Airport Extreme WDS network setup

I'm new to Apple stuff. I have a Dell Desktop running XP and a Dell laptop and IBM laptop running the same. I tried setting up a WDS network, I have an Extreme and 3 Expresses to connect to my receivers, Slingbox, etc. My desktop gets internet through the Extreme using an Ethernet cable, and we can see the network on our laptops, but when it tries to connect it gives us the "limited or no connectivity" issue. We've connected to it before wirelessly and had it work, but very rarely. Also, in the Airport Utility, it does not seem to pick up any of the Expresses even though I added their Airport IDs to the WDS network. Please help, I've definitely hit a dead end on this one. Thanks.

Time Capsule, 1TB. (0x168C, 0x9A) 80211n
Apple Express (I can't find the model number!! Though I know it is "newer" than my Time Capsule Extreme.
Both using 7.6.4
Three Apple TV's.
Sonos Music system setup in the house...separate network.
Internet service provided by ARRIS modem...from Comcast.
My goal? To have the fastest and most stable system in my house. To take advantage of the Airport Express for extending my network, physically.
Thanks!

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Airport extreme/express network setup

i'm sure this has been covered in general but lan equipment and requirements vary widely (plus most of my wireless experience is w/non-apple routers), so here goes. i have the following hardware
airport extreme (802.11n) running 7.5.2 (might downgrade to 7.4.x based on comments in this forum) connected to cable modem
2 airport express (v6.3) connected wirelessly to ap extreme
1 airport express (v6.3) connected via ethernet (wd powerline) to ap extreme
what i'd like:
ap extreme base to be the only SSID & DHCP server on the network.
the 2 wireless expresses to provide wider coverage in the main house.
the express connected via ethernet to provide wireless signal/access in the detached guest house (trying to run it wirelessly does not get a strong enough signal, hence the powerline ethernet), but only as an extension to the extreme base.
when a device (laptop, phone, etc.) connects, it should use the closest / strongest wireless signal, but always think there is only 1 network/connection config. and, when one moves between house and guest house, connected device will auto 'roam'.
whoever set this up, set the extreme to be running in WDS mode (WDS main). however, it complains that it is the only WDS device on the network (see next ???).
the 2 wireless expresses are set to 'Participate in WDS' (WDS remote)
in order to get the ethernet-connected express to work, i had to give it its own SSID and set it to 'Create wireless network'.
it does work, but there are 2 networks, no roaming, and error message on ap extreme base re:WDS config.
questions:
1) what mode should the extreme base use ('Create wireless network' or 'Participate in WDS network')?
2) what settings (WDS or wireless) for the wireless expresses?
3) what mode should the ethernet-connected express use ('Create wireless network', 'Participate in WDS network' or 'Join wireless network')?
4) anything special i need to know to get the roaming to work reliably?
5) any suggestion (due to missing questions :-)?
tx for any info. i could try all the permutations & combinations of config (actually, i've already tried a number of them , but tired of running up/downstairs and to/fro resetting devices, so i thought i would ask for help from people with more experience background.
mack

Hi, mackiemesser. Welcome to the forums!
So if I understand correctly, your setup looks like this:
<hr>
• Express #1, Express #2, and the Extreme should be set to "Participate in a WDS."
• The Extreme needs to be told that Expresses #1 and #2 will be WDS Remotes. (You'll have to enter their MAC addresses.)
• Expresses #1 and #2 need to be told that the Extreme will be their WDS Main. (You'll have to enter its MAC address.)
• Express #3 should indeed be set to "Create a wireless network" but should use the same SSID and password that your other wireless network uses.
• All Expresses should be configured to operate in Bridge Mode. In Manual Setup, click "Internet" in the toolbar and choose "Off (Bridge Mode)" from the "Connection Sharing" popup menu.
• The Extreme should not be in Bridge Mode. It should instead "Share a public IP."
<hr>
A few suggestions:
• Write down the MAC addresses of all your Extremes. This saves a lot of time when you're setting up the WDS.
• Sometimes after you change the WDS settings for one AirPort on the network, it confuses the other AirPorts in the WDS, and you get network problems until all of the AirPorts agree on WDS information. In this case, if you can't see an AirPort in AirPort Utility, connect that AirPort to the computer via Ethernet. In fact, it might save time to gather all your AirPorts and plug them in next to your computer for the WDS setup process so that you can easily connect via Ethernet if necessary.
• Using a WDS dramatically decreases your network performance. Every time you add a WDS Remote, you decrease your maximum network speed by 50%. Newer AirPorts support 802.11n and have a feature that allows you to extend your wireless network without as much overhead as a WDS, but all AirPorts in the wireless network that's extended must support 802.11n.

Problems with Airport extreme wireless network setup

I set up a wireless network with my new airport extreme via the airport utility on my macbook air. The macbook air can access the network and the internet without a problem. However, when I open the airport utility, it claims the extreme can't access the internet. Then, when I try to get to the network from any other component in the house: blue ray players, ipod touches or another laptop, they can see the network, but not connect to it or to the internet. This is my first time setting up a wireless network - I'm divorced and my ex-husband set up the last one. I'd rather die than call him for help. Can you suggest a fix or a way to troubleshoot? I'm convinced that I've done something wrong in the setup, but for the life of me I can't find the mistake. Thanks!

I set up a wireless network with my new airport extreme via the airport utility on my macbook air. The macbook air can access the network and the internet without a problem. However, when I open the airport utility, it claims the extreme can't access the internet. Then, when I try to get to the network from any other component in the house: blue ray players, ipod touches or another laptop, they can see the network, but not connect to it or to the internet. This is my first time setting up a wireless network - I'm divorced and my ex-husband set up the last one. I'd rather die than call him for help. Can you suggest a fix or a way to troubleshoot? I'm convinced that I've done something wrong in the setup, but for the life of me I can't find the mistake. Thanks!

I enabled the guest network feature on my time capsule. Can I configure my airport extremes guest network feature if I use this as a network extender using a "roaming" network?

I enabled the guest network feature on my TC. Can I configure my airport extremes guest network feature if I use the extreme as a network extender connecting my Airport Extreme to my TC via ethernet cable?

Unfortunately no, since the AirPort Extreme should be configured in Bridge Mode if it is connecting to the Time Capsule using an Ethernet connection.
The Guest Network option cannot be enabled when the AirPort is configured in Bridge Mode.
Another way of saying the same thing is that the Guest Network cannot be "extended" either by using an Ethernet connection or wireless. It is only available from the Time Capsule "main" wireless router on your network, not any extending devices.

When attempting to set a password on my Airport Extreme guest network i get this "Advertising a service globally using Bonjour requires a global hostname." What can i do to set password on this network?

When attempting to set a password on my Airport Extreme Guest Network i get this "Advertising a service globally using Bonjour requires a global hostname." What does it mean. Or what i need to do to correct it.

When trying to troubleshoot my problem I discovered a forum that was saying certain NTFS drives work just fine
Apple support says that an NTFS or exFAT drive cannot be used when connected to the AirPort Extreme.
I suppose it is possible that someone might have been using some type of special software on the drive that might perform a "conversion", but without more details, it is hard to know.
Note: ExFAT and NTFS formats aren't supported.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2426

Can't Get Time Capsule to Extend Airport Extreme Wireless Network

I've searched this forum and read dozens of listings, but nothing I've found gives me a answer for the problem I'm having.
I had an existing network consisting of three Airport Extreme routers, one the master/DHCP server and the other two to extend the network. All of the routers were configured for 802.11n 5 GHz only service.
After much frustration trying to use Time Machine to back up to external disks attached to Airport Extremes as well as disks attached to other Macs, I gave up and bought a Time Capsule.
I have been trying for about six months on and off to get the Time Capsule configured as an extension to the main Airport Extreme as the other two Extremes are.
Nothing I've tried will cause the TC to extend the network. It always comes up with a yellow light and error messages saying that there is a problem with the wireless network and a problem with the internet connection and, sometimes, a third message that I don't remember.
After my initial efforts, I just gave up and plugged the danged TC into the remote AE that is closest to where I use my MacBook Pro and it worked. But I wanted it to REPLACE that AE instead of being an appendage to it.
Due to TC/TM problems, I've twice lost the entire TM backup off of the TC, and tonight I decided it was time to start over. I've encountered the same problems as before, and so finally moved the TC to my home office rack where the main AE is located and plugged it into the AE directly. TM is now backing up, but at a snail's pace (which is why I wanted the TC to be located in the same room where I use the laptop).
Has anyone had success or failure extending a multiple-unit AE network with a TC on 802.11n 5 GHz (not WDS)? If not, has your experience been similar to mine; if so, what did you do that I haven't?
Any specific help will be greatly appreciated.

Yes, I suppose I could do that. But if the wireless extension isn't working in one direction there's no guarantee it'll work in the other direction; and I was trying to avoid upending my entire setup.
And no, I'm not bridging the units with hard-wired cabling; I'm attempting to use wireless to extend them...NOT WDS, which is for 802.11B/G mode, but the 802.11N wireless extension mode that's available on these Apple products.

Best option for multiple Airport Extreme base station setup

I'm looking for the best way to setup my wireless network at home. I have a fairly large two story home with some ethernet cable run to various rooms upstairs and downstairs. Basically I was thinking if I could use some of the wired connections in my home the wireless network might be faster (instead of just rebroadcasting the wireless signal with multiple airports).
In my laundry room (downstairs) I have my cable modem, an 8 port switch and my airport extreme. Currently, the cable modem is hooked up to my Airport Extreme (via ethernet cable) and then I have an ethernet cable running from the airport to the switch. The various ethernet cables that run through my home are then plugged into that switch.
In my office (upstairs) I have a live ethernet jack (one that runs down to that switch downstairs), but instead of having the airport plugged into that ethernet jack I have the second airport extreme just "extending the network". Is there a way to utilize the wired connection inorder to have a stronger signal to broadcast for the upstairs wifi?
I've seen WDS mentioned before, is that what I need to setup? Basically, I just want to know what the best way is to setup the wireless network to keep the speeds as good as they can be.
Thanks!

Good news, you can use Ethernet to connect the Apple routers together.
Perform a Hard Reset on the upstairs AirPort Extreme by holding in the reset button for 9-10 seconds and then releasing. Allow a full minute for the Extreme to restart to a slow, blinking amber light.
Connect the Ethernet cable to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort. ( I assume that you have tested the cable by connecting a computer to it directly to make sure that it is working).
Click the AirPort icon at the top of the screen on the Mac
Wait a few seconds for a listing of New AirPort Base Station to appear
Just below that, click on AirPort Extreme (the example below shows an AirPort Express)
AirPort Setup will open up automatically and take a minute to analyze the network, then announce that the AirPort will be configured to extend your other AirPort router.
Enter a device name that you want to use for the AirPort...(you can use the same device name as before if you wish), then click Next.
Now AirPort Setup will indicate that the AirPort is being configured to extend using Ethernet.
When you see the message of Setup Complete, click Done
You are all set.

WDS network setup

I have had two of the older Flying Saucer type Airport Extremes connected in a WDS for a long time. The main one was connected to the internet via a dsl modem. The other one is connected to a USB printer and it worked quite nicely thanks to Bonjour.
I just setup a brand new Square Airport Extreme with a new iMac and it is working with the dsl very well so far. I'd like to get the two older Aorport Extreme's to join in a new WDS network.
Do I have to reset those old bases first? Wipe them clean and start from Scratch? Currently, the new base doesn't seem to want to connect to the older ones which are still setup as the old network.
Setting up a WDS was aways a little confusing. A step by step setup guide would be a nice touch.
Thanks
Dave

Put both Base Stations, and the Mac you are using to run the configuration, in the same room - preferably the room with the Base Station connected to the cable modem. Don't try to take a shortcut by not doing this. This way you eliminate any chance of wireless communications problems messing with the process. You can move the remote base station anywhere you want after you are done - its configuration settings will be retained even if you have to unplug it from power.
Do a hard reset of the Base Station that is going to be the remote, to get it back into its default configuration state.
Run the Airport Utility, and rather than trying to set everything up manually as you are doing now, let the Airport Utility guide you through the process of configuring the second base station as a remote base station that "extends" the wireless network of the main base station. Letting the Airport Utility take care of the setup shouldn't take you more than a few minutes.

Slingbox Pro and Airport Extreme Extended Network

I have set up two new airport extremes, one as a base station one as a network extension. I have been using a Slingbox Pro with my old sky wireless connection with no problems, but after setting up my new 25gb cable connection I cannot get the Slinbox set up. As the cable feed is in another room to my TV, I set the second airport to extend the network and plugged the airport pro into the back of it, but when I run the Slingbox setup assistant it can not locate the Slingbox. Having looked in both the Apple and Slingbox forums it appears I need to port forward, but the instruction I’ve found online all relate to the old airport software, and I cant work out how to do it with the new airport software.
If anyone has any advise, or even an idiot proof walkthrough, that would be great.

...plugged the airport pro into the back of it...
What do you mean by "airport pro"?
If the 2nd AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) is configured to use WDS or 802.11n's "extend a wireless network" no port forwarding is required on that AEBS.

Airport Extreme wired network can't assign IP address, but wireless works

*Problem details:*
We have three computers intermittently on, wired into the ethernet LAN managed by the Airport Extreme.
We have a few more computers that connect to the wireless network managed by the same Airport Extreme.
As far as I know, no fancy settings hijinks have been attempted. I manage the router, and I only plugged the Airport into the cable modem and connected all the wires to the computers. The WiFi setup went a similar way -- I just turned it on and it sorted itself out. This was eight months ago, mind you -- everything has been going quite well up until this weekend.
But! I got home from a trip this weekend to discover that all the machines that connected over the wired network could no longer get a connection to the internet. Any machine connected over the wireless network, however, was working just fine. Indeed, my macbook pros couldn't even see the Airport Extreme when I turned off their WiFi, connected them over Ethernet and opened the Airport Extreme configuration app!
The wired machines complain that they have a self-assigned IP address. Sometimes, after resetting everything, they look like everything's fine for a moment. Like I said, ordinarily my macbook pro does not even recognize the router over the wired network. However, after reverting to factory defaults and restarting the Airport, the laptop did see it (until a few minutes went by and it realized something was wrong).
I figured that renewing my DHCP lease would fix this problem, but it did not. Nor did turning off Passive FTP Mode (PASV) under Proxies in the Network configuration pane.
I have tried resetting the router to factory defaults, power cycling the modem and router in various configurations, etc. but nothing has worked. In addition, I have verified that connecting any machine to the ethernet directly from the modem will work, so the problem is definitely being introduced by the Airport Extreme.
So I guess my question is: what do I have to poke to return everything to normal? I'd like working wired and wireless networks again.
*Some last few details:*
The Airport is running 7.5.2, but downgrading to 7.4.2 produced no tangible difference.
I have an Ubee D3.0 modem. All lights are green and blinky except the DS light, which is solid amber (and it is green when the modem is wired directly to one of my computers -- it's only amber when connected to the Airport).
Some of the machines that can't connect to the wired network are PCs, so it's not just an OSX thing.
My roommate's XBOX 360 can connect to the internet over the wired port. It doesn't have WiFi, so I'm pretty sure there's no way it could be fooling me.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can muster.
EDIT FOR APOLOGIES:
I didn't realize I was posting this in the "Airport for Windows" section. While a Windows computer's connection is a concern, I would much rather get my Macs online and deal with that first. I can't figure out how to move the message myself.

*An update:*
Several days later, this issue seems to have fixed itself. I suspect there may have been Funny Business on my ISP's end (but then again, it's an ISP).

WDS Network setup Issues

I'm trying to setup a WDS Network with two APEBS's. One is in a small bedroom with the cable modem (no choice as to it's placement) and the other is in my office, with all of my printers connected. I've done hard resets on all stations. I setup the Main AEBS, WDS enabled with the Remote AEBS ID entered. Then I setup the remote base station, entering the same network name/password, enabling WDS and entering the ID for the Main station.
Upon updating the Remote station, the Main station disappears from the Airport Utility. The only way I can get it to come back is to unplug the Remote station, and turn off/on Airport capabilities.
I simply cannot have both setup and functioning at the same time. I've tried it with and without network security, double-checking every setting meticulously. I've successfully set this up before and after six hours of fighting this I'm at a total loss.
HELP!

Put both Base Stations, and the Mac you are using to run the configuration, in the same room - preferably the room with the Base Station connected to the cable modem. Don't try to take a shortcut by not doing this. This way you eliminate any chance of wireless communications problems messing with the process. You can move the remote base station anywhere you want after you are done - its configuration settings will be retained even if you have to unplug it from power.
Do a hard reset of the Base Station that is going to be the remote, to get it back into its default configuration state.
Run the Airport Utility, and rather than trying to set everything up manually as you are doing now, let the Airport Utility guide you through the process of configuring the second base station as a remote base station that "extends" the wireless network of the main base station. Letting the Airport Utility take care of the setup shouldn't take you more than a few minutes.

Need Airport Extreme feedback re: setup of webcam

I am trying to get my home network and wireless camera feed to work together, and I would appreciate any guidance you can all share.
I have a MacBookPro 17" running 10.5.2. My internet runs through a cable modem, and then through a Netgear Router, and I connect wirelessly as does my husband who also has a MBP running 10.5.2.
I want to run three things wirelessly on the network, besides the two computers. I have two printers - a Brother all-in-one and an HP LaserJet P1006. Most importantly, I want to operate a wireless internet camera which would serve as a "dog cam" (so I can check in on my dogs when I'm away from home). I purchased a Linksys Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera (Model WVC54GCA), and was able to connect it within my home network by installing in WinXP via Bootcamp. I could view the feed through the camera utility when I was at home on my own network. I could not EVER, however, access the video feed remotely over the Internet. I have spent hours tweaking settings, uninstalling and reinstalling software and drivers, resetting IP addresses, etc., etc., and even paying a consultant to come out and spend 3 hours trying to diagnose the problem.
No luck.
Ultimately, all I want is to have access to a working live webcam pointed into my living room, when I am away from home. A bonus would be to have wireless printing capability.
The tech who came out to consult suggested that rather than my Netgear router and Linksys camera, I should get an Airport Extreme/Time Capsule and a webcam specifically made for Mac OS. I don't mind doing that, but I'm not sure OS compatibility is the primary problem, since I WAS able to connect to the home network and view the camera as long as I was within my home network. It was just when I tried to connect via the Internet that I ran into a wall. And, the wireless printing.
I suppose my primary question is: Do I need to get the Airport/TC unit and a Mac-specific webcam, or should I be able to get the camera working with my existing hardware?
Hope that's not too confusing - thanks for your help!
Linda

Regardless of what brand of router you use, according to the Linksys camera's user guide, you need to:
-set up Dynamic Domain Name Service (DDNS)
-use port forwarding
From page 29 of User Guide (WVC54GCA_ug-1.pdf):
"I want to access the Camera when I’m away from home,
but somehow I can’t connect.
If your network uses a dynamic IP address supplied
by your ISP, then the IP address you use to reach the
Camera will change as well. You need to use the TZO
DDNS Service, so you can access the Camera using its
domain name while the service keeps track of the IP
address changes. To set up a Dynamic Domain Name
Service (DDNS) account, click the Setup tab of the
Camera’s Web-based Utility, then click the Optons
tab. Then configure the settings in the DDNS section
of the screen.
Important: To allow remote access to the Camera, you
will also have to use the port forwarding feature on
your network router."

Airport Extreme - WDS 2x Airport Express - unstable

Hi,
I have extended my Wlan with 1x Airport Extreme (newest Firmware ...) and 2x Airport Express via WDS. In general, it works, but not stable. To monitor the configuration, I currently use Lithum (SNMP server) and the Airport Utility. From the SNMP point of view, I see Input errors on the ATH0 interface of the Airport Extreme box and snmp unavialability of one or both Airport Express routers.
In the Airport Utility I can see a bad signal strength (0db) in this situation.
1 Airport Express AP is only a few meters far of the Airport Xtreme, the other one is located downstairs. I adjusted the Wireless send power, Interface robustness (on all boxes, only Express...), no success.
Any suggestion?
Best regards
Henri

On basic principles, I would say it isn't surprising that your wireless network data transmission rates are poor. You have listed three major reasons already:
1. a WDS, which creates a significant performance penalty on a wireless network (up to as much as 50%)
2. signal path of 50 feet through two concrete walls (almost a worse-case scenario for WiFi communication)
3. the heavy bandwidth requirement of streaming music to seven wireless Zoneplayers

Time capsule not recognized by airport extreme - first time setup challenge

Air port utility not recognizing time capsule. We have airport extreme and time capsule (recent purchase to back up 2 wireless mac laptops and the G5 which is connected to the modem). Modem is conected to airport extreme and I connected the Time capsule via ethernet as I thought the speed would be 1GB and faster than wireless "n." Somehow now the airport extreme does not recognize the time capsule. In the network utility, airport is not listed, only ethernet and firewire. What steps should I take to enable time capsule to back up the laptops wirelessly as well as the G5 (non-wireless.) Thanks!

I would hold the reset button on the back of the Time Capsule for 5-10 seconds and I would wait to connect it to the AirPort Extreme to see if you can set it up. If you can access the Time Capsule with AirPort Utility then I would plug it into the AirPort Extreme and continue your setup.

Airport Extreme WDS

Hi there...
I replaced a dlink wireless dsl router with an Airport Extreme. I had two airport expresses configured as remote base stations in a WDS network with the dlink as main station. All working well and streaming itunes to expresses.
I can't figure out how to replicate this with Extreme. The Extreme is connected to the Internet via Ethernet bridge served by another dsl router.
The Extreme is configured to create a wireless network and extend enabled.
I don't see any WDS option in Extreme. I have configured the Expresses to use WDS with Extreme as main basestation (MAC address).
Ideas?
tm
Tim Morgan

I have combo b/g/n. How do you specify dynamic vs static?
This is what kind of works now (and addresses SNR). Configuration was not helped by poor UI design and documentation!
Airport Extreme
- Network: foobar
- Channel: Manual (n)
- WDS Mode: Main
- WDS Remotes: Express 1 (Airport MAC ID), Express 2 (Airport MAC ID)
- Allow wireless clients disabled*
Airport Express 1
- Network: foobar
- Channel: Manual (n)
- WDS Mode: Relay
- WDS Main: Extreme Airport MAC ID
- WDS Remotes: Express 2 (Airport MAC ID)
- Allow wireless clients enabled*
Airport Express 2
- Network: foobar
- Channel: Manual (n)
- WDS Mode: Remote
- WDS Main: Express 2 (Airport MAC ID)
- Allow wireless clients enabled
*Depending on your environment, you may wish to enable/disable wireless clients to improve signal/noise ratio. Disabling the main base station forces remote clients to connect to the closest access point (Airport Express). Likewise for relay stations. Schematic below shows supply chain
Airport Extreme ))) Airport Express 1 Relay )))
Airport Express 1 Relay ))) Airport Express 2 Remote )))
Airport Express 1 Relay ))) Wireless Client Devices
Airport Express 2 Remote ))) Wireless Client Devices

Airport Extreme WDS network setup

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