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Ext HD to Airport Extreme

J

jmbrown91

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 9, 2011
68
1
Northampton, UK
Hi,

I currently have a 2TB external hard drive which at the moment is used for backups.

I was looking into getting a Time Capsule so I can have backups over the wifi at home and then use it as my iTunes hub. But then the Time Capsules are quite expensive..

Then it got me thinking..I was wondering if anyone on here has or uses an Airport Extreme Base Station and linked an external hard drive to it? Will that work in a similar way to a Time Capsule and back everything up whilst using it as a Media hub for my ATV2 via my MBP.

If anyone could confirm whether it could work or if its a stupid idea that would be great

Thanks
 
It does work and many have gotten it to work, BUT it is finicky and not supported by Apple.
 
I use an old Lacie external drive connect through WRT610N that runs on DD-WRT, to stream data into ATV2. It works fine for streaming but too slow to put data in. Need to connect to computer directly when dumping files into the drive.

So I think Airport Extreme should work fine as long as you can share the drive. I was looking for the TC solution too. But after did some research, I better save money for a real NAS like Synology. TC is designed mainly for backup.
 
I debated the AE + HD vs TC. I decided to purchase just the AE and use my existing USB 2.0 500GB HD. Even if I did not already have an existing external HD, I would do and recommond the same. Given these are all using convential spinning HD's, they are bound to fail (MTBF) at some point, probably within 1-6 years according to most experts. Its much easier to replace a failed ext HD than replace the integrated HD on the TC. I have read many more reviews of failed HD than routers. Plus I would venture to say HDs will move to SSD over the next few years, or Cloud backup options will be cheap enough where many will use that route. Also I dont think 'N' wireless spectrum will be replaced anytime soon.

Time Machine backs up easily over my network to my HD, which is accessible in Finder and appears on my desktop as an icon in addition to my standard HD. I have also created additional folders on my HD where all my music and movies are stored and accessed. Everything is running very smoothly at this point.

Another thing to think about is when you want to upgrade. I am sure at some point I will upgrade by plugging in an ethernet NAS to my AE, which then the sky is the limit.
 
I have airport extreme with external drive and an Apple TV. I have no problem playing movies (as long as itunes is pointed to the external drive). Occasionally, it takes a few moments to wake but works fine.
 
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