Airport Extreme 802.11g base station loses internet connection often

Question

I just installed an Airport Extreme base station (802.11g version Apple Base Station V5.7) last week. And it keeps dropping my internet connection at least once a day.
I simply replaced an old SMC Barricade wireless router that died (and was a POS). But I only had to reset the SMC about once every 2 months. Nothing else has changed in my setup. Only the router/base station is different.
The wireless part is fine. Even when the internet connection gets dropped the hard wired AND wireless clients can still access the local network. Reseting the DSL modem has no effect. The only solution is to power cycle (unplug and plug back in) the AEBS OR restart it from Airport Admin utility.
But you can't do that from offsite. When the AEBS drops the internet connection I can't access my office network from home!
Is there a place in Airport Admin Utility which tells you the status of your internet connection like most generic wireless routers with web-based software do?
Any ideas on resolving this?
Thanks

Answer 1

"Any ideas on resolving this?"
Looter,
Based on your description, open AirPort Admin Utility and check the configuration of your main base station on the "Internet" pane. If you're using ethernet cable from the modem to the base station, the top selector [Connect Using:] should show "Ethernet" and the second selector [Configure:] should show "Using DHCP"
Also, check your iMac's System Preferences>Network at "Show: AirPort" and check the PPPoE pane which should show no entries (unless your isp requires its use), and the TCP/IP pane which should show "Configure IPv4:" as being "Using DHCP" - while all other info is filled in automatically.
"Is there a place in Airport Admin Utility which tells you the status of your internet connection like most generic wireless routers with web-based software do?"
No, the AirPort Admin Utility is not web-based, only located on your computer with the information available to it necessary to operate the AirPort system. It does not actually administer the signal. I think that is done only by System Preferences>Network.
"I'm actually referring to the Airport Express base station not my MacBook Pro's wireless connection. Is there anywhere in the Airport Admin Utility software that tells you the status of the AEBS' internet connection NOT the wireless connection."
No, that info is not available in that utility. The information you seek is at System Preferences>Network, but only after the system scans for it. Click the "Assist me..." button and then, on the "Do you need assistance setting up a new network connection or solving a network problem?" panel that opens, click the "Diagnostics..." button. A "Network Diagnostics" panel will then open and if its scan shows there is no internet the lights to the left of "Internet" and "Server" will be yellow instead of green. Meanwhile, it continues scanning for the connection until it is re-established. I determined this by pulling my cable from the phone jack, later reinserting it.
Further information that may be helpful to you can undoubtedly be found in threads such as this other one:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=884049&tstart=0
edit-
In re-reading, I may not have given you what you need. It sounds as if you may be "timing out" somehow on your connection. You might want to check around at some of your log-on settings to see if there is that possibility connected to one of them, even though the only thing I can think of is the "Renew DHCP Lease" button which is unknown to me, as I've never used it.
Message was edited by: myhighway