Optimum settings for airport extreme base

I have a relatively new Airport extreme base station that I got this year. And, two new 15" Macbook pro's.
There are lots of options in the set up of the airport. Had anyone determined what some optimum settings might be to maximize speed.
I do know one hint.... use iStumbler to find an inactive channel and set that up as the channel that you use.
Any other tips?

Welcome to the discussions!
iStumbler will not work with Snow Leopard, so try Air Radar. It's not free, but you can use if for a few weeks at no charge. You want to set your channel as far away as possible from any other channels that you see. The "Automatic" setting on your AEBS is supposed to do this for you, but it's a changing target as the other routers in the neighborhood will be doing the same thing. The "right" channel on Tuesday may not be the right channel on Friday if you try to set the channel manually. It will take some experimentation.
http://www.koingosw.com/products/airradar.php
The optimum settings to maximize speed may curiously not be the best settings to use on your network if a sacrifice must be made to give up bandwidth. In this regard, there is no way to predict in advance whether the highly advertised 5 GHz will perform better than the more standard 802.11n at 2.4 GHz.
The reason for this (and what the ads don't tell you) is that higher frequency 5 GHz signals are absorbed by walls, ceilings and any obstructions much more quickly than 2.4 GHz signals. So, in return for speed, you give up penetration power. For many users 5 Ghz does not perform nearly as well as 2.4 GHz a few rooms down the hall or on the upper floor.
You will need to experiment to find the best compromise in settings for your own installation.

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DNS settings for Airport Extreme Base Station

This month's MacWorld suggests that changing the DNS setting of the wireless device might increase the speed of the connection. What setting should my Airport Extreme Base Station use.
The Computer system says 10.0.1.1 and it works. When I entered the numbers they suggested I get no connection.
Any suggestions?

To change DNS setup on the Airport you need to put in the DNS change on the Internet tab. The Airport will always place itself as the main DNS server to the network clients that connect by DHCP, unless you set the Airport to static IP.. and it will use your ISP DNS server by default.. you can change them if you want. Just type in the new DNS you want to use.
This month's MacWorld suggests that changing the DNS setting of the wireless device might increase the speed of the connection.
http://www.macworld.com/article/2824564/slow-internet-edit-your-dns-settings.htm l
In most cases this is really so minimal as to be insignificant. The airport should cache the regularly used DNS addresses and you can test it by ping to your local DNS or the DNS recommended by MacWorld??.. but honestly a few ms is not going to change the world. To the clients the local network addressing should be still using the Airport as the main DNS.. you can setup manually in each device a different DNS but that can give local network issues as it then has to find local clients by broadcast.
I have a complex dns setup for other reasons.. getting past geolocks..
If I ping my local ISP dns I get
ping 202.76.170.228
PING 202.76.170.228 (202.76.170.228): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=0 ttl=61 time=25.422 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=1 ttl=61 time=25.984 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=2 ttl=61 time=25.504 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=3 ttl=61 time=24.933 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=4 ttl=61 time=25.297 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=5 ttl=61 time=25.258 ms
64 bytes from 202.76.170.228: icmp_seq=6 ttl=61 time=24.915 ms
If I ping google DNS. 8.8.8.8
ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=0 ttl=57 time=37.985 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=57 time=37.562 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=57 time=37.715 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=3 ttl=57 time=37.639 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=4 ttl=57 time=36.845 ms
If I ping the US DNS server.
ping 208.122.23.22
PING 208.122.23.22 (208.122.23.22): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=0 ttl=51 time=187.209 ms
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=187.398 ms
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=2 ttl=51 time=186.681 ms
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=3 ttl=51 time=187.030 ms
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=4 ttl=51 time=186.731 ms
64 bytes from 208.122.23.22: icmp_seq=5 ttl=51 time=186.967 ms
It is very obvious the best ping is the ISP dns because the route path is shorter..
Google is very good but still takes longer and of course dns in another country is much worse.

Microcell Settings for Airport Extreme

What settings on my airport extreme should I use so my ATT microcell works consistently?

marciafromboston nailed it.
There are no settings or adjustments to be made on the AirPort Extreme. Plug in the ATT microcell to an LAN <-> on the AirPort Extreme.
If you are having difficulties, temporarily connect a laptop to a LAN <-> port on the AirPort and turn off the wireless on the laptop. Check to make sure that you can log in to the Internet.
If your laptop connection is good...and the microcell is having issues....you have a microcell issue. I went through 3 trying to find one that might work, but no luck, so I gave up trying. AT&T finally admitted to having a "few" problems with the devices.
Hopefully, you will have better results.

Best settings for Airport extreme

I have grande internet service - fiber optic to the house. What are the best settings for my AEBS? When I connect directly - bypassing the AEBS - I get much much faster internet service. What are the best settings? Thanks

I've read that the APE can deliver up to 600 Mbps from its WAN port to a LAN port, so unless your access is really fast it should do.
Does this speed problem only occur when you connect wirelessly?

3rd Party Software for AirPort Extreme Base Station?

Is there any 3rd party software which would allow a little more functionality and control of the device? Like the ability to see wired clients on the network, at the most basic? I have one of the new tower Extremes and Apple seems to have removed the option for downloading AirPort Utility 5.6 which I understand had much more functionality. Can any of you suggest some other software that offers more than the current iteration of AirPort Utility does? Thanks

Unfortunately no.
Tell Apple: http://www.apple.com/feedback/airportextreme.html

Airport Utility cant connect to Airport Extreme Base Station, Error code -4

I am unable to use my Apple-product. Earlier it worked, with these settings: The Airport Extreme Base Station worked as a Gigabit switch and an Access Point. It was not supposed to work as a router, since I have a server "on the far side" of the AEBS.
In any case, it worked for a while. Then it started to act strangely, so I tried to check its settings. I was unable, so I did a factory reset. And haven´t been able to connect (for configuring) since. (It still works as a router and access point, but with the default settings, and with a blinking yellow led.)
When I use the Airport Utility (5.5.1) connected with a cable it finds nothing. Should I be able to configure it wired? When I connect wireless to the default "Apple Network XXXXXX" it finds the Airport Extreme "with default settings". I click "continue" or "Manual setting", and it says "Detecting wireless Apple Devices" (bear in mind that I translate the messages from swedish, It might get wrong), and then after a minute:
An error occurred while trying to access the base station. Make sure your network connection is valid and try again. Error Code: -4
I have shut off the firewall in both Windows and Panda Cloud Office Protection. I have tried to make lots of factory resets.

See this article for instructions on how to install AirPort Utility 5.6 for Lion on Mountain Lion:
http://www.macworld.com/article/1167965/mountain_lion_and_the_ancient_airport_ba se_station.html

Airport Extreme Base Station Internet Connection issue

I have a connection question for Airport Extreme Base Station.
I have Comcast cable broadband. I connect that to a Linksys router for
use with my Vonage phone, and then from the Linksys router I connect
via Ethernet to my iMac. I like the direct Ethernet connection for
performance reasons.
In order to set up a home network to connect my Tivo's (and eventually
my PC and printer), I have set up an Airport Extreme Base station and
connected it to the Linksys router from it's ethernet connection to the
WAN (cable modem) input on the Extreme.
I have connected to the Airport network with my iMac, but since I am
connected to the Internet via Ethernet, I cannot tell if my Airport is
connected to the Internet so that I can use it for my Tivo. My PC is
still in storage from a move, so I can't check with that.
My question: How can I tell if my Airport is connected to the Internet
without disabling my Ethernet connection on my iMac?
A few more info points/questions in case it helps answer:
1) I previously used this Airport to connect this iMac wirelessly.
2) Should I be connecting it to the LAN port since it's coming out of
the router?
3) If the connection issue is because I am going through the Linksys
first, can I connect the modem to the airport and then use the LAN port
to connect to the Linksys router?
4) If I have to disable the ethernet connection to test the Airport,
how do I do it? Just unplug it?
I appreciate any help as the online and manual help from Apple is not
quite up to par with such a complex configuration.
Regards
Bill

2) Should I be connecting it to the LAN port since it's coming out of
the router?
No, connecting to the WAN port is fine.
3) If the connection issue is because I am going through the Linksys
first, can I connect the modem to the airport and then use the LAN port
to connect to the Linksys router?
The issue is that you have two routers which effectively creates two networks. Unless this was your original intent, you will want to setup the AEBS as a bridge.
To set up the AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as a bridge, using the AirPort Admin Utility, connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the LAN port of the AEBS, and then, make these settings:
Network tab
- Distribute IP addresses (unchecked)
- Apply the new settings.
- Wait at least 5 minutes.
4) If I have to disable the ethernet connection to test the Airport,
how do I do it? Just unplug it?
Well, that's certainly one way, but an easier way is to temporarily disable the "Built-in Ethernet" in your network configuration.
System Preferences > Network > Show > Network Port Configurations
- Built-in Ethernet (unchecked)

Does firmware update 7.1 break the Airport Extreme Base Station?

Does firmware update 7.1 break the Airport Extreme Base Station?
See Digg
http://www.jayhaynes.net/2007/04/donot_install.html
April 10, 2007
Do NOT install AirPort 802.11n Firmware 7.1
This Firmware 7.1 update for AirPort Extreme Base Station with 802.11n should definitely NOT be installed.
Here was my problem:
I used AirPort Utility 5.1 to install the update. It is automatic - launch the utility and it asks if you want to install the update. I said yes because I had problems getting two AirPort n base stations networking together to extend my range (I gave up finally and just used an AirPort Express to extend the range).
After the firmware update, some sites would not load at all (www.nytimes.com) and others took forever to load. And worse, I could not send any email from any of my IMAP accounts. It seemed to be a DNS problem.
I have two 802.11n AirPorts, so I finally went back to the other one (7.0) and everything worked fine. The Apple tech support guy offered to replace my broken (7.1) AirPort.
Foolishly, I wanted to make sure the problem was actually with the 7.1 update and not the AirPort itself. So I updated my second 802.11n base station with 7.1. And it casued the exact same problem (some sites not loading, no outgoing email).
The Apple tech (at this point I was speaking with a wireless specialist) put me on hold to test a few of his AirPorts to see if he could revert back to firmware 7.0 or (ii) install a clean version of 7.1 (in case the version on my drive was corrupted).
Unfotunately neither option was possible, which is a design flaw in AirPort Utility.
Apple is sending me two new AirPorts in 1-2 days, which is great service, but I will not be installing firmware update 7.1 again. Fool me once...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airportextremebasestationwith80211nfirmwa re71.html
AirPort Extreme Base Station

Turns out that the firmware 7.1 does not render the AEBS useless.
My problem was resolved when I turned off my DSL modem, the AEBS and the computer. Then restarted in same order going to the next one after the first is compeletly up and running. I had no problems whatsoever after that.
Seems that the firmware update makes the IPs 'stick' somehow. I would think that even a reset of AEBS might have done it but I never got to that stage.
All my computers came alive in no time.
I suggest Smith tries this. Simply reset the whole network. Ah yes, my cable modem has an internal battery, I needed to disconnect this too. Only then did the modem go into the 'acquiring' or 'distribution' mode.

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.

Airport Extreme Base Station as bridge for Westell DSL router

I have searched the forums & internet and for the life of me cannot get my network to work properly! I hope you can help.
Here is the situation (I rent so chances are we will not be moving hardware anywhere):
- Westell (Verizon) DSL wireless router downstairs connected to the internet, 1 iMac via ethernet, and 2 ibooks via Airport cards
- One lonely Powermac G4 upstairs that does not have a wireless card
- One extra Airport Extreme Base Station with firmware version 5.7 installed & connected via ethernet/LAN to the G4
I figured the "easy" thing to do would be to use the AEBS as a wireless bridge to get the G4 online. The network utility has occasionally thought that the G4 was connected to the internet, but the internet didn't work at all when it said that!
I have been configuring the AEBS using my wireless ibook (G3). I "unchecked" distribute IP addresses, and "checked" connect to network via WDS. I used the Westell's MAC address as the main WDS source. Under the "WDS" tab, I said to configure the AEBS as a remote station and the Westell router as the main station, and to allow wireless users to connect.
I have tried using the same Network name for each. WEP/WAP is NOT set up on either modem, so passwords aren't a problem. They are both set to channel 6. I am configuring the TCP/IP settings manually.
When the network names are the same, the internet either stops working, or the computers can't find the AEBS.
I don't understand why the AEBS seems unable to see the DSL network.

Hi,
Well, what I have been able to do is this:
I have a Westell Wireless DSL router, just like the one mentioned here, and just like the one mentioned in the article I made reference to, the one started by Mr. Müller.
As was mentioned in the Mr. Müller article, there are some possibilities that will work. They were submitted by a guy named Duane, from Texas. He gives three alternate possibilities, which he entitled "Solution #1, Solution #2, and Solution #3. He says all three of these alternatives will work, and in reading them over I came to the following conclusions: First, he really knows his stuff, and second, his proposed solutions would probably work.
Based on his comments I decided to take a risk yesterday - I put my older Mac Base Station in a drawer and invested in a new Airport Extreme.
Anyway, I digress...
What I've done is follow Solution #3. And it works! I now have a connection from my laptop to the Airport Extreme base station and the internet. I am typing this message using that connection. All I had to do was disable the wireless connection of the DSL router (using their software, of course), and connect the Airport Extreme, via the LAN Ethernet connector, to the Westel DSL router.
Now, all that remains for me is to extend the range of the base station, using an Airport Express. I haven't had any success with that yet, but I see no reason why I shouldn't get it to work eventually. If you can help me out with that, though, I'd sure appreciate it.
Best regards,
Patrick
Macintosh G5, Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

How do I open the same ports on an Airport Extreme Base Station for multiple computers at the same time?

As the title suggests...
I have a mix of five Mac and PC's at home using an Airport Extreme Base Station as the router.   I need many ports opened on the AEBS for all of the computers- not just one computer. (for example: three people want to play TF2 on Steam at the same time; each machine needs the correct ports open on the router).   Port forwarding only allows me to forward a given port to a single IP, yet I need that port open for five differnt IP's, all at the same time.
How do I do that on an AEBS?
In the same way, I have a small office of four iMacs using an old airport with the same exact issue.   I would like to be able to connect to all of them remotely with Apple Remote Desktop, but the port forwarding on the airport only allows a port to forward to a single IP.   I want to be able to tunnel into the office network and log onto any machine behind the Airport extreme... not just a single IP.    I currently have it set up where I can tunnel into the office from my house, I can find the one machine that the port forwarding has been assigned to, I can log on and everything is just fine... with one machine.    How do I open the firewall for the other machines?
TL,DR version: How do you open ports on an Airport Extreme Base Station instead of forwarding ports?   Forwarding ports doesn't work for multiple IP's.

You can open a single or multiple ports to a single device or different ports to different devices, but you cannot open the same port to multiple devices via the AirPort Utility for the Apple routers.

Airport Express or Airport Extreme Base for home wireless

I've read some of the comparisons between the Airport Express and Airport Extreme Base station to make an informed choice before purchasing. The Airport Express probably will suffice for my needs, plus having AirTunes is a bonus. Mobility is not such a concern (most hotels now offer wireless in any case, making the Express less appealing than when it first came out).
But my only concern with Airport Exress is durability and quality. Some postings on the Apple site note that these can go bad after a year or so. I realize that only those having problems are posting but wondered if there might be some issues with the Express that would make the Extreme Base station a better decision, especially since it's only $30 more now.
Thanks in advance.

Actually it really boils down to your needs.
Either one will work and work well, but if air tunes, and portability is important Express is the way to go. The Extreme is a very good choice as well.
I suggest you look over both of these links and decide the features you need.
http://www.apple.com/airportexpress/
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/
Good Luck
Don

Define static IP for both LAN and W-LAN devices with an Airport Extreme Base Station

Hey guys,
I have a lot of different devices connected to my Airport Extreme Base Station (5th Gen) either wirelessly or via ethernet cable. Since I control some of them via VNC and currently have to find the corresponding IP-addresses through trial-and-error, I'd like to define static IP-addresses for the computers in question. My network consists of a cable modem connected to a TP-Link WR1043ND router in the basement, from which an ethernet cable leads to the WAN-port of the aforementioned Airport Extreme Base Station on the 2nd floor. Two of the devices I want to remote-access are wired to a D-Link DES-1005D switch, which in turn is connected to the 1st ethernet port of the Airport Base Station. The remaining 3 remote clients are connected over 802.11n. All computers run Windows.
My problem now is that even though I was able to define static IP-addresses employing the "DHCP only" router mode, this didn't seem to work for the two computers connected via ethernet. Not only did I lose any internet connectivity with those, I even lost the ability to remote-connect to them using the VNC-viewer.
The question now is: how do I specify static IP-addresses for my ethernet devices correctly?
I hope you can help me.

My network consists of a cable modem connected to a TP-Link WR1043ND router in the basement, from which an ethernet cable leads to the WAN-port of the aforementioned Airport Extreme Base Station on the 2nd floor.
If you read the information in the other post, my answer would be the same here.
The Router Mode of DHCP Only is rarely used, and would only really be appropriate if your ISP was providing you with a fixed bank of multiple fixed or static IP addresses to use. This does not appear to be the case in your post.
If this were the case, the first IP address would be used as a Static IP address for your connection, and other devices on your network would receive the other fixed IP addresses.
99%+ of the time, you would use the Router Mode setting of DHCP and NAT on a network when you want the AirPort to perform as the main router for the network.
But......your post also indicates that you have another router upstream on your network from the AirPort Extreme. You would not want to run two routers in series on a network. That explains the problems that you are having.
The AirPort Extreme needs to be configured in Bridge Mode. It cannot be the "main" router on your network when you already have another router on the network. That is a fundamental networking rule.

I have a Cisco wireless router. Can I buy an Airport Express plug in booster for a distant part of my house or do I need an Airport Extreme base station instead to make the Airport Express plug in booster work?

Can I buy an Airport Express plug-in wifi signal booster to connect to a Cisco wireless router, or do I have to buy an Airport Extreme base station to make the Airport Express plug-in work?

You would need either an AirPort Extreme or an AirPort Express connected to the Cisco router, with a permanent Ethernet cable connection.
Configure the Extreme or Express that is connected to the Cisco router to "create a wireless network".
Then, you could add an AirPort Express to "extend a wireless network" to provide more wireless coverage for the network that the Extreme or Express would be creating.
Remember that the Express can only "extend" the quality of signal that it receives, so it must be located where it can receive a strong signal from the "main" AirPort.
If you don't need the Cisco wireless signal, you could turn it off.....or use that network for guests or something similar.
The bottom line here......you always need two Apple routers if you want to extend the network wirelessly.

Airport Extreme Base Station - Need to extend network for extra distance

The literature on this topic is sparse. I have an Airport Extreme base station. I will like to "extend the signal" so that it is stronger in part of house. I would like to buy a product that will do this. Questions:
I think this is called "bridging".
1. Can I do this with the Airport Express as a 2nd unit??
2. Does the Airport Extreme work with other WDS 2nd units like Netgear?
3. Is there a darned manual to tell you how to configure the settings on BOTH stations?
Thanks.

How new is your Extreme? I ask because if your Extreme supports 802.11n, the setup process will be greatly simplified.

Optimum settings for airport extreme base

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