Designing a network with 6 base stations and an Access control lists

I have 6 airport extreme (802.11n) base stations setup in my studio.
I'm a little concerned about security as they're all setup individually (wireless mode: Create a wireless network) with the same Network names (mystudio) and WPA/WPA2 personal password so my roaming users don't have to keep entering passwords / experience dropouts etc
i have lots of freelancers who are in and out of the studio and there isn't anyway for me to monitor who is currently connected to my wifi network.
i'd like to setup a wireless network that only allows you to connect to the WIFI network only if your MAC address is on the access control list.
is this possible with Apple Airport extreme base stations or would it be a better idea for me to invest in a 3rd party product?
all the base station are connected to an Ethernet point and have static IP's assigned to them.
whats the best way to deploy such a solution;should i keep the setting as they are and manually enter the mac address for 30 portable machines on each base station or is there a more pragmatic solution...
any help / input would be much appreciated.
Thank You

When employing Access Control in a roaming network configuration, the MAC addresses would be required to be entered atr each of the base stations ... as there is no means (unfortunately) to have them "automatically" migrate amongst them.
However, one important thing to note. Only wireless security, using WPA or WPA2, will actually secure the wireless network. MAC addresses can easily be spoofed. Someone, determined to do so, can still access your network ... even if secured by Access Control.

Similar Messages

Serious problem with base station and/or computer internet connection

Hi,
my powerbook does not detect my base station (another computer at home does, so the base station seems to be working) but it does detect other networks.
I have allready tried to reset the basse station (many times) but it doesen't help. Have tried to re-configure in Airport Admin Utility there is no base station (I cannot push configure) - when I push "Other" - it does not accept the base station password (have also tried "public" as they suggest in "help").
The same thing happens in Airport Setup Assistant: it does not detect my base station. It has happened before that the base station "disapears" and I could fix it now it seems to be unfixable. Can anyone out there help me???

Agnes,
the one computer connects wirelessly to the base
station and
works alright? Also the Mac can connect to the
base
station with ethernet and works alright?
Yes, thats correct
Then you should be able to access the base station two ways, from the Mac via ethernet or from the pc. I am assuming that your "pc at home" is a pc running windows (if the 2nd computer is also a Mac it would be even better).
Anyway, you can administer the base station from the dark side, you may want to check out the following:
AirPort 4.2 for Windows
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airport42forwindows.html
Check also:
XP users need to have WZC installed to administer:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108049
If you haven't upgraded your pc to XP Service Pack 2.
As far as running the admin utility from the Mac, connect to the base via ethernet. You have indicated that you can do that and get to the internet, therefore you should be able to see the base station with the admin utility. If you are seeing your neigbor's that is wirelessly. But the wired connection Mac->Ethernet->Base-LAN-Port should allow the base to show up with a Name and an IP Adress.
Once in the admin utility for the base station (either by pc wirelessly or by Mac via ethernet) you can then make changes. You should be able to see the Base Station Name and the Airport network name. You can then change the channel: 1, 4, 7, 11 (try three apart from each other). Is your base set up to configure TCP/IP using ethernet, configure using DHCP (select the Internet tab at the top to get to this page)? On the Network tab page, is the base configured to Distribute IP addresses, Sharing a single IP address using DHCP and NAT?
As far as your Mac's System Network Preferences, you are not selected to Connect using PPoE are you? Are you set to "Automatically join an open network"? Are you configured for Using DHCP? To join a specific network (your airport network name and password)?
By the way, if RF interference is a possible problem, you can check out:
AirPort: Potential sources of interference
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58543
Gino
-

Creating a 802.11g network with Base Station in "802.11n only" mode

I still have some legacy products running 802.11b/g, and want my Base Station to run in "n" only mode at 5GHz to keep the rest of the network as fast as possible.
My current strategy is to take an old 802.11g router, put it into access point mode, and connect it to the Base Station with an ethernet cable.
Unfortunately, this access point seems to fail frequently - connected devices can't find the access point, and rebooting the access point will temporarily fix the problem.
I'm wondering if an AirPort Express can replace the access point. It can run as "create a wireless network" in a mixed b/g/n mode. I would then cable it to the base station.
Will this slow down the remainder of the "pure" "n" network?
Steve

I was asking something similar in another thread. What I'd like to do is run my existing b/g AP as it is and enable an Airport Extreme Base Station in AP mode in n-only mode. Supposedly, you can do this.

Bridging network with AP Extreme base station and AP Express

OK, here's the deal. I have an Airport Extreme Base Station on a WPA2 Personal network. Works great except that I want to boost the signal to the rest of the house. So, I bought an Airport Express. Airport Utility picks up both devices; but when I select the new Express to configure it, I get a msg asking to confirm that I want to switch networks. Well, I don't. I want to expand the network I have. Last night I did click "yes" and it was a disaster as I lost the Extreme altogether and the Express couldn't pick up a signal because - obviously - it wasn't connected to the ethernet cable as the base station, and also because (I think) the base station is configured to hide my SSID. I ended up working backwards and got the Extreme back to normal and put the Express back in its box until someone can tell me how to do this. I know Apple says it's easy; but it's a challenge for me. HELP!

A few things:
1. Please don't configure your base station to "hide its SSID". Doing this is absolutely useless as a security method. It will on the other hand complicate setup of your network, as well as the diagnosis of problems when they arise.
2. You must allow the Airport Utility to switch networks during the process. What is happening is that the Airport Utility must temporarily switch your Mac's wireless network connection from your existing base station to the wireless network created by your unconfigured Airport Express in order to communicate with and configure that Airport Express. After the Airport Express configuration is complete - if your Mac doesn't automatically switch your Mac's wireless network connection back again then just do so manually from the MacOS Airport menu.
3. To get a better understanding of what you are doing, start reading at page 42 of Apple's manual "Designing Airport Networks" found at:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPort_Networks_Using_AirPortUtility.pdf

How do I set up a wireless network with an AirPort Extreme base station and two airport extreme but between apple devices either by ethernet

How do I set up a wireless network with an AirPort Extreme base station and two airport extreme but between apple devices either by ethernet

This Apple support document provides good general information on configuring different types of neworks using multiple AirPort routers.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145
In particular, you would want to focus on the information regarding a "Roaming Network"

I connected the TC T2 with the iMac and used Air Port Utility to have it join my existing network. Now I have green lights on Apple Base Station and TC with the cable connected to the Base Station because hen connected to TC -- I get only yellow lights fl

I connected the TC T2 with the iMac and used Air Port Utility to have it join my existing network. Now I have green lights on Apple Base Station and TC with the cable connected to the Base Station because hen connected to TC -- I get only yellow lights flashing on both devices>
When Connected through the Apple Base station I have perfect internet wireless capability thru-out house.
Lamont

I connected the TC T2 with the iMac and used Air Port Utility to have it join my existing network. Now I have green lights on Apple Base Station and TC with the cable connected to the Base Station because hen connected to TC -- I get only yellow lights flashing on both devices>
When Connected through the Apple Base station I have perfect internet wireless capability thru-out house.
Lamont

My internet works fine with my wired cable modem, but when i connect to my extreme base station and setup my wireless network the internet no longer works and my apple tv by default

my cable modem works fine, but when I hook it up to my extreme base station and run through the prompts and set up my wireless network it doesnt work and neither does my apple tv by default. I am unsure how to correct this problem. It will come up saying that I dont have an IP address when I have it set to DCHP so I dont know what the problem is.

Push the reset button on the modem and power the modem off
Power off everything else....all devices....order is not important
Wait 15-20 minutes or longer
Connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN port (circle of dots icon) on the AirPort Extreme
Power up the modem and let it run for 5 minutes by itself
Power up the AirPort Extreme and let it run for 5 minutes
Power up each other device one at a time a few minutes apart
Check the network

How Do I Network Multiple Base Stations Using Ethernet AND Wireless?

Hi, everyone. I am having great difficulty setting up a network using multiple Airport Extreme base stations that are connected using both ethernet and wireless connections. I have one main base station connected to a cable modem, and I want to create a unified network and share its internet connection with three other base stations: one that is connected on an ethernet network, one connected to it wirelessly, and the fourth that would be connected wirelessly to the base station on the ethernet network.
The "Designing Airport Networks" manual explains how to build roaming networks of base stations that are connected to one another via ethernet. And it also explains how to build a WDS of wirelessly connected base stations. What it doesn't explain is how to build a network employing both ethernet AND wireless!
I spent most of today trying to get the base stations to work in various configurations to no avail. I could get part of the network working, but not all of it. I'm at the point where I'm going to need to do a hard, factory reset on all the base stations and start over, but I wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions for me. Any help would be incredibly appreciated! Thanks so much...
Message was edited by: Bill Ryan2

If you have stations connected via Ethernet and want them to appear as a single seamless wireless network, configure them as follows:
Same SSID (network name).
Different channels. As far apart as possible.
Same wireless encryption type/level/password.
Only the base station connected to the Internet source distributes IP addresses. All the others are configured as bridges.
If you have stations connected wirelessly using WDS and want them to appear as a single seamless wireless network, configure them as follows:
Same SSID (network name).
Same channel.
Same wireless encryption type/level/password.
It appears that you want to mix the 2 type of connections. This is easily done and here is a simple example:
base1 Ethernet base2
In this example base1 and base 2 are configured as I suggested above for Ethernet connections.
Now add base3 connected wirelessly:
base1 Ethernet base2 wireless base3
Now base2's configuration must be modified slightly so that it acts as a WDS main. base3 is configured to act as a WDS remote (or relay).
No changes are needed to base1 since it is completely unaware and uninvolved in the WDS link between base2 and base3.

Since latest update to airport extreme im getting 10 unknown base station and time capsule items showing in airport utility as a network. when able to "forget" them they initially drop off but soon return. how do i get them deleted and stay that way

since latest update to airport extreme im getting 10 unknown base stations and time caps showing up as though they are a part of my network. sometimes i can "forget" them and they will disappear initially but soon return. i need and want only my connection inside my home . any ideas. i have done a factory reset and set up a new network but they continue to show up.

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.

I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and have recently upgraded to Mountain Lion. Now airport utility won't work with my base station so I bought a Time Capsule. For the life of me I can't make the substitution work and only see a blinking amber light.

I have an Airport Extreme Base Station and have recently upgraded to Mountain Lion. Now airport utility won't work with my base station so I bought a Time Capsule. For the life of me I can't make the substitution work and only see a blinking amber light. Can anyone who has made this change offer some advice?

apikoros wrote:
The Utility transferred all of the AE's settings, so I still have to change the password, which leaves me with only 2 other questions, I think:
1) I assume it's just a matter of using the Utility, entering a stronger password and checking for it to be remembered in Keychain Access. But do I have to change the password for each individual unit-- the TC, the Extreme and both Expresses-- or will changing it just for the TC alone work for the entire network?
Resetting the password you will need to do for each device... the utility cannot even see those old units.
So you will have to do it for each one.. think it through.. because as you change passwords the others will lose connection.. so start from the express which are wireless extending .. change those first.. and go back up the chain.. as each one changes it will drop off the network.. until you reach extreme and change that. Then you might need to reboot the whole network to get everything talking again. If something goes wrong.. just pluck that one out of the mix and plug in ethernet.. reset and redo the setup. That is my preferred method anyway.. do everything in isolation one by one. By ethernet and then nothing goes wrong.
2) Who's the treasonous SOB who spilled the beans to you about the ICBM in my back yard?!?
N.Korean hackers.
[Edit] Whoops-- one more question: I want to partition the TC's disk, but Disk Utility doesn't see it. What do I need to do?
You cannot partition a network disk. And apple provided no tools for it in the TC itself. You can pull the disk out and partition it but that voids your warranty. (although done with care who is to know).
Look at Q3 here.
http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html
Mixing TM and data on the TC is worth planning carefully. They don't necessarily sit happily together.

I used Airport Base station and I was able to extend my network using airport express and connect my printers. Now I am using Extreme and I can't extend the network (Express) or the printers nothing shows up. I am using utility 6.3 and Mt Lion What is

I had an Aiport Base Station and extended using Airport Express, where I also connected my printers (network). Now using Airport Extreme off Mt Lion 10.8.4 and Utility 6.3.
I can't extend the network (express) or connect my printers (USB) nor will it find my one wifi printer.
What's up?

For now, leave the AirPort Express powered off.
Power off the entire network....all devices.....in any order that you want
Wait a few minutes
Power up the modem first, and let it run 2-3 minutes by itself
Power up the AirPort Extreme next, and let it run a full minute
Keep powering up devices one at a time about a minute apart until everything is powered up (leave the Express off for now)
Open AirPort Utility and check to see if the AirPort Extreme is visible.
If it's not, click the AirPort Utility menu at the upper left of the screen, then click About AirPort Utility. Post back with the version number of AirPort Utility that you see there....which should be AirPort Utility 5.6.1.
Post back on your progress.

Dial up account setting issue with graphite base station and ibook

hello, I have spent hours and hours researching this issue. I cannot connect to the internet using my graphite base station and ibook. It seems to be a settings/configuration issue for my dial up account. what settings do I use? which account do I choose? Same as modem settings? is there a conflict somewhere? The airport card was checked at the apple genius bar, it's ok. How do i configure the base station? Thanks. What's with the paper clip deal? Is orange or green the preferred color?

Anyway, how do you change the modem settings on the airport.
You need to administer the Graphite using AirPort Admin Utility. To do so with a computer running Mac OS X 10.4, you should use AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow 4.2.5. First, join the computer to the Graphite's wireless network. Then, launch the utility, select the Graphite on the opening screen, click "Configure," and enter the Graphite's base station password. (Note: the base station password is not the same thing as your wireless network password and is also not the same thing as your dial-up account password.) The dial-up modem settings are found in the "Internet" pane of AirPort Admin Utility. In the "Connect Using" pop-up menu, select "Modem (V.90)" if your Internet Service Provider ("ISP") supplies a telephone number that is compatible with the V.90 protocol. The actual settings to enter (the dial-up telephone number of your ISP; your ISP account name and password; and (if necessary) DNS server addresses and/or domain name) are those specified by your ISP.
Does this affect the dial up internal modem settings?
No. The internal modem settings and the AirPort settings on your computer are found in different portions of the Network pane of System Preferences. The computer connects to the base station via AirPort, regardless of how the base station connects to the Internet.
The internal modem settings on the computer, if they work, may be useful as a reference. The account name and other settings to use in the "Internet" tab of AirPort Admin Utility are the same ones that you would use on your computer if your computer were connecting to the Internet using its internal modem.
What's with the paper clip deal?
A paper clip is used if you need to reset the base station. See step 4 of Article HT2439 -- Resetting the AirPort Base Station (Graphite). (Note: the references in this article to AirPort Setup Assistant are out of date. You must instead use AirPort Admin Utility to reconfigure the base station, as well as to reinstall base station software, if you reset the base station.)
Is orange or green the preferred color?
Green. See Article TA25946 -- AirPort Base Station (Graphite): LED Behavior.

I have an airport extreme base station and have no clue how to set up a private wireless network instead ton open one i have now.

I have an airport extreme base station and have no clue how to change to a pawword type network from the network i have now that is free to the neighbor hood.

Which version of the AirPort Utility are you using?

HOW do I get my Extreme base station and Express to join a Linksys network?

OK... so I have FINALLY enabled my SLINGBOX to view remotely by totally removing my Airport Extreme & Express from the network look. I was told they are both routers and I have to pick one. The Linksys network works fine for all networking purposes... what it WON'T DO is connect my USB printer or stream iTunes to remote speakers. NOW, I have been told by using the Extreme & Express in "client mode" I can do this.
Basically HOW do I get my Extreme base station and Express to join the exsiting Linksys network?

Sorry but the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) does NOT have a client mode.
The AirPort Express (AX) does have a client mode. The directions are in KB 302153, AirPort Express: How to join an existing wireless network in client mode.

Since updating my airport utility app to iOS 8, it can no longer see my base station and will not connect to wifi.

Since updating my airport utility app to iOS 8, it can no longer see my base station and will not connect to wifi. My son's 4s with an older version of the app sees it and connects fine, so I know it's working. The internet works fine for everyone else in the house but my

Please take a look at this Apple support document to see if it help solve your issue:
iOS: Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
If this does not help, we would recommend that you post in the iPhone community support area, since you have an iPhone / iOS issue. The link is just below.
Using iPhone

Designing a network with 6 base stations and an Access control lists

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