Access point that supports Apples Time Capsule functionality

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Dunnersfella

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# 213853 15-Apr-2017 11:55

Soooo...

At the Mother In Laws and her older Apple Airport Extreme is on its last legs.

It's currently being used as an access point off their ISP provided Huawei router.

She has been backing up her Macbook Pro to an attached USB HDD (plugged into the Airport Extreme) and would like to continue to do so.

In the near future there's a strong chance that she will be upgrading to fibre, so I need to keep that in mind.

Either way - what Access Point do you recommend for this scenario?

I currently have a Netgear R8000... but it's a beast that would be somewhat overkill in this scenario IMHO...

michaelmurfy

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# 1764688 15-Apr-2017 12:17

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Why not just grab a Synology NAS (which can work with backups etc) as well as a UniFi AC Lite? It'll be far better than any of the "all in one" options currently on the market.

Michael Murphy | https://murfy.nz
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Dunnersfella

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# 1764692 15-Apr-2017 12:46

Because... money.

I'll have a Ubiquiti / Synology in my new house, but in the MIL's situation a Synology NAS solution would really be overkill of the upmost extreme.

gehenna

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# 1764694 15-Apr-2017 12:53

You'll need to use a direct attached drive on the Mac if the Airport is on its way out. I think Time Machine will only recognise network drives that are mapped via the Airport Utility, which only supports Airports.

tardtasticx

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# 1764708 15-Apr-2017 13:55

If physical size isn't a concern then you can grab an old apple pc (even a pre-intel one) and set that up with OS X Server which can host a time machine server. I've done this before using an iMac G4, had it set up to turn on each morning at 1am and do backups then go to sleep at 3am again. You can find these super cheap on trade me, like under $50.

DaveDog

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# 1764925 16-Apr-2017 11:41

I'm in a similar position and you do have some options - if you're looking at new - then the options aren't cheap...

As mentioned above - the Synology NAS does a good job of this. But, you're looking at around $200 excluding HDD. This is the option I'll probably end up going for when I get around with it.

You can buy an Airport Express for around $200, but for my mind the money is better spent on the Synology. An Airport Extreme is an even worse proposition at $350. Remembering too that these devices are supposedly end of live and Apple aren't developing them anymore either.

There is of course the Apple Time Capsule - you won't get much chance from $500 on one of these... Stick with the Synology unless you're really a brand loyalist.

Logically for what you want to spend - an external USB HDD is probably your best bet... Under $100, plug it in and off you go. Simple... Cheap... But - It isn't a network device and you obviously (in the case of a laptop for example) need to plug it in!

One last thing - I had an old QNAP NAS that supposedly supported Time Machine ... It wasn't as reliable as I would have expected and the Synology for my mind seems to do it better (work has a Synology and it just works)...

gzcwnk

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# 1771770 28-Apr-2017 11:34

My Asus RT68U is supposed to support time machine but I have not tried it yet. It is also supposed to be OK for fibre, but I have 2+ years wait to find out.

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alasta

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# 1771818 28-Apr-2017 12:29

DaveDog:

Logically for what you want to spend - an external USB HDD is probably your best bet... Under $100, plug it in and off you go. Simple... Cheap... But - It isn't a network device and you obviously (in the case of a laptop for example) need to plug it in!

This. It's a simple, cheap solution and the hassle of plugging it in a couple of times a week is minor. Most importantly, you can keep it offsite which you can't do with a time capsule type of solution.

I juggle two USB hard drives so that there is always one off site.