Simple Home Networking Question

Hi, I've got a dumb question.
I have an iMac with airport extreme and am going to purchase an iBook with airport extreme and want to buy a base station or router to use my internet connection wirelessly as well as share between the two machines.
The question is, do I need to make the base station or router connected to one of the computers at all times? Can I have the base station sitting somewhere and then connect both machines to it wirelessly? Or does on machine have to serve the base station?
Please help. Thanks.

...because I was told they're a easier to use than the non-Apple routers.
That is all subjective. Non Apple routers are typically configured using any web browser. The Apple base stations all require the use of special Apple software.
Of the basic Airport base station, Airport Express, and Airport Extreme, which one is best if all I want to do is make my iBook wireless?
All of them are equally well at creating a wireless network.
If you have any devices which need to connect via Ethernet, you do not want the AirPort Express (AX).
Currently Apple is only selling the square 802.11b/g/n AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS) and the 802.11b/g AX.
The older round 802.11b/g AEBS and the AX have a USB port which supports a single compatible USB printer.
The new square 802.11b/g/n AEBS has a USB port which supports multiple USB hard drives and USB printers.
You may also want to take a look at the table on iFelix's site.

Similar Messages

Simple home network backup strategy ?

I have a simple home network of 4 machines on a router, all running Arch. None of the boxes are a server. I do not have NFS nor Samba running. I want a simple, incremental cron-based weekly backup process, to be backed up to a spare hard drive on one of the computers (eg hostname "master"). I believe rsync with ssh might be the easiest way to go, something like: "rsync -e ssh -varuzP /home/whoever master:/mnt/tmp/backups".
The cron job would first of all make sure the master computer is online, or send a message to the user to that effect. My problem is I do not know how to remotely mount, from a cron job, the second hard drive on "master". I suppose I could ensure that "master" auto mounts that drive each session but I would prefer not to do that. Any ideas appreciated.

Another strategy for you to consider...
At a slightly different time each night (or whatever interval you want), have each computer on your network create a backup archive of itself. I recommend xz compression for this because it is slow to compress and small, but fast to decompress. eg
include="$include /root"
include="$include /home"
exclude="$exclude --exclude=/home/*/.mozilla/firefox/*/*Cache/*"
exclude="$exclude --exclude=/home/*/.mozilla/firefox/*/bookmarkbackups/*"
exclude="$exclude --exclude=/home/*/.mozilla/firefox/*/urlclassifier3.sqlite"
datestamp="$(date +%Y-%m-%d-%H%M%S)"
tar --ignore-failed-read $exclude -cf - $include | xz > "/backups/backup-$HOSTNAME-$datestamp.txz"
Next, if the security is needed, have the computer encrypt the archive using a GPG public key created for this purpose. (By using a public key, you don't need to be there to type in the password, and you don't need to include a password on the command line.)
gpg --always-trust -r 0xAAAAAAAA -o "/backups/backup-$HOSTNAME-$datestamp.txz.gpg" -e "/backups/backup-$HOSTNAME-$datestamp.txz"
(Where "0xAAAAAAAA" is your public key ID)
You can then delete the .txz original.
Then have each computer copy its backup file to each of the other computers on the network. You can do this by sharing an NFS backup folder on each computer, rsync, or using any other method or protocol. In some cases you could alternatively have a computer fetch a backup from another computer.
You can write a single script to do all of this on every computer, and have it read the $HOSTNAME variable so it can determine what machine it is running on.
Later in the night, have each computer run a separate script that checks that all the backups for today are present in its own backup folder, including those from all other computers. If there is a problem, have it send an admin alert, perhaps using local email or a CLI smtp client like msmtp. If there isn't a problem, have each computer run a cleanup routine to delete old backups. eg
# Remove backups older than 10 days
find -L /backups/ -type f -mtime +10 -name "backup-*.gpg" -execdir rm {} \;
This strategy is good for relatively low-volume dynamic data, like a /home folder and /etc. I find I like having separate backups from each of the past 10 days, rather than one incremental backup. For larger static data (music, movies, etc) you may want to use an incremental backup.
Advantages:
Redundancy - every computer keeps backups of all the others
Decentralized - no need for, or reliance on, a dedicated master
If the network is down, each computer at least creates a local backup.
With static tar archives instead of incremental, you have snapshots of the folders as they were several days or weeks ago. This way if you discover a problem later, you can go further back than an incremental backup allows.
Each computer can backup a custom set of folders for itself. And each computer can store backups for a different number of days, depending on its storage capacity.
Issues:
Be sure to have a copy of the GPG secret key! If the only backups of it you have are encrypted with the public key, you're in trouble. One way to avoid this is to have your backup script support a manual mode which encypts with a conventional passphrase instead of the public key. You can run this manual mode to create a static backup occassionally, and it will prompt you for the passphrase. The backup will thus contain an accessible copy of the key pair used for the automatic backups.
Sometimes NFS will hang for hours rather than producing an error. This is why it's good to have a separate script on a separate cron job which checks if the backups were created successfully and sends an admin alert.
Always test backups! It is terrible to discover your backup wasn't being created as you expected when you go to use it. Test to make sure you can decrypt and decompress it, and that it contains everything you expect.
Last edited by IgnorantGuru (2010-04-06 14:31:22)

EA6900 setup on my home network question

Hello,
So I have a home network which has been working fine for several years and I had an older Linksys wifi router but with a new TV I needed the "n" protocal for streaming videos to a wireless connection to the TV.
SO, I installed the new EA6900 and got everyone connected and the TV is connected to it also.......VERY easy setup!! Thanks!
Now the hard part.
I want to have the wireless connection from the TV "see" and grab video from / through my Seagate Central.
What I cannot do is get the EA6900 to "See" the Seagate Central drive even though I have the network ip address for it.
The Seagate is NOT hard wired to the EA6900. The reason being is that the Seagate is in a remote media cabinet and I only have a single cat5 cable coming to the EA6900 location AND the EA6900 CANNOT be located where the Seagate central is. (no signal would get to house.) AND the Seagate central cannot be at the EA6900 location.
My network is setup as follows.
Cable modem > Router > Seagate Central & EA6900
Ask me any questions but be aware I know enough to be dangerous but follow instructions exactly.
Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas all !
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Found answer.
I needed to place the EA6900 in bridge mode. Now I can see the seagate just fine.
Both my main router and the EA6900 were trying to act as a main router.
I found a post about bridge mode and followed the below pasted instructions.
I did find that there were TWO IPv4 listed IP address so make sure you use the IP listed in the IPv4 "SECTION"
Hope this helps someone else!
Before you set the EA6900 to Bridge Mode, get the IPv4 address settings on the Status (Troubleshooting>>>>>Status>>>>Report), please take note of this. After that, set the EA6900 to Bridge Mode (Connectivity>>>>Internet Settings>>>>Edit>>>>>Bridge Mode). Select “Specify an IPv4 address “option and then set the IPV4 address that you have had on the router, please try to make sure that you set at least 1 DNS Server. This is one of the workarounds of your concern.

Simple Home networking with Mac OS X Server

Hi all,
Can anybody give me a quick guide to setting up a basic home network with the use of Mac OS X Server for central administration?
I have 2 desktop macs, 1 mac laptop and 2 PC laptops and occasionally I have a number of friends bringing around their laptops.
I would like to set up all the basic services so that guests and registered users can access share points and home folders . I would also like to be able to use the DHCP service for this and be able to use basic services like DNS and AFP.
Does anybody know how to quickly set this up on a private home network?
I am new to Mac OS X Server so be gentle
Thanks.

John Detroye works for Apple education in Colorado, USA. He has written what i consider the best practical guide to setting up a Server system for use in a School, which is essentially what you want to do. Although he wrote it initially for 10.3 Panther Server, almost all of it still applies.
http://homepage.mac.com/johnd
Then:
Downloads - T & T etc. > Latest_Tips >Panther_Tips > mini-basic-0205a.pdf
a zipped 2.5 MB .pdf file is downloaded (about 25 pages) I strongly recommend you Print it out. I marked up my paper copy as I worked with it.

Simple Home Sharing Question

I'm sure this is a basic question but I can't seem to find the answer. Please any help us MUCH appreciated! Here's the deal... I'm a long time iTunes and iPhone user and have a large music & apps library. My wife has her own computer and recently got an iPhone... so I set her up using my Apple ID so we could home share. This worked okay but with the release of iOS5 and iCloud... I'm confused.
My question is... how does iCloud play into this now? We now have multiple comptuers and iPhones using the same Apple ID... so how does Find My Friend & Find my iPhone work? How does syncing with iCloud work? Will it seperate our contacts?
Last question... how would YOU set this up? I don't want my wife have to repurchase the same music and apps... but she has her own laptop and iPhone.
Thank you!

I assume that if you are actually using the laptop to stream photos or music to the ATV, then it won't hibernate?
The details of that issue depends on whether or not you've got "wake on network access" enabled. Here's a cut and paste of the info from the relevant troubleshooting document:
8. Cannot access my library when my computer is asleep
In order for Apple TV to access your library while the host computer is asleep, "Wake for network access" must be turned on.
Open System Preferences > Energy Saver and check (enable) the "Wake for network access" option.
In addition, the network that the host computer and the Apple TV (2nd or 3rd generation) is connected to must support Wake on Demand feature. This works by partnering with a service running on your AirPort Base Station or Time Capsule called Bonjour Sleep Proxy.

First-time home networking question

I recently purchased a Linksys WRT54G wireless router to set up a home wireless network, with the intent of hooking up my newly-acquired Nintendo Wii wirelessly to the Internet. I thought it was as simple as hooking the router up and watching it go - boy was I sadly mistaken. I kept getting a message stating that there was limited or no internet connectivity. Do I need to do something on the DSL modem side to get this to work? HELP!!! Any advice would be appreciated. The router was hooked up according to the directions on the installation CD.

Ok. So after you have downloaded and upgraded the router firmware, just do the following steps:
For Physical Connections:
► modem goes into internet port
► PC1 goes into Port 1 (or any of the numbered ports)
To properly set-up the Internet:
► On the PC connected/ hardwired to the router, open up internet explorer and type in the numbers 192.168.1.1 on the address bar (username just leave it blank and password as a default is usually admin)...
► MAC Address Clone - clone then save settings
► Look for the Local IP Address and change the value from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.2.1
► save the settings and then close out of the page
► go to the DOS prompt and the release and renew the IP
► then turn off devices in the ff order: PC-router-modem , and then reboot them in the opposite order.
This process should now at least allow to get online wired to the router.
To set-up Wireless:
► re-open the router UI ---> this time the new number to be used is 192.168.2.1 (same username and password as before)....
► go to the tab labeled wireless and edit out the ff setting:
SSID: (this will be the name of your wireless network - so any name placed here would do)
Channel: (suggested value is 11)
- save settings
► Go to the wireless security subtab and enable WEP - input a random word under passphrase and generate it... write down all key1 values...
- save settings
To connect a laptop wirelessly:
► view avaiable wireless networks
► look for your SSID and connect to it
- if it asks for your network key - input your key 1 values.... and hit connect!
If all goes well, you should now be online wired and wirelessly to your router...

Setting up a home network questions

I have a router/modem that is DHCP that my IP provided me with. I have purchased two 5 port switches. One switch is 10/100/1000 the other is 10/100. I plan to hook eight computers together. Please tell me if I am planning this out correctly. The modem/router will hook into the 10/100/1000 switch. My computer will plug into this switch as well as my son's emac G4 as both computers can utilize the speed. The 10/100 switch will also hook into the 10/100/1000 switch and then will have several computers hooked into it. Does this sound right?
The computers are not all in the same room, so we plan to run wire through the wall. I don't know what kind of wire to purchase or jacks. Advice here would be appreciated. Thanks.
G4 MDD 1 GHZ DP Mac OS X (10.4.3) 2 GB RAM

As Jeff provided, it is called CAT-5 and there are electrical cover plates to install where the cable is drawn thru the wall - just like an electrical outlet. The cable behind the wall connects into the back of the plate and the front includes an Ethernet insert to connect an Ethernet cable from the router.
Regarding the potential of people stealing your wireless connection, a neighbor must be within 150 feet or so of the wireless router and in addition, you can password protect/encrypt the wireless network so no one can steal your wireless network/internet connection.
I currently live in a nice "Apartment Home" community with an Airport Base Station (Snow) used for my wireless network and my network is password protected and encrypted which is easy to do with an Airport Extreme Base Station or Airport Express. You can also enable a "closed" network which is not broadcasted to others. Some of my close neighbors also have wireless networks - a couple are password protected but a couple are not.

Home Network question

In my house I have a cable modem and a printer attached to Airport Express and two computers connecting wirelessly to the Airport Express. All my photos and music and docs are on one computer. Can I access those things in any way on the other computer?

+All my photos and music and docs are on one computer. Can I access those things in any way on the other computer?+
Yes, on the 'source' Mac, in iPhoto Preferences/Sharing check "Share my Photos"
in iTunes Preferences/Sharing check "Share my Library on local Network"
and in System Preferences/Sharing check "Remote Apple Events"
On the remote Mac's check "Look for shared Music/Photos" in iTunes/iPhoto Preferences
For your Documents check "Personal File Sharing" on the source Mac and then remotely mount with Go/Connect to server

Simple home network

I have an airport-enabled eMac and an old iMac (running 9.2) with no airport card. I have a DSL connection. My plan was to network the two computers by using the eMac's wireless Airport connection and connecting the iMac directly to the Airport Extreme base with an ethernet cable. I'd then connect the Airport base to the DSL modem. The eMac works fine with the wirelesss connection, but I can't access the Internet with the iMac. I'm guessing I need to do something with the iMac's network settings, but I have no idea what. My only other theory is that I need a cross-over ethernet cable rather than a standard ethernet cable to connect the iMac to the base station.
Any thoughts?

Mke, Welcome to the discussion area!
Your plan sounds fine.
...but I can't access the Internet with the iMac. I'm guessing I need to do something with the iMac's network settings, but I have no idea what.
Your iMac merely needs to be set to use Ethernet and DHCP to get an IP address. Make sure that:
You have the modem plugged into the WAN port on the AirPort Extreme base station (AEBS).
The iMac is plugged into the AEBS's LAN port.
The AEBS is configured to distribute IP addresses.
My only other theory is that I need a cross-over ethernet cable rather than a standard ethernet cable to connect the iMac to the base station.
You don't need that.

Home Sharing Folder Empty on all client PC's on Home Network

I have Home Sharing 'on' on all my local PC's (3 of them). I can see the Shared Folder on each of my PC's in iTunes, but when I click on the folder from a non-host PC, NO songs, movies or TV Shows appear! Folder and sub folders (music, movies, TV shows, etc,) are all empty.
Home Sharing DID work just fine for a year. But sometime within the past month or two - perhaps after an iTunes "update" - it no longer works. All settings checked - "shared" my Library in Preferences, turned on Home Sharing on each PC, all are on the same simple home network. And again, the Shared Folder IS visible on each PC - there is just no content in the folder! I am offically stumped. Please help.
Thanks in advance.

Hey ArnoDWG,
Thank you for the question, and welcome to Apple Support Communities.
I understand that you are having issues with home sharing, and that these issues are isolated to your PC. I also want to thank you for providing information about your security software, as this may be the cause.
For more information, see the following resource:
Troubleshooting Home Sharing
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972
While the entire article provides great help, the most relevant information may be Section 5: "Check Firewall Settings":
If you have a firewall enabled in your router or computer, make sure that the firewall is not blocking communication between your computers. Home Sharing uses TCP port 3689 and UDP port 5353 to communicate with shared iTunes libraries.
In addition, Apple TV and Mac computers will use port 123 to set the time automatically. Incorrect date and time on either the computer or Apple TV can cause errors for Home Sharing and connections in general.
If you are unsure whether your router has a firewall or the required ports open, test additional devices or another network to help isolate the issue. If the devices tested work on another home network, it is your router or network configuration.
If you use another security/firewall software on your computer or router, follow this article or contact the manufacturer or check the documentation on how to open TCP ports 123 and 3689 as well as UDP ports 123 and 5353.
Thanks,
Matt M.

Losing connection to network question

hello,
i have a pretty simple home network: dsl line/modem, linksys router, 2 mac laptops, 1 windows desktop. my dsl only gives me up to 1.5mbps download speed which can easily be "maxed out" by watching youtube on one computer while maybe doing a download on another. i have noticed often during this situation i will lose connection to my network and it will return after a few minutes. so my question is does this make sense about getting disconnecting when maxing out and is there a solution?
thanks,
rick

max out your connection it can drop?
Yes. 2 mac laptops, 1 windows desktop. With 3 computers accessing the network at the same time with only 1.5mbps, that will defintily slow your connection down and cause disruption in your service.
Limitation... you would have to discuss that with your ISP.
Thank you for the star!
Carolyn

Windows 7 & Snow Leopard home networking - already tried searching

so i need to set up just a simple home network over my wirelessly connected non unibody macbook pro running 10.6.2, and my wired desktop running Windows 7 Ultimate. i cant seem to get anywhere with trying to set it up, ive done the normal things that the many guides online tell me to do, but i cant get anything to appear. i want to have file sharing and printer sharing (printer connected to the windows computer) working. is there something im missing here? thanks!

MacWorld covered this pretty well, too.
http://www.macworld.com/article/147067/2010/03/livingwithwindowsfiles.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/.../08/windows7snowleopardcompare.html
Sharing files is simple from Mac to Mac, but will take a little time to figure it out in Windows.

I have several questions: 1. When I connect my Iphone using Wi-Fi what can I then do? Why won't my Iphone recognize my home network run off of Airport Extreme, and the app Nike Ipod sensor never activates.

I went to Starbucks this morning and my Wi-Fi on my Verizon Iphone connected, what does this allow me to do? My Wi-Fi does not recognize my home network from which I connect wirelessly to my MacBookPro and to my Apple TV using Airport Extreme router, why? Lastly, what do about the app NIke + Ipod not working. The sensor does not activate even after walking a half mile.

It might be best to ask only one question in each post otherwise you may never be able to mark them as solved.
I went to Starbucks this morning and my Wi-Fi on my Verizon Iphone connected, what does this allow me to do?
It should allow you to access the internet, read mail, etc.
My Wi-Fi does not recognize my home network from which I connect wirelessly to my MacBookPro and to my Apple TV using Airport Extreme router, why?
Try restarting your router (remove power for 30 seconds and restart). It may not be properly assigning an IP address to your iPhone.

Beginner question: Can I create a hybrid home network between an ethernet-connected iMac and an airport connected Macbook Pro using a hybrid router?

I recently acquired an friend's used iMac, I don't know anything about networks and all I can find is how to create a Wi-Fi home network but nothing about hybrid Ethernet/Wi-Fi networks.
I have the iMac connected via Ethernet to the wireless router.
I connect via Airport with my MacBook Pro
I would appreciate if anyone has any pointers as to how I can start setting up a network between my ethernet-connected iMac and WiFi connected Macbook.
Thanks!

ethernet and airport/WiFi are just transmission media for the same network. If you can get internet on both computers, they are networked. Using the same router = same network.
So now, what is it you want to do? Share files between them?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1549
http://gigaom.com/2008/09/26/mac-101-sharing-files-between-2-macs/
http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/62450/how-to-share-files-between-two-ma cs-at-home

Home network connection question

Why do you suppose that I'm always prompted for my password when I get on my home network? Same network, same password, etc. the only difference is that this didn't start until I switched from Tiger to Leopard.

Perhaps your keychain became corrupt. Keychain management app is in your Utilities folder.

Simple Home Networking Question

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