Time Machine Dilema

[cmush]

Hi,
I just got a 2TB Time Capsule and I'm really disappointed so far with how it is working and I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to better configure it for my situation.

When I first setup the Time Capsule I decided to use it as my primary router- it replaced the router given to me by the cable company. The cable modem fed directly into the Time Capsule and the Time Capsule served up wireless to the imac and macbook in the house, and the Apple TV was hard wired via Ethernet to the Time Capsule.

I set my iMac to do an initial Time Machine backup last night and was surprised at how fast it went. It did 520GB in less than 13 hours. However, before I initiated the backup I watched a video on VLC via Airplay from my imac to the Apple TV. The wireless router from the cable company has allows allowed airplay to stream flawless. Never had a problem. With the Time Capsule now I was getting periodic stuttering. Not happy about this at all.

Today I decided because of this to put back in use the cable company's wireless router (since it seems to handle the traffic better) and hook up the Time Capsule as a regular device to the existing wireless network. (a feat in itself that required resetting the damn thing). Now I'm noticing that Time Capsule backups are soooo slow. I initiated a first Time Machine backup on the macbook (only 75 GBs) and it says it is going to take 20+ hours!! This is ridiculous.

I was thinking about possibly setting up the Time Capsule as more of an extender / booster to the existing wifi and thinking maybe that would improve backup performance but keep airplay working without stuttering. But I'm not sure, and I would like a second opinion before I change everything up again.

Any suggestions on a better setup? Are there any settings I'm missing on the Time Capsule that maybe would make airplay perform just as good as on the cable company's router?

 

[overanalyzer]

Was the video you were watching local on the iMac?

 

[cmush]

Yeah, it was a local video.

 

[overanalyzer]

Maybe there's interference or reduced range for the Time Capsule vs. your other router. I'd be curious to see what your transmit rate (option-click the menu bar WiFi icon) is now and then see what it is with the Time Capsule as the wireless router.

 

[cmush]

Trasmit Rate with the cable company supplied router is: 65. I'm going to have to wait for the initial time machine backup of the macbook to finish to juggle connections around to see what the Time Machine as router would display.

 

[canuckle]

FWIW, although I don't use Time Capsule, I do use a Cable Modem. I had them disable the wireless and turn it into a modem only (basically a bridge) and I use my router to handle all distribution.

Is it possible that your cable modem (or another neighbouring modem) is interfering on the same channel?

 

[mmomega]

I use a Time Capsule 3TB as the main hub for the entire home.

Cable Modem -> Time Capsule -> Gigabit Switch -> 2 Airport Extremes with 4 AppleTV's and multiple iOS devices, laptops and desktops on WiFi and I have not experienced any problems with WiFi or streaming other than when I had multiple computers backing up to the TC simultaneously.

I've since installed TimeMachineScheduler and all of my machine backups are varied quite a bit and Ive all but forgotten about any streaming or Airplay hiccups.

I've also modded my TC with a fan mod which keeps the fan running more often and also significantly drops internal temps. Knock on wood, no dead TC HDD or power supply problems anytime soon.

 

[cmush]

I'm guessing it all comes down to network interference. I've since decided to use the cable company's router and hook up the time capsule to it via ethernet. Kind of defeats the whole wifi hard drive bit, but backups are running faster and airplay is streaming just fine. I guess thats what I'll do for now.

Thanks everyone for helping me troubleshoot.