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Data Transfer

L

LCB1980

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 12, 2015
46
0
Scotland, U.K.
Hi there,

I'm just back from the Apple store where they advised me that the best way to transfer 1.5TB of data from one time capsule to another was to connect them both to my wireless modem/router. They said to make sure that both Time Capsules were mounted on the desktop and to simply drag and drop the files over. The Genius said that the data would transfer through the LAN cables and not WiFi.

However, it's quoting 15 hours to transfer 510GB.

Also, when I shut down my MacBook Pro to take it to a friends with me when I got home I found the data transfer had stopped. This suggests that the data is going over WiFi after all. After all, you would think that if the data was being transferred by cable then why would my laptop be needed for this to happen? Or, am I missing something?



Liam. :)
 
dyt1983 said:
It's going through your Mac, wirelessly. You need to hook your Mac up with the wire as well.
Click to expand...

But then it's still going through my Mac. I need a solution where the Mac isn't involved at all (apart from initiating the transfer using drag n drop) as I need to take my Mac out and about with me.

Besides, I have the rMBP without the LAN port and I don't want to spend £25 on an adaptor I'll use once or twice. :(
 
dyt1983 said:
There isn't one, so if you don't want to spend £25 then you'll just have to wait 15 hours maybe overnight when you won't take your Mac. Turn off sleep just in case. I don't think the archive function from AirPort Utility will be able to do what you need, besides it would involve disassembling one time capsule to get the drive out.
Click to expand...

Oh, O.K. :(

I guess the 'Genius' isn't quite so clever after all. :(

If I did spend £25 on the adaptor, how much quicker is it likely to make it?
 
dyt1983 said:
Yeah, everyone makes mistakes. :(

A little over 1TB a minute maybe? Depends on your network.
Click to expand...

1TB per minute? Seriously? :eek:

Someone told the Ethernet cables I'm using might not be up to scratch either.

One is a Category 5E and the other a Category 6 Patch cable. Will this restrict the data transfer either over WiFi or if I buy the connector?
 
dyt1983 said:
Sorry, my iPad dictation turned 1GB to 1TB. That's where those "mistakes" things come in. ;)

I'm copying right now from a Mac Mini hooked directly to an AirPort Time Capsule and get a little over 2GB a minute (20GB in 9 minutes estimated, and slightly less actual). Since the bottleneck for that is probably the 1000BASE-T, and you're copying in and out of one machine, it would probably be half. Cables that don't have errors are definitely helpful in keeping max speed up in a long copy.
Click to expand...

Ahhhh.;)

By cable issues I meant one being CAT 5 and other being CAT 6 Patch. It's OK to mix these up then? They are both new so shouldn't have any errors or damage. (can you tell I'm a novice at this? :rolleyes: )
 
Last edited:
dyt1983 said:
I don't know for sure but I think it's OK. I use Cat 5 and 5e all the time and don't have speed issues. Just as a benchmark, copying the same data from the TC to my rMBP over 5GHz 802.11ac with a current Tx rate of between 800-1000mbps took about 18-20 minutes... so going in/out on the same wireless connection would take about twice as long. That's why I am pretty sure using a wire would really help you out.
Click to expand...

Thanks. :)

I might see if I can pick one up tomorrow.
 
dyt1983 said:
Need? Just one. If you had two, then you'd probably have to set up the Airports separately on different networks, or at the least force routes to use two, and I think that's too much work for the benefit.
Click to expand...

OK,

And one last thing. Will me taking the laptop out of the loop (so to speak) have corrupted the transfer at all? It seemed to pick up where it left off once I got home and reconnected to the WiFi.
 
LCB1980 said:
OK,

And one last thing. Will me taking the laptop out of the loop (so to speak) have corrupted the transfer at all? It seemed to pick up where it left off once I got home and reconnected to the WiFi.
Click to expand...

Plug in your computer, through ethernet, to your router.

Plug both time capsules, through ethernet, to that same router.

Turn off wi-fi on your MBP so that it doesn't decide it wants to go through wi-fi instead of ethernet.

Mount both time capsules.

Initiate transfer.

You should see speeds of around 45 to 50MB/s. I'll let you do the math on the time it'll take.
 
LCB1980 said:
Can anyone explain this?

This is using WiFi

[url=http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w636/MiniMalts/WiFi_zpsfp4f2nw6.png]Image[/URL]


And this is using Ethernet (and yes, the WiFi is off)

[url=http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w636/MiniMalts/Ethernet_zpsg5glll38.png]Image[/URL]
Click to expand...

Don't mind the estimate. In both, the transfer just started, so the estimate is still very inaccurate. But, it is going to take a while. 500+GB is a lot of data, and ethernet tops out at 125 MB/s theoretical max speed (1GB=1024MB). In practice, it's more like 60-70MB/s. Still way faster than wifi! Thunderbolt would be the fastest, but the cables are expensive. Thunderbolt is about 10x faster than ethernet, theoretically.
 
I think the 3TB Time Capsule is faulty (bought used) as whilst writing data it makes an odd noise (not the HD spinning, this noise is over and above that) but only periodically and when I place my hand on the Time Capsule when it's happening I can feel a slight vibration.

I've just returned it to the shop but they want to test it before offering a refund.

Any thoughts?
 
LCB1980 said:
I think the 3TB Time Capsule is faulty (bought used) as whilst writing data it makes an odd noise (not the HD spinning, this noise is over and above that) but only periodically and when I place my hand on the Time Capsule when it's happening I can feel a slight vibration.

I've just returned it to the shop but they want to test it before offering a refund.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'd get a different model. The performance on it is not as good as other options.

Maybe this: http://www.amazon.com/RT-AC68U-Wire...qid=1426273363&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+router+ac

and, plug in an external hard drive
 
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dyt1983 said:
See what the shop says. It's a lot easier to diagnose things in front of you than via words over the internet. ;)

Also, get some sleep. Unless you're waiting for F1 practice & qualifying.
Click to expand...

Well, the shop in question doesn't exactly have the best reputation. If I'd bought it new from any normal shop they would take it back and refund it. These guys want to test it but I don't have much hope in them even being to set the thing the thing up as the person who is testing it today admitted to not knowing a thing about Macs.
 
LCB1980 said:
I think the 3TB Time Capsule is faulty (bought used) as whilst writing data it makes an odd noise (not the HD spinning, this noise is over and above that) but only periodically and when I place my hand on the Time Capsule when it's happening I can feel a slight vibration.

I've just returned it to the shop but they want to test it before offering a refund.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

If it's the older style Time Capsule, sounds off. I have one. It makes no noise to speak of. I think you might have a drive going south.

I will say that the AC68U suggestion is a decent one. I moved to that router from using the TC as my router and it's extremely easy to configure and capable. The TC is now just a client on the network; I disabled all the access point functions.

I also have an external drive hooked to the AC68U to cover my laptop (the 3 TB Capsule only barely accommodates my 3 TB iMac :/) and Time Machine works just as well through that as the TC, and it's probably faster. The TC is truly butt-slow.
 
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