Switch to airport extreme base?

I currently have a WRT120N Linksys N-router. I have an ethernet jack on my wall, and I use a cable to connect my router to that jack. With that, i have internet access wirelessly. Will it be the same set-up if i use an extreme base or time capsule? Or will i need to purchase an external modem? If so, is there a recommended model to use AExtreme? I know it's generally ISP dependent, but would like to know if there are modems out there with better compatibility with Apple. And does Apple sell modems?
Many thanks

I just connect the router to the ethernet jack on the wall using an ethernet cable. I checked with my ISP and it seems that the technlogy they use ("real broadband") does not require a modem. It's just plug-and-play.
"Our advanced network uses the latest technology to enable a superior Broadband experience. You don’t even need to buy a modem: just plug your computer into the socket, launch your browser and you are on-line!"
Here is the link. http://www.du.ae/en/athome/broadband-home/packages
So I guess this is solved. No modem needed.

Similar Messages

Configure TC and Airport Extreme Base Stations with different channels

I had to do some serious workarounds to use the Airport Extreme Base Stations as an access point with the same wireless network name primarily due to channel overlap. I thought I would post my results here since I didnt' find a good article online.
Also, I found the Snow Leopard verison (5.4.2) of the Airport Setup Utility far superior to Lion's Airport Utility (6.x) in terms of advanced setup.
Setup is a 3 flloor house where the 3 wired network locations have wireless overlap. The problem was that the access points would not hand off the wireless signal because the channels for each airport/TC were automatically set to the same channel. In non-apple setups, this is how you force a wireless client to switch access points (since the wireless software on your client/mac/windows can detect which access point is stronger and moves to the alternate channel.
Using apple's "Extend this wireless network" option removes any ability to manually configure wireless channels. I am writing this from memory, so feel free to ask questions and I will track this topic:
Procedure
Setup time capsule as your base station. Do all the setup for your wireless and guest networks. Manually configure the network and change the wireless channel to a specific channel for a/b/g networks (e.g., 3) and n networks (e.g, 167).
Plug your first airport extreme/access point into your wired network. Do not plug it into the "internet" ethernet plug, use one of the 3 ethernet switch locations
Use the airport utility to first configure it to "extend" your wired network.
Then, go in and reconfigure it manually in the airport utility. Choose the option to setup a "new network" and name the network the same as the TC wireless network name, security, etc.
Change the channel from "auto" to a different channel than the TC (e.g., 6 and 137).
Now go to the top tab and click on the "internet" icon
Go to the DHCP tab and change it to "bridge mode." This will tell the AE to not give out IP addresses (the TC will do this for you). If you get an error that the IP ranges conflict, you have not done this
Note that if you have a guest network setup, you will need to set this up on the AE as well.
Now test your airport setup. Take your client (macbook, iOS device) and connect to your network. Move to a spot near the TC and pull up a web page. Keep an eye on the signal strength and beginv moving toward the AE. Refresh the page as you move around. You should at some point see the signal strength increase. Refresh your page again. You should be now connected to to the AE. I have found that Macbooks do a better job than iOS devices because you get an extra signal bar to measure strength, and they have larger antennas which allows you to better measure problems with handoff
Another test you can do is to start backing up on your TC and then test the move. The handoff will truly show you that the TC is handling the process but the AE is relaying to the TC for backup.
If you need to setup another AE, simply follow setups 3-10.
I hope this helps others. I've done this setup 100 times on Linksys devices and although they are cumbersome, they at least allow me to do this setup much more quickly and easily than the apple products.

I had to do some serious workarounds to use the Airport Extreme Base Stations as an access point with the same wireless network name primarily due to channel overlap. I thought I would post my results here since I didnt' find a good article online.
Also, I found the Snow Leopard verison (5.4.2) of the Airport Setup Utility far superior to Lion's Airport Utility (6.x) in terms of advanced setup.
Setup is a 3 flloor house where the 3 wired network locations have wireless overlap. The problem was that the access points would not hand off the wireless signal because the channels for each airport/TC were automatically set to the same channel. In non-apple setups, this is how you force a wireless client to switch access points (since the wireless software on your client/mac/windows can detect which access point is stronger and moves to the alternate channel.
Using apple's "Extend this wireless network" option removes any ability to manually configure wireless channels. I am writing this from memory, so feel free to ask questions and I will track this topic:
Procedure
Setup time capsule as your base station. Do all the setup for your wireless and guest networks. Manually configure the network and change the wireless channel to a specific channel for a/b/g networks (e.g., 3) and n networks (e.g, 167).
Plug your first airport extreme/access point into your wired network. Do not plug it into the "internet" ethernet plug, use one of the 3 ethernet switch locations
Use the airport utility to first configure it to "extend" your wired network.
Then, go in and reconfigure it manually in the airport utility. Choose the option to setup a "new network" and name the network the same as the TC wireless network name, security, etc.
Change the channel from "auto" to a different channel than the TC (e.g., 6 and 137).
Now go to the top tab and click on the "internet" icon
Go to the DHCP tab and change it to "bridge mode." This will tell the AE to not give out IP addresses (the TC will do this for you). If you get an error that the IP ranges conflict, you have not done this
Note that if you have a guest network setup, you will need to set this up on the AE as well.
Now test your airport setup. Take your client (macbook, iOS device) and connect to your network. Move to a spot near the TC and pull up a web page. Keep an eye on the signal strength and beginv moving toward the AE. Refresh the page as you move around. You should at some point see the signal strength increase. Refresh your page again. You should be now connected to to the AE. I have found that Macbooks do a better job than iOS devices because you get an extra signal bar to measure strength, and they have larger antennas which allows you to better measure problems with handoff
Another test you can do is to start backing up on your TC and then test the move. The handoff will truly show you that the TC is handling the process but the AE is relaying to the TC for backup.
If you need to setup another AE, simply follow setups 3-10.
I hope this helps others. I've done this setup 100 times on Linksys devices and although they are cumbersome, they at least allow me to do this setup much more quickly and easily than the apple products.

Internet problem with New Airport Extreme base and new Macbook Pro

So I bought a Airport Extreme base station with my new Macbook pro.
My desktop system uses a DSL modem which is connected to my computer via an ethernet cable. It works flawless. I can also unhook the hard ethernet connection from the desktop and connect it to the Macbook Pro with no problems.
I then connected the ethernet cable from the DSL router to the WAN port on the Airport Base.
I have no problem gettiing the Macbook pro to set itself up on the Airport Network. I can NOT, though, access the internet. I even tried to type in the IP address for the DSL modem while connected to Airport base and can not connect to modem. Does anyone have any advice? Is there a bridging function in the Airport Base that has to be activated?
Another question. If I replace my current DSL Router with a wireless router, do I even need the airport base if all I want to do it connect to the internet with the laptop?
Thanks,
Danny

I have no problem gettiing the Macbook pro to set itself up on the Airport Network. I can NOT, though, access the internet. I even tried to type in the IP address for the DSL modem while connected to Airport base and can not connect to modem. Does anyone have any advice? Is there a bridging function in the Airport Base that has to be activated?
Make sure you perform a complete power recycle when switching network components.
Modem/Router Power ReCycling
- Power-off the DSL modem & AEBS. (Wait at least 30 minutes. If possible, leave the modem off overnight.)
- Power-on the DSL modem; Wait at least 30 minutes.
- Power-on the AEBS; Wait at least 5 minutes.
If that doesn't resolve the problem, and your DSL ISP requires PPPoE for connectivity, you will need to set that up on your AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) as follows:
Connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to the LAN port of the AEBS, and then, using the AirPort Admin Utility, check these settings:
Internet tab
- Connect Using: PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE)
- Account Name: <ISP account name>
- Change password: <ISP password>
- Always stay connected (checked)
- WAN Ethernet Port: Automatic
Another question. If I replace my current DSL Router with a wireless router, do I even need the airport base if all I want to do it connect to the internet with the laptop?
No, the AEBS will no longer be required.

Solution to Airport Extreme Base Station + Airport Express networking probs

I've been investigating this for 3 straight days after inadvertently destabilizing my network. There are tons of posts discussing a variety of issues, all of which seem related. My goal here is to provide links to other relevant posts and explain what I ended up doing to get things to work.
First, the background. You can skip below to SOLUTION if you don't really care... However, I highly recommend you take the time to read everything, as you'll get other useful information in the BACKGROUND section. I'm guessing many of you have similar, related problems so BACKGROUND might help provide context (and solutions) to some things you are seeing...
MY SETUP:
AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) of type b/g (round one, not square one), connects to the cable modem, and creates a WDS network that is then shared across two standard AirPort Express (AEX) units (100megabit, not the gigabit ones). One AEX serves as a relay unit that accepts clients, the other serves as a remote unit that also accepts clients. The intent is to show a single network throughout the house and let users log on to one network and move between networking units without having to switch from network to network.
I have a variety of networked devices throughout the house all running on the same network (2 Mac Pros, a Powerbook G4, a Mac Mini, an Apple TV, a Windows XP laptop, two iPhones, two wifi printers, and a 5-unit Sonos system, plus the AEBS and two AEXs). Yeah, I'm a geek.
The Mac Pros are both running 10.4.11, and the Powerbook is running 10.5.2.
AEBS is running firmware 5.7
AEXs are running firmware 6.3
All Macs were initially accessing configs via the recently released AirPort Utility 5.3.1. More on that later.
BACKGROUND:
I've had this network setup working for about a year now. Recently, I've been having poor network performance problems and came to the conclusion it was a LAN problem (ie. problem with my home network, as opposed to with my ISP). Upon initial investigation, I began by looking at my networking logs (via AirPort Utility 5.3.1). You get to those by selecting the unit in question, choosing "Manual Configuration", the selecting the "Advanced" tab up top with the "Logging and SNMP" sub-tab. Click the "Logs and Statistics" button therein for log details from that unit.
The first thing I noticed was "Administrative access denied to ff80::xxxxxxxxx" messages - a lot of them. I didn't recognize the ff80:: address in question, and so became concerned it was someone outside the network trying to hack one (or all) of the AEBS/AEX units. You can see threads discussing that investigation here:
"Hack or panic?" - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1438486
"Administrative access denied" - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1438865
Long and short of it is that the recent AirPort Utility 5.3.1 release (current as of March 13) seems to have problems (keychain) when attempting to access the AEBS and AEX units. The "Administrative access denied" logs actually refer to the client machine you are using when you try to read the logs. The ff80::xxxxxx address is simply the IPv6 address for the machine you are using; if you turn off IPv6 on your client machine, that address should switch over to begin showing a regular IP address instead (something like 10.0.1.xxx), which makes it easier to associate the IP to the machine. I explain how to deactivate IPv6 on both Tiger (10.4.x) and Leopard (1.5.x) here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6814978#6814978
Anyway, in the process of investigating the "Administrative access denied" problem, I began tinkering with my AEX settings. Specifically, I ended up performing a hard factory reset (unplug unit, plug back in while holding down the little button with paper click/pen for ~10-15 seconds until light flashes green 4x then reverts to amber/yellow/orange). I began reconfiguring my entire WDS network using the newly updated AirPort Utility 5.3.1, and that's when the trouble started.
(If you are having problems seeing either your AirPort Extreme Base Station or AirPort Express, read this:)
In short, each time I thought I had properly configured things and then confirmed settings (kicking off a reboot on the AEX unit) the unit would restart with new settings but not properly join the WDS and not show up in the AirPort Utility list of units. More specifically, I would start with a "wiped" AEX and see both the AEBS and the AEX in my AirPort Utility list, but upon confirm/reboot the AEX would disappear and the AEBS would remain. However, that's not 100% correct. It seems that sometimes I would end up with the AEX and NOT the AEBS. Because both the AEX and AEBS were theoretically "hosting" the same network name (remember, WDS shares the network name across units) my auto-login feature for my client computer's wifi seemed to "jump on" whichever unit it first saw hosting the default network name for my house. In other words, it seems what was really happening was that I was ending up with two separate networks in my house, both with the same name but not talking to each other (as opposed to two units sharing the same network name and internet connection). The AEX would continue to blink orange/amber/yellow (whichever color it is to your eyes ) because it could not grab an internet connection -- and if I was on the network through that AEX unit I would not get internet. But if i was connected through the AEBS I would continue to have internet access. As far as my client computer (my Mac Pro) was concerned, I was on the home wifi network even if I was on the AEX rather than the AEBS -- it would show the home wifi network name as the name of the network it had connected to. But when I opened the AirPort Utility 5.3.1 I would see only the AEX (if I was connected through it) or the AEBS (if connected through it) -- a clear indication that the units were not truly sharing the same network.
I tried rebooting and reconfiguring the AEBS and AEX about 50 times (literally). I even tracked down an older version of the AirPort Utility 5.2.1 via this thread (see Tesserax post):
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1067565
One interesting thing re: 5.2.1 is that the "Administrative access denied" errors summarized above disappeared. As explained in a post reference above, the going theory is that this a permissions/keychain problem new and unique to AirPort Utility 5.3.1. However, even though 5.2.1 does have a slightly different interface with different settings, I still couldn't get the WDS to work.
EVENTUALLY, I came across this post:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1422527
MuaddibOfArrakis walks through setting up a WDS from scratch, and the workflow is different than what is possible with either AirPort Utility 5.3.1 or 5.2.1. He's doing it with the old version of AirPort Admin Utility, which I fortunately saved a copy of many moons ago when I had somewhat-related problems with my WDS (since forgotten). In fact, it's a lot easier. What's nice about this older app is that it literally does the heavy lifting of "connecting" the AEBS and AEX units during the configuration -- it reboots both at the same time as the config is happening, and lets you choose from a list of available units to "add" to your WDS network. In short, it's a FAR SUPERIOR workflow even though some of the GUI isn't as intuitive as the newer AirPort Utilities that were designed to replace it.
SOLUTION:
If still have a copy of the AirPort Admin Utility follow the instructions from MuaddibOfArrakis here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1422527
If not, try setting up your WDS network using AirPort Utility (hereafter AU), with these configs (take from my now-working network), as viewed through AirPort Utility 5.3.1.
I. Configure your AEBS.
Select the AEBS from AU, and choose "Manual Setup"
1. Under the AirPort tab up top:
a. Under "Base Station" sub-tab:
i.) assign a name for that specific unit, so you can later identify the specific unit from the list of units -- this is the name that will show up beside the unit in the AU list of configurable units. You can name it something like "kitchen", or "office". I have mine numbered, so XXXXXv1, XXXXXv2 etc where the XXXXX is the name of the shared network and the numbers help me tell the units apart. Just be sure you name each uniquely, and if you have several you might write the name on the unit itself.
ii.) pick a password for logging into that unit. This is different from the network password, its a security check to get in and change the configs on this unit later. Be sure to remember it in your keychain for the sake of simplicity, and write it down somewhere secure.
iii.) if you choose to set time automatically, pick a location that you will use consistently across all your units. I use time.apple.com.
iv.) uncheck "Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port" unless you want to be able to remotely mess with settings -- which you almost certainly do not need to do.
v.) I left the "Options" button alone - no settings there.
b. Under the "Wireless" sub-tab:
i.) Wireless Mode: "Participate in a WDS network"
ii.) Network Name: this will be the name of your wifi network shared by all units, so be sure to remember what you pick. If you are already connected to this AEBS via wifi while you are making these changes, then you can use the same wifi name you already have set up -- you don't have to change it. Note that if you DO change it, after reboot your will LOSE connection to the network and have to reset your wifi settings on your client machine to match the new network/password in order to be able to access the network.
iii.) pick a Radio Mode. I'm using b/g compatible. You'll want to do the same, unless you are on the new gigabit AEX. I'm pretty sure about this, but not 100% -- others post if I'm wrong.
iv.) choose a Channel. This can be a more complicated procedure, but for now just pick something consistent across all your units. If you get everything working and find that you're having intermittent network problems, you could later try changing your Channel -- it can pick up interference from phones, microwaves, etc and changing it can help.
v.) I have wireless security set to WPA/WPA2 Personal.
vi.) Wireless Password is the password for access to your wifi network (not your unit itself). If you are connecting to your AEBS via wifi while doing this config, then you can use the same password you have already set up. Pick a good one unless you want other folks jumping on your wifi and stealing your bandwidth and/or credit card numbers . Remember it in your keychain and write it down someplace secure, because you'll need it for the other units too. As noted above, note that if you DO change it, after reboot your will LOSE connection to the network and have to reset your wifi settings on your client machine to match the new network/password in order to be able to access the network.
vii.) Click the "Wireless Options" button. I have my multicast rate set to 2mbps, transmit at 100%, timeout at 1 hour, and i have checked the "Create a closed network". This last step keeps your network from advertising itself to the outside world. Users can only find it by explicitly typing the network name into their wifi settings (e.g. AirPort -> Other... then enter Network Name, Security and Password). I leave interference robustness unchecked.
c. Under the "WDS" sub-tab:
i.) the AEBS should have it's WDS Mode set to "WDS main".
ii.) Check the "allow wireless clients" box on the AEBS; this lets you connect client machines to it directly too.
iii.) hit the plus button to add the Remote system (AEX). There are two types of configs for the AEX's - "remote" and "relay". Assuming you have 3 units like me (2 AEX and 1 AEBS) the key question is whether you will place each AEX within direct reach of the AEBS (remotes), or if you will have one AEX in the middle connecting to an AEBS on one side and an AEX on the other -- where the furthest AEX is out of reach from the AEBS (remote) and connects only to the AEX in the middle (relay). I'm using a relay setup. If you are using relay, you can still set up the AEX relay to serve client computers too -- it doesnt have to JUST relay. More on that later. For now, you want to add only AEX units that will talk DIRECTLY to the AEBS. So if you have a setup like mine, just add one (the one in the middle - the relay). If you have two remotes connecting directly to the AEBS, you will add them both here. When you hit the '+' button it will ask for both an ID and description. For description I use the name I'm assigning to each unique unit (as above, "kitchen" or XXXXXv1 or whatever you use). For AirPort ID, use the number listed on the AEX unit itself (not the number for "Ethernet", also on the AEX unit).
d. Under the "Access" sub-tab:
i.) I have it set to "Not Enabled". I'd suggest you start that way too, and you can go change it later if you get everything working correctly.
2. Under the "Internet" tab up top:
a. Under the "Internet Connection" sub-tab:
i.) Connect Using: Ethernet
ii.) Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
iii.) Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
iv.) Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address
b. Under the "DHCP" sub-tab:
i.) DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0 . 1 . 2
ii.) DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
DHCP Lease: 4 hours
c. Under the "NAT" sub-tab:
i.) nothing should be checked;
ii.) nothing under Port Mappings either
3. Under the "Printers and Advanced" tabs up top:
Nothing special needs to be configured there.
THAT'S IT.
=============
I. Configure your AEX(s)
Select the AEX from AU, and choose "Manual Setup"
1. Under the "AirPort" tab up top:
a. Under "Base Station" sub-tab:
i.) pick a unique name for this unit, same logic as for AEBS
ii.) pick a password specific for accessing this unit, same logic as for AEBS
iii.) Set time automatically: be sure to use the same settings used on your AEBS
iv.) Options: no need to set any
b. Under "Wireless" sub-tab:
i.) Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network
ii.) Network Name: same name used for AEBS, this is the name of your wifi network
iii.) Channel: same as AEBS
iv.) All settings here (those above, plus Security and Password & in Options button) should be the same as for AEBS settings on this tab
c. Under the "WDS" sub-tab:
...if AEX is "in the middle" (as described above):
i.) WDS Mode: WDS relay
ii.) Allow wireless clients: check (unless you only want to bridge between the edges without letting folks connect on this AEX in the middle)
iii.) WDS Main: set to the AirPort ID (aka MAC address) for the AEBS. You can find it on the bottom of the AEBS, either labeled as such or at the bottom beside the logo of a wireless signal (square logo, with semi-circles mimicing a radio signal).
iv.) WDS Remotes: click the '+' to add any AEX's that will connect to this relay rather than directly to the AEBS. Same deal as above, use the name in the description and use the AirPort ID from the side of the AEX (not the Ethernet ID).
.....if AEX is connecting to a relay ("on the end", as above) or if there is no relay and AEX connects directly to the AEBS:
i.) WDS Model: WDS remote
ii.) Allow wireless clients: checked
iii.) WDS Main: if connected to a relay, use the AirPort ID of the relay AEX. If connected to the AEBS directly, use the AirPort ID of the AEBS
d. Under the "Access" sub-tab:
i.) MAC Address Access Control: Not Enabled (for now, you can change later)
2. Under the "Internet" tab up top:
a. Under the "Internet Connection" sub-tab:
i.) Connect Using: AirPort (WDS) -- should be selected and gray'ed out.
ii.) Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
iii.) Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
iv.) Connection Sharing: Off (Bridge Mode)
3. Under the Music, Printers and Advanced tabs up top:
Nothing special needs to be configured there. You can worry about AirTunes settings later...
That should be it. I'd recommend setting up the AEBS first, then the relay (if applicable), then the remotes. Initially, you can bring each unit in the same room with you for configuring. After configured and restarted the AEX should blink then turn solid green. If it turns green you should be good to go.
HOPE THIS HELPS. As noted above, I did not config through AirPort Utility 5.3.1 so I haven't tested this procedure through that app. However, after getting my network to work I went back and transposed all settings into this post to help others. Please provide feedback on whether or not this is working, so we can collectively try to move towards a setup procedure that works for everyone....
Good luck!
Message was edited by: b.byrd

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.

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.

How to add Ethernet ports to an Airport Extreme Base Station?

I have successfully connected an HP Office Jet 6310 to the Airport Extreme Base Station, after downloading the latest software from HP. It is printing wirelessly, and it is great so far.
The only problem is that the cable modem connected to ADSL has only one Ethernet port, and the Airport Extreme Base Station also has one Ethernet port. However, I need one more port to connect a phone (Vonage Telephone Adapter = VTA).
What is the easiest way to achieve this? I saw several other messages discussing hubs and routers, but the answer is not clear yet. If I purchase an additional router, should it be connected between the cable modem and the Airport Extreme Base Station, or the other way round?
Any help or advice would be appreciated!
Thank you in advance for your time.
MacBook Pro with 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo Mac OS X (10.4.7)

One final vital piece of information, which should be my conclusion on this topic.
Following the advice received, I purchased a Switch from Linksys. Since the device didn't work for my purpose (dividing the Ethernet connexion into an Ethernet line for the HP printer and the Vonage phone), I called the Linksys support.
I was told that what I needed was not a switch, but a router. I thus had to get reimbursed for the switch and hunt for the proper router.
Finally, today, I have been able to find the item corresponding to my needs:
A Belkin Wireless G Router F5D7230-4
It costs less than 50 US$ and has all the necessary Ethernet ports. The setup is very simple, and I got it operational within a couple of minutes, despite some small problems getting the setup Wizard to work. It is Mac OS X compatible.
Thus, at the end, I have got the HP 6310 Office printer and the Vonage VTA phone working together, with a robust Wireless network including WPA security. I would recommend this type of setting.
The only trouble is that the AirMac Extreme Base Station has become completely useless! I will perhaps keep it as a souvenir, or as a decoration in the living room... This wouldn't have happened if the creators of this nice object, which is extremely expensive for what it provides, would have thought of including at least two Ethernet ports!
The unexpected reply to my query could thus be ironically formulated by saying: "replace the Airport Extreme Base Station with a cheaper an more efficient device." Sorry for that!
With my best regards to those who took the trouble to read this thread to the end.
Yours, Hotaru

How do I connect my Synology NAS to my AirPort Extreme base station?

I'm considering replacing an Apple AirPort Extreme base station with my current 5 year old router. I would appreciate if someone could tell me how the AirPort Extreme differs from any regular router. I do not have any OS X devices, but I have a lot of iOS devices. If my understanding is correct, I can set up the AirPort from an iOS device.
Also, I need to know how I would connect my Synology NAS system to the AirPort Extreme network via an Ethernet cable. I would need to be able to acces the files on the NAS through Windows clients. My Synology NAS currently has a web interface....would I still be able to access that web interface with the AirPort?
Thanks for all your help in advance as I am VERY new with networking devices.

I would appreciate if someone could tell me how the AirPort Extreme differs from any regular router.
The AirPort Extreme is a combination router, wireless access point, and Ethernet switch. It also provides both external USB hard drive and printer sharing. So, it is not much different than most other routers on the market today. The one main difference is how you administer it. Unlike most other routers that employ a web-based administration interface, the AirPorts use a dedicated utility, called the AirPort Utility.
I do not have any OS X devices, but I have a lot of iOS devices. If my understanding is correct, I can set up the AirPort from an iOS device.
Yes. There are versions of the AirPort Utility for OS X, Windows, or iOS devices.
Also, I need to know how I would connect my Synology NAS system to the AirPort Extreme network via an Ethernet cable. I would need to be able to acces the files on the NAS through Windows clients. My Synology NAS currently has a web interface....would I still be able to access that web interface with the AirPort?
Your Synology NAS would connect to the AirPort Extreme pretty much the same as for any other manufacturer's routers. That is, you would connect it to one of the available LAN (opposing arrows) ports on the Extreme. You would still use the same web-based interface as before.
Note: When connected to an Ethernet port, the NAS would still function as usual. The AirPort Extreme would not provide any file sharing functionality when connected in this manner. All file sharing features would be the responsibility of the NAS device.

How can I connect to Internet when there is a Gigabyte switch after Airport Extreme?

I have a new Airport Extreme Base station. I have a wired home network set up through out the house. After the Airport Extreme, I have two gigabyte switches. I can connect to the network after the switch, but not the internet. I have also purchased new switches just to make sure this was not the problem. I connected the cable that goes into the switch into my laptop and was able to connect, however after the switch I still cannot connect. Wireless work fine. I need the wired connection for my DirecTv, X-box, Sony Bluray, etc. If it helps I have Comcast with a Motorola SB6120 Modem. Any suggestions as to how I can get connected?

Hi - I have only dealt with one question like this - it was with a different modem but it also had the new hi-speed technology and they were trying to connect the base station like you are with a new gigabit switch - the bad news is that no matter how many resets and reboots and different brand switches and cables were used, it wouldn't work - I told them to contact both the modem and the switch manufacturers but I haven't heard the outcome - maybe one of the gurus will weigh in an fill in the blanks.
Charlie

Airport Extreme Base Station - I am ready to throw this thing...

Dear All,
I'm about ready to throw this thing out the window, along w/ everything else from Apple I own... Sorry, at my wits-end and have finally had it with this thing.
My g/f and I live in an apt with an Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS), 10/100baseT Switch, Xbox 360, PC clone tower (PowerSpec), and two Centrino Laptops... The topology our network is the following
DSL == Modem => AEBS => 10/100 Switch => (XBox 360, Powerspec)
Every other day, the AEBS drops out for no obvious reason. Not only for no reason, it DROPS the connection and causes interference on our wired network. If I'm playing Call of Duty 2, for instance, and using Skype at the same time, anywhere from 10-30min later, the WiFi connection will drop altogether and the wired network will go down too.
I've done multiple hard-resets and the issue persists. Apple wants $80 to talk to me (after we paid $150 for it because it's supposedly "the best") after only owning it for a little over a year. It seems that this problem has been persistent.
My g/f finally cracked down and bought a Verizon EVDO card and uses it while she is out, but in the house because she cannot use our home network reliably.
I've tried using it on WPA2, WEP, and even left it open but the thing still drops for no reason...sometimes within hours, or two two days. I'll come home, boot up my laptop, and the WiFi is completely gone...non-existant. Boot hers, same thing... I doubt it's interference because we have 1 cordless phone and it's a 900mhz, which we rarely use anyway.
Does anyone else have any of the problem(s) we're having? This has been semi-often since we got it, and all Apple told us was "interference" and won't help us because we use PC (I used to own a Mac, hence why I got this).

Update: Well, the AEBS 'bombed' out again when I got home on Friday, no access whatsoever.
I unplugged my DSL modem from it, plugged it in directly to my HP notebook, and was surfing the 'net w/out a problem. Power cycled the AEBS and it worked fine. That was just over one day on firmware v5.5.1, longer than it lasted on v5.7.
Here's my conclusion...
I'm 'convinced' that v5.7 is buggy and it's known, or well documented. It will cost more money to fix it, or release a new firmware version that repairs the bugs from v5.7, than to just leave it alone and hope people either downgrade to v5.5.1 or purchase a new AEBS (w/ 802.11n).
After countless hours of dealing w/ this, of which I feel like a complete and utter fool, I went out and bought a competitor's product (Linksys) and installed it on Saturday morning. As of this writing, I've had no drop-outs and the access seems to be more punctual, or responsive than when I was accessing under my AEBS. Therefore, I'm happy to say my problem of unreliable WiFi access in my apt is solved, but only after spending $50 to purchase a new router.
I spent $180 on the AEBS and I can remember the first time I had to call AppleCare about printing issues I was having with it; I could print from Windows XP (both wired and wireless), but not from Tiger OSX 10.4. No-one had a clue, but was only told that the issue was my "printer" not the AEBS or my Mac. Despite repeated attempts to re-inform that it works just fine under Windows XP with both my Lexmark and Canon inkjets, it would not print properly (bombed out half/way through the page) under Mac OSX.
So, here on my shelf, sits the Airport Extreme Base Station that I paid $180 for, and it is basically useless. Apple could care less about it, but then again, why should they--after all, it had a 1 year warranty and despite trying to resolve issues I had w/ it while it was in fact within the warranty period, that time has come and gone.

Why does the new Dual-Band AirPort Extreme Base Station act as a proxy?

The previous thread
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1531675
has been archived and nothing came of it, but after testing, I'm certain that their findings are true.
The Dual-Band AirPort Extreme Base Station (AEBS) with firmware 7.4.1 acts as a proxy for TCP ports 21, 554, and 7070 when NAT is turned on. This can be verified by using Nmap on any external server known to NOT have the ports open and having Nmap return that the ports are open. You can telnet to these ports to verify that they're "open," even though they are not on the server.
This functionality appears to be undocumented and as far as I can tell, the only way to turn it off is to put the AEBS into bridge mode and having some other device do NAT further upstream.
As a computer professional, this functionality extremely undesirable, particularly since it is not documented and doesn't have an "off switch." I wasted a bunch of time with one of my network engineers because of this, thinking that some network router was spoofing our server. I also wasted a bunch of my time trying to detect whatever "stealthy rootkit" had opened a FTP server and some other botnet related ports on our server, when in reality, it was simply my AEBS tricking me.
Disabling NAT-PMP ("Enable NAT port mapping protocol") does not affect this.
Is it too much to ask to have a checkbox in the "Advanced" section of the AirPort Utility to turn this feature off?

Welcome to the discussions forum Michael Bennett2.
Thanks for investigating this odd behavior.
If you want your work to be noticed by those who can effect change, you'll have to tell Apple via their feedback link. It won't do any good to post it here.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Can't get PC laptop to connect to Airport Extreme base station. Help!

I've spent a lot of quality time on the phone with support staff at Apple, Earthlink, and Netgear. Now I turn to you fine folks.
I have an Airport Extreme base station. My G4 is connected to the base station via ethernet, and that works fine. My problem is with the wireless networking with our Dell laptop running Windows XP SP2. Wireless card is a Netgear WG511 with updated firmware. I've configured the network on the PC end using the Netgear Smart Wizard, rather than Windows (I don't know if that makes any difference).
Smart Wizard says the PC is connected to the network, and says that signal strength is excellent. However, there is no connection. I've tried pinging, but get no reply.
The status bar in the Smart Wizard window switches every 2 seconds from "Connected" with excellent signal to "Searching" with virtually no signal. The log shows that it's constantly connecting to and disconnecting from the network.
I've gone over IP and MAC addresses and whatever other settings I could check with all of the respective phone support people. I'm using WPA/WPA2 Personal security, and have double-checked the 13-digit password on both ends. I'm connecting using PPPoE, per Earthlink's settings.
This is maddening! Any suggestions? I'd really appreciate it.
G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

See if iFelix's suggestions work for you.
http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/1000.html
Remember all the smart wizard stuff is strickley for PC Hadrware and Software and does you no good at all with a Mac.
Don

Windoze Ad-hoc networks killing Airport Extreme Base Station

After having a horrible experience with an Orinoco base station sometime ago at his coffee shop, a client of mine asked me to install a new Wi-Fi access point to replace it. Since I'd never had a problem with my graphite Airport Base Station, I selected recommended that he try the Airport Extreme. Everything was been fine for over a year and half, with only the occasional interference problem, and even that easily fixed by a restart on the base station. Lately that has changed. We're in Baton Rouge, and since Hurricane Katrina, our population in our city has doubled (that's not an exaggeration), and the number of customers using the network in his coffee shop has increased as well - although it's still well below the maximum. The problem is that there are is large number of students from Loyola, UNO and Tulane who are now attending LSU, right across the street. And a significant fraction of those have ad-hoc networks set up on their Windoze notebooks, apparently unintentionally. When they come into the coffee shop their ad-hoc networks seems to cause the Airport Extreme to die, and not recover, until it is reset. This happens many times per day, sometimes more than once in an hour.
It had been configured to automatically select a channel, but I re-configured to use a specific channel (and have been experimenting with the particular channel). It seems to reduce the problem for a time, but then we'll have the problem back in force within a few days.
I have verified (using iStumbler) that there are no other "managed" networks near-by, and I have noticed that the problem ALWAYS happens when there is are ad-hoc networks, and after politely asking customers if I can check their settings, (it's scary how many people will let you poke around on their computer, if you seem like you know what you're doing) I've also seen compelling evidence that it is Windoze users, not Mac users, who tend to cause the problem. Incidentally at this particular coffee shop the Windoze:Mac ration is something like 60:40. What can I say, it attracts discerning customers. Since some of them have "lsuwireless" set up as an ad-hoc network (and as I said, LSU is across the street), my guess is that somehow these get set up, not on purpose, but accidentally, while trying to connect to the university's wireless network. Apparently the process is not so straight forward for Windoze users as for Mac users.
I have upgraded the Airport Base Station software to the latest available as of last week. Though I don't have that version number available at the moment.
So I have several questions:
1) Is this really the same radio interference problem that I've read about elsewhere on this discussion board?
2) Would an external antenna on the base station help? How about a powered one?
3) Aside from "Use Interference Robustness" and trying different channels, is there some configuration setting that I might be missing that could enhance the base station's reliability?
4) Does anyone have a suggestion for a permanent fix - preferably without switching to a different access point, although at this point, that's a viable alternative. After a year and a half of stable operation though, we're loathe to switch again unless it can't be avoided, because the Orinoco access point we used before had behaved exactly like this, but even worse, and without necessarily having ad-hoc networks being present to cause the problem.
5) Failing any other good solution, can anyone suggest a way to determine which computers are causing the problem without having to interrupt each customer to poke around on his computer?

I have an Intel based iMac and a MacBook Pro. Both
are (well until tonight) connected to the internet
wirelessly through the Airport Extreme Base station.
I've had no trouble up until now. Tonight for some
odd reason the MacBook Pro Airport card fails to
detect the Airport Extreme Base Station. It detects
OTHER wireless networks around the building, just
not the one it's supposed to connect to. Opening up
Airport Utility doesn't even show the Airport
Extreme Base Station being present. I know the Base
Station is not at fault - it works fine with the
iMac. Tried setting the Sharing mode on but that
didn't help either (not that I changed any of the
settings to begin with).
Can anyone help? I'm really at a loss here.
Any one? Any suggestions?

Airport Extreme Base station cannot connect to Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem

Hi,
I just purchased a new Airport Extreme Base station for my 15" Macbook Pro. I set everything up this morning per the docs (all cables are connected properly) but the Airport Extreme is flashing an amber LED, which means it cannot establish communication to the network/Internet.
I'm using an old Westell C90-36R516-01 DSL modem that has been working fine up until now. I've tried switching out the Ethernet cables and different powering on/off combos but nothing appears to work. When I connect the Ethernet cable directly into my laptop, I have to power down the DSL modem, power it back on, and then do several refreshes before I finally get an Internet connection.
I read a previous post about unplugging the modem overnight and then plugging it in the next morning to wipe out the MAC address setting. I will be trying that tonight, but I was wondering if there was anything else I could try in the meantime? Or, is it simply a matter of having to get a newer modem from Verizon because this one is 7-8 years old?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi Max,
Let's start from the beginning,
The ethernet from the modem should be wired to the Wan port of the Airport...
On page 28 of the users manual it says if the light flashes amber you should unplug the power of the modem, wait a few seconds and power up the modem.
I presume you installed the Airport utility from the disk that came with the Airport?
For more information about the reason the light flashes
Open AirPort Utility, select your base station, and then choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu. ClickBase Station Status to display information about the flashing light
Here is a link to the Manual CLICK HERE
I was hoping to find out more about the Airport utility to see what's it's capable of doing...

Using the WAN port as a "LAN" port on the Airport Extreme Base Station...

Hi everyone,
I'm re-building my home wireless network and I'm doing so in preparation for the Slingbox AV I ordered last week. Here's my current setup:
I have a DSL modem attached to an Airport Express (802.11n) in my office broadcasting my internet signal. I have an Airport Extreme Base Station (802.11g) set up in my living room as a WDS extender. I currently use the base station in my living room to connect the DishNetwork ViP722 DVR to the internet and allow me to set recordings remotely on my iPhone when I'm away from home. I use the LAN port on the base station to do this, and now with the Slingbox on the way (should be here early next week), I'm wondering what I need to do to make an internet connection available for the Slingbox AV.
My question: Will I be able to simply use the WAN port as a "LAN" port since the Airport Extreme Base Station is being used as a WDS? It'd be awesome if the WAN port would become, essentially, a LAN port since it isn't being used.
Thanks in advance for your advice and insight!

slugoo wrote:
My question: Will I be able to simply use the WAN port as a "LAN" port since the Airport Extreme Base Station is being used as a WDS? It'd be awesome if the WAN port would become, essentially, a LAN port since it isn't being used.
I'd be surprised if that worked. The operation of an AirPort base station depends on keeping the WAN port and the LAN port(s) separate, as those normally are on two different networks.
You might consider buying an Ethernet hub or switch, which would allow your AirPort Extreme's LAN port to be shared. Here's an example of an inexpensive one:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7169244&st=ethernet+switch&type=pr oduct&id=1110266457435

Very weak Airport Extreme Base Station signal...

Hi --
I've been searching the forums here for some solution but haven't been able to find anything. I'm trying to upgrade my parent's wireless network in their home and they've had an Airport Extreme base station for a couple of years now. I recently switched them to broadband which is much faster than the crappy DSL they used to have but the problem that still exists (one that they've always had) is an incredibly weak Airport Base Station signal.
I've tried using different laptops and computers on it, but all of them register the same weak signal. Having my laptop 12 inches from the base station only gives me three bars. From three feet away it drops to two and anything over six feet is a 1 bar or nothing and that's all int he same room. Trying to access it from an adjacent room is fruitless.
Like I said, it's like this for all computers I've tested. Anyone know what's up with this? Is the base station on the fritz? I have the latest software update for it as far as I know.
Thanks.

That's a good, helpful list but we don't really have any of those potential interfereces. Like I said, this signal is down to two bars from five feet away and only three bars from literally six inches away, so there's really not a lot of room for intererence from that distance anywat.
I've seen people wondering if the latest firmware update for Airport might be causing this, but I'm wondering if the Airport base station itself is maybe in the fritz. I guess I could try getting a new one. Anyone else out there have any other ideas?

Switch to airport extreme base?

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