Testing a base station

There are various diagnostic and repair tools available to us Mac users for our Powerbooks and desktop systems, i.e. DiskWarrior, Tech Tool, the Apple Hardware Test, etc.
But is there anything available for testing an Airport Extreme base station? I've had one in regular use now for a couple of years, but recently my DSL performance has been as slow or even slower than dialup.
I went off property yesterday to an Internet cafe and my Powerbook worked as expected, so to me that rules out a dying Airport card. I've also had my ISP troubleshoot from their end and by using traceroute and ping from Terminal we've determined that their delivery is up to par, although that was done while connected directly to their modem via ethernet.
So I'll ask again: how does one troubleshoot an AEBS? Is there a software tool or Apple utility that anyone is familiar with? Incidentally, my wife uses a Dell notebook with Windows XP on this same network, but hasn't reported any decrease in performance. But she is only on the network for a few hours in the evening, when I'm generally doing other things around the house.

Marko:
were you intending to reply to another post? Your situation, while frustrating of course, doesn't apply to the question I posted.
I add my rant / problem to the long list.
My AEBS stopped working properly. It drops connection
randomly and needs physical restart.
Apple, do something about it.

Similar Messages

Can no longer read the base station configuration

I am seting up a Airport Extreme N. I was able to read the configuration file twice with no problem. Now AirPort Utility "sees" the base station and tells me the Name, IP, Version, and AirPort ID but when I select the continue button AirPort Unitlity just sits and spins.
1) I am using the latest AirPort Utility (2007-1)
2) I have tried the 1 second reset
3) I have tried the 6 second reset
4) I have tried the reset while powering up
I see a few other threads like this but no conclusive answers.
Thanks,
Jim
Mac mini Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Found the problem (well a work-around).
If the base station restarts while my LaCie USB 1TB drive is plugged in and turned on then AirPort Utility hangs reading the configuration. If I wait until the base station is up and running to plug the USB drive in all is fine. Also AirPort Utility will crash while hung reading the configuration and I unplug the USB drive.
To be sure I tested 3 times. Totally repeatable. Total time...4.5 hours

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.

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.

Can no longer access Graphite Base Station, Please help

For no apparent reason, my DP 800,10.4.11 can no longer access my Graphite Base Station. For years I have had no problems.
But this morning I lost access to my base station. I entered the PW as usual, but it did not allow access. I verified the PW in Keychain (and the base station name), but again I struck out. The machine is otherwise fine (or so it seems).
I have done the following, all unsuccessfully:
• Shut down with cold restart
• Zapped PRAM
• Safe Booted
• Created a new account/User
• Ran DiskWarrior
• Rebooted Base Station
• Reverted to a week old backup, still no joy.
I can successfully connect to the base station with my iMac, so I am certain the base station works.
I know nothing about this stuff, but it now seems the problem is with the Airport card inside the DP 800. Is this likely?
What if anything else can I do to either isolate the problem, or better yet, fix the problem?

Some things to try:
Create a new Location in System Preferences > Network. (Start from scratch; don't do it by modifying an existing Location.)
Turn off WEP encryption on the base station.
Physically move the base station and/or computer to overcome possible wireless interference in the original position. (Note: the base station does not need to be connected to the Internet while you test wireless connectivity.) You can also try enabling Interference Robustness (on both the computer and base station) and changing the wireless channel.
See whether the DP 800 can connect to a different wireless network.
I'm somewhat surprised you say you entered the password "as usual." Under the typical settings, your computer would remember your network and its password and join it automatically. (I know you haven't declined to store the password in the Keychain.) Moreover, your reference to the "base station name" strikes me as odd, as you do not need to know the base station name in order to connect to the network. Did you mean the wireless network name? Or might the password you have been entering be the base station password, instead of the wireless network password?

Airport Utility fails to see Airport Extreme Only an Older Base Station no longer connected

Very weird what's happened... earlier this morning there was a power failure (none of my 2 computers were ON, and they are plugged in thru UPS with power surge/outage capabilities).
I turned my old Macbook Pro (2007) and everythign is fine. My Mac Pro (2008) is fine but it can't connect to the internet.
I've resetted both the modem and the Airport Extreme Base Station.
I've restarted and resetted the PRAM on my Mac Pro.
I've tried many times to diagnose it/change settings/create new network with Network and Airport Utility to no avail.
When I open Airport Utility on the Macbook Pro, it shows the Airport Extreme and it all looks fine... when I open Airport Utility on the Mac Pro, it only sees an old Snow/Graphite Base Station I haven't had plugged in in a log time. It doesn't see anything else.
I've tried trashing the Airport Utility preferences as well... but still nothing. The Wif Fi icon shows a '!'. When I click on it, the pull down menu shows an "Alert: No Internet Connection", but it still shows my network (and the neighbours' network) and it even has the check mark next to my network... ???
I'm running 10.8.5 and Airport Utility 6.3.1.
Please. Help.

Just a quick update, spent 90 minutes on the phone with apple support today. If I boot the mac in safe mode, the airport utility can see the base station.
In the course of trouble shooting, a test account was created, but the airport utility had the same issue. It proved that there isn't anything wrong with any of the hardware at the very least, and points to user level configuration problems (unfortunately, I was not able to sort that out with support).
Regards,
Seth

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/

Graphite base station not working with my Intel Based Mac Mini and iPhone.

My Airport Express died after 2 years of use. I had to resort to plugging in my old but still functioning Graphite Airport base station. Since the set up assisant on my Mac mini does not work with the older base station, I used my G4 400 tower to set it up. I got it working and tested the connection. On to testing my iPhone. It sees the new network. Password is entered and the wifi icon shows full signal strength, but does not connect to the web. Next I try my Mac mini out on the new network and it too sees the network, but does not connect to the web. I double check the older G4 and the connection is still strong and fast. I shut the G4 down thinking that maybe the Graphite can only support one computer at a time, and the Mac mini and iPhone still can't connect to the web. I'm not sure what to do with this one. Is there a setting that I need to use? As far as security goes, the Graphite base station was set up with a WEP password. Any help would be great
Message was edited by: Soriano

I suggest using AirPort Admin Utility (version 4.2) to check the base station settings and change them, if necessary. (AirPort Admin Utility should be able to configure a Graphite base station from a computer running Mac OS X 10.4, even though AirPort Setup Assistant can't.)
In the Network pane of AirPort Admin Utility, please make sure that "Distribute IP addresses" and "Share a single IP address (using DHCP and NAT)" are checked, and that everything else is unchecked. I am assuming that the Graphite is the only router in your local network and that there are no computers connected via Ethernet.
The Access Control pane of AirPort Admin Utility should list either all of the relevant AirPort ID's or nothing. You can find the AirPort ID of an OS X computer by looking at System Preferences>Network>Show:AirPort>AirPort.
The Internet pane of AirPort Admin Utility should be set in accordance with your Internet provider's requirements. Most likely, it should be set to Connect Using:Ethernet and Configure:Using DHCP.
After verifying the settings, power down the computers, base station and cable or DSL modem for a few minutes, then start them up sequentially, leaving time for each to get fully up and running: first the modem, then the base station, and finally the computers.
The network preferences on the Mac Mini and the iPhone are also relevant. I assume that the preferences are unchanged from those that worked with the AirPort Express.
I hope this helps.

Adding an extreme base station to an existing wifi 'n' network

Got a bit of a strange one here wondering if anyone had a good answer to.
Basically I am in the process of connecting up a CCTV wireless external cam to my network. I dont particularly want to use wired connection purely because of where my router is situated. It would mean a very long Cat5 cable running up and down several walls and is not ideal.
However, after testing the cam i don't really want to rely on the wifi it has built in. When it is in position I need it to work flawlessly - it would also be awkward to reconnect it up to the router via cable (router downstairs and cable would pop out in corner of room upstairs).
I also would ideally like my external hdd (with time machine backup running) on the network rather than plugged into the imac via usb- I'm thinking more on security - id rather have the backup stashed away upstairs away from the computer.
So I'm thinking about getting an Airport Extreme Base Station and wire the CCTV and external hdd up to it so they are accessible on the network - but still use my existing router as the dhcp sever and main wifi access point.
But I'm a little unsure if this is possible to do? Any help would be appreciated.

However, after testing the cam i don't really want to rely on the wifi it has built in. When it is in position I need it to work flawlessly - it would also be awkward to reconnect it up to the router via cable (router downstairs and cable would pop out in corner of room upstairs).
You might want to consider a pair of ethernet powerline adapters to accomplish your goal. One adapter plugs into an AC socket near your main router and the other would plug into an AC socket near the camera. Short ethernet cables would connect the router to one adapter and the camera to the other. The AC wiring in your home transmits the ethernet signal.
I also would ideally like my external hdd (with time machine backup running) on the network rather than plugged into the imac via usb- I'm thinking more on security - id rather have the backup stashed away upstairs away from the computer.
So I'm thinking about getting an Airport Extreme Base Station and wire the CCTV and external hdd up to it so they are accessible on the network - but still use my existing router as the dhcp sever and main wifi access point.
You could connect connect the CCTV to the AirPort Extreme, but the AirPort Extreme would need to connect to your main router using an ethernet cable (or powerline adapters). You would not be able to do this using wireless only.
Ironically, the less expensive AirPort Express would be able to connect to your wireless network (assuming there were a strong signal where it is located) and provide an ethernet signal. The problem here is that you would still be relying on essentially a wireless connection between your main router and the AirPort Express. That's really about the same as relying on only a wireless connection between your main router and the camera, which you mentioned that you did not want to do.
The big problem with connecting an external drive to the AirPort Extreme for use with Time Machine backups is that due to corruption issues, Apple does not support this type of configuration. So this would definitely not be advised.

Airport Base Station gone berzerko? Contant Cycle When Starting up...

Ok, here's there thing, I purchased a Apple Graphite Base Station off ebay not so long ago (about 2 months). It worked fine, all i had to do was plug it in and it worked...no configuring needed. Then i unplugged the base station for some reason or another (prob a storm or something) and when i plugged it back in it just keep going 3 amber lights, 1 red light on the left side, one orange light on the left then the normal green lights for about 2 secs then it just restarted, but after leaving it for about 1/2 hr it fixed itself and went back to normal.
The problem is now that i went to go plug it back in today to use it, and now it wont start. It just keeps going from 3 amber lights, 1 red light on the left side, one orange light on the left then the normal green lights for about 2 secs then back again. I have left it on for about 2 hours and it is still doing it.
I decided to pull it apart according to http://www.vonwentzel.net/ABS/
Inside i found the PCMCIA and the motherboard.
After reading the article on the above website, I found that it might be a capacitator problem, so i inspected them on the motherboard, but saw that they were in proper excellent condition. So i pulled the PCMCIA card off the motherboard and booted the motherboard up, and the it started up as normal with the green lights staying the way they should be! So that must mean it cant be the capacitators right? That its probally a problem with the PCMCIA card?
BTW... i dont have a windows laptop to test that the PCMCIA card works or not anymore. I have also tried resetting the base station and reconfiguring it, but it STILL does it.
Anyone have any ideas? I hate having to use the computer in the gloomy room where the modem is .
THANX!

Andrew - do you have cable or DSL internet service. If so I suggest you dump this Graphite Base Station, then go to your local computer shop and buy yourself a brand new wireless router there. For the $30-60 that will cost you, you will get far better performance and options for much better wireless security. The Graphite Base Station is an obsolete piece of equipment that is simply not worth messing with.

Airport Utility will not display any base stations.

I just had a new hard drive installed in my two year old MAC, since the last one crashed and have Mavericks installed. I have tried to un-install the application so I can re-intall a new one but the system will not let me. I am running a 5th generation of Airport Extreme which by forcing the back methoed of pulling the airport and continualiy doing a hard factory reset on the device, we have determained that the application Airport Utility for Mavericks is defective but there is no patch or update available; how do i get the application to show my base station so I can monitor who is conected to my internet.

I'm not interested in ascribing blame either but waiting for Apple to fix something that isn't broken will only divert attention from seeking the problem's underlying cause. Assuming the AirPort Utility app on your Mac remains unaltered, it's exactly the same one everyone else is using. Should there be any doubt about that, reinstalling OS X will obviate any concern.
I suggest the following for you to consider as you deem appropriate.
Apple's Wireless Diagnostics may supply some additional helpful information.
To use it, hold an option key while you click your Mac's Wi-Fi icon, and choose Open Wireless Diagnostics...
The following authentication dialog will appear:
Authenticate with your Admin password, then click the Continue button in the following:
The network analysis and diagnostic tests will take several minutes to complete:
When it completes, if your wireless network is functioning properly the following will result:
If something is amiss, supposedly the results will be different and you will be presented with helpful information.
Assuming your connection is "working as expected" select Continue to summary and click Continue:
Ignore the pre-populated text field, which is provided as a place for you to type in additional information should Apple ask for it in the course of obtaining technical assistance from them. Apple has no way of knowing where your router is located in your home, and certainly doesn't know if you even have an upstairs bedroom closet.
Click Continue.
The next step will also take a few minutes:
When it finishes, you will be presented with a summary that may or may not be useful to you. Let me know if it is.
The WirelessDiagnostics-xxx.tar.gz file deposited on your Desktop can be dragged to the Trash, or you may wish expand it and examine its contents. It's up to you.

If I buy an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station and I have an Optus Cable internet. Do I really need an Apple Care Protection? or I don't have to?

Hi I'm from Australia.
If I buy an Apple Airport Extreme Base Station and I have an Optus Cable internet. Do I really need an Apple Care Protection? or I don't have to?

Any specific recommendations for a standalone ADSL modem though?
Always a good idea to use the modem that your service provider supplies or recommends....often free....since you know that it will be supported in the event of connection difficulties.
I have made the mistake of choosing the "best" modem based on test reports....only to find out later that the ISP would not offer any support when I was having connection difficulties.
The ISP blamed the modem. The modem support folks blamed the ISP.

Disabling ipv6 in iOS 8 and/or Airport base station

I recently replaced my iPhone 4 running iOS 7 with an iPhone 6 running iOS 8.0.2. The iPhone 4 never had any problem accessing wifi, whether at home, at work, or at various other locations.
Ever since getting the iPhone 6 I've been unable to get the wifi to work properly while at home using the wireless net work run from my Time Capsule. It works fine if I connect to a Verizon FiOS wireless router. It works fine at work (Cisco wifi gear, I believe). It works fine at places like Starbucks, etc. It only appears to have issues with connecting to the Time Capsule. When I connect the phone to my Time Capsule I get a strong wifi signal, it's just that anything internet related times out after a long period of time. I'm completely unable to access anything whether in Safari, Mail, or anything else.
I've searched the forums, Google, etc. for help and I've tried re-installing iOS, resetting my wireless network settings, disabling wifi location services, etc. but none of that has helped. It just occurred to me that one big difference between the Time Capsule and most (if not all) of the other wifi access points I'm able to successfully connect to is that the Time Capsule and the iPhone appear to enable ipv6 by default. I'm wondering if the iPhone is trying to establish an ipv6 connection through the Time Capsule. That could certainly explain why all internet access just times out on my iPhone when connected to the Time Capsule.
So as a test, is there any way to completely disable ipv6 on either the Airport/Time Capsule and/or on the iPhone itself? I would love to be able to test this theory out.

This is exactly my point!
Looking at the structure of your network in your post the gigabit wired computers can speak to each other at gigabit speeds but a gigabit wired computer CANNOT speak to an AppleTV through the Wireless 'n' Router at wireless 'n' speeds UNLESS the router has gigabit capable ports.
I can't find one that has, so the maximum speed of transmission of data from a wired computer with iTunes through the wireless 'n' router to a wireless 'n' AppleTV can only be as fast as the ports on the router which is 10/100 mbps which is far below the speeds capable over wireless 'n'.
To put it simply the only way to get wireless 'n' speed transmissions to AppleTV is to feed the data to the base station using wireless 'n' because a wired connection just isn't fast enough (even if the computer has a gigabit ethernet port and is connected to a gigabit switch) because the 10/100 mbps ethernet ports on the base station are a major bottleneck!
I can't believe they didn't think of this!!!

How do I see what (cabled) link speed I have between base stations?

Hi
I do own one new Airport Extreme base station and one older Airport Extreme (flat one).
Both are capable of 1 Gbit-speed via ethernet cable. I have the new base station as "master" and the old as extender (via cable). How can I ensure that the speed between them are using Gbit and not 100 Mbit?
"use cable xxxx" is not an answer I will settle with, I want to se the numbers somehow, via Airport Utility or 3rd party.
Is this possible?
Very thankful for any help I might get.
/Erik

There is no info in the airport utility and there is no third party to get you in either..
There is no easy way.. but a gigabit switch plugged in between the two devices would instantly show you the connection speed if it has LED indicators that show gigabit.
Gigabit switches are not that much money to payout now. Particulary if you have some place you might use one.
Otherwise simply do a throughput test.. plug a computer into the main unit by ethernet and plug another computer into the other end.. if you get a file copy speed say 15MB/s you have gigabit. You cannot pass files at greater than about 12MB/s on 100mbit.

Option for base station: Create or Extend?

Hi,
I have an Airport 6 set up as wireless base station. Works as expected. I have an Airport 5 set up as a Router mode off(bridge mode), using wan port (*). Green lights both on. Wireless network operational.     There is an option in the settings wifi section when accessing the base station.   Two choices: Create a wifi network. Second choice Extend a wifi network.   I have the first option checked (create a wifi network).   Or should the second choice be selected   option(extend an network(?
Both units are now located in my office next to the comcast surfboard modem.   I need to install a cat 6 ethernet cable to a remote location.   Because of the locations of both Airports I have no way of knowing how the Airport5 is working.    Is a cat 6 necessary or will an available cat 5 be sufficient?   A 50 foot cat5 yields 98Mbs download 18 mbs upload on a Toshiba using 00KLA. My new cable will be 100 foot.
Thanks,
Howie

Thanks for the excellent support!
WiFi working!!! Issue resolved thanks to community support!      I did some testing. I'll copy it from Evernote. I hope the format is readable. The info is very brief in tabular form.   If it's not helpful, I'll try and delete it to avoid confusion:
DeskTop Wired cat 5 cable - usually about 100 Mbs download.
Ipad 3rd Gen Wireless
         At Barnes & Nobles Neshaminy
                  Unite_12EB -   Jet Pack
                       Barnes & Nobles     SpeedTestXHD      19.12 6.82 96    09 21 14
                                                                                      17.60 7.67 113 09 21 14
        At Home Airport Express 6 & 5 in Office
               Wireless Network - Yellowdeer SpeedtestXHD
                   In Porch    Ipad 3rd Gen           20.58   10.09    09 21 14
                                                                     39.42   11.19   09 21 14
                   In Porch IPad Air                       68.69   12.35   09 12 14
                                                                      39.82    11.84 09 12 14
                                                                      65.94     11.84 09 12 14
                    In Office    Ipad 3rd Gen          42.03 12.45     09 21 14
                                                                     40.47 12.42     09 21 14
                    In Office     IPad Air                  74.12 12.13     09 21 14
Toshiba Wireless Network Yellowdeer Using Netgear USB Wireless Network Adapter
         At Home Airport Express 6 & 5 located in Office
                    In Office Xfinity Speed Test          IPv4 79.84 12.10 09 21 14
                                                                         IPv6 90.68 11.98 09 21 14
                     In Porch Xfinity Speed Test         IPv4   20.71 12.14 09 21 14   ????????????? As compared to IPad Air
                                                                         IPV6 17.00 11 17 09 21 14    ???????????? as compared to Ipad Air

Testing a base station

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