time capsule 802.11 AC question

[flipnap]

Actually have two quick questions.

If i buy an 802.11 AC adapter for my macbook pro will i get those speeds wirelessly? (and i know about "true speeds" vs spec-i just mean will i see the averaged speeds people get from a true 802.11 AC chain)

and secondly, when i plug in a USB3 drive into the back of the time capsule, im not getting anywhere near USB3 speeds, like i would get if i plug the drive into my macbook. its almost the same speeds i get from wireless. cant figure it out.

thanks so much guys!

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oh by the way, sorry one more question.

if im copying files from the time capsule to the usb drive, is there a way to keep the transfer going after i close down my macbook?

 

[Brian33]

If i buy an 802.11 AC adapter for my macbook pro will i get those speeds wirelessly? (and i know about "true speeds" vs spec-i just mean will i see the averaged speeds people get from a true 802.11 AC chain)

I didn't know these were available -- how do they connect to the MacBook Pro, through Thunderbolt maybe? If there is such a thing I don't see any reason why you wouldn't get typical 802.11ac speeds.

and secondly, when i plug in a USB3 drive into the back of the time capsule, im not getting anywhere near USB3 speeds, like i would get if i plug the drive into my macbook. its almost the same speeds i get from wireless. cant figure it out.

Even the newest Time Capsules still have a USB 2 port, not USB 3. But I think it doesn't matter. If you're transferring files from a computer to the Time Capsule's USB drive, you are almost certainly limited by the throughput of your wireless connection. (I guess if you've got 802.11ac this might not be the case, though.) Another limiting factor seems to be the processor speed in the TC itself -- it's pretty slow -- and this would probably slow transfers even if the computer were connected via Gig-E. The TC is by no means (and isn't intended to be) a fast NAS device.

if im copying files from the time capsule to the usb drive, is there a way to keep the transfer going after i close down my macbook?

If you're transferring from a computer to the TC's USB drive, probably the answer is no. If you're transferring from the TC's internal disk to the TC's USB drive, maybe the "Archive" function will work without your MacBook connected. (There's an "Archive" button in Airport Utility somewhere that copies the contents of the internal drive.)

Good luck!

 

[flipnap]

thanks bri. yeah i was actually talking about transferring from the TC internal drive to the USB attached drive. but you actually answered my question.

all this time im thinking its a USB 3.0 port. i never even thought twice about it. i figured apple would use that. why in the world at this stage of the game would apple choose to use a 2.0 connection. thats insane! bummer.

and for the record, im actually getting good speeds with the 802.11n card in the macbook pro. im regularly getting 20 Mb a sec. which is pretty fast..

oh well, i was really depending on the USB 3 port to do my backups from the TC drive.. dam

 

[flipnap]

okay so im figuring out a lot of stuff here.. now i have another question which may sound stupid.. but its really seems like ALL activity concerning the TC is going through the network, even when it passes info directly from the TC to the USB attached drive.. i currently have a 100 router and is it correct to assume if i buy a gig router it will increase the overall performance?

sorry for the dumb question but im trying to figure this out as i go along. thanks again

 

[Brian33]

I know what you mean about figuring it out as we go along!

I'm no expert, but I can't believe that data copied from the TC's internal disk to a USB drive (attached directly to the TC) would go over the network! It would be hard to tell. Maybe the TC is sending out some sort of status update packets over the network and you're mistaking them for the actual data transfer?

A Gigabit Ethernet router (or a Gigabit Ethernet network switch) could possibly speed up some tasks on your local network, but it depends upon the task and the devices connected. (If the devices have only 100-Mbps ethernet interfaces, using 1000-Mbps router or switch won't speed anything up.) I do not think a faster router/switch would speed up the TC copy to it's own external USB drive.

Is it only the speed of this "Archive" function that's the problem? I guess I would imagine that it would be a "start it and walk away for several hours" type of operation, though I've never tried it.

 

[Serban]

what security is the best to use for TC? wep or wpa ?

 

[Brian33]

what security is the best to use for TC? wep or wpa ?

Hi. WPA is definitely better than WEP, from my understanding.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

what security is the best to use for TC? wep or wpa ?

Current models won't even do WEP, just WPA.

 

[NewbieCanada]

The drive in (or attached to) a Time Capsule is not intended for high-speed transfers. Even if you're transferring over a wired gigabit connection.

 

[flipnap]

The drive in (or attached to) a Time Capsule is not intended for high-speed transfers. Even if you're transferring over a wired gigabit connection.

yeah im finding that out. man. i wish i could. im looking for a way to do a high speed transfer so i can back up the time capsule from time to time. and a 2TB backup will take days..

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by the way. on the 5ghz band of my macbookpro retina im seeing transfer rates pegging out at 25 megabytes a second.. thats pretty incredible for a "n" connection.

 

[Serban]

on this new TC we have to set manual 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz or it will be automatically ?

 

[Serban]

i just finish to configure my TC....i have to say for me it is an improvement from my d-link, i mean beside that now i can use time machine thnx to his inside hdd, i also notice a difference in speed..i have a 50mbs internet connection, and with my older router i never ever mark 4x prefix, i thin 34-35mbs/sec was the max ive seen on my iMac. Now i have 52.2/mbs.

I love it

 

[DisplacedMic]

i just finish to configure my TC....i have to say for me it is an improvement from my d-link, i mean beside that now i can use time machine thnx to his inside hdd, i also notice a difference in speed..i have a 50mbs internet connection, and with my older router i never ever mark 4x prefix, i thin 34-35mbs/sec was the max ive seen on my iMac. Now i have 52.2/mbs.

I love it

holy hell, 52?? awesome!
i only get around 15. in fact you've probably already read this before i finish writing it

granted i'm too cheap to pay for the faster service but regardless - i too have noticed a big improvement on my wireless-n devices w/ TC.

initial backup took about 10 hours for just under 300 gigs

 

[DisplacedMic]

on this new TC we have to set manual 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz or it will be automatically ?

automatic (as i'm sure you discovered yourself when setting it up - but for others - it's automatic w/ the option to do it manually)

 

[flipnap]

well when i set up the "wireless" section i created a network name so that i could choose it manual, and it called it "5ghz".. and its must faster than the older one, i think it was in bridged mode, and since i already have a wireless 100 router it was going through that. when i set up the manual network it overrides and the speed double.. but im getting aroun 20-25 MBS, which i think is pretty fast. not sure how the other dude up there was getting 50.. id really like to know how thats possible

 

[flynz4]

Hi. WPA is definitely better than WEP, from my understanding.

WEP is extremely insecure. WPA was supposed to fix this, but it had a flaw... and was soon replaced with WPA2 which has proven the test of time and is the choice you should use now.

/Jim

 

[Serban]

well when i set up the "wireless" section i created a network name so that i could choose it manual, and it called it "5ghz".. and its must faster than the older one, i think it was in bridged mode, and since i already have a wireless 100 router it was going through that. when i set up the manual network it overrides and the speed double.. but im getting aroun 20-25 MBS, which i think is pretty fast. not sure how the other dude up there was getting 50.. id really like to know how thats possible

i dont know..i just set up the easiest way.. new connection-ppoe-user-password-wpa only-and voila 49-51.2 mbs.....and i change back up my old d-link router because i dont believe it..and yes from d-link i get a constant 18-25mbs and when switch with the new TC i get 48-52mbs

P.S: i still waiting for the macbook pro and imac with wifi ac...so this speed im getting with my late 2012 21.5" iMac

 

[flipnap]

i dont know..i just set up the easiest way.. new connection-ppoe-user-password-wpa only-and voila 49-51.2 mbs.....and i change back up my old d-link router because i dont believe it..and yes from d-link i get a constant 18-25mbs and when switch with the new TC i get 48-52mbs

P.S: i still waiting for the macbook pro and imac with wifi ac...so this speed im getting with my late 2012 21.5" iMac

wow dude, thats incredible. congrats! like i said, the fastes im getting is 20-25.. but sometimes it starts skipping around and jumps down to 8-10, then back again. i suppose its just finicky. ive also heard the 5ghz band (which gives you that speed) isnt as powerful when it comes to structural penetration.. and the closer you have your system to the TC the better.. so maybe that has something to do with it..