That was a lucky weekend wander, Neil! Enjoy the rain! Severin On 15/05/2012, at 2:56 PM, Neil Houghton wrote:
> Hi all, > > I was wandering through Officeworks (Albany) this weekend when I saw they > had a 1TB time capsule on clearance, marked down to $160. I realised that > this was not the current model but it seemed like a good deal - which got > even better when they scanned it and it came up as $100! > > So now I am just weighing up options as to how best to use it: > > Network set-up > > My current network comprises: > Billion BiPAC 7402VGP ADSL modem with wired/wireless router and VOIP – This > handles VOIP phones and an ethernet connected iMac. It also is the DHCP > server. However, I do not use it for wireless networking. > An Airport Express, connected by ethernet to the Billion and set-up in > bridge mode to provide a wireless network to which 2 other iMacs and a > Macbook Pro connect (though very rarely at the same time). This is an older > model, purchased November 2007, Model # M9470X/A – so it only has single > band wireless. > > My new Time capsule is Model A1355 - which I gather is the 4th generation > 2010 model – Since it allows simultaneous dual band networks and better wifi > performance/range to the earlier Airport, I’m presuming my best option will > be to set this up to create the wireless network and then re-configure the > Airport Express to just extend the wireless network? > > The other thing I need to decide is how to set-up the DHCP server – I > originally had the Airport Express setup in bridge mode because I was using > the ethernet networking on the Billion for an adjacent iMac – and I wanted > all the machines to see each other on the same network. If I wished to > continue like this then I would, presumably, also set-up the time capsule in > bridge mode. However it is probable that I will have the time capsule in > close proximity to both the Billion modem and the ethernet wired iMac – So, > I guess, my other option would be to just have the Time capsule connected to > the Billion, use the Time capsule to handle DHCP and plug the iMac into one > of the TC ethernet ports. > > My gut feeling tells me that this might be better – but what would be the > pros/cons of these two approaches? > > > Best use of the TC hard drive > > I realise that Apple market this to act as the Time machine drive for one or > more computers – However, at present, I already have 2 separate 1tb USB > desktop drives for TM backup of mine & Georgie’s iMacs and a 1TB portable > drive for TM backup of the laptop. The third (ethernet connected) iMac is an > old 15* G4 model just used for music playing and casual internet browsing > when we are away from our main computers – I don’t heed to back it up – I > just love the lampshade look and I’m happy it still plays tunes ;o) > > (By the way, Ronni, I also have my firewire bootable clones but that’s not > directly relevant to my deliberations here) > > > I seems to me that to try and use the 1TB TC as TM backup for three machines > would be very limiting and a backward step. I suppose I could use it as TM > back-up for ONE of the machines and free-up a 1TG external drive for other > uses, or I suppose I could attach a USB hub to the TC and attach all my > existing TM USB drives to that – but I’m not sure if that would offer any > advantages? Plus I would expect that might result in slower speeds that the > current direct USB connection. > > I am wondering if I might not be better keeping my existing TM regimes and > using the TC disk just as general NAS storage for the house. What I would > REALLY like is just to have it as a music/video storage directly feeding my > ATV2 – but I’m pretty sure that can’t be done, right? I need to have a > computer running somewhere with iTunes running at all times? > > If I use it a general storage, can I set it up with different storage areas > accessible to different users as well as some storage available to all users > (I’m not talking about the guest accounts here just different user accounts) > if so, is it best to partition the TC disc or just keep one partition and > work with different user folders? I guess if I wished to allocate a given > space to different users I would need to create an appropriately sized > partition? > > > Connecting additional USB drives to the TC > > So I know I can plug an additional USB drive into the TC – or a USB hub and > then more than one USB drive. Functionally is there any difference between > the usage of an external TC drive to the internal TC drive – is it much > slower – do they all look the same to a network attached mac? > > Also, how does shut/down sleep work – I see that the TC doesn’t have an > on/off switch, so I assume that it just sleeps and wakes as required – does > that extend to any attached drives – do the sleep/wake when the internal > drive does, if so, does that work with any drive or just some models? > > > > OK, I know that’s lots of questions ;o) > > I’m happy enough following Apple instructions on set-up and finding info on > how to address specific set-ups – what I’m hoping for is feedback/experience > on the pros & cons of different approaches/ set-ups since I can see I can > set this up in different ways that ALL work – but some may not be the best > solution for me. > > > Hope that makes sense ;o) > > > > Cheers > > > Neil > -- > Neil R. Houghton > Albany, Western Australia > Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 > Email: n...@possumology.com > > -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- > Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> > Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> > Settings & Unsubscribe - > <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug> ________________________________________________________ Assoc Professor R Severin Crisp, FIP, CPhys, FAIP 15 Thomas St, Mount Clarence, Albany, 6330, Western Australia. Phone (08) 9842 1950 (Int'l +61 8 9842 1950) email mailto:sevcr...@westnet.com.au ________________________________________________________ -- The WA Macintosh User Group Mailing List -- Archives - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/archives.shtml> Guidelines - <http://www.wamug.org.au/mailinglist/guidelines.shtml> Settings & Unsubscribe - <http://lists.wamug.org.au/listinfo/wamug.org.au-wamug>
