How many Airport Extreme's and Airport Express can extend line for distance

Question

I am trying to link multiple AEBS/AE's together to cover a fairly long distance between two houses....Is this possible? I already have the 2 AEBS's linked together between two houses going across a street. However, the link is not that strong and I am seeing packet loss. I am thinking to plug at least one AE in at the far end of the house closest to the window to possibly help get a stronger signal going across the street.
Would this work? Will it just add too much latency?
DSL Modem---AEBS-1>>><<<AE>>><<AE>><<<AEBS2---iMac on gigE

Answer 1

Welcome to the discussion area, 0dB!
+Would this work?+
The short answer here would unfortunately be a "no". Read further for explanations.
If this is a newer AirPort Extreme (AEBS) "n" device and you are using a newer AirPort Express (AX) "n" device, you will not be able to configure the network as you describe. The reason for this is that the AX communicates directly to the main AEBS in the "extend a wireless network configuration". So the setup would look like this:
Main AEBS > Remote AX.
That's the limit of this type of setup, although you could have multiple remote devices if you wish. It's like the hub and spoke of a wheel. The AEBS would be the hub and AX would be at the end of a spoke. No further extension is possible from the AX, although you could have several devices communicating to the AEBS if needed.
Apple's older WDS configuration allows the following:
Main AEBS > Relay AX > Remote AX.
That is the limit of this type of setup. Keep in mind that there will be a tremendous loss of performance with this type of setup as follows:
1) The entire network will operate at "g" level wireless
2) The bandwidth of the network will drop to only 25% of the original bandwidth
With WDS, in effect, you will have a "g" wireless network operating at 25% of its normal capability.