Can I use AirPort Extreme to share multiple drives (2-4) on my network?

[alexreich]

I'm looking to enhance my network, because things seem a bit slow. I would also like to have networked storage. The Time Capsule seems great and all, but it's $120 more than a AirPort Extreme ($179 vs. $299). I've been conversing online with some people, and I've been getting the idea that you can share a drive (or multiple drives via a powered USB hub) with the AirPort Extreme?

What I would like to do, is share my 1TB external hard drive that has all my Media (Music, Movies, Podcasts, Mobile Apps), and share my Time-Machine designated 1TB hard drive over my network. Is this fully supported/possible with the 2011 AirPort Extreme?

...and when I say possible/supported, I mean is this something that requires no tweaking, hacking, or fiddling with things. Supported as in made to perform the stated task.

Also, if those things are possible, is it possible to Eject/Unmount the Volume(s) connected to the AirPort extreme, so I can shut them down without damaging the data on them when I'm not at home, or going somewhere for a few days?
I don't want my drives to die because they're on 24/7, 365 days a year.

Thanks for your advice!
-Alex

 

[Intell]

Yes, you can attach multiple disk via a powered USB hub. Just remember, it will get a bit slow. There is a "Disconnect All Users..." button in Airport Utility that needs to be clicked so a disk can be removed. It only needs to be clicked if users are connected to a disk though. It doesn't do just one disk, it disconnects all users from all disks. Lastly, Airport Extremes and Time Capsules can only read HFS+ (Mac) or FAT32 disks, not NTFS (Windows).

 

[alexreich]

About being slow.

What if only one drive was active at a Time? Say most of the time I'd only be streaming media from my iTunes Library. If I was about to backup my computer via Time Machine, I'd stop streaming iTunes and backup my machine.

Would that stop any traffic issues that would cause low speeds?

EDIT: I only use Mac OS (Extended-Journaled), and Mac OS Extended. All should be fine in that area.

 

[stefmesman]

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External hdd"s on a time capsule or aebs are very slow compared to normal usb. Most of the time it hovers between 10MBs an 20MBs. Streaming is possible thou

 

[alexreich]

Close thread.

Too much of a hassle. I'll just stay wired.