Backing up or all-in-one ?

[Tech198]

Looking for a good backup solution. However, I already have a Billion 7800N, I am ready to sell it, as i'm eyeing on the Airport Expreme as a replacment.

We have two networked computers, one Mac, and one PC, but most are all Apple including APple TV.

However, I was wondering weather a Airport Extreme would be a easuer option, than just adding a Time Capsule 2TB to the mix.

I'm not really concerned with RAID, and to save money, if needed, i could utilise the USB port on these for external storage.. and have multiple backups anyway.

I'll get two drives, one for home use, and the other one i'll take with me when i'm out, also USB flash too.


Is ths a good solution? and should I just "add" a Time Capsuale, or replace current wireless router with AIrport extreme, and add 1 or 2TB external HD ?

 

[Panch0]

Time Capsule is basically an AirPort Extreme with a built in HDD. With either a TC, or AEBS + External Drive, you don't need to keep another router on-line.

I personally prefer the AEBS + External option, because drives fail and I'd rather be able to just switch drives and leave my network in place.

To me the only advantage to Time Capsule is reduced clutter - one less device, cable and power brick.

 

[Tech198]

...

ok thankx

Wasan't till i checked and both clearly said "Connect your DSL or cable to the AIrport Extreme..." which tells me i'm gonna need a router anyway, as it will need to connect to the internet since it will be my only device.. none of these have DSL ports...

I thoght these were are routers as well, and not just a backup... my bad. May be easier then getting a NAS.

 

[blevins321]

ok thankx

Wasan't till i checked and both clearly said "Connect your DSL or cable to the AIrport Extreme..." which tells me i'm gonna need a router anyway, as it will need to connect to the internet... none of these have DSL ports...

I thoght these were are router as well, and not just a backup over your my bad.

It's not another router that you'd need. You'd need the modem from your ISP.

 

[wgnoyes]

ok thankx

Wasan't till i checked and both clearly said "Connect your DSL or cable to the AIrport Extreme..." which tells me i'm gonna need a router anyway, as it will need to connect to the internet since it will be my only device.. none of these have DSL ports...

I thoght these were are routers as well, and not just a backup... my bad. May be easier then getting a NAS.

The Airport Extreme (and the Time Capsule for that matter) IS a router. You run a cable from your dsl modem to the dsl port on the AE/TC, and run cables from that to your computers, or access wirelessly. If you need more CAT5 jacks than the AE/TC has, add a switch to the mix.

 

[Panch0]

A lot of ISPs provide what's called a "Gateway Device", which is essentially a Wireless Router (not usually a very good one) with a modem built in. If you want to use a different Router, like an AEBS or TC to get different features, you can ask your ISP to swap your current device for a Modem (as posted before), or you can put your gateway device into Bridge Mode, so it just passes through the external connection. This turns off all of it's routing functions and makes it appear like a modem. You should make sure the wireless network on the device is also turned off. Your ISP probably has a support FAQ on how to put your device into Bridge Mode.

[EDIT] Your ISP Tech Support will probably tell you you won't get support on your new router. They give out specific devices so that they don't have to know anything about all of the 3rd party devices out there. They'll still support your connection, but you'll be on your own once they confirm signal to your house. Not a big deal - I never got any better advice than "Reboot Everything" out of them anyway...

 

[babens]

I'm not sure if I'm downgrading my performance by doing this, but I didn't even bother putting the modem/wireless router combo that I have from Time Warner into bridge mode. I just plugged the new wireless router I bought right into it and just ignore the original network that Time Warner set up when they did the installation.

 

[Panch0]

I'm not sure if I'm downgrading my performance by doing this, but I didn't even bother putting the modem/wireless router combo that I have from Time Warner into bridge mode. I just plugged the new wireless router I bought right into it and just ignore the original network that Time Warner set up when they did the installation.

That's called "Dual-NAT" and it can cause issues. If you aren't experiencing any flaky network issues, you don't have to worry about it, but it's not an 'ideal' setup. AEBS will detect that it's in a Dual-NAT setup and disable some of it's features to help prevent conflicts. Note that a Wireless Router is different from a Wireless Access Point. A Router is doing all kinds of networky stuff, but an Access point is mostly dumb - it's like a switch without the wires - no services, just ports.