Apple Time Capsule & General Networking Help Really Needed!

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

Forgive my ignorance as I seem to have some difficulty understanding networking & need some advice & help. Currently, in my room upstairs, I have my own telephone line & internet. There is also another telephone line & internet connection from another provider for the rest of the house (I am in the UK).

In my room, there is a modem/router that is connected to a Time Capsule & I do wireless Back-Ups to this from my Macbook Pro. I will soon be getting rid of this dedicated telephone line & internet connection in my room & use the one the rest of the house uses but the issue here is that the Router is located downstairs connected to the telephone master socket. I need to be able to connect my TC to this Router to maintain my current Back-Ups & continue Backing Up wirelessly but wish to still keep the TC in my room upstairs.

Very important - I must be able to connect things in such a way that everything stays the same with regards to the Time Capsule, Time Machine & currently Assigned/Named Wifi Accounts without losing any data & which will continue to allow me to do wireless back ups in sequence where they left off.

I cannot run hard wired Ethernet Cables throughout the house so will have to rely on Power-Line Plugs (PLP’s) - I have just got some TP-Link 1200Mbps ones with 3 Ports but they do not transmit any WiFi. I wish to connect the TC to these PLP’s in my room as well some other equipment that I currently have & also allow for the devices I will soon be getting & for some extra spare ports for any future needs.

I know I will need extra ports & have read on a few reviews that have stated to gain such, all one has to do is connect a multi-port ethernet switch but I do not know if that means the speed/performance will decrease in relation to the number of ports & devices being used or if it stays at maximum to all devices regardless of how many ports are being used.

As I have no real understanding on how best to set up & connect everything and what to use, I have just taken a novice approach in what I *assume* might be the sort of thing to do but not sure if it is even remotely correct or would work well in reality. I have attached 3 images below labelled A, B & C as examples in an effort to convey what I am trying to achieve but seek advice on whether I am on the right path or not & how it should ideally be done. I just chose the connection ports & paths at random so have no idea if what is shown on the attachments is correct as I am not clued up on which ports to use with which devices & in what order etc. You will notice on the images, that on the TC, 3 of it’s ports are free - that is only because I did not know what I should connect there if anything.

I would be extremely grateful if anyone could guide me on how best to set everything up, what to connect where & what options to use - 1) two or more 3 Port PLP's, 2) One 3-Port PLP & an Ethernet Switch 3) One 3-Port PLP & two Ethernet Switches etc.

I think I read there are different types of Switches so would need to ensure I get the ones that work properly & automatically with everything when finally set up - are there any in particular I should look for?

If my thought processes are completely wrong, then please very kindly inform me of the correct way to do everything!

Many Kind Thanks!

Bazzy!

 

[satcomer]

What you have to remember the first thing in home networking with "routers" is a golden rule! the rule is the closet router to the 'modem' is the router that should do NAT(Network Address Translation - public IPs to home Private IPs) routing and any router after that main router should haves NAT TURNED OFF!!!

Apple routers call NAT turned off "Bridged Mode"! So if you still want to backup to that Time Capsule Turn it into "Bridged Mode" and turn off the wireless function in the Main FIOS router! This way if you ever decide to "upgrade" that wireless Capsule you can just replace it in the future with screwing up the rest of your network. Even if you get another grade of wireless router to replace the Capsule you just have to be able to make sure you can turn of NAT in that router.

No wireless standards have been up[grading about once every 3-5 years. If you want to learn about the differences in wireless frequencies speeds read the Wikipedia IEEE 802.11 document. The current speeds router is wireless AC is fastest you can get today!

Now with Powerline needs more modern power lines in your home. If your home is more than 2 years old you might have older electoral wire in you home!

 

[Bazzy]

What you have to remember the first thing in home networking with "routers" is a golden rule! the rule is the closet router to the 'modem' is the router that should do NAT(Network Address Translation - public IPs to home Private IPs) routing and any router after that main router should haves NAT TURNED OFF!!!

Apple routers call NAT turned off "Bridged Mode"! So if you still want to backup to that Time Capsule Turn it into "Bridged Mode" and turn off the wireless function in the Main FIOS router! This way if you ever decide to "upgrade" that wireless Capsule you can just replace it in the future with screwing up the rest of your network. Even if you get another grade of wireless router to replace the Capsule you just have to be able to make sure you can turn of NAT in that router.

No wireless standards have been up[grading about once every 3-5 years. If you want to learn about the differences in wireless frequencies speeds read the Wikipedia IEEE 802.11 document. The current speeds router is wireless AC is fastest you can get today!

Now with Powerline needs more modern power lines in your home. If your home is more than 2 years old you might have older electoral wire in you home!

Hi Satcomer,

Many kind thanks for your kind reply! Please be aware that I just get very confused with this networking thing & am not too bright with computers at the best of times but just so I can check I understood things correctly (if at all!):

1) If I wish to continue to use my existing TC as it is (to do wireless back ups & use Time Machine etc), is to use the Router that the ISP gave downstairs as the main Router (set up to serve the whole house) but if I then connect my TC upstairs to this ISP supplied Router downstairs via a Home Plug and/or Ethernet Switch, then I must ensure that the TC is set to "Bridged Mode" somehow.

2) If I turn off the WiFi Function on the ISP supplied Router, then will my TC upstairs be responsible for providing WiFi to the rest of the house - have I understood this correctly? If so, I wonder if this will be strong enough to radiate to the ground floor below for decent coverage? It is a brick & tile construction house with Plaster & Lathe type internal walls.

3) Any Router that is connected to the telephone line will usually have a modem also built in as well as WiFi so if this telephone connected Router is ever replaced, I have to ensure that it's "NAT" setting is turned off & this makes it into a modem only? I also have to ensure that the TC is always in Bridged Mode? How do I turn "NATS" off may I ask?

4) If I have say a spare (or can get a hold of one) TC, can I also use that as a Main Router when connected to the ISP supplied Router/Modem with the NATS turned off? If so, can this TC talk to my TC upstairs so a) the whole house gets good WiFi coverage & I can still do my wireless back-ups, keep my existing WiFi Accounts & access Time Machine wireslessly? I think this would be akin to using the second TC downstairs as an Airport Extreme without using the storage side of things?

5) My home was built around 1925 & had a complete re-wire about 30 years ago. Luckily I know Home-plugs are working upstairs but do not know how to check how well they operate in terms of speed.

6) May I ask, what do you feel would be the best connection options from the graphics I posted in my first post & which would work best (if any)? I also made a couple more with the Home-Plugs directly feeding my TC & then linking a Ethernet Switch to the TC & connecting all devices needed from the switch (see graphics D & E) - just trying to cover all bases/options in the hope that one at least will be correct or will work well!.

Many Kind Thanks,

Bazzy!

 

[Altemose]

If you wanted to, you could use the Time Capsule strictly as a NAS with the Wi-Fi off. You would need it to be in bridge mode and be connected to the ISP modem/router in order for it to work.

 

[satcomer]

You have to think of wireless and DHCP function differently.

1. Yea turning off NAT in any Apple Router is putting that Apple router in "Bridged Mode".

2. Just turn off the wireless function will NOT turn off DHCP!
3. If you put the wireless smartly near the stairwell it should cover the whole house.

4. Just turn off the 'wireless' in the ISP router. Then with an Ethernet CAT 6 cable to the Time Capsule and in the Capsule just turn it into "Bridged mode". The Capsule should do both G & N at the same time. Just name the 5 Ghz section slightly differently then the 2.4 name. This way you can tell what frequency you are connecting too.

5. If your house is THAT old then forget using power line adapters to extend your network, they won't work in your old house!

 

[LiveM]

Now with Powerline needs more modern power lines in your home. If your home is more than 2 years old you might have older electoral wire in you home!

Our home is about 40 years old and I find powerline adaptors work well.

 

[satcomer]

Our home is about 40 years old and I find powerline adaptors work well.

Then you live in a condo or apartment!

 

[LiveM]

Nope. Freestanding house!

 

[Weaselboy]

Now with Powerline needs more modern power lines in your home. If your home is more than 2 years old you might have older electoral wire in you home!

Did you really mean to say two years there, or was that a typo? My house is 28 years old and has the exact same copper Romex type wiring going back to circuit breakers as a house built today. If a Powerline device works in a new home, it would work in mine. There is zero difference in the wiring.

 

[Altemose]

Most any electrical system from the 60s to present will work fine with power line networking adapters. The problem is when you get into really old houses with copper chicken wire and poor grounds with a lot of electrical noise on the lines.