I generally find that the people you call on the phone aren't briefed about anything other then what is on the website. Apple's website doesn't list anything different about the New Airport Extreme. However if you go to the links I posted in regards to the FCC reports for both the previous and current model, you will see that there is indeed a change in regards to the radio performance.
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Apple to Launch Cheaper AirPort Extreme, 3TB Time Capsule
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I generally find that the people you call on the phone aren't briefed about anything other then what is on the website. Apple's website doesn't list anything different about the New Airport Extreme. However if you go to the links I posted in regards to the FCC reports for both the previous and current model, you will see that there is indeed a change in regards to the radio performance.
I spoke with an online person. But probably same scenario. So you are saying it should have better signal strength?
Indeed. According to the FCC reports for both the previous and current model, the range should be significantly improved for g and n networks. I will know for sure soon enough, I ordered mine today. My 4th gen was a victim of a thunderstorm last week.
Oh no... it is not cheaper, doesn't run iOS, is not smaller, costs $200 for 1TB more, and it doesn't store iOS updates, isn't an iTunes media server, does not support AirPlay, .................
So my 2009 AEBS with external drive is still the best combination.. thanks Apple for stopping me from spending again and again on your products
So my 2009 AEBS with external drive is still the best combination.. thanks Apple for stopping me from spending again and again on your products
Oh no... it is not cheaper, doesn't run iOS, is not smaller, costs $200 for 1TB more, and it doesn't store iOS updates, isn't an iTunes media server, does not support AirPlay, .................
So my 2009 AEBS with external drive is still the best combination.. thanks Apple for stopping me from spending again and again on your products
Not too sure about that.. AEBS with USB-attached "AirDrive" makes for one dog of a slow NAS. And you have to have two separate devices powered up.
The way to look at this update - Apple just dropped the price on 2TB TC by $200. $299 for a 2TB NAS with integrated AEX router isn't a terrible teal.
The 2TB Time Capsule at $299 isn't too bad of a deal. That being said, I really think the 3TB version should be coming in at $399 instead of $499. A $200 premium for 1TB is fairly ridiculous.
Honest question here -- how is an AEBS with USB-attached drive significantly slower than a TC? At least over wireless, transfer speeds wouldn't be limited by the relatively-slow USB 2.0 connection...
I can't answer any technical part of that question, but I do use a AEBS with a USB drive attached. Actually, I have a USB hub attached to it, and then my printer and HD are attached.
I usually copy back and forth 1 GB files. It's not that slow man. It's not a dog. I honestly would pretty much say the only speed limit is the WiFi connection.
I've transfered over CAT6, and speeds are still pathetic. There's something up with the AirPort Extreme hardware that causes USB to transfer at only a fraction of its full speed. Like, only a few MB/s.
My experience is very similar to yours. With both my iMac and my MacBook Pro I get ~100Mbps throughput when moving files to and from the USB drive connected to my AEBS. Ethernet connections might be another story, but I just don't see how a TC's performance would significantly beat an AEBS+USB drive combo's performance over wireless. Plus, I have 4TB worth of "NAS" space connected to my AEBS (one 1TB drive and one 3TB drive) for less than the cost of a 3TB TC.
Why does everyone keep assuming Wireless connectivity? Time Capsule comes with Gigabit Ethernet wired ports. If you're like me and move a lot of data around (think 6GB video files) or do large backups - Gigabit wired NAS is the only way to go.
USB-attached AEBS "AirDisk" can maybe support ~6MB/s throughput (based on real world results posted in Apple support forums). So you're talking about over 15 minute transfer time for a 6GB file, versus little over 1 minute with my Gigabit-wired TC. No thanks.
If one is actually wired into the GIGE, then yes. I think the only real variance for the TC vs. AEBS + USB harddrive solution is that the USB2.0 is capped at about 400MB, probably real world only 250MB max. With GIGE, you MIGHT be able be BEAT that, so could use the internal hard drive speed, but over 802.11N, your bottleneck is going to be the wireless and not the read/write speed of the USB vs. internal.
Personally, for the $$, I would probably go AEBS plus USB drives which can be purchased for much lower prices than apple charges, swapped out over time, daisy chained (I believe) or put on with a HUB allowing both redundant backup or segregated usage. It is probably also easier to get green drives and more robust drives than what apple has historically put into the TC solutions.
Where is the information that says the throughput to the external USB is capped at 6MB/s
OK, first off, UBS 2.0 theoretical top speed is 480 Mbit/s (that's bits), which translates to 60MB (bytes). I don't know where you got 400MB, but that's incorrect. Real-world read speeds of USB-attached hard drives range in ~35MB/s ballpark, write speeds are lower.
The AirDisk speeds fall WAY below that. Do some searches on Apple support forums - there is a number of threads with people complaining about poor throughput (5-7MB) of their AEBS/AirDisk setups.
GigE theoretical speed is 120MB/s, real world speeds probably around 80MB. More than double of USB 2.0 speeds.
You can't daisy-chain USB drives, unless you mean putting multiple drives on the same Hub. In that case, you're sharing single USB bus bandwidth between multiple drives, and your effective throughput is even worse. Also keep in mind that self-upgrading TC drives isn't a very difficult process (although not officially supported by Apple). I can quite easily upgrade my 2TB TC to a 4TB, when 3.5" 4TB drives start shipping.
At the end of the day - if you want high-performance reliable NAS - I would most certainly go with TC. If you want to save a few bucks and performance isn't important to you - AEBS+USB drive may be a good option.
Really? I get consistent 12-13MB/s throughput between the USB hard drive attached to my AEBS and both my iMac and MBP (which are both on a different floor than the AEBS) all day long.
