Time Capsule Alternative

yes

Mozy is a monthly payment backup for your computer. the only difference is even if your house goes on fire, you still have backup. Drobo is also another alternative, just about the same as a time capsule but it can hold multiple hard drives.

http://www.drobo.com
http://www.mozy.com

mozy is not an alternative to time machine. It does not keep any past versions or any file that you delete. It is only a mirror (delayed) copy of the data you tell it to back up.

You could use time machine and then back up the time machine files to mozy to get an offsite, versioned backup.

for what purpose

It might help if you tell us what you would use it for? Were you looking at the Time Capsule to use it for Time Machine? Or were you going to use it as a network drive? Or maybe you're just looking for a wired Time Machine drive? You can get the same function from the regular AEBS and a USB hard drive for wireless Time Machine or the network drive. Or there different solutions for different needs.

The wireless alternative is Airport Extreme with USB drive, but the functions are the same, it just adds another device and 2 extra cables to the setup (USB and power for the drive)

eXan said:

The wireless alternative is Airport Extreme with USB drive, but the functions are the same, it just adds another device and 2 extra cables to the setup (USB and power for the drive)

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does it work as well performance wise? I heard people saying it was slow to do that instead of the time capsule. still true?

jmessiha said:

does it work as well performance wise? I heard people saying it was slow to do that instead of the time capsule. still true?

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The bottleneck is the wireless. No way around it - its dog-slow.

Question: Mozy.com vs AirPort+HD

Hey there, I got couple questions that were not address yet. I hope someone out there has tried both and can provide more detailed feedback.

MOZY:
1. Just to clarify, can you use TimeMachine directly with Mozy service? I know someone mentioned that Mozy can only duplicate files already backup by TM. If that's true the service seems redundant since you are going to have to use up an external HD regardless?

2. IF Mozy can be use directly with TimeMachine, upon new OS system installation, can one retrieve files from TimeMachine backed up on Mozy?

3. IF Mozy can be use directly with TimeMachine, has anyone noticed a performance difference when TM is backing files up OR when using TM to retrieve files? (obviously this will greatly depend on your ISP speed connection but the great question is if there are any errors or other issues when using the two in conjunction).

4. Anyone had any issues with their ISP for using too much bandwith. I live in the greater Chicago-land area and Comcast pretty-much rules here, anyone in the same boat with me and has experienced any issues?


AIRPORT + UBS HD COMBO:
1. Upon new OS system installation can this setup be utilized to retrieve data from the HD connected to AirPort. I guess the question is when you are installing/re-installing the OS does the AirPort communicate with the system that there's a HD connected with TM data on it?

2. Does anyone know if there's a LIMIT of how big of a HD one can connect to the AirPort base station. If I recall correctly I heard there was a LIMIT of 500GB. Is that accurate?

Sorry for the lengthy post but I hope someone out there has experienced this and would like to share their wisdom with the rest of the community.

Getting a router with a USB port and a drive is the best of options. If you need help with the drive, check this guide.

Did Anyone Ever Solve The Time Capsule Mystery?

I too want a wireless option for Time Machine back up. (I use a MacBook and I'm constantly dragging it all over the house and to my office over the garage, and I'd like to have wireless back-up).

From what I've read, it sounds like part of the problem is that Time Capsule doesn't understand when you're busy using your wireless connection, and it slows everything down to a crawl as it tries to back up at the same time.

Sounds to this amateur like the answer would be a system that understands when your computer is idle so it can do the wireless back-up. (I remember back in the day when I had hard disk defragmenting software -- it only kicked in when the computer wasn't doing anything else.)

Has anyone solved this mystery, using Time Capsule or a different tool?

Thanks,

G

gleng1 said:

Has anyone solved this mystery, using Time Capsule or a different tool?

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The initial backup is slow and best done over a wired connection (or overnight). After that I have not noticed any slow down having TM run while I am doing other things. It might depend on what else you are doing, though. Usually I am either programming or surfing. Occasionally, I have been watching TV over the internet. No problem there either.

I would just pickup a simple USB 2 drive and use it with Time Machine (or Carbon Copy Cloner or Superduper) and a direct connection.

Easiest, cheapest and most reliable.

Lots of them can go "with" the iMac. White or AL version?

Whats your budget? How much space do you want/need?