[chriswagner]

Our office is currently split in half. Downstairs all the administration runs windows machines. Upstairs where I work we have 2 Mac laptops. We also share a laser printer between us. (When you want to print, just walk over to it and plug in.) Our network conection is shaired with all the computers downstairs wirelessly.

What I would like to do is get a time capsule to back up our two laptops to upstairs. I would also like to plug the printer in to it so it acts as a wireless print server. Will the Time Capsule just intergrate into the network, or should I be looking for a wireless bridge of some sort.

Chris

[dcpics]

You will need to set it up to bridge off the existing wireless network if you need the networking that provides -- the Internet, file sharing with the windows folks etc.

Be aware that Apple routers don't attach to other networks easily, it usually needs to be another Apple router it is bridging from. You may want to look at a simple wireless connection for the printer to share it wirelessly.

[chriswagner]

If we forget about the printer, and just look at the time capsule for a backup drive for the two laptops, would it need to run in brige mode? I don't want the downstairs computers accessing the time capsule, just backup the two Mac laptops to it.

Chris

[dcpics]

Do you need the wireless from downstairs for any reason?

If the answer is yes then you may have trouble attaching the Time Capsule to the existing wireless network, unless it is an Apple router.

If you can get it to attach to the network and be a bridge, then you can share use Time Machine and put the printer on it.

My caution is that if the wireless router you now connect to is not an Apple router, the Time Capsule wireless part may not connect to it to bridge it.

[chriswagner]

Yes, we need the wireless from downstairs for our access to the internet. The router we get it from is a linksys so I guess brige mode is out. I think the best bet may be to replace the linksys downstairs with the time capsule, and just get a wireless print server for the printer up here. I Just didn't wan't to bog down the rest of the office when the time capsule backs up our 2 laptops.



Chris

[dcpics]

Your best solution is to just get a print server for the upstairs, or a simple wi-fi unit that will bridge off the linksys and attach the printer to it and share it.

As for doing back ups, rather than buying a Time Capsule that you can't make use of the wireless on, just buy a couple of cheap external drives and have each computer back up to its own external. That way if you have one of the externals crash you don't lose both of the Time Machine backups but only the one on that particular computer.

[chriswagner]

You may be right, I was hoping for the ability to not have to plug in, but it seems like this may be the best option.



Chris

[smax013]

If you get a WiFi access point or router or WiFi bridge than can bridge from the Linksys router downstairs, then you can attach a Time Capsule to that WiFi access point by way of a wired connection and then use the Time Capsule for backup, printer server and WiFi connection.

The other option is to connect the Time Capsule downstairs to the Linksys with a wired connection, then you use the Time Capsule for backup and your WiFi connection, but then figure out another way to print upstairs (unless you want to walk downstairs everytime you print)...this could be wireless printer or some sort of print server. This method would mean that you would NOT slow down the entire wireless network backing up as you would be using the Time Capsule's wireless network.

[chriswagner]

Conecting the Time Capsule to the linksys router via a wired conection is an intresting proposition. If I understand this corectly, the linksys would be broadcasting one network (Call it PC Wireless) that all the downstairs people would conect to. It would be a wirelss B (since they have some older computers) and the Time Capsule would broadcast a wireless n network that we would conect the Macs to. (Call it Mac Wireless) I could then get a Wireless Print Server to conect the Printer to.

If I set the print server up so it conects to the PC network, I sould still be able to find it with the Macs. If I conect it to the Mac Wireless, it would slow it down to wireless G. (I am betting there are not to many draf N wireless print servers).

Instead of using a wireless print server, I could go with a wireless bridge, since the printer does have a ethernet port.



Any other Ideas?



Chris

[smax013]

chriswagner said:

Conecting the Time Capsule to the linksys router via a wired conection is an intresting proposition. If I understand this corectly, the linksys would be broadcasting one network (Call it PC Wireless) that all the downstairs people would conect to. It would be a wirelss B (since they have some older computers) and the Time Capsule would broadcast a wireless n network that we would conect the Macs to. (Call it Mac Wireless) I could then get a Wireless Print Server to conect the Printer to.


If I set the print server up so it conects to the PC network, I sould still be able to find it with the Macs. If I conect it to the Mac Wireless, it would slow it down to wireless G. (I am betting there are not to many draf N wireless print servers).


Instead of using a wireless print server, I could go with a wireless bridge, since the printer does have a ethernet port.





Any other Ideas?





Chris

Get an Airport Express to bridge to the Time Capsule wireless connection (the Mac Wireless) and connect the printer to the Airport Express. This should keep everything in 802.11n as the Airport Express is now 802.11n and it supports connecting a printer.

The "simpliest" overall option (if possible) would be to run an ethernet cable from the Linksys upstairs and just put the Time Capsule upstairs with a wired connection and then connect the printer to the Time Capsule, but I am guessing that running an ethernet cable upstairs is not an option.