Time Capsule setup with Ethernet to Wifi Router

[Cameraways]

I have a Home Network i.e.: a Broadband Wifi Router from my ISP. I run an IMac with Yosemite, now also a new MacBook Pro. I have just setup a new Apple TimeCapsule which was fairly straightforward, using an Ethernet cable direct into the WiFi Router.

So far it has taken 3 days to upload my back up of 550Gb, with another 300Gb still to go. Why is it so slow?

My son advises me that I may have a conflict, as there now would be 2 WiFi streams running. Is this something that Apple should have advised in the initial set-up procedure?

My question is therefore, should the WiFi Router be disabled as the TimeCapsule is running WiFi the two computers?

 

[RadDave]

Hello - please provide some further information about the configuration of your network - I'm assuming that you are using Wi-Fi on the MBPro, but how does the iMac connect to your ISP's router, i.e. ethernet cable or Wi-Fi?

And as you likely know Apple's TC is both a router and a HD storage device combined, so unless you have disabled the router functions of one of the devices, particularly DHCP, you likely have two different Wi-Fi networks which may certainly be conflicting w/ each other.

To check which wireless networks are broadcasting, hold down the Option key while clicking on the Wi-Fi icon (upper right menu bar) on your MBPro - you will be presented w/ a more extensive listing of the current Wi-Fi network being used; other networks if detected will also be listed. You can also obtain even more information by going to 'System Information' (from the 'About This Mac' menu choices).

I suspect you need to at least disable one of your DHCP services, and possibly just cable the iMac (assume that is the machine being backed up) if it is using Wi-Fi to one of your routers. And yes should not take 3 days to perform this function. I'll stop there to let you respond since I'm not completely clear as to how your network is configured. Dave
.

 

[Cameraways]

Disabling WiFi router for Time Capsule setup

Hi
Many thanks for your thoughtful reply.
Yes I followed the Apple instructions and connected my Time Capsule via an Ethernet lead. Then I ran the Airport Utility and connected both computers wirelessly.

Naturally I was shocked to see how slow everything had become. This included watching broadcast TV on "Demand Player".
I have just gone into the Wifi setting as suggested and disabled ISP Router, selecting the Time Capsule Network instead. Is this sufficient or should I reboot the Time Capsule and start again?

I had purchased the Time Capsule with my new Macbook which itself took about 16hours to backup 200Gb wirelessly.

Should I stop the iMac Backing up, or will this disabling now speed things along?
Kind regards
DB

 

[RadDave]

Hi
Many thanks for your thoughtful reply.
Yes I followed the Apple instructions and connected my Time Capsule via an Ethernet lead. Then I ran the Airport Utility and connected both computers wirelessly.

Naturally I was shocked to see how slow everything had become. This included watching broadcast TV on "Demand Player".
I have just gone into the Wifi setting as suggested and disabled ISP Router, selecting the Time Capsule Network instead. Is this sufficient or should I reboot the Time Capsule and start again?

I had purchased the Time Capsule with my new Macbook which itself took about 16hours to backup 200Gb wirelessly.

Should I stop the iMac Backing up, or will this disabling now speed things along?

Hi again DB - I was hoping that one of our network 'gurus' would chime in w/ suggestions; as you have discovered, setting up 2 routers w/ Wi-Fi networks is tricky - I'm not sure if Apple was aware that you already had a router (must have been since they advised you to plugging the TC into your existing router) - but you probably need to decide if you want both of these routers (w/ the TC storage for Time Machine) or use just one and purchase some inexpensive external HDs for your TM backups which would be a lot easier.

For myself, I have my Time-Warner modem plugged into an Apple AirPort Extreme router which is next to our iMac, so I simply cabled the router & computer; for my MBPro which I usually use in another room, I use the Wi-Fi network. I have a number of external HDs and run TM on both computers and also use cloning software (Carbon Copy Cloner) - works for me, but I'm not sure what your physical arrangement may be for your computers and routers?

Another point concerning your ISP's router - before purchasing your TC, was your network working to your satisfaction? If not, what were the issues? Just trying to suggest that if you want just one router, which of the two would be the better choice? Please post back your thoughts on these comments. Dave

 

[lclev]

Guru(?) checking in here. You have two routers handing out IP addresses and directing traffic on your network. The Time Capsule and your ISP router are most likely both handling DHCP. The easiest way to fix this is to disable the Time Machine's router features by use one of the macs to open the AirPort Utility found in Finder -> Applications -> Utilities -> AirPort Utility.app.

Once it starts and you can see your Time Capsule icon. This could take a minute so be patient. Click on the time capsule icon. An information bubble will pop up. Click on the word edit found on the right bottom side of the bubble. (See Pic 2)

A new menu will open. Click on the Network tab. Change the router mode to Off (Bridge Mode). (See Pic 3)

What this will do is tell the Time Capsule to quit handing out IP addresses and trying to route traffic on your network and to the internet.

Check the Internet tab and make sure "Connect using" is set to DHCP (See Pic 1)



Lisa

 

[bobtomay]

^^^ That's what you want.

I run two wifi networks here, one from my modem/router and one on the TC.
Let your main router handle DHCP and set up the TC in bridged mode as advised above.
You can run 2 wifi networks or not - if you have both devices sitting next to each other in the same room, there's not much point in it. Mine are connected via ethernet, but they sit at opposite ends of the house.

edit:
Oh, and it's going to take hours and hours to backup 200-500 GB of data via wi-fi. What you've mentioned is not out of the ordinary. Need to do your initial backup via ethernet and then you shouldn't have any problems with your incremental TM backups via wifi.

 

[RadDave]

Well, I've been waiting for our OP to return, especially after two excellent posts on how to resolve the issue of using two routers together - unfortunately, our poster has not returned - Dave

 

[Cameraways]

Time Capsule Network setup

Brilliant advice guys. I can't believe that Apple would not make the Home Network settings more clear in their Setup Procedure. Surely most would run a ISP based Router then simply add to the Network to make use of WiFi backups?

The one thing I keep saying to folks, is that the great thing about Apple products is "it always does what is says on the Box" and much more friendly than M/S products." This experience took much longer to resolve.

Merry Christmas all.

 

[lclev]

Cameraways,

I am glad you got it all straightened out. I feel your frustration. My first experience with setting up an apple device was with an airport express attached to one of our sound boards. The express assumed it was the only router which was an issue on my network of two DNS servers, several wireless access points....well you see the issue and I had never used the Airport Utility.

Our musicians can access their personal settings on our sound board using an iPad or iPhone but it has to go through an airport router. So they plugged it in and were surprised when they had issues which is when they decided they needed network admin - me.

As I said, I had almost zero experience with anything apple at that time so I hit google and got up to speed fast. It wasn't that hard after I got into it's interface utility because it follows the same networking protocols (which makes sense). Since then I have added two Time Capsules for backups. I love how easy and quietly they work.

For the average home owner, simple is what they want. Unfortunately most people have a home router provided by their internet provider that is already handling the DHCP functions plus a few others. Why apple does not set the default of the time capsule to start out as an add on to an existing network is a mystery to me. Maybe someone else has an explanation.

Lisa