Combining old base stations to strengthen network?

Hi
I recently purchased an Airport Extreme base station for my school. We currently have two old base stations.
I'd like to set up a triangular network using the three of these. Is this possible? Will the old base stations work with the Extreme?
Can someone point me to some documentation to achieve this --
Won't the older base stations cause the Extreme to default to a slower speed?
Thanks for any help

Daniel, If the older bases are 802.11b compliant (Slower) then the newer 802.11g compliant (Faster) like the Airport Extreme and Express which happen to handle either protocall.
You can extend your Network if your older Routers are WDS compliant.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108040
Deepending on several factors will determine exactly what your network is capable of. I will give you a couple of links that should help you sort through and decide the way you want to extend.
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/
The link above shows you another way to extend your Network with Airport Extreme Base and Omni Directional Antenna.
Like I said there are several options for you to decide which way to go.
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/
Toward the bottom of the above link you will see another option to extend.
Last but not least is another option that Apple gives for Schools.
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/campus.html
Good Luck on your choice.
Cheers Don

Similar Messages

Problems swapping out old Base Station for New ABE802.11n

I purchased a new AirPort Extreme w/ 802.11n to replace my old dome shaped base station extreme but have been unable to get new AirPort to work. Network is set up as follows: DSL modem connects to base station to create a wireless network. Ethernet port out of basestation connects to wired network. An AExpress located in another part of house connects to network via ethernet and is also set to create a wireless network with identical name, password as one created by Base Station, thereby extending the range of the wireless network (and allowing streaming of iTunes over in-house stereo system).
This set up worked perfectly with the old dome base station, but I have been unable to get new AirPort to create a functioning wireless network. It creates the network, but is then unable to connect to the internet. The wired network is working, and the AExpress portion of the wireless network is working, so I know its not my DSL connection.
Things I have tried: setting up the new APExtreme with the configuration file from the old base station (fail), setting the new APExtreme up as a new network, with new name (fail), turning off the AExpress and creating a new network with the APExtreme (fail). In every instance I get a network, but am unable to connect to the internet. The DSL modem is assigning IP addresses, so I've set the APExtreme up in bridge mode, although I tried the other DHCP settings and using PPPoE option, also with no luck.
Any guidance or insights would be appreciated.

Nevermind - I got it to work by changing from bridge mode to having the Base Station assign IP addresses. Airport Utility says that this is a problem, but I now have a fully functional wireless network.

Using old Base Station for Printer??

Just upgraded to a new AEBS so I can plug in a HD for back ups.
I'd like to use my old Base Station to plug in my printer (it needs to be in another room to keep the wife happy)
Is this possible or do I need an Airport Express for that?
Thanks,
David

The round 802.11b/g AEBS supports a single compatible USB printer.
The AEBS can not join a wireless network as a client. You will need to use WDS to wirelessly connect the 2 AEBS. This will force your new AEBS to operate in 802.11g mode. Also the WDS link will cut your available bandwidth in half. So the best wireless bandwidth you would see is 27 Mbps. Quite a lot less than the maximum offered by 802.11n.

What do I do with my old base station?

I am getting the new base station so I can have network storage - at the moment I have the current base station. What should I do with the old base station when I get the new one? Is there some way I can use it? Is it possible to use it to boost the signal in my home (which is a little erratic from time to time when using Airtunes with my airport expresses)?

Currently it looks like the new AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) does not support WDS so your only option is to use Ethernet to link the 2 base stations to extend the wireless network. Of course any devices connected to your old AEBS would be limited to 802.11g speeds.

How to setup multiple base station under one network?

How to setup multiple base station under one network? I have 6 rooms but one airport base station makes really difficult to get good signal from every rooms. I wonder if I can setup multiple airport base stations talking to each other under the same network to build up the signal strength will help solve this problem. But, is it possible? How?

One route would be to utilize a "roaming" network. In a roaming network, you would connect multiple AirPort Extreme Base Stations (AEBS) to the same Ethernet. Of course, this would require that your home is already wired for Ethernet.

HT4259 I have looked all over for an explanation of the visual language of the "flowchart in airport utility-e.g., dotted lines vs solid; why the hierarchy of base stations in a network falls as it does and occasionally moves around?

I have looked all over for an explanation of the visual language of the "flowchart in airport utility 6.0 - e.g., dotted lines vs solid; why the hierarchy of base stations in a network falls as it does and occasionally moves around? Where will I find this explanation?

by falls did you mean fail?
Solid lines = Ethernet connection.
Dotted = WiFi.

HT4259 When a Netgear N 300 wireless router is the base station for my network, what steps do I take to add AirPort Express 802.11n as an network extender?

When a Netgear N 300 wireless router is the base station for my network, what steps do I take to add AirPort Express 802.11n as an network extender?

You don't have to do anything to the netgear.. the Express cannot wirelessly extend non-apple networks. You must plug the Express in by ethernet and create a new wireless network.. this can be the same name (SSID) and security as the netgear so it can become a roaming network.

Solution to Airport Extreme Base Station + Airport Express networking probs

I've been investigating this for 3 straight days after inadvertently destabilizing my network. There are tons of posts discussing a variety of issues, all of which seem related. My goal here is to provide links to other relevant posts and explain what I ended up doing to get things to work.
First, the background. You can skip below to SOLUTION if you don't really care... However, I highly recommend you take the time to read everything, as you'll get other useful information in the BACKGROUND section. I'm guessing many of you have similar, related problems so BACKGROUND might help provide context (and solutions) to some things you are seeing...
MY SETUP:
AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) of type b/g (round one, not square one), connects to the cable modem, and creates a WDS network that is then shared across two standard AirPort Express (AEX) units (100megabit, not the gigabit ones). One AEX serves as a relay unit that accepts clients, the other serves as a remote unit that also accepts clients. The intent is to show a single network throughout the house and let users log on to one network and move between networking units without having to switch from network to network.
I have a variety of networked devices throughout the house all running on the same network (2 Mac Pros, a Powerbook G4, a Mac Mini, an Apple TV, a Windows XP laptop, two iPhones, two wifi printers, and a 5-unit Sonos system, plus the AEBS and two AEXs). Yeah, I'm a geek.
The Mac Pros are both running 10.4.11, and the Powerbook is running 10.5.2.
AEBS is running firmware 5.7
AEXs are running firmware 6.3
All Macs were initially accessing configs via the recently released AirPort Utility 5.3.1. More on that later.
BACKGROUND:
I've had this network setup working for about a year now. Recently, I've been having poor network performance problems and came to the conclusion it was a LAN problem (ie. problem with my home network, as opposed to with my ISP). Upon initial investigation, I began by looking at my networking logs (via AirPort Utility 5.3.1). You get to those by selecting the unit in question, choosing "Manual Configuration", the selecting the "Advanced" tab up top with the "Logging and SNMP" sub-tab. Click the "Logs and Statistics" button therein for log details from that unit.
The first thing I noticed was "Administrative access denied to ff80::xxxxxxxxx" messages - a lot of them. I didn't recognize the ff80:: address in question, and so became concerned it was someone outside the network trying to hack one (or all) of the AEBS/AEX units. You can see threads discussing that investigation here:
"Hack or panic?" - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1438486
"Administrative access denied" - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1438865
Long and short of it is that the recent AirPort Utility 5.3.1 release (current as of March 13) seems to have problems (keychain) when attempting to access the AEBS and AEX units. The "Administrative access denied" logs actually refer to the client machine you are using when you try to read the logs. The ff80::xxxxxx address is simply the IPv6 address for the machine you are using; if you turn off IPv6 on your client machine, that address should switch over to begin showing a regular IP address instead (something like 10.0.1.xxx), which makes it easier to associate the IP to the machine. I explain how to deactivate IPv6 on both Tiger (10.4.x) and Leopard (1.5.x) here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6814978#6814978
Anyway, in the process of investigating the "Administrative access denied" problem, I began tinkering with my AEX settings. Specifically, I ended up performing a hard factory reset (unplug unit, plug back in while holding down the little button with paper click/pen for ~10-15 seconds until light flashes green 4x then reverts to amber/yellow/orange). I began reconfiguring my entire WDS network using the newly updated AirPort Utility 5.3.1, and that's when the trouble started.
(If you are having problems seeing either your AirPort Extreme Base Station or AirPort Express, read this:)
In short, each time I thought I had properly configured things and then confirmed settings (kicking off a reboot on the AEX unit) the unit would restart with new settings but not properly join the WDS and not show up in the AirPort Utility list of units. More specifically, I would start with a "wiped" AEX and see both the AEBS and the AEX in my AirPort Utility list, but upon confirm/reboot the AEX would disappear and the AEBS would remain. However, that's not 100% correct. It seems that sometimes I would end up with the AEX and NOT the AEBS. Because both the AEX and AEBS were theoretically "hosting" the same network name (remember, WDS shares the network name across units) my auto-login feature for my client computer's wifi seemed to "jump on" whichever unit it first saw hosting the default network name for my house. In other words, it seems what was really happening was that I was ending up with two separate networks in my house, both with the same name but not talking to each other (as opposed to two units sharing the same network name and internet connection). The AEX would continue to blink orange/amber/yellow (whichever color it is to your eyes ) because it could not grab an internet connection -- and if I was on the network through that AEX unit I would not get internet. But if i was connected through the AEBS I would continue to have internet access. As far as my client computer (my Mac Pro) was concerned, I was on the home wifi network even if I was on the AEX rather than the AEBS -- it would show the home wifi network name as the name of the network it had connected to. But when I opened the AirPort Utility 5.3.1 I would see only the AEX (if I was connected through it) or the AEBS (if connected through it) -- a clear indication that the units were not truly sharing the same network.
I tried rebooting and reconfiguring the AEBS and AEX about 50 times (literally). I even tracked down an older version of the AirPort Utility 5.2.1 via this thread (see Tesserax post):
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1067565
One interesting thing re: 5.2.1 is that the "Administrative access denied" errors summarized above disappeared. As explained in a post reference above, the going theory is that this a permissions/keychain problem new and unique to AirPort Utility 5.3.1. However, even though 5.2.1 does have a slightly different interface with different settings, I still couldn't get the WDS to work.
EVENTUALLY, I came across this post:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1422527
MuaddibOfArrakis walks through setting up a WDS from scratch, and the workflow is different than what is possible with either AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or 5.2.1. He's doing it with the old version of AirPort Admin Utility, which I fortunately saved a copy of many moons ago when I had somewhat-related problems with my WDS (since forgotten). In fact, it's a lot easier. What's nice about this older app is that it literally does the heavy lifting of "connecting" the AEBS and AEX units during the configuration -- it reboots both at the same time as the config is happening, and lets you choose from a list of available units to "add" to your WDS network. In short, it's a FAR SUPERIOR workflow even though some of the GUI isn't as intuitive as the newer AirPort Utilities that were designed to replace it.
SOLUTION:
If still have a copy of the AirPort Admin Utility follow the instructions from MuaddibOfArrakis here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1422527
If not, try setting up your WDS network using AirPort Utility (hereafter AU), with these configs (take from my now-working network), as viewed through AirPort Utility 5.3.1.
I. Configure your AEBS.
Select the AEBS from AU, and choose "Manual Setup"
1. Under the AirPort tab up top:
a. Under "Base Station" sub-tab:
i.) assign a name for that specific unit, so you can later identify the specific unit from the list of units -- this is the name that will show up beside the unit in the AU list of configurable units. You can name it something like "kitchen", or "office". I have mine numbered, so XXXXXv1, XXXXXv2 etc where the XXXXX is the name of the shared network and the numbers help me tell the units apart. Just be sure you name each uniquely, and if you have several you might write the name on the unit itself.
ii.) pick a password for logging into that unit. This is different from the network password, its a security check to get in and change the configs on this unit later. Be sure to remember it in your keychain for the sake of simplicity, and write it down somewhere secure.
iii.) if you choose to set time automatically, pick a location that you will use consistently across all your units. I use time.apple.com.
iv.) uncheck "Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port" unless you want to be able to remotely mess with settings -- which you almost certainly do not need to do.
v.) I left the "Options" button alone - no settings there.
b. Under the "Wireless" sub-tab:
i.) Wireless Mode: "Participate in a WDS network"
ii.) Network Name: this will be the name of your wifi network shared by all units, so be sure to remember what you pick. If you are already connected to this AEBS via wifi while you are making these changes, then you can use the same wifi name you already have set up -- you don't have to change it. Note that if you DO change it, after reboot your will LOSE connection to the network and have to reset your wifi settings on your client machine to match the new network/password in order to be able to access the network.
iii.) pick a Radio Mode. I'm using b/g compatible. You'll want to do the same, unless you are on the new gigabit AEX. I'm pretty sure about this, but not 100% -- others post if I'm wrong.
iv.) choose a Channel. This can be a more complicated procedure, but for now just pick something consistent across all your units. If you get everything working and find that you're having intermittent network problems, you could later try changing your Channel -- it can pick up interference from phones, microwaves, etc and changing it can help.
v.) I have wireless security set to WPA/WPA2 Personal.
vi.) Wireless Password is the password for access to your wifi network (not your unit itself). If you are connecting to your AEBS via wifi while doing this config, then you can use the same password you have already set up. Pick a good one unless you want other folks jumping on your wifi and stealing your bandwidth and/or credit card numbers . Remember it in your keychain and write it down someplace secure, because you'll need it for the other units too. As noted above, note that if you DO change it, after reboot your will LOSE connection to the network and have to reset your wifi settings on your client machine to match the new network/password in order to be able to access the network.
vii.) Click the "Wireless Options" button. I have my multicast rate set to 2mbps, transmit at 100%, timeout at 1 hour, and i have checked the "Create a closed network". This last step keeps your network from advertising itself to the outside world. Users can only find it by explicitly typing the network name into their wifi settings (e.g. AirPort -> Other... then enter Network Name, Security and Password). I leave interference robustness unchecked.
c. Under the "WDS" sub-tab:
i.) the AEBS should have it's WDS Mode set to "WDS main".
ii.) Check the "allow wireless clients" box on the AEBS; this lets you connect client machines to it directly too.
iii.) hit the plus button to add the Remote system (AEX). There are two types of configs for the AEX's - "remote" and "relay". Assuming you have 3 units like me (2 AEX and 1 AEBS) the key question is whether you will place each AEX within direct reach of the AEBS (remotes), or if you will have one AEX in the middle connecting to an AEBS on one side and an AEX on the other -- where the furthest AEX is out of reach from the AEBS (remote) and connects only to the AEX in the middle (relay). I'm using a relay setup. If you are using relay, you can still set up the AEX relay to serve client computers too -- it doesnt have to JUST relay. More on that later. For now, you want to add only AEX units that will talk DIRECTLY to the AEBS. So if you have a setup like mine, just add one (the one in the middle - the relay). If you have two remotes connecting directly to the AEBS, you will add them both here. When you hit the '+' button it will ask for both an ID and description. For description I use the name I'm assigning to each unique unit (as above, "kitchen" or XXXXXv1 or whatever you use). For AirPort ID, use the number listed on the AEX unit itself (not the number for "Ethernet", also on the AEX unit).
d. Under the "Access" sub-tab:
i.) I have it set to "Not Enabled". I'd suggest you start that way too, and you can go change it later if you get everything working correctly.
2. Under the "Internet" tab up top:
a. Under the "Internet Connection" sub-tab:
i.) Connect Using: Ethernet
ii.) Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
iii.) Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
iv.) Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address
b. Under the "DHCP" sub-tab:
i.) DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0 . 1 . 2
ii.) DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
DHCP Lease: 4 hours
c. Under the "NAT" sub-tab:
i.) nothing should be checked;
ii.) nothing under Port Mappings either
3. Under the "Printers and Advanced" tabs up top:
Nothing special needs to be configured there.
THAT'S IT.
=============
I. Configure your AEX(s)
Select the AEX from AU, and choose "Manual Setup"
1. Under the "AirPort" tab up top:
a. Under "Base Station" sub-tab:
i.) pick a unique name for this unit, same logic as for AEBS
ii.) pick a password specific for accessing this unit, same logic as for AEBS
iii.) Set time automatically: be sure to use the same settings used on your AEBS
iv.) Options: no need to set any
b. Under "Wireless" sub-tab:
i.) Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network
ii.) Network Name: same name used for AEBS, this is the name of your wifi network
iii.) Channel: same as AEBS
iv.) All settings here (those above, plus Security and Password & in Options button) should be the same as for AEBS settings on this tab
c. Under the "WDS" sub-tab:
...if AEX is "in the middle" (as described above):
i.) WDS Mode: WDS relay
ii.) Allow wireless clients: check (unless you only want to bridge between the edges without letting folks connect on this AEX in the middle)
iii.) WDS Main: set to the AirPort ID (aka MAC address) for the AEBS. You can find it on the bottom of the AEBS, either labeled as such or at the bottom beside the logo of a wireless signal (square logo, with semi-circles mimicing a radio signal).
iv.) WDS Remotes: click the '+' to add any AEX's that will connect to this relay rather than directly to the AEBS. Same deal as above, use the name in the description and use the AirPort ID from the side of the AEX (not the Ethernet ID).
.....if AEX is connecting to a relay ("on the end", as above) or if there is no relay and AEX connects directly to the AEBS:
i.) WDS Model: WDS remote
ii.) Allow wireless clients: checked
iii.) WDS Main: if connected to a relay, use the AirPort ID of the relay AEX. If connected to the AEBS directly, use the AirPort ID of the AEBS
d. Under the "Access" sub-tab:
i.) MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled (for now, you can change later)
2. Under the "Internet" tab up top:
a. Under the "Internet Connection" sub-tab:
i.) Connect Using: AirPort (WDS) -- should be selected and gray'ed out.
ii.) Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
iii.) Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
iv.) Connection Sharing: Off (Bridge Mode)
3. Under the Music, Printers and Advanced tabs up top:
Nothing special needs to be configured there. You can worry about AirTunes settings later...
That should be it. I'd recommend setting up the AEBS first, then the relay (if applicable), then the remotes. Initially, you can bring each unit in the same room with you for configuring. After configured and restarted the AEX should blink then turn solid green. If it turns green you should be good to go.
HOPE THIS HELPS. As noted above, I did not config through AirPort Utility 5.3.1 so I haven't tested this procedure through that app. However, after getting my network to work I went back and transposed all settings into this post to help others. Please provide feedback on whether or not this is working, so we can collectively try to move towards a setup procedure that works for everyone....
Good luck!
Message was edited by: b.byrd

I'm not convinced that the problem lies in Airport Utility. This same thing was happening to me, nearly exactly as you describe it. The thing is that with me, the problems clearly started when I updated the firmware in my Airport Express (n). That's when all the wacky stuff started happening. Sometimes it would show up in AU, sometimes it didn't and even if it didn't, I could still access the internet through it.
But as you said, the problems got really bad when another Express (b/g) was put on the network with it. Even when it did work, the (b/g) would make it impossibly slow.
You know more about this than me, and clearly have more patience if you've restarted the network fifty times. I gave up at about ten.
In any case, your solution is more of a work around and if you're still having that slow connection problem, I'm not sure you've got it. But thanks for your reporting of this. At least I know I'm not crazy.

Replace old base station

I have an older base station and want to replace it with a new one with 802.11n. I don't do this sort of thing every day so I thought I would check here for advice. I am looking for the easiest way to do this, and wondered if I can just swap the old one out? What would I have to do to make that work??
Best Regards,
Patrick

Yes, it can be easily done.
In Airport Utility, choose your older base station.
Then select File -->Export Configuration File" and save it on the desktop or place of your choice.
Now, plug in your new Extreme if you haven't already.
In Airport Utility, choose your newer base station.
Then Select File -->Import Configuration File"
Restart the base station...
Then you should be able to unplug your old Extreme and select the new one for your wireless network.

Older airport extreme base station as a network extender with new time capsule

I just bought a new time capsule (802.11ac). Can my older airport extreme base station (model A1143) be used as a network extender with it?

Yes, although it maybe disappointing..
There are two kinds of extending.. wireless repeater type which is poorest as it has to transfer all packets in two steps instead of one.. hence will halve the speed.
Or using ethernet to the old extreme and set it in bridge.. You can then setup roaming network... this is much better.. but getting ethernet to the right place could be messy or expensive or both.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260
wireless extend doco.. mind all of this is out of date.. the basics are correct.. the methods via the airport utility may be obsolete.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
Documentation has rather lagged lately.

Base Station and wired network

I am looking to replace my current router and am considering an Airport Extreme base station. Hoping to get some questions answered...
I currently have several Macs sharing a cable modem connection. There is also a printer (Epson R200) attached through a print server breakout box. All connected computers are able to share the printer, using the GIMP drivers.
My set up is:
Cable Modem->10/100 router->10/100/1000 switch
The printer and some slower machines are attached to the ports on the router. The faster machines (with Gigabit) are attached to the switch. All connected machines are able to access each other, the net and the shared printer.
The Airport Base Station would replace the router. Ideally, I would like to eliminate the print server box and plug the printer into the print server port on the Base Station.
- Would all machines (wireless and wired) have access to the printer?
- Would it make sense to have some gigabit machines connect via Airport Extreme vs. wired? I realize that the net connection speed would not suffer, but would there be that much of a speed penalty within the network? (gigabit machine to gigabit machine).
- What are the advantage of the Airport Base station over the many other 802.11 b/g routers available?
Thanks,
--Joe

- Would all machines (wireless and wired) have access to the printer?
Yes. All network computer, both wired and wireless will have access to the printer if a suitable driver exists. I don't know about your Epson printer, but some printers have issues. My Canon i850 printer doesn't work well with Tiger when connected to the Airport, but my HP laserjet works perfect.
- Would it make sense to have some gigabit machines connect via Airport Extreme vs. wired?
There is some speed loss but its still really fast. I get a 3.5-3.7 MBits/sec when copying a file from a wired computer to a wireless airport extreme connected computer. Its fast enough unless you copy GB of data.
- What are the advantage of the Airport Base station over the many other 802.11 b/g routers available?
To me its the integration of the Airport with the Mac OS; easily configurable (try to get WPA protection on another station...); more secure because it can be setup to accept only Macs; printer sharing works great and it is simply beautiful. On the downside, the price.

Choosing Airport Base Station on Extended Network

We have an extended network in the office with 2 base stations on diferent sides of a wall.
Is there a way to choose which base station a particular computer connects to?
While both will connect to internet off of ...
Router A speed = 35Mbps (this is the primary router)
Router B speed = 2 Mbps (this is the one that is Extended)
When I go to Airport Utility, the Router B is listed first and then shown as connecting to Router A.
Both A & B are plugged into the wired network.
All computers, etc are up to date.
Thank you

When I go to Airport Utility, the Router B is listed first and then shown as connecting to Router A.
IF....the settings on both Apple routers are correct.....and
IF....AirPort Utility is working correctly.....
The two Apple routers will appear horizontally side by side with both devices displayed as connecting to the "globe" Internet.
Check to make sure that the Ethernet connection is established to both AirPort routers using the WAN "O" port on each device.
Using the Wireless tab in AirPort Utility, check to make sure that each AirPort router is set to create a wireless network using the same wireless network name, same wireless security settings and same password.
Check to make sure that each AirPort router is configured in Bridge Mode.
In this type of setting, Macs will automatically connect to the wireless access point with the strongest signal as they move from one area to another. This may...or may not occur with PCs, or iOS devices like an iPhone or iPad.
It is not possible to direct a wireless device to connect to a specified router unless you use a different wireless network name for each router and then manually "point" the device at the router with which you wish to connect.

Using AirPort Extreme Base Station as a network AP

I have a Netgear N900 wireless router and and an Airport Extreme Base Station.I used my N900 to create a high speed wirelss network. I would like to use my Extreme Base Station as an access point on this network, in order to get AirPlay and some extra ethernet ports in another part of the house. Is this possible to do, and if so how?
The "extend your current network" option from the Wireless Mode menu does not work. There is no "join your current network" option, like on the Airport Express. What am I missing?
Thank you in advance,
Alex

The Extreme *does not* let you joint an existing network
Yes it does. Please open up AirPort Utility 5.6, select the Extreme and click Manual Setup
Click the Wireless tab below the row of icons
Hold down the option key on your Mac while you click on the Wireless Mode selection box.
What happens? Now you see the "Join" selection.
Problem is, only the USB port is enabled if you configure the Extreme to "join".......as I already stated. The Ethernet ports are not enabled.
The AirPort Express 802.11n has a special feature that allows it to "join a wireless network" and the Ethernet port can be enabled.
The AirPort Extreme does not have this feature.....which might be the reason why Apple hides the "Join" setting for the Extreme.

HT1178 set up base station as a network client

Want to use the Apple Time capsule to extend my current network utilizing my exisiting router and internet gateway. How do I set up my time capsule ?

The basic wiring setup would include connecting an Ethernet cable from one of the available LAN <-> Ethernet ports to the WAN "O" port on the Time Capsule.
You can run an Ethernet cable up to 100 meters or 300+ feet so the trick will be locate the Time Capsule in the middle of the area where you need more wireless signal coverage.
To have the Time Capsule "extend" the wireless from the gateway, you would need to configure it to create a new wireless network using the same wireless network name, same wireless security setting and same password as the gateway's wireless network.
The final configuration step would be to make sure that the Time Capsule is setup to operate in Bridge Mode, so that it will function as a client for the gateway router.
The specifics of how to do this will depend on the version of AirPort Utility that you are using on your Mac. Post back if you need more details on this.

How can I reconfigure an Airport Timecapsule and Airport Extreme Base Station to extend a new Time Capsule 3TB network.

Previously they were configured to be part of a network attached to a cable modem. Now I have a DSL modem. I can get the 3TB Time Capsule tower to be recognized by my AirPort Utility but cannot get the older 2TB Time Capsule and Extreme Base Station to be recognised as wifi extensions of the 3TB Wi-Fi Base Station. This latter base station is set up in Bridge mode and the wifi is switched off on the DSL Modem. I am trying to recreate a home network (I have created a newly named one) and use the Apple products as the wifi routers, leaving the fibre optic-supplied DSL modem to interface with the internet.
I would have thought that I should set-up the 3TB Time Capsule Base Station in DHCP network mode, but trying to do so gives me error messages and renders the network inoperative. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to get the AirPort utility to recognise the two other devices (Base Stations) as extensions of the main one? I have tried with RJ45 cabel connections to no avail.

First, it would be wise to update your computer to OS X Mavericks. It's just a free update, but it really helps your computer.
Once you've done that, on to the fix.
In Airport Utility, select the old router and click "edit". Click the Wireless tab. Select Off. Click Update, and wait. During the update, you should use your phone to read this, as you may have no wireless for a time.
Once the update is done, click the new Time Capsule and click "edit". Select the wireless tab, and change the Network Mode to "Create a Wireless Network". Choose your name, security and password. Click Update. Once the new Time Capsule is plugged in and wired, you should be able to connect to your network from your laptop.
Back on the old Time Capsule, go to the Wireless Tab and select, "Extend a Wireless Network". Select your network, and click update.
On the Airport Extreme, do the same as the old Time Capsule.
You should be done! Now, you can move your old Time Capsule somewhere else as use it as an extention of your network. And the same with the Airport Extreme. Enjoy your 5TB of network storage!

Combining old base stations to strengthen network?

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