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Time Capsule NAS
- Thread starter Damstas
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Yes it can. It's possible to mount the drive using Windows computers and both Windows and Macs can read and write to the Time Capsule. You can use Finder (or Explorer) to create folders and copy files onto the HDD. If you're using it for dropbox functionality, this should be perfectly fine.
If you're planning on using it as storage, it's probably best to connect a USB HDD to the USB port of the Time Capsule to use as a NAS while keeping the internal HDD for backup use. Also, any drives connected to the Time Capsule will not be backed up using Time Machine.
If you're planning on using it as storage, it's probably best to connect a USB HDD to the USB port of the Time Capsule to use as a NAS while keeping the internal HDD for backup use. Also, any drives connected to the Time Capsule will not be backed up using Time Machine.
My experience is with Snow Leopard and Windows XP machines. Given that, I say yes, you can use a Time Capsule (TC) for backups and simultaneously as a simple NAS to share files between OS X and Windows XP (and I assume, Vista and 7).
I've successfully shared plain text files and OpenOffice documents between Mac and Windows this way.
But there are a few things to take into consideration. One is the issue of the backup disk filling up with TM backups. This is not a problem for TM, but you won't be able to place any more files onto the TC disk until you delete some old backups manually and this isn't desirable.
The best solution is to use the TC internal disk for TM backups only. For file sharing/transferring, plug an external USB drive or a thumb drive into the TC USB port.
There are other workarounds. See Can I use my Time Capsule for backups AND other data?
Also, note that any file you put onto a TC disk will not get backed up. And, I've read that TC is pretty slow compared to other NAS devices (although that wasn't a problem for me).
Regards,
Brian33
I've successfully shared plain text files and OpenOffice documents between Mac and Windows this way.
But there are a few things to take into consideration. One is the issue of the backup disk filling up with TM backups. This is not a problem for TM, but you won't be able to place any more files onto the TC disk until you delete some old backups manually and this isn't desirable.
The best solution is to use the TC internal disk for TM backups only. For file sharing/transferring, plug an external USB drive or a thumb drive into the TC USB port.
There are other workarounds. See Can I use my Time Capsule for backups AND other data?
Also, note that any file you put onto a TC disk will not get backed up. And, I've read that TC is pretty slow compared to other NAS devices (although that wasn't a problem for me).
Regards,
Brian33
Hmm. Im planning Macbook Pro with the 320 gb hard drive and the 2tb Time Capsule. How long it would take Time Capsule to fill up with the Pro´s backups?
Can i delete the backups manually (like day by day) or is it one big file?
Can i plug memory stick or usb stick to the timecapsule and use it as a NAS hdd?
Thanks for the answer´s so far! Big help
Can i delete the backups manually (like day by day) or is it one big file?
Can i plug memory stick or usb stick to the timecapsule and use it as a NAS hdd?
Thanks for the answer´s so far! Big help
How long to fill up? A long time! It's only a guess but I'd say something like a year or more!
Are you/will you be running Lion? According to Pondini's guide, only in Lion is deleting backups from Finder supported. (And there may be problems??) Otherwise, you'd go into the TM "star wars" interface. From there I know you can delete all backups of a particular file or folder, but I'm not sure about deleting a particular day's backup.
Yes, you can plug a USB stick into the TC and use it as network shared storage. I am doing this myself with a 16GB USB stick plugged into a USB hub plugged into my 1st-gen TC, and it works great as a place to drop small files to share/transfer between Mac and Windows machines.
To add, Time Capsule will start deleting the oldest backups to make room for newer ones if it fills up completely. That said, the general rule of thumb is to have 1.5 times your total capacity for backup, so you should be good for a long time to come. Also consider having a secondary backup option. Time Capsules can fail and any good backup plan will account for such device failures. An external that you connect and copy everything over to once a month or so should be sufficient IMO.