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Time Capsule Question

J

James17

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 13, 2007
361
0
I have a Netgear DG834G DSL Router which already has a modem built in. I am trying to set up the new Time Capsule I got.I want to keep the Netgear Router for b/g devices on the network so I understand I should bridge the TC with the Netgear which isn't the problem. I have a Lexmark X4550 Wifi G Printer. It is connected to the Netgear Router and has its own ip address e.g. 192.168.0.5. The only device on the n network will be my iMac so how can I print from my iMac which is on the TC network to the Printer on the Netgear router? Connecting the printer to the TC via USB would defeat the purpose of the printer-wifi.

Thanks,
James
 
If you set the TC up as a bridge the two networks will be in effect one big one, i.e. your Linksys will hand out IP addresses for both G and N clients so they'll all be able to see each other.
 
The above poster is correct. Your printer can been seen by the entire network.

I have a setup similar to yours. One of my printers is on the "B/G" network while my Macbook is on the Time Capsule's "N" network. I can print from my Macbook.
 
I just ordered a 1 TB Time Capsule today and have a problem similar to the OP’s. I am using a Belkin Pre N wireless router for my current wireless network. As matters now stand, it serves a combination of both 802.11g and n devices, including my network printer. I would like to set up my Time Capsule to serve only my MacBook Pro and Apple TV, which are my only n devices, but I would also like for my MacBook Pro to be able to see my printer and my TiVo Series3, which are g devices.

I gather this is possible to do but a more detailed explanation of how to do it would be gratefully received.
 
I think you'll need to:

1. Turn off N on your Belkin, so it's only serving a G network.
2. Connect your Time Capsule to the Belkin (or your switch) with Ethernet.
3. Set up the Time Capsule in bridge mode.

There is a lot of detailed info on how to set up a mixed-mode network in the Apple Designing Airport Networks using Airport Utility manual (pdf file).
 
Thanks for everyone's replied, issue resolved!

Thanks to alFR because my Time Capsule was in bridge mode. I just installed the printer as normally on my iMac and it recognized it fine as it sees all the b/g/ devices.
 
Thanks guys, I have saved this page and will refer to it as I start to setup my Time Capsule.
 
Because of the apt title of this thread and the high quality of the information it has produced, I am encouraged to ask a follow-up Time Capsule question:

I know that the use of a 1 GB Ethernet connection is recommended for doing the first backup to a Time Capsule. Nevertheless, I would rather use wireless n instead of Ethernet because it would be far more convenient to do it that way. But I have about 165 gig to backup from my MacBook Pro and FireWire drive combined so I would like to know how much of a speed hit I should expect if I decide to do my first backup via wireless n. I don’t particularly care how long the first backup takes to do, as I can simply leave my MacBook open until it is done and I do that anyway when my FireWire drive is mounted.

I should add that my MacBook will be the only wireless device the Time Capsule will be serving on its n network. It will be set in bridged mode and connected to my Belkin Pre N router, which will be connected to my cable modem and serving the wireless g devices on my network. My g devices are a printer, TiVo S3, and PowerBook G4.

Are any problems other than speed likely to arise from doing the first backup wirelessly? Any suggestions?
 
According to Appleinsider, TC will write over gigabit ethernet at about 10MB/s. Over wireless-N, it will write at 1.2-7.6MB/s depending on which N mode you use. So, it'll take anywhere from about 1.5 to 10 times as long for you to do your backup over wireless as over gigabit. I don't think you'll hit any problems apart from the speed hit.
 
alFR said:
According to Appleinsider, TC will write over gigabit ethernet at about 10MB/s. Over wireless-N, it will write at 1.2-7.6MB/s depending on which N mode you use. So, it'll take anywhere from about 1.5 to 10 times as long for you to do your backup over wireless as over gigabit. I don't think you'll hit any problems apart from the speed hit.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. It appears that the wide channel setting in the 5 GHz band should be just what the doctor ordered because the Time Capsule and the MacBook Pro will be the only devices on my wireless n network. If the chart in the article is correct the only speed hit for this kind of a setup should be a loss of speed from 10.20 MB/Sec to 7.63 MB/Sec. That's not too bad, it seems to me.

My Time Capsule shipped today, so I should have it within the next few days. I'll report further after I get it installed and develop a sense of what it can do.
 
Yeah, be good to hear your experience. Here in the UK we are limited to the plain 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz bands as the wide channel setting didn't get regulatory approval (at least, there's no option for it that I can see in Airport Utility).
 
alFR said:
Yeah, be good to hear your experience. Here in the UK we are limited to the plain 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz bands as the wide channel setting didn't get regulatory approval (at least, there's no option for it that I can see in Airport Utility).
Click to expand...
This is turning out to be a brave new world for me. For example, before I came to this thread, I didn’t know about the wide channel option under 802.11n. I hope my assumption that I can setup the Time Channel and MacBook Pro to operate that way isn’t rash. Time will tell, I guess.

The potential good news from all of this is that if I can configure the Time Channel and MacBook for wide channel in the 5 GHz band, the speed of the data transfers should be entirely satisfactory.

It’s my understanding that the n standard has still not been approved, at least not in the US. Thus, everybody’s implementation of it so far has been according to the draft. That’s not worrying me as much as it might otherwise have done because both the Time Channel and MacBook Pro are Airport implementations. If they won’t talk to each other at maximum speed, who will they talk to that way? :)
 
My 1 TB Time Capsule came Friday and I have spent virtually full time ever since trying to get it configured to provide n services on my preexisting g network. When I first called AppleCare for help on Friday the young tech rep was so unaware that she had no idea what a Dual-band network was, so she had me set up the Time Capsule as a wireless client to my g network.

I figured out that I had been mislead, attached the TC to my cable modem with Ethernet cable, and made another wired connection between the TC and my g router, a Belkin Pre-N wireless, router, set for 802.11b/g, only. That worked but it created two discrete networks. One was a 5 GHz 80211.n network, served by the TC and the other was my preexisting g network, served by the Belkin. The problem was that the networks could not communicate with each other. Thus, in order to print to my network printer, which is a client on the g network, I had to use Airport to manually shift to the g network from the n network. Not good.

After struggling with the problem and returning to this thread only this morning I realized that I should have left the Belkin wireless router directly connected to my cable modem, then connected it to the TC and set the TC in Bridge only mode. That’s just exactly what alFR had told me to do on May 12. What can I say other than that I foolishly forgot about his sound advice.

I made the wiring changes, ran Airport Utility again and, Voila!, I now have a dual-band network that both allows me to access my printer, which is a client on the g network with my MacBook Pro and transfer files from the MB to the TC’s hard drive just as fast as I could when the MB and TC were on their own discrete 5GHz network. Best of all, because the Belkin is still doing all the routing duties, all of my network client’s IP addresses remain as they were. I am a happy camper at last.
 
Glad you got sorted out OK. The Apple stuff is, in my experience, pretty easy to configure but it's quite another thing to get your head around how to set everything up if you're using a couple of different devices. It's designing the network layout rather than setting up the individual devices that I find hard. Glad I don't have to do it for a big commercial setup.....
 
My turn :)

alFR said:
Glad you got sorted out OK. The Apple stuff is, in my experience, pretty easy to configure but it's quite another thing to get your head around how to set everything up if you're using a couple of different devices. It's designing the network layout rather than setting up the individual devices that I find hard. Glad I don't have to do it for a big commercial setup.....
Click to expand...

U seem to be the person with all the answers. So please help if possible...

I have a similar wireless network question/issue.
I currently have a linksys wireless G network. I do not have any printers on the wirless network and do not plan to. I do have "G" devices that I want to continue to have them use this network.
I just bought a TC that i want to us for my MBA and iMac in "N" only mode.

My question is should my TC get connected to the ethernet port on the back of my linksys router? Or should my linksys router get conneted to the ethernet port on the back of the TC?

Thanks in advance
 
That's nice of you to say but not entirely accurate. :)

Anyway, what I'd do in your situation is set the TC up in bridge mode as gwsat has done, connecting your TC to the Linksys with an ethernet cable. That way the Linksys will still give out the network addresses etc. but you'll be able to use your MBA/iMac as you want to. Remember to give the G and N wireless networks different names though!

For a lot more information, have a read at the Apple Designing Airport Networks using Airport Utility manual (pdf file).
 
sosnow -- I agree with alFR – as usual. :) I have connected my TC directly to the cable modem and also to my existing 802.11g wireless router via Ethernet. The TC is set to bridge mode. What this has done is allow the g router to continue to handle all routing services but the TC nevertheless exchanges information with wireless n devices at n speeds. At least a simple file transfer speed test I ran seemed to indicate that this is so.

I Understand that this setup will work equally well if you wire it so that the wireless g modem is directly attached to the modem, then attached to the TC via Ethernet. In this setup it is the g router that is bridged, not the TC. The drawback here is that doing it this way would change your IP addresses because the TC would be taking over routing services. Note also that if you decide to bridge your wireless g router, some manufacturers call what Apple denominates, “bridge mode,” “access point” mode.

Good luck!
 
Time Capsule and a cell EVDOrA modem...

I've been reading through this thread and trying to find answers via other postings throughout MacRumors, but still haven't found a solution to a question I have. Since I haven't read about this elsewhere, here is my question... I recently purchased a 1GB Time Capsule to update my wireless network. About a year ago, I discontinued my ISP service via cable (modem) and switched to internet access via a Sprint Sierra Wireless AirCard (595U, EVDOrA) that is connected directly to my old Ti PowerBook G4 through a USB dongle. When I'm on the road, I connect this mini modem card directly to the back of my PowerBook without any problems. I was wondering if there was some way to connect this USB AirCard directly to my Time Capsule unit, and be able to share internet access from the TC via WiFi. I know that the USB connection on the back of the Time Capsule is basically for adding another hard drive and/or USB printer. I also know that card modems, at least the PC Card type, snap-fit into specific routers, but not the USB type of modem card. In case it makes any difference, please note that I don't think using or not using an "n" WiFi specification is an issue, since my aging PowerBook has an external USB "MaxPower n" card, (although I still have not connected it yet). I plan to purchase a new MacBook Pro as soon as the new models come out, so I would be on a "draft n" WiFi configuration anyway. So again, has anyone been able to use a USB cellular card modem with Time Capsule? I'd appreciate any help.
 
I would like to contribute my experience with the Time Capsule 500GB.

Short Story: I have never seen Airport Utility in all its glory like I did when adding Time Capsule to my existing network. It was important to me to 'BRIDGE' the Linksys G and Capsule N so that my N-Enabled devices could take advantage of the N-Protocol. Airport Utility was prepared for this and in 5 steps I had a working multiple protocol network. (8 minutes from box to providing service!)

Thanks to all contributors in this thread!
 
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