Q: time capsule connect with hardwired network

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by LaPastenague,

    LaPastenague LaPastenague Jul 10, 2015 5:42 PM in response to minhala
    Level 9 (52,715 points)
    Wireless
    Jul 10, 2015 5:42 PM in response to minhala

    The basic answer is yes.. you can use the TC this way with a few ????

     

    If you have a comcast modem router (commonly now called a gateway).. you can simply plug the TC into it by ethernet and set it up in bridge mode.

     

    No problem with doing that.. most people will run TC like this.

     

    For windows it will not work great.. due to windows looking at it as old NT server. You can hit the standard FAT32 file size limits even though it is not formatted FAT32. Also the TC is designed specifically for Time Machine backup and even that is specifically for wireless notebooks.. a desktop computer is better using a USB plugged in drive. The TC has no backup.. and there is no Apple software to help with that. Unlike any true NAS which includes internally run backup utility. So you will need to manually handle backups of all the files on the TC.. something important not to underestimate the importance of.. remember all files should be on a min of 2 disks.

     

    Load the airport utility for windows onto each of the PC's as it helps them use Apple network resources.

    You should then be able to access the TC drive.. but if you have issues. it is likely windows views the TC as foreign device and has put up the firewalls or move network location to public.. so force it back to home and force the firewalls to accept the connection.. all good fun.

     

    Here is some apple doco.. it is for USB disk on Airport Extreme but the same applies to TC in this case.

     

    AirPort: How to mount an AirPort Extreme USB hard disk volume in Mac OS X and Windows - Apple Support

     

    If you run into trouble give us specifics.