Multiple airport Extremes and RADIUS

I've got a rather large network of Airport Extreme Base stations. 7 to be exact. Currently they're authenticated via WPA. I'd like to upgrade them to use the RADIUS service in OS X Server. (fully up to date)
Can someone who has set this up in practice share some experience and things to watch for?
Right now, I'm using a DLink DFL-210 router, DHCP Server on the Mac OS X Server, and Open Directory, also on the Mac Server. As far as I understand, I will not be able to set up the Base Stations with this configuration as the airport needs to be set up in DHCP and NAT mode in order to perform the setup. (the server won't see the Airports unless they're in this mode)
Also, as far as I understand, it seems that I'll need to have the airport extreme also be the router!
Is it possible to set up the first or multiple ones on an "mock" network, then move it over? What will I have to watch for when I install it on the new system? Certificates are going to be an issue as well, won't they?

Hi gracoat,
I've got a similar setup to you. I currently run 8 airport extreme wifi routers (various generations) at our offices and everything is behind a primary sonicwall hardwired firewall router. What you will need to do is actually activate RADIUS on the OS X server and then manually setup each airport extreme to use WPA2 Enterprise for their wifi security. Then you will enter your os x server address into each airport for the WPA2 Enterprise settings.
A great video on how to activate RADIUS on an OS X server 10.8: https://vimeo.com/53774350#
Instructions on how to configure the airports with the Airport Utility: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5129

Similar Messages

Multiple Airport Extremes and Expresses......die at same time.

Greetings all. I am a networking newbie, and we're having some issues here at the shop. We've got a T1 coming into a Netopia router, which is going to a switch. From the switch, it's going to one of the Extremes (spaceship). I have setup the other Extreme (spaceships as well) with the same network name and password and channel. The Expresses are linked to the main network started by the first Extreme.
Almost everyday at around quitting time, the main Airport locks up. Only the middle light is on all the time. I have to unplug the power to the main AP and plug it back in again.
How can I get these things to be more stable? It truly is frustrating. I'm desperate for help.
(on edit) Everything has the latest firmware updates and all computers have the latest updates as well.

He is getting buffer issues when trying to stream from the macmini in the basement to the WD Live on the main floor.
"He" is going to have to decide whether to do and spend nothing and continue to have problems, or invest a small sum for reliable performance.
The easiest solution to all this (minus the stubborn father factor) is simply to move the modem from the upper floor to the main floor. This would allow me to make a wired connection to the basement
That would solve the connection issue from the main router to the basement.
and have the iMac on the upper floor be the wireless client.
There's the new weak link and potential problem. If wireless works, great.....but it would wise to have Plan B....a wired connection....in reserve since you will likely need it streaming any kind of hi-def source.
(We're not making this up, we've had the same problems in the past). Looking back, the single best investment that we ever made....better than any new router, computer, etc......was having Ethernet cabling installed to the major areas in the house.
The downside.....relatives want to visit just to use the network.
Good luck. Keep us posted on your progress.

Airport Extreme and Airport Express on Ethernet Wired Network

I recently did work on my house and now have the house hard-wired for ethernet. I have an AirPort Extreme in my home office. That signal does not reach past the old part of the house (brick apparently blocks some of the signal). So I want to use my Airport Express in the new part of the house to have wireless in the new part as well.
Currently, I have the Airport Extreme plugged into the network, with the Airport Express plugged into the network in the new room. I get wireless connection in the office, but not in the new room.
I am not sure how to configure the base stations.
-- Do I need to use WDS? I am not currently, because each wireless router has its own independent wired link to the network.
-- Do I need to call the wireless networks by different names? Currently I have them both called the same thing.
-- Do I need to set the Airports for a different channel? Currently I have one on 10 and one on 11.
This should be very simple. Unfortunately, my experience has been that the Express base station is very difficult to configure, very quirky and not for the average user.
BTW, the Express is hooked up to the stereo and iTunes plays through that-- but remember it is a hard wired connection. Also both Airports show up in the Admin Utility, so no problem there.
Thanks.
~aviduser
1. Macintosh SE (1988)
2. PowerBook 180 (1993)
3. PowerMacintosh 7600 (1996)
4. PowerMacintosh G4 (2001)
5. PowerBook G4 12" (2003)
(Oh yeah, and there was the Newton MP2k)
G4 867 Quicksilver Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Do you have another router?
If not:
Connecting them together via Ethernet should be done like this:
Internet -> [WAN] AEBS [LAN] --> AirPort Express
The AirPort Express should so that the option to distribute IP addresses is disabled. The AEBS and Express should have the same network name and encryption configuration. The AEBS and Express should be on different channels.
This configuration will put all the computers on the same subnet. All of the computers will get IP addresses from the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS).
OR connecting them via wireless should be done through WDS. The hardware connection should be done like this:
Internet -> [WAN] AEBS
The AirPort Express should not be connected to Ethernet.
See KB 107454, AirPort Extreme and Express: Using WDS to create a network from multiple base stations.
If you do have a router, then both AEBS and Express should be configured so that the option to distribute IP addresses is disabled. The hardware connections should be set up like this:
Internet -> router -+-> [WAN] AEBS [LAN]
....................|-> AirPort Express
The AEBS and Express should have the same network name and encryption configuration. The AEBS and Express should be on different channels.
This configuration will put all the computers on the same subnet. All of the computers will get IP addresses from the router.

Difference between Airport Extreme and Airport Express

What is the difference between Airport Extreme and Airport Express? My son is home from college and would like to use his Macbook for an online class. So I need a wireless router and I would also like to be able to play our iTunes over multiple speaker locations with my home stereo. Which one of these could accomplish this. Thanks in advance.

If you can use just one device to both set up a WiFi network and connect to your stereo you have to use an Airport Express. If you have to use separate devices, for instance because your internet connection device and your stereo are not in the same location, you have to use an Express to stream to and you can use either an Express or an Extreme to set up the WiFi.
By the way you have to use an Express for each stereo you would like to connect.

Verizon Fios - Airport Extreme AND Airport Express drop IP Address

Hi everyone,
I am absolutely BEGGING for help here! I am so frustrated with Verizon Fios that I can hardly take it. The scenario - the crummy Actiontec router that Verizon provided us when we got service 10 months ago shot craps recently. So, I got out my Airport Extreme to see if that would work. After 30 minutes of tech support I got it working, only to have all kinds of trouble with what they told me after FURTHER hours of tech support, was that my router was dropping the IP address.
So, knowing that I can't possibly be the only Verizon customer using an Apple router, I thought it was the Airport Extreme unit itself. I went out and got an Airport Express, and again, I am resetting my router or calling Verizon tech support at least once a day, if not more, to break the lease and get a new IP address. It's killing me. I can't live life like this.
Can ANYONE help me figure out how to get this scenario to work without having to purchase another crappy, ugly Actiontec router? I don't have FIOS TV, just internet. I can't tell you how much I would appreciate the help. It's driving me insane!!
Thanks so much in advance.

It appears that I am in same boat. I got FIOS last October and it worked seamlessly with my Airport Extreme/Express network for months. All of a sudden, we couldn't get to the internet after returning from vacation in late August. Reset, reconfigured, and tinkered with the Airport extreme and our computers, but could not get out to internet even though we could still print and see each other over the airport network. Contacted Verizon and they told me that they do not support the airport and that we have to use their Actiontec router for Internet access. Told them that we had been using our Airport, connected to their Actiontec, to access the Internet for months seamlessly and they said that that was not something they would recommend/support and that we had to go directly through their wireless router to get Internet support. I asked if they changed something in the last week that would prevent access and they would not confirm.
We also found that my son's older desktop with 802.11b wireless USB connection and MS OS can't even get out using the Actiontec router directly. Verizon site talks to 802.11b not necessarily being supported, but we had no issues when we were routing everything through the Airport. I just don't want to invest in all kinds of new network devices when we were fine until something happened over a weekend.
I am playing around with buying the latest Airport extreme (ours is a 802.11g model) to see if that works, but Verizon refuses to acknowledge that it's a viable solution and apologized to us that we have to switch between their network router and our Airport router to do routine printing, play music, etc., but they were not open to helping us prevent running multiple networks, either.
Obviously, this is unacceptable customer service, but Verizon techs that I spoke to do not feel that they have any obligation to support us with re-establishment of connectivity that we got with our original service. It sounds from this thread that other folks were getting disconnected or can't establish connectivity over the summer. Am wondering what Verizon is doing that is causing this and who else is getting impacted. Also wondering if upgrading to the latest Airport will help.

I'm having a hard time setting up my external hard from with my AirPort Extreme and Time Machine Backups.

I have been using a Mac Mini with an external hard and Time Machine. I bought an Airport Extreme and have had problem setting up the hard drive using the USB port on the Airport Extreme. I also just recently bought a Mac Book Air and hope to have both computers back up to the external hard drive using Time Machine and Airport Extreme. I have been using the optical drive from the Mac mini to load programs into the Mac Book Air. I think I'm just getting confused in Finder. I am just not seeing the hard drive. I ended up plugging the hard drive back into the Mac Mini and that is work fine again. How do I setting the external hard drive up to the AirPort Extreme and use for both computers? Or at least to start with the Mac mini.

It's critical to understand that Time Machine (TM) stores backups differently between local and network drives. That would mean the TM backup on your locally attached USB hard drive will not be directly useable when it is connected to the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS). There is a way to copy a local version to a network version, but it is not fool-proof. When you do connect this drive and point TM to it, TM will start a brand new backup, leaving your existing backup as is.
If your current backup is critical to you, you may want to consider getting a second USB drive to attach to the Extreme and use your existing one as a backup ... or use TM's multi-backup process to backup to more than one destination drive alternatively.
So, at this point, you may want to make a decision on how you want to go forward to help provide a solution for you.
To directly answer your question, when you go to select a destination for a Time Machine backup, the drive(s) that show up under "Backup Disks" are those that TM already recognizes and has backed up to. Those listed under "Available Disks" are drives (either local or on the network) that TM can back up to.

Airport Extreme and external HDD - cannot be found under Windows (XP/Vista)

Dear All,
I am about to loose it. I have an Airport Extreme (7.4.2), most recent version (802.11n)connected to my cable modem. Attached is a 2TB HFS+ Formated HDD. I have a number of machines. My primary machine is a Dell XPS with Vista and MacDrive installed.
Now: On my AirPort utilities through the Dell the different HDD's connected via USB (I have tried half a dozen) are all visible. They are shared and I have tried all options, e.g. "with Disk Password" etc, tried to give and deny access to guests etc.
I have tried various things incl. switching off the firewall has not been a success either. I am basically ready to buy a Mac now, but I am worried that the problem will persist for all my Windows based PC's.
Who can help with a step to step guide? tried the TCP/IP settings on the XP machine as well (entering the IP address of both Airport Extreme and Express).

Hi!
I've got the same problem as of Friday when I upgraded my Notebook from XP to Windows 7.
It does not recognize the HDD anymore, neither on the Windows7 Notebook nor on 2 different XP- PC's.
I disabled the password functionality and removed the HDD several times, no change.
When I look to the data volumes overview in the system settings, all internal HDD's and the CD partition of the Toshiba drive are shown. The HDD partition of the drive is shown as "non allocated".
Is there any workaround to get access to the data????
Best regards,
Helmut

I have an airport extreme and my computer runs Microsoft windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I receive an error message saying " airport requires that your computer is running windows xp sp3 or windows vista sp1 or newer"...why?

i have an airport extreme and my computer runs Microsoft windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. I receive an error message saying " airport requires that your computer is running windows xp sp3 or windows vista sp1 or newer"...why?

It is required to be able to connect. Download SP3 here. http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=24
I Hope I Was Able To Help You Or Solve Your Question.
Simmm
3/12/2012
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If Someone Solved Your Question, Click
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I just replaced my airport extreme and now the amber light on my airport express is flashing and so it is not being recognized. I have been on the computer and gone to airport utility and it is simply not showing up at all. What can I do?

I just replaced my airport extreme and now the amber light on my airport express is blinking. When I go to utilities and try to find the airport express it does not show up.
What should I do?

Anytime you change networking hardware it is always a good idea to perform a complete power recycle of that hardware. Check out the following AirPort User Tip for details. Please post back your results.

New Airport Extreme and iPhone Issues

I've had the networking day from ****. I previously had a 3rd Gen Time Capsule at our restaurant, connected to a Cisco 26port gigabit POE switch and Comcast digital voice and internet. Over the past few days, employees have reported trouble accessing the the Wifi network. After several restarts and firmware upgrades (including the dreaded "firmware problem" to fine update), nothing worked. I changed channels, back to auto, back to specific channels, back to auto. Made open guest networks. Nothing worked consistently. My iPhone might connect and my friend's might not. Nor his laptop consistently. Our Axis network cameras might take a bit extra time to connect. All quite random and quite frustrating.
So I swap out an older Airport Extreme (4th gen I believe) using the same configuration as the TC (Time Capsule). It works fine, except for the last port not working as expected. No matter, I plug the mac mini into the Cisco switch and off we go. Nevertheless, I'm still told we are suffering random Wifi issues. So I buy a brand new AE (5th gen) today to replace that one. Should work like a charm I thought. Right....
Several hours later, I finally have the new AE working, but only after doing several hard resets/factory restores, the works. For some reason, the mac mini could not successfully update any of the connected AEs - whether connected directly into the same AE, or if the Mini was connected to the switch. Nothing worked. Every time I tried to update the AE, it would hang and force me to unplug and plug it back in. It would also never save setting changes. I finally resorted to a friend's macbook to be able to restore it successfully. And once that worked, the mini was able to update the AE flawlessly. Our Point of Sales (POS) machines connect fine, our cameras connect fine, wifi printer connects, and the mini connects, and everything has internet.
Except my iPhone 5. Of course. It gets a signal fine (full bars). It gets an IP address. But I can't surf the web. Or download email. Or iMessages. Anything. No internet access. I try hard restarts on my iphone. I try assigning IP addresses by MAC address. I try resetting the AE. I try renaming the WiFi name. Nothing. I can make a guest network that works (on a different IP table, btw - 172, not 192.) But other than that, no access. Grrrr.
So I have a "working" AE router where some devices successfully connect (through wifi and ethernet) and some dont' (wifi iPhone). My iPhone connects fine to my home TC. So shouldn't be anything to do with that. But I'm at a loss. I'm going to go back and restore everything and power cycle everything tonight or tomorrow night. I don't know if that will help, but it's worth a try. Lord knows it feels like I've tried everything else.
Anyone have any good ideas of where to start besides voodoo dolls and baseball bats?

I took mine back, because I was having these very same issues. We use contivity too. I was able to connect only to one of three of the servers we manage (in Europe). I couldn't connect to the servers in Asia or here in the USA.
Replaced the Airport Extreme with my trusty old d-link 624, and no issues connecting to any of the three hubs.
Otherwise, I liked the Airport Extreme, and I'll consider buying it again when and if they address this VPN issue. I work at home so its obviously a "deal breaker" for me.

Regarding the product time capsule...is the modem the same as airport extreme and is the disk drive always running? I'm worried about it lasting for at least five years.

Regarding the product Time Capsule... is the modem the same as the Airport extreme and is the disk drive always running??? I'm worried about it lasting at least five years.

John,
I'd pay good money to bet it wouldn't last 5 years... I don't rate the in built power supply and as for "server grade hard disk" - Hmmmm..... The failure rate of all HD's on the market after 3 year is 60%.
Regards,
Shawn

Can I connect a 4 TB USB drive to the airport extreme and use it as a network drive for Time Machine

Can I connect a 4 TB USB drive to the airport extreme and use it as a network drive for Time Machine

Yes, if the drive is formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
The USB port on the Time Capsule is under powered, so you may need use a powered USB hub with the 4 TB drive...even if it has its own power supply.

How to Set Up Time Capsule With Airport Extreme and Airport Express

Just got a new 1TB Time Capsule. I want it to be the main base station for my network. I already have a network set up with an older Airport Extreme base station and an Airport Express to extend it. I am thinking that rather than setting up the Time Capsule to "join" the old network, the best approach is to disconnect the Airport Extreme and Airport Express and reset them. Then set up the Time Capsule as a brand new network and bring the reset Aiport Extreme and Express onto the new network as if my original network never existed.
Is that the right approach or am I complicating it? Can I just join the Time Capsule to the existing network and still make it the main base station for the network?

evelK wrote:
Just got a new 1TB Time Capsule. I want it to be the main base station for my network. I already have a network set up with an older Airport Extreme base station and an Airport Express to extend it. I am thinking that rather than setting up the Time Capsule to "join" the old network, the best approach is to disconnect the Airport Extreme and Airport Express and reset them. Then set up the Time Capsule as a brand new network and bring the reset Aiport Extreme and Express onto the new network as if my original network never existed.
Is that the right approach or am I complicating it? Can I just join the Time Capsule to the existing network and still make it the main base station for the network?
I'd first use AirPort Utility to "Save a Copy As" of your AirPort Extreme settings. Then disconnect it, connect the Time Capsule in its place, and use AirPort Utility's "Import" function to read those settings. (Both of those functions are under AirPort Utility's "File" menu.) You may have to adjust a few settings. Once you have the Time Capsule working as you want, you can reconfigure your AirPort Extreme unit as you wish.

How do I connect Airport Extreme and Time Capsule to my new iMac so that AE is used for network and TC only used for Time Machine backup?

I didn't realize that Time Capsule will only support the print function of a wireless multifunction printer. So I want to use Extreme for my network to have full use of my printer and use TC as the Time machine backup only. How to I make the connections?

Thanks for your response and this is getting complicated but I just purchased a new iMac as well as the Airport TC. I've had the Airport Extreme for a year or so. The Airport Extreme worked perfectly with my old iMac wirelessly and I had all functions of my printer with no problems. I was expecting the same with the TC. But the instruction that came with TC say to connect the printer to the TC via USB...which I did. And the print function worked perfectly but nothing else. In researching I discovered that when wired that way the TC only supports the print function...not scan or fax or anything else. I tried going wireless since my AE worked perfectly via wireless but I got no printer functions at all that way. But I'm wondering also if I tried that during a time I was having other issues...I had to delete and re-add my printer which solved some other problems. I may try that again...and see if I can get all print functions with just the TC connected
As far as connecting both your AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule on your network, we're not clear on exactly how you want to do this. Will the AirPort Extreme connect to your modem using an Ethernet cable and the Time Capsule connect to the AirPort Extreme using an Ethernet cable?.......or......do you want the Time Capsule to connect to the network using wireless?
Well... first of all I would like not to have to use the AE at all...I would prefer using just my TC for network, all print functions and Time Machine backup if that's possible. My printer will not accept Ethernet connections (Canon MX512).
After failing at getting this to work, I decided I would try to use my AE for net and print functions and just use my TC for Time Machine backup. I tried several different connection configurations with no success until finally I connected cable modem to my AE via Ethernet and went wireless with the AE and printer. but connected the AE to the TC via Ethernet and amazingly everything worked like a charm (for a while) and I was patting myself on the back for being so smart. But now I find that the connection only lasts for a short time. If I leave it for a while the TC goes invisible...or at least I see a message saying the Ethernet is unplugged...but it is not... and I lose internet connection even though I have a green light on my AE. So now I'm at a loss. I don't know why I keep losing network signal and why my system thinks the Ethernet is unplugged.
So... after all this...I figured I wasn't so smart after all and I must have things wired incorrectly.
So... it sounds like you are saying I should go back and try again to get my new TC to work as I want it to via wireless instead of connecting via USB...is that correct? Could you tell me exactly how I should wire my equipment from cable modem to AE and/or TC to achieve net capability, full functions of my printer and Time Machine backup...
Thanks...

My Airport Extreme and Time Capsule both cannot do not mount my Seagate USB external hard.

My Airport Extreme and Time Capsule both cannot do not mount my Seagate USB external hard.
I am running OS 10.7.5
Both the TC and AE are updated to 7.6.1
The Seagate drive in formatted: Journaled HFS+
I tried everything on Apple's Article: HT1331 and the basic reboots and restarts.
"Next"

It sounds like you may be confusing "mount" with "recognize".
Connect the drive to the USB port on the AirPort Extreme
Open Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility
Click on the AirPort Extreme icon, then click Edit
Click the Disks tab
Does the AirPort Extreme "recognize" your hard drive? If yes, it will be displayed in the window.
See example below of a WD 500 GB drive connected to the AirPort Extreme.
If your drive is formatted HFS+ and it does not appear here, then you will almost certainly need to use a powered USB hub with the hard drive.....even if the hard drive has its own power supply. The USB port on the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule is under powered.
Post back when the drive is "recognized" and we will next "mount" the drive.....although you likely already know how to do this.

Multiple airport Extremes and RADIUS

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