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Multiple Time Capsules - Daisychain or Spidered from the Router?

MacHiavelli

MacHiavelli

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 17, 2007
1,256
940
new york
Hi

Currently have:
  • 3 OSX 10.5.7 Macs
  • 3 XP PCs
  • 1 Time capsule which acts as a central server with the files shared by the Macs/PCs.
  • The TC is connected via its WAN port to a SpeedTouch router (with 4 ethernet ports) which gives all the PCs access to the internet.
  • The SpeedTouch handles the DHCP addressing for the Macs/PCs and the Time Capsule.
  • The Macs and PCs connect to the network with a mix of ethernet to the TC, ethernet to the SpeedTouch, wireless to the TC, and wireless to the SpeedTouch.
  • The TC has one wireless network (for one end of the house) and the SpeedTouch has another wireless network (which serves the other end of the house).

I want to add a second Time Capsule to the network which will be used (via Retrospect backup software) as a backup of the first Time Capsule's hard drive. I will situate the second TC next to the SpeedTouch as the second TC should give a better wireless network signal - which means I can turn off the SpeedTouch's wireless network.

The TCs have gigabit ethernet. The SpeedToouch only has 10/100 ethernet.

To maximise the speed of the backup between the two Time Capsules, it would make sense for them to be connected directly with Cat6 cable. But can I do that?

TC1 to TC2 via the LAN ports or via the WAN ports?
If I use the WAN ports, I won't be able to connect the TCs to the SpeedTouch!!!

So can I go TC1 to TC2 via LAN and then TC1 to SpeedTouch via the TC1 WAN port?

Or should I forget about having a direct link between the TCs and instead go TC1 WAN to SpeedTouch, and TC2 WAN to SpeedTouch as well?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks
 
Do you need the "speedtouch" anymore? Why don't you replace the speedtouch entirely with the time capsule?

your 3 wired coputers will plug into the time capsule,

time caspule (new) will have it's WAN port connected to a LAN ethernet port on time capsule (original),

and time capsule (new) will be set to replicate/bridge the wireless network already established by tc (original)

And isn't a time capsule a gigabit router?
 
One option to consider would be to buy an inexpensive gigabit switch, hang that immediately off of the router, and then plug all wired connections into that. Everything wired could then talk at gigabit locally. When going to the router, it'd still drop to 100Mpbs, but as long as your Internet service is slower than that, that'd not be a bottleneck.

How close is the first TC located to the SpeedTouch?
How close would the second TC be located to the SpeedTouch?

And is the Retrospect software an automated solution, or something you'd run manually?
 
termina3 said:
Do you need the "speedtouch" anymore? Why don't you replace the speedtouch entirely with the time capsule?

your 3 wired coputers will plug into the time capsule,

time caspule (new) will have it's WAN port connected to a LAN ethernet port on time capsule (original),

and time capsule (new) will be set to replicate/bridge the wireless network already established by tc (original)

And isn't a time capsule a gigabit router?
Click to expand...


Many thanks.

I need the SpeedTouch because (in the UK) it provides the broadband connection for the internet.

The TC is a gigabit router, but at some point I have to connect that to a broadband modem/router (to get the internet connection). The SpeedTouch only has a 10/100 switch for the ethernet ports .... so it is slower than the gigabit provided by the TC. And when I am linking from one PC attached to a TC to another PC attached to the SpeedTouch, the computer attached to the SpeedTouch only gets a 10/100 connection ;-(

Cheers!
 
aristobrat said:
One option to consider would be to buy an inexpensive gigabit switch, hang that immediately off of the router, and then plug all wired connections into that. Everything wired could then talk at gigabit locally. When going to the router, it'd still drop to 100Mpbs, but as long as your Internet service is slower than that, that'd not be a bottleneck.

How close is the first TC located to the SpeedTouch?
How close would the second TC be located to the SpeedTouch?

And is the Retrospect software an automated solution, or something you'd run manually?
Click to expand...

MANY THANKS! :D

Sounds like a good idea.

I could use 1 TC (WAN to LAN) into the ST at 10/100 to get the internet connection (only 8 mb max in the UK where I am - so that's fine).

If I can connect the second TC to the first TC via LAN to WAN, then I can hook all the PCs off the two TCs and get gigabit ethernet all round for the network ... just the internet would be slower. As such, the second TC would be the second gigabit switch, I guess.

First TC is 10 metres from the ST.
Second TC would sit underneath the ST - 1 inch ;-)

And the Retrospect is an automated solution for backup (runs 3 times a day)

CHEERS!!!!!!!!! :D
 
I may be wrong about this because I don't actually have a TC:

With my connection, daisy chaining routers like you have, I connect them via their LAN ports. So it would be

SpeedTouch 10/100 LAN to TC1 WAN
TC1 LAN to TC2 LAN.

This would leave you with 4 ethernet ports that will all be connected with gigabit speed. On the second time capsule, be sure to turn of the DHCP. Using the TC1 as the router would probably be the fastest.
 
jhsfosho said:
I may be wrong about this because I don't actually have a TC:

With my connection, daisy chaining routers like you have, I connect them via their LAN ports. So it would be

SpeedTouch 10/100 LAN to TC1 WAN
TC1 LAN to TC2 LAN.

This would leave you with 4 ethernet ports that will all be connected with gigabit speed. On the second time capsule, be sure to turn of the DHCP. Using the TC1 as the router would probably be the fastest.
Click to expand...

Hey Dude

Many thanks for the reply. OK - TC1 LAN to TC2 LAN - which would leave TC1 and TC2 each with 2 free LAN ports (and an empty WAN port on TC2). Sounds OK to me. I guess TC2 is just acting as a LAN switch, so it would make sense to go LAN to LAN with TC1 rather than LAN to WAN as I first thought!

At the moment the DHCP is run by the SpeedTouch and is turned off on TC1 (because sometimes I have TC1 turned off completely but still need internet/network connection via the SpeedTouch).

If I add TC2, I will also turn off DHCP on that and let the SpeedTouch keep control of the network addressing.

I know - from agonising experience - that Time Capsule's 7.4.1 firmware has problems with allowing Windows PCs to have access to the drives. Reverting to 7.3.2 fixes this issue.

I guess a new TC would come with 7.4.1 pre-loaded. Just hope I will be able to revert that TC to 7.3.2.

Appreciate your advice - a lot!

:D
 
aristobrat said:
I don't know if 7.3.2 supports the simultaneous dual-band/guest network/etc stuff on the new TC.
Click to expand...

I wondered about that as well. Guess I'll have to find out if the new TCs (my TC1 is an original TC bought about a week after they were first launched) have problems with Windows.

Cheers!
 
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