AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule ?

[alexxn]

So I'm thinking of replacing my aging Linksys Router and want to kill 2 birds with one stone -

Do I either:

1) Get an AirPort Extreme Router and hook my existing 2TB USB Drive to it (it's partitioned for Data and Time Machine)

OR

2) Get a Time Capsule with a 2TB Hard Drive ?

Obviously option 1 is cheaper (I already have the drive) but are there any other benefits to the Time Capsule other than everything is in one unit and I don't need 2 power outlets, etc ?

Thanks !

 

[lexvo]

Option 1 is cheaper but keep in mind that this option is not officially supported by Apple for Time Machine backup.

 

[alexxn]

Option 1 is cheaper but keep in mind that this option is not officially supported by Apple for Time Machine backup.

OK, I'm really not too concerned with Apple supporting it or not though

 

[mfram]

I would just buy the TC and get it over with. You can attach your existing drive to the TC as well. So the space isn't lost.

The problem with getting something that's "not supported" is when you need to restore. Sure, you can coerce your Mac to back up to the AEBS. But you aren't going to be able to coerce it when you need to restore. And that's when you really need it.

Also, keep in mind that the data format when using TM over the network is different than when directly attached. Your existing TM backups aren't going to "transfer" easily. You can either do work to transfer the data... there are probably instructions on the net. Or you can just start your backups over from scratch.

 

[alexxn]

I would just buy the TC and get it over with. You can attach your existing drive to the TC as well. So the space isn't lost.

The problem with getting something that's "not supported" is when you need to restore. Sure, you can coerce your Mac to back up to the AEBS. But you aren't going to be able to coerce it when you need to restore. And that's when you really need it.

Also, keep in mind that the data format when using TM over the network is different than when directly attached. Your existing TM backups aren't going to "transfer" easily. You can either do work to transfer the data... there are probably instructions on the net. Or you can just start your backups over from scratch.

OK, I'm understanding this now. I really have no issues starting Time Machine backups over from scratch - there's a considerable price difference however between an AirportExtreme and a 2 TB Time Capsule though

Would Time Machine behave OK to back up and restore to my USB drive if I started new Time Machine backups from scratch ?

 

[Weaselboy]

Would Time Machine behave OK to back up and restore to my USB drive if I started new Time Machine backups from scratch ?

Yes, that would work just fine.