Router file sharing
July 14, 2016 2:17 PM Subscribe
USB flash drive or USB hard drive for sharing files via an Apple Airport Extreme's USB port? Tech details within.
I have an older Apple Airport Extreme with a USB 2.0 port for file/printer sharing. I'm currently sharing files on it via wifi to my Apple TV, but the 32 GB USB drive I'm using is too small. Would I get any speed/seek time benefits from moving to a 1 TB portable Seagate USB drive or should I stick with a flash drive and buy a comparably priced 256 GB one?
-They're both about $60, so price is moot.
- Both the current, new hard drive, or new USB flash drive are USB 3.0, but that's moot with the AppleTV's port being USB 2.0.
- Assume these are backed up/non essential files, so concerns about the longevity of the hard drive don't matter.
- With the current flash drive, I've noticed transferring large files to it sometimes slow down for some reason when it's getting full. Is it because it's a low quality flash drive? Does this happen to all flash drives? I'd like to avoid that.
I'm interested in more storage, but 1 TB is definitely overkill. If they're the same speed, I'm considering going for the 1 TB anyway.
I have an older Apple Airport Extreme with a USB 2.0 port for file/printer sharing. I'm currently sharing files on it via wifi to my Apple TV, but the 32 GB USB drive I'm using is too small. Would I get any speed/seek time benefits from moving to a 1 TB portable Seagate USB drive or should I stick with a flash drive and buy a comparably priced 256 GB one?
-They're both about $60, so price is moot.
- Both the current, new hard drive, or new USB flash drive are USB 3.0, but that's moot with the AppleTV's port being USB 2.0.
- Assume these are backed up/non essential files, so concerns about the longevity of the hard drive don't matter.
- With the current flash drive, I've noticed transferring large files to it sometimes slow down for some reason when it's getting full. Is it because it's a low quality flash drive? Does this happen to all flash drives? I'd like to avoid that.
I'm interested in more storage, but 1 TB is definitely overkill. If they're the same speed, I'm considering going for the 1 TB anyway.
802.11n is 300 Mbps and 802.11ac is (if all three streams are used) 1300 Mbps. The best USB 2 data rate is 480 Mbps. I expect one of those three numbers will be your bottleneck, depending on your clients and their quality of wireless network connection. I would suggest the 1 TB drive, also.
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:58 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by a lungful of dragon at 2:58 PM on July 14, 2016
Best answer: FWIW, this is very similar to the setup I have at home - older ('flat') 4th-gen Airport Extreme, where I occasionally swap between a 64GB USB stick & 500GB HDD (both 3.0-capable). I notice no difference in speed between the USB stick & HDD, even on the wired connection.
posted by Pinback at 4:38 PM on July 14, 2016
posted by Pinback at 4:38 PM on July 14, 2016
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posted by gregr at 2:23 PM on July 14, 2016