Need NAS for PC/Mac backups and file sharing - Time Capsule or WD My Cloud

[sick z33]

I have a Time Capsule now that does Time Machine backups great, but its painfully slow in using it for any kind of file sharing across my machines, especially when trying to copy files to it.

Would a NAS solution such as MyCloud Mirror be a faster option? The slowness of the Time Capsules have always been an issue apparently, especially when doing an initial large backup on a new Mac or PC.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ColdCase]

Not much faster compared to the Time Capsule internal drive if any. I have a Synology NAS and current generation Time Capsule and they are both slow, the TC actually a little faster in benchmarks. A USB drive plugged in is even slower, but thats the same for any NAS. Using wired ethernet instead of wireless makes a big difference.

File transfers to an from my mini server (attached RAID0 array) are over twice as fast as either the Synology or TC.

Don't use anything but a Apple approved product for a Time Machine destination. There are a lot of vendors claiming support and there have been many that have had good luck, many not so much. Use something like CCC instead.

 

[Pieterr]

I have a Time Capsule now that does Time Machine backups great, but its painfully slow in using it for any kind of file sharing across my machines, especially when trying to copy files to it. Would a NAS solution such as MyCloud Mirror be a faster option?

Yes. A current NAS such as e.g. Synology DS214 provides way faster access to your data over the network. A Time Capsule is nice for doing Time Machine backups, but not so good as a general network storage device.

 

[ColdCase]

Yes. A current NAS such as e.g. Synology DS214 provides way faster access to your data over the network. A Time Capsule is nice for doing Time Machine backups, but not so good as a general network storage device.

My real world experience is to the contrary. Synology NAS, at least on the entry end of the scale like a 214, are slow, about the same real world data rates as a TC. NAS a bit faster writing, TC a bit faster reading. Both are slow, however.

 

[doobry]

I have a QNAP NAS which does a good job of pretending to be a time capsule and gives you plenty of other storage space for media etc. And as mine can take 6 4TB drives, it has waaaaaaaay more space than any time capsule

 

[AFEPPL]

Yes. A current NAS such as e.g. Synology DS214 provides way faster access to your data over the network. A Time Capsule is nice for doing Time Machine backups, but not so good as a general network storage device.

Time capsule is painfully slow compared to just about anything.
Synology will work very well indeed, unlike a mini it has an aggragated 2Gb connection or fault tolerant Ethernet to start with and is designed to serve data over the network.

In any test the results will always be limited by the bottle neck - in the example above wifi will never be a good idea and it sounds like it was over the old N band or poorly configured. The DS414 I have is faster at writing/reading than it is to my mini, but I guess it depends on the configuration to an extent. Ie if you are running a speed test to a device with flash in, well a 5400RPM spindle based drive configuration will struggle...

Look at what you want to do and take it from there.
I can stream to 5 ATVs with high quality rips from blurays (that I own) without the synology missing a beat, while also ripping and moving large files to the NAS device.

 

[mtbdudex]

I have a Time Capsule now that does Time Machine backups great, but its painfully slow in using it for any kind of file sharing across my machines, especially when trying to copy files to it.

Would a NAS solution such as MyCloud Mirror be a faster option? The slowness of the Time Capsules have always been an issue apparently, especially when doing an initial large backup on a new Mac or PC.

Thanks in advance!

What did you end up buying?
Give a report on your experiences please, thx in advance.

 

[arggg14]

I use a WD MyCloud Mirror and I have nothing but good things to say about it. My connection ranges from 60-90mbps. It works great for time machine backups and remotely from the my cloud app or web browser.

 

[3587]

I use a WD MyCloud Mirror and I have nothing but good things to say about it. My connection ranges from 60-90mbps. It works great for time machine backups and remotely from the my cloud app or web browser.

Did you try My Cloud Mirror Sync at all? I just got it today and am debating if I even need to setup Time Machine backups to the Mirror. Sync should keep all my files in sync and still allow me full access from my iPad and iPhone, no?

 

[arggg14]

Did you try My Cloud Mirror Sync at all? I just got it today and am debating if I even need to setup Time Machine backups to the Mirror. Sync should keep all my files in sync and still allow me full access from my iPad and iPhone, no?

I guess you could do it that way, but Time Machine is just so much cleaner. Sync would keep all of your files in sync, but wouldn't play nice with your Photos, iTunes, and Applications libraries.

 

[3587]

I guess you could do it that way, but Time Machine is just so much cleaner. Sync would keep all of your files in sync, but wouldn't play nice with your Photos, iTunes, and Applications libraries.

Maybe I'll sync my Documents folder and run Time Machine for the rest? That way I can still access everything I need from the iOS app... I'm liking the setup, but so many options. Putting files on the drive is pretty darn slow as well.

 

[arggg14]

Maybe I'll sync my Documents folder and run Time Machine for the rest? That way I can still access everything I need from the iOS app... I'm liking the setup, but so many options. Putting files on the drive is pretty darn slow as well.

But then you're duplicating files and taking up more space. What's your internet speed?

 

[3587]

But then you're duplicating files and taking up more space. What's your internet speed?

I am, but I'd like access to just my Documents, which isn't all that large of a folder. I have Comcast and get about 55Mbps. I have a 6TB Mirror with less than 1TB of files.