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Time Capsule - how does it work?

F

fstfrwrd

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 6, 2008
186
0
Belgium
Lately, I've been considering buying a Time Capsule.

But how does it really work?
Once you delete a file on your Mac, instead of it being actually deleted, it goes to the Time Capsule?

And can you also use a Time Capsule as an External HD for storage of movies etc.?

Any user experiences on here?
 
Time capsule works in conjunction with Time machine, which is built into leopard.

Time machine takes a full backup, and stores it on an external drive. then hourly it takes a snapshot of any files and stores them on the drive.

That drive can either be a USB drive plugged directly into the machine, or, in the case of time capsule, a wireless network drive.

I believe you can use a time capsule as remote wireless HD, but as I don't own one, I'd wait for someone else to confirm it.
 
i have a quick question kinda relating to this.

i have a 120gb external hdd ive just wiped that i used for my old pc. i have an airport extreme with my printer plugged into the only usb port on the back.

i want to use the hdd as a back up device, can i get a usb splitter and have both my printer AND hdd pugged into my base station or will this really f things up for me?!

cheers!
 
brisweeney said:
i have a quick question kinda relating to this.

i have a 120gb external hdd ive just wiped that i used for my old pc. i have an airport extreme with my printer plugged into the only usb port on the back.

i want to use the hdd as a back up device, can i get a usb splitter and have both my printer AND hdd pugged into my base station or will this really f things up for me?!

cheers!
Click to expand...

You'd need a powered USB hub, but yes you can do that. You can attach multiple printers, HDs, or both if you're so inclined.
 
brisweeney said:
cheers man thanks! has anyone done this/got any feedback on it?
Click to expand...

On the printer connections? If that's your question, then yes, I've got two printers plugged into a Time Capsule via ethernet. This part of Time Capsule works just like any other router should.
 
Manchester762 said:
You can use the TC as a wireless HD :)

Works nicely, as do all apple products, just wish you could customise it a little more, ie not updating every hour
Click to expand...

Okay, just to be clear on this... you're saying that it can be used as a wireless HD. By that, do you mean that you can disable the backup features entirely, and just treat it as a drive? Because that would be just awesome.

I've been thinking of getting my dad an external drive for iTunes purposes, I just don't want to over-clutter his desk. The price of the TC is very close to what you'd pay for an external Terabyte HDD and a Wireless N router... he'd never need the backup features because he stores so little on his hard drive to begin with.
 
ok, back on topic please.

so if i wanted to use the time capsule as an external HD as well, how does that work?

Time Machine just uses the space it needs on the time capsule and whatever is left of it, i can use to store my files on?
can i use it as an external HD if it's wireless or would i have to connect it with USB to use the HD capability?
 
brisweeney said:
why do you need a powered usb hub? will it not draw power from the base station?
Click to expand...

Not entirely sure on this, but doing a quick search on the Apple discussion forums, I was able to gather that the hub has to be powered only if the devices themselves aren't powered. Anybody else know from experience?
 
I bought a TC on Friday, did my initial backup connected via Ethernet, then copied hundreds of gigabytes of old video files into a different directroy on the drive. It shows up under "servers" on the left in Finder. When you first connect to it, it asks for the disk password, if you set one up, but then you use it just like a USB-connected drive. I have not tried connecting another drive to it via USB, though.

After the backup and copying, I enabled the wireless and unplugged the Ethernet to see what would happen. I had stored all my music on the TC and was playing it in iTunes. There was a pause of a second or so while the stream switched from Ethernet to wireless, but then it just kept playing. :)
fstfrwrd said:
so if i wanted to use the time capsule as an external HD as well, how does that work?

Time Machine just uses the space it needs on the time capsule and whatever is left of it, i can use to store my files on?
Click to expand...
Precisely.
fstfrwrd said:
can i use it as an external HD if it's wireless or would i have to connect it with USB to use the HD capability?
Click to expand...
You connect to it via Ethernet or wireless.

As far as I know, the USB port is only for peripherals further 'downstream', such as a printer or external hard drive. You cannot connect a computer to it via USB. I suspect this may be because both computer and TC are USB 'host' devices, with the flat USB connector.
 
Can it be Time Capsule and HD backup?

I have a external drive 800G where I keep itunes movies and music and I also have also a PowerBook Pro (200G).

(I am aware that the size advertised is not the actual size used). I like to know if I can use the 1T Time Capsule for backup of my PowerBook Pro and my Movies. Can I go in and partition the HD into, let's say 800g and 200g? Can I dasy chained to my 800G HD? :confused:

Your input is greatly appreciate it and will help me decide whether invest in a TC or not:D
 
fstfrwrd said:
ok, back on topic please.

so if i wanted to use the time capsule as an external HD as well, how does that work?

Time Machine just uses the space it needs on the time capsule and whatever is left of it, i can use to store my files on?
can i use it as an external HD if it's wireless or would i have to connect it with USB to use the HD capability?
Click to expand...

The Time Machine drive shows up in the Sidebar as a shared volume, so you can use it any way you like. You can also add a USB drive to Time Machine, which I understand will show up in the Finder, but I have not tried this yet.
 
fstfrwrd said:
ok, back on topic please.

so if i wanted to use the time capsule as an external HD as well, how does that work?

Time Machine just uses the space it needs on the time capsule and whatever is left of it, i can use to store my files on?
can i use it as an external HD if it's wireless or would i have to connect it with USB to use the HD capability?
Click to expand...

It works exactly the way you described. Time Machine will keep doing backups until you run out of disk space, and the disk is shared for backup and storage as it can't be partitioned.

btw, you can use the HD if you're connected to the TC via ethernet or wifi. The USB is only for printers, HDDs, or hubs. You can't get a direct connection from connecting to the USB.
 
people have been telling me to buy a regular external HD because it's a lot faster (firewire)

is it true?
arguments?

why should i buy a time capsule and not just 'some' external firewire HD?
 
If all you want is a hard drive for backups, then you don't need Time Capsule, which includes an Airport router. The initial Time Machine backup onto Time Capsule will take many hours, but after that the incremental backups are very quick even over wifi.
 
fstfrwrd said:
people have been telling me to buy a regular external HD because it's a lot faster (firewire)

is it true?
arguments?

why should i buy a time capsule and not just 'some' external firewire HD?
Click to expand...

If only one computer is backing up and you don't mind having it tethered to the HD, then get a firewire drive. It's usually when multiple computers need to be backed up, you don't want to be connecting the HD every time you want to back up, you don't want to be switching HDs between computers to back them up, or you need a router and one or more of the previous points I mentioned that the Time Capsule becomes a great idea.

Firewire will kick wifi's butt any day for speeds. Truth is, they're really designed for two fairly different purposes, so making a direct comparison between them is kind of a moot point.
 
ok, sounds like i'm gonna go with the time capsule. probably the 500gb version.


one last question:
since it's wi-fi enabled, can you access the time capsule when you're not home? (i.e. when you're not on the same network?)
 
fstfrwrd said:
ok, sounds like i'm gonna go with the time capsule. probably the 500gb version.


one last question:
since it's wi-fi enabled, can you access the time capsule when you're not home? (i.e. when you're not on the same network?)
Click to expand...

Yup. You have to set up sharing over WAN in AirPort Utility, then you access it using your IP address (provided by your ISP) and username/password of the TC.
 
skorpien said:
Yup. You have to set up sharing over WAN in AirPort Utility, then you access it using your IP address (provided by your ISP) and username/password of the TC.
Click to expand...

now THAT is useful, as i'm 5 days a week at school using my laptop all day.

sorry, but some more questions:

* what is the average transfer speed from your machine to the time capsule?

* i'm currently using a regular router to connect my macbook and my dad's regular PC to the internet. if i use the TC to connect to the internet, will i get faster internet? can my dad (PC, not mac) use the time capsule as well to get internet?
 
The wifi speeds supported by Time Capsule are the fastest available (802.11n). Still the first Time Machine backup will be painful. Mine took around 18 hours, though this is all in the background, so you simply need to leave your Mac on for the entire time. As far as internet access is concerned if the Time Capsule router is located near your Macs you won't see any difference between wifi and ethernet connection speeds. Keep in mind that to enjoy 802.11n speeds you will need a Mac which supports it. I believe any Mac sold since the beginning of last year at least does, but I'm not completely certain.
 
IJ Reilly said:
The wifi speeds supported by Time Capsule are the fastest available (802.11n). Still the first Time Machine backup will be painful. Mine took around 18 hours, though this is all in the background, so you simply need to leave your Mac on for the entire time. As far as internet access is concerned if the Time Capsule router is located near your Macs you won't see any difference between wifi and ethernet connection speeds. Keep in mind that to enjoy 802.11n speeds you will need a Mac which supports it. I believe any Mac sold since the beginning of last year at least does, but I'm not completely certain.
Click to expand...

i will be buying a brand new MBP, so it'll be supported.
can i use my regular internet subscription (ADSL) with the time capsule then, right? without having to pay any extra?
 
fstfrwrd said:
i will be buying a brand new MBP, so it'll be supported.
can i use my regular internet subscription (ADSL) with the time capsule then, right? without having to pay any extra?
Click to expand...

You bet. Connect the modem to the Time Capsule and you should be good to go. Like other routers, sometimes the Time Capsule won't detect the modem at first, which can usually be fixed by restarting the modem. You will also want to install the Time Capsule application on your Mac in order to set it up.
 
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