ABS as a router?

Wondering if I can use my white dual ABS as a router and an ABS? I now have a NDAS drive that will not operate with two things running DHCP (ABS and LINKSYS Router) So I would like to use my ABS as a router and airport. I thought at one time I read something like this. ,Tom

If I hook a 4 port work station hub off that one Lan port, will that let me run more than one computer and another ABS in my shop?Sure. Just configure the other ABS so that it does not distribute IP addresses.Wanted to add, is the security and such the same on the ABS as the router?For Ethernet clients it is the same. For wireless clients you will want to enable 128 bit WEP. This is the strongest encryption supported by the snow ABS.

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Graphite ABS cannot connect with DHCP

I'm trying (and failing) to set up an (ancient) Graphite Airport Base Station (with latest firmware) in my boss' office.
We get our net feed through a DSL modem using DHCP, and this wired configuration works fine:
DSL modem --- (cat5 cable) ---> Mac
With this setup the mac gets an IP around 208.xxx
What I want to get working is
DSL modem --- (cat5 cable) ---> Airport Base Station
I use the Airport Setup Assistant (For Graphite), set it for DHCP, it resets the Base Station and seemingly finishes without error. I get a nice strong signal from the base station, but the base station does not connect to the outside world. Web pages will not load, ping does not work through console.
Running the Airport Admin Util, I have
Connect using: Ethernet
Configure: Using DHCP
IP address: 192.42.249.12
Subnet: 255.255.255.0
Router Address (blank, ***?)
DNS: 10.0.1.1 (err...?)
The IP# looks odd, not having a router address looks odd, DNS looks odd.
I see the ABS Graphite is on the list of products that require a crossover cable if connected to a few other Apple products, but it is ambiguous if it needs one when connected to a DSL modem. I take this to mean I might need to buy a crossover cable instead of the patch cables I have been trying to use?
FWIW, I took the Airport Base Station home and set it up fine using a static IP number, but I can't seem to get set up with DHCP.
Thanks in advance
Mac OS X (10.4.7)

So it isn't odd that I would need a crossover cable to use it with DHCP, but a non-crossover cable worked fine when I set it up with a static IP?
If I'm reading your post above, you got it to work at home with a static IP address but can't get it to work in the boss's office with DHCP. It is entirely possible that the device that you connected the graphite AirPort base station (ABS) to at home has an auto-sensing Ethernet port and therefore you didn't need the crossover cable.
Using static vs DHCP IP addresses has absolutely nothing to do with the physical Ethernet connection requirements.
Also... be aware that the graphite AirPort base station (ABS) can not communicate with some cable or DSL modems. Back when the graphite ABS was the only game in town, we frequently had to recommend connecting a different router to the modem and then connecting the graphite ABS to the router.

Airport hijacking PC IP address (or something like that)

I have a G5 (running Tiger), iMac (running Tiger), PC (running XP) and a Snow Airport hooked up to a Router (XSense MIH-120 xRouter) which is in turn connected to my Residential Comcast Modem which is hooked up to their system and then the web.
All three computers are set up to get their IP's via DHCP which both Mac's do fine, but whenever I have the Airport turned on the PC is unable to access the internet.
It's as if the Airport is somehow hijacking the PC's IP address.
When I turn the Airport off and reset the PC it connects no problem. Turn the Airport back on and the PC loses connectivity again.
With the Airport disconnected I go into the Routers admin and set the starting IP's to 24 or whatever - to make sure everything is getting new numbers, and again the Mac's and the PC get their respective new numbers. I turn the Airport back on and the PC loses connectivity again.
Any ideas??
BTW I have the Airport to connect to yet another iMac in another room, but that's not part of the equation because it's off half the time, so the problem stops at the Airport which is also password protected.

I took your advice and disabled the internal router and now that it's working as a bridge between the iMac and the router things seem to be working fine. I haven't turned the PC on yet so I'm not sure if this will screw things up like it was before.
I don't think so though, because after performing a hard reset and following Apple's step-by-step instructions http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106685 I had to type in specific IP information into the corresponding fields to access the ABS.
Before, when I accessed the ABS to set it up I connected to it straight away after hooking up the ethernet cable.
So now, at least, I have the latest software in the ABS and the router disabled, so time to fire up the PC.....

Trying to optimize a home network with ABS, AE and a router! New advice!

I currently have this setup:
Cable modem going into a linksys router.
1 line goes to an imac
1 line goes to an emac
1 line goes to a silly windows pc
1 line goes to an AIRPORT BASE STATION (usb -older one)
From the ABS - I power 2 laptops (ibooks) - wirelessly
Also in the network is 2 Airport Express - 1 in an upstairrs office with itunes and printer and the other one downstairs in the entertainment center for itunes.
I do not get great range but it is workable upstairs and down.
If I remove the ABS and just use the 2 AE, will I get a bigger, stronger wireless network? I do get itunes drop out downstairs sometimes. Does the ABS do anything for me in this setup? I added the AE for itunes and printing but was told that it would be better to remove the ABS and just use these devices. The older ABS does not extend the netowork, correct?
If so, should i plug directly into the AE from the modem and then go to the router? What do I gain with the current setup vs plugging into the linksys router AFTER the AE?
Any advice would be helpful
jf

You will find that not all 3rd party routers will allow you to extend the network and use WDS, as shown in th link.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107454
Basicly it is a confiquration issue after that, You don't need to use 2 routers like you have now.
Most users make the mistake and try to use a setup like you have and both routers are setup assign IP's, only the main can be confiqured this way.
This is one of the many reasons why it is a good idea to use all Airport Equipment to avoid incompatibility with 3rd party equipment. Some will mix and match some will not.
Hope this helps.
Don

TS1253 I connected my Airport Extreme Base (ABS) Station to FIOS router.

Printer Canon MF4100 is then connected ABS. I was able to print
when connected wirelessly to ABS
when connected direclty FIOS route via ethernet cable
However, unable to print connected wirelessly to FIOS. Why?

Can I use my Airport Extreme Base Station (the older 802.11b or 802.11g one shaped like a flying saucer, not the newer, boxed-shaped one) to extend the network?
Most likely not wirelessly, as very few non-AirPort are WDS-compatible. However, you could extend the network by connecting via Ethernet.
Also, side question: does Airtunes come with JUST the Airport Express or can I use the Airport Extreme to stream music wirelessly from my iMac desktop's iTunes to my stereo?
Sorry, but no. Only the AirPort Express and the Apple TV can stream audio.

I am trying to setup wireless using my old dome Airport ExtremeBase station. I had previously used it about 5 years ago when I had dial up but have now switche to DSL with Windstream. I can not get connecte as ABS keeps trying to dial up(the phone number)

I am trying to setup wireless using my old dome Airport Extreme Base station. I had previously used it about 5 years ago when I had dial up but have now switched to DSL with Windstream. I can not get connected as the ABS keeps trying to dial up(the old phone number). When I tried to change my network settings an annoying popup window says "your network settings have been changed by another application'. I have no idea what the message is all about and when I close this window it immediately pops up again and prevents me -as far as I can tell -from changing my Airport settings? I need advice on how to get this wireless setup done. Maybe a reset? or something else? I have the DSL phone line plugged into WIndsteam Seimens Speedstream 4200 modem and then the ethernet (yellow) wire from the WIndsteam Seimens Speedstream 4200 modem to the port on the dome that is a circle of dots.

1)Can you explain how using the AEBS as a bridge will work with the Seimens Speedstream4200?
As a bridge, the AEBS will basically become a wireless access point. This will allow the AEBS to provide a wireless network, but still allow the Speedstream to provide NAT & DHCP services for the wireless clients connected to the AEBS. If the AEBS was left as a router, you would have a double-NAT condition which isn't necessary bad in itself, but would create a second subnet. That would make it more difficult for clients connected to the AEBS to access clients connected to the Speedstream.
2) Is there a link that will guide me through the steps to set the AEBS as a bridge?
You can easily reconfigure the AEBS as a bridge using the AirPort Utility.
ref: AirPort Utility > Select the AEBS > Manual Setup > Internet > Internet Connection > Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)
3)Can I just connect the DSL phone line to the AEBS and eliminate the Speedstream4200?
Unfortunately no. The AEBS does not have a built-in DSL modem. You will still need the Speedstream to provide this function.

Only 1 Mac at a time can connect to Comcast via Snow ABS ?

I have 2 Macs, a new MacBookPro Core 2 Duo running 10.4.8 and the other an iMac G4 flat panel (swivel) running 10.3.9.
The ABS is the old snow model.
Separately, each computer can be easily connected to the Comcast network via the ABS. But when I try to connect them both wirelessly at the same time, only 1 of them ever receives the router's IP address. The other is shut out. Network diagnostics suggests the Mac believes it is connected, but that the servers I am asking for must have been typed incorrectly. This is clearly not the case, having used my frequently used favorites bar.
I've tried work-arounds, and now have the Mac Book sharing the iMac's wireless connection via ethernet cable, but that really takes the fun out of having a Mac Book doesn't it?
Anyone with any clues that can help slay this beast?
Thanks,
Paul

Don't give up hope yet
Yes the circle is the WAN port and the bi-directional arrow the LAN port. I'll guess this is the document you followed with regard to doing a hard-reset and so you Snow is now showing a flashing led pattern as per this document, i.e., middle led flashing. Note that the right led may be flashing intermittently if you still have the WAN port connected to your cable modem, this just shows there is Ethernet traffic on that link.
With regard to software required to be able to administer the Snow, check here but I would be suprised if you didn't have the AirPort 4.2 software which provides the AirPort Admin Utility (note that you cannot use the Airport Utility as this cannot administer the Snow.)
For reloading the Snow after a hard-reset this is a good set of instructions to follow.
The usual default setup once you have done this will be for the Snow to do NAT and distribute IP addresses (through DHCP). However, I'm not familiar with what you will have to set up for the WAN port connection to Comcast, but they should have given you that information.
Give us an update as to whether you manage to get any further.
Regards...jeremy

Airport Wireless Card not connecting to ABS

I updated my ABS firmware a few weeks back when many people did and had issues with the update, no wireless connection. I rolled back to the previous ABS firmware version with no luck. I went thru several hard resets and go nothing. So I just went ahead and updated to the current ABS firmware version. I have no problem using the internet over the lan and other computers can connect wirelessly, but the wireless on the G4 Ti won't connect. It shows and error window. I thought the wireless card went dead, but it works just fine on other wireless networks. Any thoughts would be great.
Powerbook G4 Ti OS X 10.4

ok i'm back again. so now i'm on to the internet but my connection is really weak, 1 bar. i talked to the guy who installed the wireless router and he said that its because the aerial is in the base and has to receive the signal through my desk. but he also said that he didn't know much about Mac's. so i'm not to sure he knows what he's talking about. is there any other reason why i'm getting a weak connection. i tried moving my mac around but that did not help.
Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Ewww! Something died ... (ABS problem??)

Being the owner of a Snow ABS and the customer of a cable Internet provider, I've for years -- about five, to be exact -- had to live with my Web access crapping out at unexpected and always inconvenient moments, causing me to have to upplug the cable modem for 30 seconds to reset, wait another 30 for the modem to reboot and connect to the network then restart the computer.
Some BS about ABS and a glitch related to DHCP lease renewal.
Anyway, this pain the the butt solution has always worked. Until this week. Our cable connection quit on Tuesday, we tried the usual tricks and nothing. Turned off the computer and the modem overnight to try afresh in the morning. No help. Even tried the admin utility to reset ABS, and even unplugged the sucker. Did everything but a hard reset.
Called the cable company to gripe, was told to plug the modem directly into my eMac via ethernet, reset the modem and voila! Internet again. Except this leaves my iBook offline unless I wire it up.
Something between my cable modem and my computer quit working as it has for quite a long time and I'm at a loss to figure out how to get it working again. Please note, I have no wireless signal problems. There's just no usuable connection being sent on either a wired or wireless basis with my ABS in the loop.
Here's how I was configured when this happened. If anyone has any suggestions for what might have gone wrong and/or how to get my iBook back online wirelessly, I'd appreciate it.
-> RCA cable modem
-> ethernet out to Snow ABS LAN port (wireless signal out to iBook)
-> ABS ethernet out to Belkin ethernet router (for additional wired ports to my network for a nephew's sometime's visiting PlayStation, for instance)
-> ethernet out from Belkin router to eMac ethernet port
-> ABS distributes IP addresses to wired and wireless computers, and continued to despite not sending along any connectivity with the IP. Airport Admin Utility showed an IP address coming in from outside.
As I write this post:
-> Cable modem to eMac via ethernet and leased IP address, ABS connected to nothing so no wireless connectivity to iBook.
If I have to replace my ABS with something new, I might consider getting an Airport Extreme card for the eMac then sharing my ethernet connection wirelessly. Another question: if I did that, could I make use of an Airport Express as a network range extender and/or for AirTunes?
eMac 1GHz G4, 160 GB, 1 GB RAM, Superdrive Mac OS X (10.3.9) 300 GB Seagate external FW 400 hard drive, iSight

Have you tried resetting the ABS? See KB 106602, Resetting the AirPort Base Station (Dual Ethernet).
I recommend that you change your hardware configuration to this:
cable modemBelkin router[LAN] ABS
Enable the DHCP server on the Belkin router. Configure the ABS so that it does not distribute IP addresses.
...I might consider getting an Airport Extreme card for the eMac then sharing my ethernet connection wirelessly. Another question: if I did that, could I make use of an Airport Express as a network range extender and/or for AirTunes?
No you can not use the AirPort Express as a wireless extender when you are using Internet Sharing on your eMac. WDS only works between AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS). See KB 107454, AirPort Extreme and Express: Using WDS to create a network from multiple base stations.

WDS compatibility, ABS Extreme & Motorola WR850G

Hello. Does anyone know if the WDS functionality in the ABS Extreme and the Motorola WR850G router are compatible? The Motorola WAP is the primary AP and I am trying to get the ABS Extreme to connect to it. So far my tries have been unsuccessful, but it may just be my settings combined with me not setting it up right. Since I've heard of WDS interoperability issues I thought I would see if anyone has done this with success.
Thanks!!!

The Motorola WR850G does not support Apple's flavor of a wireless distribution system (WDS).
The practical reality is that if you want to set up a WDS, you should have a main base station that is either (a) another Airport Extreme Base Station, (b) an Airport Express, or (c) a Linksys WRT54G or WRT54GS - one of the very few non-Apple wireless routers to support Apple's WDS implementation.

Would time capsule be a fast enough router?

I have a imac desktop running safari and a windows laptop running windows xp(802.11g). My laptop is to slow running off of airport and Im not happy with airport as my only router. I need a router and a external hard drive. Would time capsule be a fast enough router for me?

Time Capsule is just another Airport Extreme Base station with a hard drive (ok, that's slightly simplistic), so if the laptop can only connect at 'g' speeds, I wouldn't expect any difference from the Time Capsule.
Do you have an Airport Base Station or are you sharing the Airport connection from your iMac? I'm not sure, but I'd think you'd get slower performance from the latter. If ABS, is the network configured as g-only or b/g compatible?
Maybe there is something wrong with you laptop configuration.

Can setting power output level at 65mw cause a one year old router to fail?

Recently my router WRT54GS v2.1 that is only one year old but has been in 24/7 service failed and the technician that worked on it said the failure was probably due to the power output level being set at 65mw and other firmware settings ( particulars available ) that had been used but were working fine to provide wireless service. The output was fed to a Smart Amp 500mw power amplifier with Automatic Gain Control then through 30 feet of 400 cable to an Omni-directional 14 dbi antenna. Coincidentally the power amp seemed to fail at the same time. The maximum input to the Smart Amp which has AGC is 23dBm (200mw) max. Is it possible that the firmware configuration and the 65mw setting were responsible for the failure of either or both devices?

If the ABS and Router/Modem are both giving IP Addresses out, (that's what tells everything on the Network where to send/get stuff to/from), then everything gets confused... a bit like trying to get US Mail delivered when your street has 2 names, and your abode has the same address as other houses on the block!
You just want the ABS to pass on the IP addies that the Router hands out, and not try to do it itself.
If your base station is connected to a router or other network device that is using NAT to share a single Internet connection with multiple computers on your network, and you are using DHCP to provide private IP addresses, you need to turn off NAT and DHCP on the AirPort base station.
Most networks need only one device using NAT and DHCP to provide IP addresses.
To turn off NAT and DHCP:
Open AirPort Admin Utility, select your base station, and click Configure.
Click Network and deselect the "Distribute IP addresses" checkbox.
If your base station supports Power over Ethernet (PoE), by default the "Distribute IP addresses" checkbox is not selected, and the base station is not using NAT or DHCP.
With NAT and DHCP turned off, the base station acts as a simple bridge between the wired and wireless computers on the network.

Do i need an abs?

i've read through the wired and wireless posts and i'm thinking i need an abs to do what i want to do. i only have an airport express, though.
i have 2 computeres, one desktop (no wireless card) and 1 laptop with airport card. i have one airport express base station.
i want the desktop to use the internet from the cable modem directly. i want to also be able to plug into the express so that i can use the laptop wirelessly.
can i accomplish this with a simple (and cheap) ethernet cable splitter (so, split the cable from the modem in 2, one goes to desktop, the other to the express)? (from what i've read, i'd have to go from the modem into an abs and then ehternet to desktop via the wan port.)
if not, please tell me how to accomplish this (cheaply!).
thanks for your help!

You don't need an airport base station necessarily (though it would work). You could get a router, which basically does what you describe by wanting to "split" the ethernet.
You would plug the ethernet cable from your modem into the router. It then has ports that you can plug cables into to go "out" to other devices. In your case, one cable to the AX, one to your desktop.
Most routers are much cheaper than a base station.
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

How can I tell if my ABS isn't besides the obvious?

Hi All,
The past few days my ABS has dropping internet connection. At first I thought it was my IP but after calling them and they fixing the modem, I still can't connecting using my ABS. I even reset the settings and set everything back up but still no joy. I gives a green light but when I try to access the internet via airport, safari doesn't make the connection.
Is there a way to test the ABS to see functioning properly or if I need to go out and get a new one?
KJ

K James wrote:
The past few days my ABS has dropping internet connection. At first I thought it was my IP but after calling them and they fixing the modem, I still can't connecting using my ABS. I even reset the settings and set everything back up but still no joy. I gives a green light but when I try to access the internet via airport, safari doesn't make the connection.
Is there a way to test the ABS to see functioning properly or if I need to go out and get a new one?
On your Mac Pro open the Network panel of System Preferences and select the item on the left for the type of connection you're using. What value do you see on the right for the IP address? If you're using an Ethernet connection, what do you see for "Subnet Mask", "Router" and "DNS Server"? If you're using an AirPort connection, click on the "Advanced" button. Select the "TCP/IP" tab. What values do you see for "Subnet Mask" and "Router"? Select the "DNS" tab. What value do you see for "DNS Server"?
To check the ABS itself, launch AirPort Utility, select the base station on the left, and click on the "Manual Setup" button. What do you see for "IP Address" near the bottom? (If you're worried about exposing your IP address, just report the first two "octets", such as "123.456".

Graphite ABS, PowerBook and an Enet XP PC not playing together

Hi
The following configuration is giving me problems and I could use some insight. I have a cable modem connected to a hub (not a router). The hub hosts both the Graphite ABS and an XP laptop (not mine) via Enet. My PowerBook (and other Mac laptops) connect just fine with the ABS, but ONLY when the XP PC is disconnected. Plug the XP machine in the hub, and we loose use of the ABS. I am guessing that the XP machine is taking over TCP communications or the DHCP. Anyone with more insight? I don't want to "muck" around in the PC until I know for sure what I am looking for.
Thanks, Ed

Hi Ed
I would say you've hit the nail on the head. Using a hub means that both the Graphite & the XP are "visible" to the ISP through the Cable Modem. Assuming that your ISP connection is assigning IP address dynamically using DHCP (as you mention) then unless you are allowed more than one ip address you will have the problem you describe.
Most likely what happens is that the ABS has an ip address assigned by DHCP but when you plug the XP into the hub is starts casting out for an address using DHCP and the ISP DHCP server assigns a new one and invalidates the address the Graphite has. Would be instructive to have the Graphite connected, use the Airport Admin utility to find the ip address that has been assigned to it, then plug in the XP and when it is connected look in the network settings to find what ip address it has been given. It's just possible the address might be the same but the address will now be associated with the Ethernet MAC address of the XP rather than the Graphite.
Unfortunately, if you want to keep the Graphite there's not much you can do to fix this other than either get a router in place of the hub or get a wireless dongle of some sort for the XP machine to connect to the Graphite (I'm assuming it doesn't have WiFi built-in - obviously if it does then you can set that up.)
Whether you get a simple router or a wireless router is your choice. I operate a network with a basic Netgear router and use a Graphite simply as a wireless access point, i.e., not sharing ip address or providing addresses using DHCP, I leave that to the Netgear, works just fine. However, a wireless router is probably easier to configure if you don't like playing around with bits of kit Something like a Snow or an Extreme would also do the job as they have a Local Lan port (as well as the Wan port) into which you can plug the XP, either direct or using the hub if you have other bits you need to connect by wire also.
Regards...jeremy

ABS as a router?

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