[Double Ugly]

I'm dissatisfied with my Belkin Pre-N router (requires rebooting too often), and since I'm in the market for an external HD solution to pair with Time Machine, the Time Capsule seems an ideal solution.

However...

Though most of the feedback I've read re: the AirPort Extreme Base Station is great, the rants seem rather serious - several repeated dropped network/failure to connect peripheral write-ups, and difficulty connecting to (or maintaining a connection with) Microsoft-based products.  The latter isn't too much of a worry (though the wife's work laptop is XP-based), but the frequency of the dropouts some have reported is troubling. 

Since the Time Capsule seems to be nothing more than an AirPort Extreme housed in an enclosure large enough for a hard drive, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger.  Anyone here have experience with the Time Capsule, or have information that will allay my fears of purchasing Apple's router?

Thanks much.

[Crimson]

I just received one this past week (the 1 TB model) and inserted it in place of an Airport Extreme as my access point.

Some background: I run a 5 machine network at home with 3 Macs and 2 PCs. One Mac and one PC are connected via gigabit ethernet, two Macs connect via 802.11n, and the second PC via 802.11g. I also have NAS drives connected via gigabit ethernet, as well as a Wii and a PS3 connected via 802.11g, and an AppleTV via 802.11n. Because my access point is in the basement, I have a second Extreme on the second floor of my house that acts as an extender (I have it configured as a Wireless Distribution System, or WDS). I've had it set up like this for well over a year with no problems (dropouts, reboots etc).

As mentioned above, the TC became the access point and now I have a spare Extreme. Installation was painless and seamless using Apple's Airport Utility v.5.3.1 which must be used for TC configuration. As far as the PC's are concerned (I run XP Pro on both), the Apple Airport Utility worked flawlessly and both machines had no problems mapping to the TC's hard drive. So far so good, everything's working as before with an Extreme doing extender duties on the second floor.

My reason for getting the TC was to run Time Machine on the Macs (a Backup utility) and have all data automatically saved to a central location. I don't use it for streaming (nor do I plan to).

Hope this helps.

[Double Ugly]

Though it's clear you're one of the 5-Star users who's experienced none of the failures I listed, it helps tremendously. 

Am I correct in assuming you aren't using it for streaming because you have no need (i.e., no Slim Devices or other HDD-based sources aside from an in-room computer)?

Regardless, even if some TCs exhibit the same problems some have experienced with AirPort Extreme Base Stations (and I see no reason to assume they wouldn't), if I'm as lucky as you and most others (no dropouts), I should have no problem using the TC to stream music to my Transporter and use it to back up my files.

From your perspective, do I have a firm grasp of the situation, Crimson, or am I grasping at straws?

FWIW, I'm running OSX 10.5.2 (Leopard) on a fully-updated Mac Pro (two 3-GHz Dual-Core Xeon processors, 4 GB of RAM and two 500 GB internal hard drives).

[Crimson]

Am I correct in assuming you aren't using it for streaming because you have no need (i.e., no Slim Devices or other HDD-based sources aside from an in-room computer)?

My main system uses a 'hard-wired' USB dac, but I do stream to two other systems via an AppleTV and an Airport Express (which I forgot to mention above) both of which feed external dacs. They work great with no drop-outs. The reason why I'm not using the TC for streaming is because I utilize double redundancy wrt storage backup and I have over a TB of music data. I will eventually, however, backup the Time Machine backups that are going to the TC (I'm super anal that way).

Regardless, even if some TCs exhibit the same problems some have experienced with AirPort Extreme Base Stations (and I see to reason to assume they wouldn't), if I'm as lucky as you and most others (no dropouts), I should have no problem using the TC to stream music to my Transporter and use it to back up my files.

I don't see why not.

From your perspective, do I have a firm grasp of the situation, Crimson, or am I grasping at straws?

FWIW, I'm running OSX 10.5.2 (Leopard) on a fully-updated Mac Pro (two 3-GHz Dual-Core Xeon processors, 4 GB of RAM and two 500 GB internal hard drives).

I think so. I might also suggest that if you don't have a requirement for 802.11g, then run it at -n only at 5 GHz.

[Double Ugly]

I think so. I might also suggest that if you don't have a requirement for 802.11g, then run it at -n only at 5 GHz.

Having used a pre-n router for a while now, I have no intention of returning to a slower protocol.  My reasons for wanting to use the TC are -

• presumed ease of integration/compatibility with my Mac, which should (I hope) lead to superior performance,
• the speed & range of the pre-n router, and
• the fact that it provides and all-in-one router/backup solution.

The word "solution" should not be construed as meaning the Time Machine is the ultimate backup method, but it's vastly superior to nothing.   

I appreciate your assistance, and your willingness to offer in-depth responses. 

Going to the Apple site now to order the TC.

[Loftprojection]

I received mine a week ago and so far so good.  I have a Macbook Pro that backs up on it with Time Machine and is a Slimserver to SB2.  I also have a WinXP portable that uses it as the wi-fi link to internet.  I transfered 350Gb of music on it from a USB drive connected in my Macbook without any loss of connectivity, took 17 hours.

Like you I was worried with some comments I had read on the Mac forum but finally I seem to be lucky since mine functions very well and it was so easy to setup, can't say that much from Win based equipment...

[Double Ugly]

Thank you for the feedback, Loft.  Hopefully I'll be one of the lucky ones, too.

[modwright]

As a new Mac convert, I too am very interested.  Price-wise, 1TB with router is just a touch on the steep side, but you are paying for Apple's proprietary equipment, etc.  I fully realize that I could purchase a 1TB drive and N-type router for less than $500, but the price doesn't seem unreasonable, given the convenience, etc.

I am looking seriously at it as a central server drive and access point for all of ModWright's computers.  I currently use two PC's and a single Mac (Mac Book).  I am considering adding an I-Mac to the mix and networking a max of three-four computers total when it is all said and done.  I will either use a separate 320GB drive for music or roll music onto the TB drive also.  Our production facility/office/lab/showroom are being remodeled right now and I hope to have it done by early summer.  In my office/Lab, I will be using the Mac Book on my design bench, with the I-Mac serving admin. duty.  The Transporter will reside in the showroom/listening room and there will likely not be a computer on the factory floor, unless we invest in an Audio Precision or similar (likely).

I just REALLY like the fact that the Time Capsule makes for such a clean central data access point.  You have all answered my question too about the ability of PC's with XP to also interface (seemlessly?) with the Time Capsule.  I will likely relegate one of my older PC laptops to the Audio Precision when we get that far and may have a laptop or PC dedicated to the music room for music server duties.

I feel that a TB is A LOT of space, when just considering design files, admin/accounting files, backups, etc. Music can eat up a lot of space of course and that is easily solved by a dedicated drive for the music server in the showroom.

I guess I just want to know if the bugs have been worked out and if the Time Capsule is a as reliable as it seems CLEAN and convenient.

Thanks for anyone's input!

Dan W.
President, ModWright Instruments Inc.
360.247.6688

[kbuzz3]

Here is my expereince if its any help.  I am a new mac convert as well. I have both a new mac book, an older G4 for the kids and a sony laptop running windows.  I use an apple extreme basestation.  As a router it has been relatively flawless, and is extremely fast.  It has worked very well with all of my machines, including the windows pc.

I bought the AEBS specifically, to plug in my usb hard drives to play music to via either a SB or similar device.  I have yet to buy the SB because the AEBS is a defectively designed product in that it simply does not work with usb hard drives. ( i have yet to try a printer).  Stated otherwise, unless you are very lucky if you get the AEBS to work properly for any thing other then as a router. The point....

Given the AEBS defects, i have put my cpu plans on hold.  I have been looking at a time capsule as a streaming device, but quite frankly, want apple to refund my aebs or at least provide partial credit towards an TC.  Im not holding my breadth.

Given the issues with the AEBS, if i were to be buying a TC right now, i would wait a while to see if the apple community reports that it works well. This is two fold, one as a back up, and vis a vis this forum whether it will stream music as well.

Being a newbie, i would much prefer to run a TC rather then to spend more and then try to set up a mac mini, headless to a SB .

Good luck and keep us in the loop.  Im still pro apple...but i suspect that the aebs flaws have been addressed via the TC rather then through firmware fixes.

[Watson]

I have yet to buy the SB because the AEBS is a defectively designed product in that it simply does not work with usb hard drives.

What specific problems are you having?  I know several people who are using the AEBS with USB hard drives, so it's not true that "it simply does not work with USB hard drives."  There must be something specific about your setup.

[Crimson]

I have yet to buy the SB because the AEBS is a defectively designed product in that it simply does not work with usb hard drives.

What specific problems are you having?  I know several people who are using the AEBS with USB hard drives, so it's not true that "it simply does not work with USB hard drives."  There must be something specific about your setup.

I did try hooking up a drive to the AEBS. While I had no issues accessing it fom Macs, Windows machines were spotty with their connectivity.

[kbuzz3]

Im glad you have got your AEBS to work with hard drives. FYI there are literally dozens of threads on the net, and at least a two dozen on apple's own cite documenting folks who cannot access hard drives via usb.  Here is a sample.  http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6673899&#6673899.   Personally, like most of the folks on these boards, i have tried just about everything, both software and hardware related- all to no avail.

Apple has, for me, has at least somewhat acknowledged this issue. The have even given me a brand new AEBS. Unfortuanately, the new unit, is as defective as the old.  As for specific issues, i dont want to hijack this thread, but for most of us, its an inability to get usb drives to appear on the desktop,  random dropping if the drives are recognized, or drops when attempting to transfer any data.  The only thing i have not tried is to reformat a HD to say FAT.

Basically, id appreciate any help, but just wanted to give the op some data.  Heck if the TC can stream i may just have to bite the bullet and buy one....anyone want a AEBS....lol.   The other thing the OP may want to know is if you are using the TC's hard drive to stream, how do you back up the TC, since its already a back up....

[ratso]

ugly- while no computer 'expert' i get by. i replaced my linksys WRT with an airport extreme as my main router (for future upgrades sake) and downstairs plugged my Transporter into an also new airport express. i did the above because i had always had frequent dropouts with my old squeezbox and (for whatever reason) replacing it with my Transporter made the problem unlistenable. i was lucky to get through 2-3 songs without constant 'rebuffering'. well the apples cured it. i have had 'occasional' system glitches - there have been times early in using it that i had to reset both the extreme and express. this was NOT really that big a deal, it only happened i think 3 times in about 3 months use. i am typing this to you on a dell laptop and have had no problem integrating it. the BIGGEST issue i had was i bought a hard drive from best buy to use wirelessly through the express and could not get it to be seen in the network - i returned it. so that means no wireless hard drive from the laptop (oh well, a keychain drive isn't that hard to use).

[Double Ugly]

Thanks again for the input, guys.

I've read about the difficulties in getting AEBSs to work with external drives.  Like kbuzz, I get the impression that (1) the problem is rather prevalent, and (2) that Apple likely overstated or otherwise misled (to put it nicely) consumers on the capabilities of the AEBS.

Unfortunately, it's precisely that sort of arrogant "yeah, so what are you gonna do about it?" attitude that drove me to switch from MS-based machines in the first place.  As they continue to experience unprecedented growth, I sincerely hope Apple doesn't make emulating MS a trend item.

But, you know what they say about the apple not falling far from the tree (pun intended)...

I ordered a 1TB Time Capsule yesterday, and I'll report back with my experiences.

[kbuzz3]

good luck with the TC. Please let us know if you will use it for streaming and how it works in that capacity.

[Double Ugly]

good luck with the TC. Please let us know if you will use it for streaming and how it works in that capacity.

Thanks. 

I do (it will be the only networking device in use; no repeaters, no other routers), and I will. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I use the AEBS with a USB hard drive for my main library. I had many dropouts until I disabled wpa and wep. I know use mac address filtering and don't broadcast my ssid. Works 99% of the time with no issues. I am looking to put an 802.11n card in my MacBook Pro to see if that helps for the remaining 1%.

[Crimson]

I use the AEBS with a USB hard drive for my main library. I had many dropouts until I disabled wpa and wep. I know use mac address filtering and don't broadcast my ssid. Works 99% of the time with no issues. I am looking to put an 802.11n card in my MacBook Pro to see if that helps for the remaining 1%.

FWIW, I use WPA2 on a closed net (no broadcast SSID) with mac filtering. I used it with the Extreme and now use it with the TC with no issues.

[Double Ugly]

I use the AEBS with a USB hard drive for my main library. I had many dropouts until I disabled wpa and wep. I know use mac address filtering and don't broadcast my ssid. Works 99% of the time with no issues. I am looking to put an 802.11n card in my MacBook Pro to see if that helps for the remaining 1%.

FWIW, I use WPA2 on a closed net (no broadcast SSID) with mac filtering. I used it with the Extreme and now use it with the TC with no issues.

Which is the most secure method of connecting wirelessly?

At present, we're using WPA and broadcasting the SSID, but only because it's the only way we could get the Transporter and my stepson's SB to connect to the Belkin router.

[Crimson]

I use the AEBS with a USB hard drive for my main library. I had many dropouts until I disabled wpa and wep. I know use mac address filtering and don't broadcast my ssid. Works 99% of the time with no issues. I am looking to put an 802.11n card in my MacBook Pro to see if that helps for the remaining 1%.

FWIW, I use WPA2 on a closed net (no broadcast SSID) with mac filtering. I used it with the Extreme and now use it with the TC with no issues.

Which is the most secure method of connecting wirelessly?

At present, we're using WPA and broadcasting the SSID, but only because it's the only way we could get the Transporter and my stepson's SB to connect to the Belkin router.

All of the above. 

From what I've heard, WPA/WPA2 is more secure than WEP. Adding mac filtering to the mix adds another layer of security. About your SSID issue: I used to have a SB2, and the way I got it to work was to broadcast SSID, let the SB connect, then disable broadcast. Worked fine thereafter.