Sorry To ask such a basic question (Time Capsule)

[Los Angeles]

Hey all,

I have had a couple of time capsules over the years and love the product. Sadly my most recent one is having a disk error and I dont think its any good. I also recently read Apply has stopped making this product. I guess they are trying to get everything to the cloud. However I still like to have it stored locally.

The current set up in our house is cable internet into a modem then we have cat6 running to different rooms in the house. I want to hook up something local to my office and create its own network that the kids stay off of. Also want it to automatically back up my MBP. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you,

J

 

[iStorm]

Hey all,

I have had a couple of time capsules over the years and love the product. Sadly my most recent one is having a disk error and I dont think its any good. I also recently read Apply has stopped making this product. I guess they are trying to get everything to the cloud. However I still like to have it stored locally.

The current set up in our house is cable internet into a modem then we have cat6 running to different rooms in the house. I want to hook up something local to my office and create its own network that the kids stay off of. Also want it to automatically back up my MBP. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you,

J

Apple may have stopped making AirPort Time Capsules, but you can still use Time Machine in the same manner with a NAS that supports it. I use a Synology NAS on my home network, and my Time Machine backups are saved to that wirelessly.

 

[hobowankenobi]

A couple of challenges:​

1. Network (wifi) backups.

As mentioned, Synology (and others) support TimeMachine backups.

You can also consider synchronizing vs. backing up...syncing can be very useful if files needed to be used between different computers and/or users, and still function as a backup too. Synology has a good built-in tool (Drive), but there are many options including DropBox, Box.net, Mega.nz, OneDrive, and iCloud. Most will cost something, but have the added benefit of off-site duplicates and restore points (versioning).

2. Remote connection or WAN file sharing.

Being able to connect to or share data with remote (via internet, not on a local network) computers can be challenging with traditional tech, especially if you want to maintain good security.

TimeMachine is not built to backup up remote data...whereas many sync tools are. Synology Drive, for example, can synchronize between remote locations, so changes are saved:

1. on the machine you work on
2. on the Synology NAS
3. on the remote machine you have synchronizing set up on

Again, many other sync tools can handle this, but most are cloud-based, and you pay a fee for space used, which can get pricey for large data sets.

​

Next Steps:​

• Estimate your data set size to backup/synchronize (both current needs and expected future growth)
• Determine backup requirements (how many versions of files to keep, how long backups should be retained, etc)
• Plan what data needs to be saved or accessed remotely (what/when/who/how)

Other needs? Wishlist stuff?

 

[Los Angeles]

I just want to back up my 2TB MBP Can you do that in the iCloud?

 

[hobowankenobi]

While there is a 2TB iCloud plan, one needs room for versioning and future growth. If you outgrow it as your data set grows...then what? Hopefully, Apple will continue to increase the max size over time.

Also consider how long it would take to backup, as well as restore. Cloud is great for a long-term archive and disaster recovery, but less great as a daily backup.

While cloud backup is a very good option, a good goal is to have a minimum of 2 different backup locations, and ideally 3+. A local NAS (like Synology) can make multiple versions easier to achieve and maintain.