Parental Controls, Time Capsule, Multiple Routers

[finsfanscott]

Hello everyone, love the expert help here. I have read through several pages of Time Capsule threads, but none seem to be able to address what I am trying to do (and it may not be possible).

My current set up is Cable Modem (that I own) -> Airport Time Capsule (acting as main router and wireless Time Machine backup for two MacBook Airs and a ethernet wired backup to my iMac) -> combination of wireless clients (iPads, iPhones, etc.) and wired clients (Apple TV, Vulkano TV thing, MacMini server for VPN and iTunes Server, kids PCs, PlayStation), some of the wired clients are running through network switches if that matters.

My "problem statement" is I want access to the internet to shut off at 11p every night, ideally just for the machines I choose. I can set Parental Controls on the Time Capsule to do this for wireless clients by MAC address, but not for hard wired clients.

I have an old Linksys E4200 router that I am currently using as a network switch (no NAT or DHCP) that I could re-purpose as a main router. I believe its parental controls manage access for both wired and wireless connections by MAC address.

Here are the questions:

1 - If I use the Linksys as the "main" router and install the Time Capsule behind it (I suppose in bridge mode or turn DHCP off), will it still be able to perform wireless backups for the MacBook Airs? As I'm sure the IP address will change (from 10.0.0.xx on the current Time Capsule network to 192.168.0.xx on the Linksys network) will I have to start a new back up or will I be able to continue the incremental one for each machine?

2 - If I install the TC behind the Linksys, will I be able to use the wifi on the TC, which has 802.11AC, or am I limited to the wifi on the Linksys, which is only up to N? I understand I can turn each band's wifi on/off on each router, and even give them different names, but that impacts what mobile devices can AirPlay to the ATV.

3 - Is there a way for the TC to deny wired clients internet access (older software?)?

Or should I pick up a new router? I see some tri-band ones out now, and with iPhone 6 and 6s in my home, plus the two MacBooks, would we see better throughput on the 5GHz band with something like an Asus RT-3200 or Linksys AC3200? Then I could use the Parental Controls on the new router and perhaps pick up better wireless AC performance than the current Time Capsule.

Welcome your thoughts!!

 

[dyt1983]

1 - If I use the Linksys as the "main" router and install the Time Capsule behind it (I suppose in bridge mode or turn DHCP off), will it still be able to perform wireless backups for the MacBook Airs? As I'm sure the IP address will change (from 10.0.0.xx on the current Time Capsule network to 192.168.0.xx on the Linksys network) will I have to start a new back up or will I be able to continue the incremental one for each machine?

Yes, as you suspect, in bridge mode. I believe the Bonjour name is used to select the Time Capsule, so the existing backup might be OK but this could vary on software version--occasionally my backups need to be reset for unknown reasons when seemingly changes haven't occurred.

2 - If I install the TC behind the Linksys, will I be able to use the wifi on the TC, which has 802.11AC, or am I limited to the wifi on the Linksys, which is only up to N? I understand I can turn each band's wifi on/off on each router, and even give them different names, but that impacts what mobile devices can AirPlay to the ATV.

Yes, no. And AirPlay can work over wired/wireless devices as long as they are on the same "network", not necessarily WiFi bands. For instance, the targets in our residences are all wired.

In bridge mode, some features are lost from the AirPort routers (e.g. guest wireless network).

Or should I pick up a new router? I see some tri-band ones out now, and with iPhone 6 and 6s in my home, plus the two MacBooks, would we see better throughput on the 5GHz band with something like an Asus RT-3200 or Linksys AC3200? Then I could use the Parental Controls on the new router and perhaps pick up better wireless AC performance than the current Time Capsule.

To help with parental controls, you might want to try installing dd-wrt/tomato/etc. router software on your Linksys. This can give you more controls (and reliability) than the software shipped with the Linksys.

 

[finsfanscott]

Yes, as you suspect, in bridge mode. I believe the Bonjour name is used to select the Time Capsule, so the existing backup might be OK but this could vary on software version--occasionally my backups need to be reset for unknown reasons when seemingly changes haven't occurred.



Yes, no. And AirPlay can work over wired/wireless devices as long as they are on the same "network", not necessarily WiFi bands. For instance, the targets in our residences are all wired.

In bridge mode, some features are lost from the AirPort routers (e.g. guest wireless network).



To help with parental controls, you might want to try installing dd-wrt/tomato/etc. router software on your Linksys. This can give you more controls (and reliability) than the software shipped with the Linksys.

[doublepost=1462637775][/doublepost]Hello everyone,

Since I like to tinker with new toys, here is what I did:

The Airport Time Capsule parental controls would not let me limit wired clients, so I ended up purchasing an ASUS RT-AC3100 router. Probably a bit of an overkill, but I liked the idea of multiple channel 5GHz channels, since our network seems to keep growing (wireless - three iPads, 5 iPhones, two MacBook Airs, an iMac, DVD player, TV, two printers, one fixed and one laptop PC, wired - iMac, MacMini, 2 ATVs, PS3, Belkin Volcano, TMobile local cell hotspot thing, MyCloud drive) I moved several of these to wired to help the previous TC cope with the wireless traffic.

I really enjoy the flexibility of the new Router. I can control by MAC address what devices have internet access at any hour of the day. I can control the bandwidth each device can receive, and issue each a priority. Wife's iPhone and iMac have top priority, kids' iPhones and PS3 at the bottom (sorry boys, I pay the bills, happy wife = happy life).

I did have to "re-point" the Time Machine backup disc for each of the Macs to the new network address of the Time Capsule, but did not have to start a complete new back up.

I tried to get the Time Capsule to extend the wireless network, but was not successful. It appears the Apple routers will only extend an Apple wireless network (or I'm doing something wrong). I tried both "Extend a Network" and "Create a Network" options on the Time Capsule, but couldn't get it to hand off wifi as I walked through the house.

Signal strength on the ASUS is notably better than on the Time Capsule, and throughput is better, probably because more devices are able to use the 5GHz band. In the past, I did not allow the kids' devices to use the 5GHz band, just my wife and my iPhones and MacBooks.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice!