I am looking for something similar to Time Capsule, but I am really not interested in the wireless router capabilities.
Can you suggest hardware which has the same good qualities (size, silent operation, reliability), interoperability with my Macs, and possibly aesthetics?
I've looked at various offerings but I've overall unconvinced by any.
Any Drobo product will do, but it’s possibly more expensive than a single Time Capsule. The advantages are a lot tho. :)
You can compare the different models. I have used a Drobo (not pro, not fs, not anything) and it had problems with certain reliability, but I’ve heard nice things about Drobo FS and even Drobo Pro.
There are other NAS out there, so find one that you can afford, seek for reviews and go ahead :).
The nice thing about (Drobo in this case) is that you put “normal” drives in there, if one fails, you just replace it. BOom. That simple. It works in practice too. I’ve had two drive failures while using the Drobo.
I am using an old G4 Mac Mini, which you should be able to pick up really cheap, which I have two external drives hooked up to.
It is quiet, reliable and looks beautiful but is small enough to fit into even a drawer if you want it out of the way.
Personally I use a Synology NAS. It has TimeMachine support built-in as well as a lot of other useful features (for example streaming music to iTunes). I have a 4-bay model for increased storage since I also use it as a file-server. There are several models to choose from though.
The LaCie network space 2 is Time Macine compatible, as are some of the other NAS products in their range. I have the earlier version (not Time Machine compatible) connected to my Time Capsule as a file server and it's just as quiet/stylish but even more reliable than my Time Capsule has been.
(I don't work for LaCie, I'm just a happy customer)
Take a peek at a QNAP NAS - they are being actively developed/supported and have a very impressive feature set, including:
