Features
The currently available, fourth generation Time Capsule includes a fully featured, 802.11n, Wi-Fi access point including simultaneous dual-band operation. All clients sharing a single WiFi band must operate at the speed of the slowest client. Dual-band access points such as the Time Capsule allow segregation of clients in to two separate, but simultaneously operating, WiFi bands. One band is restricted to 802.11n clients, while clients using lower-speed standards such as 802.11g are placed on the second band. As the first band is exclusive to 802.11n clients, the presence of clients using slower standards does not impact the 802.11n clients. The Time Capsule supports the Sleep Proxy Service, a technology that allows clients to partially shutdown to conserve energy, yet still be responsive to network traffic.
Hardware interfaces on the Time Capsule include four Gigabit Ethernet ports (3 LAN ports, and 1 WAN port), and a USB interface for external peripheral device sharing. Commonly connected peripherals include printers and external hard drives. A built-in fileserver that supports both AFP and SMB provides network access to files stored on the built-in hard drive. The 7.6.1 Time Capsule firmware enables remote access of the harddisk with an iCloud account. In the past, users needed a MobileMe account to remotely access data. Fourth generation models are available with 2 TB and 3 TB of built-in storage.
One of the key features of Time Capsule, is the ability to back up a system and files wirelessly and automatically, eliminating the need to attach an external backup drive. This feature requires OS X 10.5.2 Leopard or greater on the client computers. The backup software is Apple's Time Machine, which, by default, makes hourly images of the files that are being changed, and condenses backup images as they become older, to save space. Even when using an 802.11n wireless or Gigabit Ethernet connection, the initial backup of any Mac to the drive requires significant time; Apple suggests that the first backup will take "overnight or longer". Subsequent backups are incremental, thus will typically be quicker, as they only include changed files. Clients using Mac OS X Snow Leopard, can perform the initial backup twice as fast as Leopard clients. The backup disk can also be used by Windows-based computers, and the files on it can be managed by another OS such as Windows.
The hard drive typically found in a Time Capsule is the Hitachi Deskstar, which is sold by Hitachi as a consumer-grade product—the Hitachi Ultrastar is the enterprise version. Apple labeled the drive as a server-grade drive in promotional material for Time Capsule, and also used this type of drive in its discontinued Xserve servers. Apple states that the Hitachi Deskstar meets or exceeds the 1 million hour mean time between failures (MTBF) recommendation for server-grade hard drives.
The 500 GB, first generation Time Capsule shipped with a Seagate Barracuda ES-series drive. More recently, other hard drives such as the Western Digital Caviar Green series, and the Samsung EcoGreen series have been reported.
The Time Capsule measures 7.7 inches (20 cm) square, and 1.4 inches (3.6 cm) high, slightly larger than the AirPort Extreme Base Station and close to the first generation Apple TV in volume. Its size is partly due to the inclusion of an internal power supply, which eliminates the requirement for a separate external power supply, enabling a direct connection between the household power outlet and the back of the Time Capsule.
Read more about this topic: Apple Time Capsule
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