What to choose: Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express?

In the life of every lover of Apple comes the moment when he "grows" in the ecosystem of the park, and home devices It expanded so that there is a question of buying the "right" of the router to deploy the "right" home network. Choosing Apple networking equipment is incomparably simpler than that of other manufacturers, but here too there are nuances, because kupertinovtsy release three similar devices, each of which meets the needs of different categories of users. In this article I want to tell you about the benefits of Apple-routers, how they differ from each other, as well as on how to choose a suitable router based on your needs.

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AirPort Express

Junior model routers family with a fairly democratic price tag (3990 rubles.). Miniature AirPort Express, has almost the same size as the Apple TV, but encased in a milky-white plastic, rather than black. Dimensions of the device are less than 10 cm in width and a little more than 2 cm in height. However, in this lies the little one performance.

With AirPort Express, you can expand your home network 802.11n standard also supports devices using standards a, b and g. With the ability to simultaneously work in two bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and the old and new devices will operate at the highest supported speed.

On the back of the baby AirPort Express are two 100-megabit Ethernet ports, one of which is used for incoming connections (WAN) by a cable or ADSL-modem, and to second, you can connect a desktop computer or any other device without Wi-Fi. Also here we have a USB-port for connecting a printer, which will be available for all devices on your network and the combined 3.5mm audio jack to connect to the receiver via the analog or optical cable (yes, AirPort Express can be used as AirPlay receiver).

In addition, with AirPort Express, you can extend your wireless network by increasing its using the signal power in areas of poor reception, such as in separate rooms, or even a whole floor. For these purposes, very easy to set up AirPort Express as a bridge or repeater using the built-in utility AirPort.

AirPort Extreme

Router, standing on a step higher than the AirPort Express. Its cost is twice as high as the entry-level (8290 rubles.), But for the money you get a lot more features.

AirPort Extreme housing is significantly higher AirPort Express (about 17 cm), but the base size in both models the same. Compared with the previous AirPort Extreme generations, the modern model is much more compact and sleeker, due to its height.

By the way, in such a case is made high not only aesthetic reasons but also in order to accommodate therein a powerful a six-element antenna, which provides a secure coating velocities corresponding transmission standard 802.11ac. transmission skrost it three times more than in the previous audit 802.11n, however, it is fully compatible with all earlier revisions.

Keep in mind that this does not mean an increase in internet speed three times (the bottleneck is likely to be your cable or an ADSL-modem) - speed boost will be noticeable only within your local network, the transmission from device to device, and provided that they have the support 802.11ac.

What kind of devices it? Apple has begun to implement support for 802.11ac standard on all Macs, starting with MacBook Air, presented in June 2013. If your Mac has a Haswell processor - it supports 802.11ac. It also includes the Mac Pro, presented in December last year and all new Macy's, which appeared and will appear in this year. iOS-device, unfortunately, are still running on legacy 802.11n, but it's a matter of time;)

AirPort Extreme differences from the younger model, not limited to only one speed. Due to the special design of the antenna, it can form a directional beam to provide a more reliable connection to the 802.11ac devices. The router determines which of them use the newest standard and sends the signal to their direction, whereby, with devices that support 802.11ac standard, established a more reliable and precise compound at high speeds.

You can connect not only the printer, but the hard drive, which will be available for all your home network devices via USB to the AirPort Extreme. This, of course, does not replace your file server or the NAS, however, for the organization to share files, AirPort Extreme functionality is more than enough.

On the rear panel at the AirPort Extreme or two, but as many as four Ethernet-port. One of them is used for the WAN-connection to the other three, you can connect any device without Wi-Fi or wired router. Moreover, unlike the low-end model, with AirPort Extreme all Ethernet-Gigabit ports, ie support speeds 10 times faster than the AirPort Express.

Time Capsule

Time Capsule is absolutely identical to the AirPort Extreme: from the appearance and size to the iron fillings and functionality. You get 802.11ac router with a six-element antenna, Gigabit Ethernet-ports and a USB to hook up a printer or hard drive.

However, Time Capsule is different in that it has a built-in hard drive. The device is available in two configurations: a hard disk 2 terabytes (12290 rubles.) Or 3 terabytes (16290 rubles.). Both versions are available to any poppy on your network for backup via Time Machine.

As you probably know, Time Machine - a utility for easy backup, which Apple includes in the OS X, since version 10.5 Leopard. It allows you to automatically create backups of your disk, which record the current state of the system, including all of your content over an extended period of time (depending on the amount of available disk space). Thus, if you need to restore any file, a remote, say May 1st, just open the Time Machine and "unrolling" on that date.

To suit AirPort Express?

AirPort Express will fully satisfy your needs, if:

• you have a small house or apartment;
• you use maca 2012 and older;
• your ecosystem consists only iOS-devices;
• you want to use your receiver with AirPlay;
• you need to increase the signal strength of the existing home network in areas with poor reception;

Power and AirPort Express functionality for all of the above cases, more than enough. And lack of support for 802.11ac Gigabit Ethernet-ports can be critical for people who are looking for maximum performance and speed, but they have to AirPort Extreme.

To suit AirPort Extreme?

More powerful AirPort Extreme is the perfect choice for you if:

• you build your network from scratch and want to provide a "reserve for the future";
• you own a country house and several Apple-devices for each family member;
• you are the owner of modern devices with support for 802.11ac standard besrovodnogo (no matter your Mac or PC);

To suit Time Capsule?

The only, but very weighty advantage of Time Capsule, before the rest of the Apple-routers is the ability to use it as a network drive to create backups.

If you still do not use the backup to your Mac, I urge you to start doing this, the more that the purchase of Time Capsule will be a great occasion. This is an incredibly handy feature that set up enough once and just forget about it. Believe me, when something happens - it will gain you much.

conclusion

Model range of network devices, Apple is quite wide and diverse, in order to fully meet the needs of different categories of users. AirPort Express - for the modest needs of the network, expansion of the existing network or listen to music through AirPlay. AirPort Extreme - for uncompromising power and performance. Time Capsule - Automatic backup without any hassle. Whatever your choice, any of them will link your entire ecosystems and provide reliable operation of the network.

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