5th gen Time Capsule, Akitio Taurus Mini Super S3

[pkg81MBP]

(If this question has already been answered, sorry.) Im in the market for a new WiFi router and Time Machine solution, so for simplicity I'll be purchasing a new TC. But Im also looking for a wireless, redundant file storage solution. For cost sake Im looking at the Akitio Taurus Mini Super S3 LCM. I plan on just plugging this two bay RAID1 enclosure into the TC USB port. The enclosure appears to have its own RAID software included. Will this solution work for not only wireless Time Machine backups (which I know is one of it's main functions) but also for wireless storage thats accessible on my home network? Im not worried about remote access or mobile device access as this will be strictly for storing my digital photography and access when in Photoshop.

 

[cruisin]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202807

AirPort base stations work with most disks that are not software RAID volumes (no more than one volume per physical disk). If the disk is a self-contained RAID that presents itself to a computer as a single volume requiring no software support, then it may be supported. Consult the storage manufacturer for compatibility.

Your best bet is to ask the manufacturer if this is possible before you buy.

Either way, this will be slow to use as this is designed to be a backup and not external storage. You might have to copy the current working directory to your computer and then copy it back afterwards instead of working directly from it.

 

[Brian33]

I looked at this enclosure on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Taurus-Mini-Super-enclosure-only/dp/B00GRHY7UE).

Seems like a pretty good price for a FW800/eSATA/USB (2 or 3?) enclosure for 2.5" drives, but it appears to be a "bus-powered" device (i.e., there's no power supply/adapter). If that's true, it may require too much power to work when plugged directly into the Time Capsule, as I believe Apple specifies for the TC and Airport Extreme that the USB port can be used with a self-powered USB drive. You could plug a powered USB hub into the TC, and then this drive into the hub -- that should work. I would look into a 3.5" drive external myself, as it will be powered and I don't see any advantage to using 2.5" drives for this use (they are usually more expensive per GB).

One thing I noticed in the Amazon listing is that the text says it has USB 3.0, but the image of the back shows USB 2.0. It would make absolutely no difference in performance when used on a TC, but it sure would if in the future you connected to a computer w/USB 3 port. Just know what you're getting.

I assume you're considering it for the RAID 1 (mirroring) capability. Personally I'm not sure that's worth it, as it seems I've read enough horror stories about RAID controllers causing errors or failing that I'm not convinced that even with the HDD redundancy you're really getting an overall more reliable solution. But that's up to you, and I don't claim to be an expert on RAID devices, by any means.

I guess maybe you're going to use the TC's internal drive for TM backups, and this (or some) USB for external storage on your network? Then it makes some sense to use RAID 1, I guess, as Time Machine (the software) cannot back up any drives plugged into the TC (nor any network-connected drives, I believe). But you're totally relying on the RAID 1 feature to back up any data you store on this "network" drive. So you're only protected against one of the HDDs itself failing. Hmmm.

Also, I totally agree with "cruisin" above -- it will be pretty slow to access your "external storage" over the network. Probably especially slow if the TC happens to be in the midst of a backup to its own internal drive, because I believe the TC's processor is the bottleneck to disk throughput (when connected by 1 GBethernet). My TC is an old 1st-gen one so maybe this has changed, but the best thoughput I get (again, wired, not WiFi), is around 10 G-bytes per second. That's less than 1/10th of a HDD throughput, isn't it? So whether "it works" for you depends upon what you are using the storage for, I guess.