WDS network and Airtunes

I have a WDS network as follows: TC hard wired to AX n which connects wirelessly to an AX b/g that is only used for Airtunes. It works great.
But I tried to duplicate it at a friend's house; the only difference is that her TC is wired to an AX b/g which we want to connect wirelessly to another AX b/g for Airtunes. Works great for internet at both from both the TC and the AX hard-wired b/g. But we can't get her last AX to work on Airtunes; it stays flashing yellow. I duplicated all the settings (e.g., "participate in a network", other checkboxes, etc) exactly. Any advice? Could it really be that the fact that mine runs through an AX n and hers through an AX b really be the difference? Other ideas?
Thanks!

PS - FYI, in both situations, the hard-wired AX is set up as WDS main, and the AX connected wirelessly for Airtunes is set up as WDS remote; and connection sharing is set up as "off - bridge mode".
Thanks again for any help.

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WDS network and printing

Having probs trying to connect to a HP c5180 on our network...
Setup is 2x Netgear WNR3500 routers, one as a wireless base station, one as a repeater. Printer is connected via ethernet to the repeater (as it's up in our office), and it gets an IP fine, and works fine on an ubuntu desktop.
But... my macbook Pro is having probs. I can't see the printer at all over bonjour no matter if I'm connected to the base or repeater stations, and if I manually add as an IP printer, I initially see it and can send jobs, but then it states the printer is busy and won't print.
Any ideas? Have enabled RIP on the base station, but that made no difference. Also disabled IPv6 on my macbook pro to see if that would work.

PS - FYI, in both situations, the hard-wired AX is set up as WDS main, and the AX connected wirelessly for Airtunes is set up as WDS remote; and connection sharing is set up as "off - bridge mode".
Thanks again for any help.

Airport WDS Network and the 5GHz Option

Setting up any Airport base station with basic settings is simple but there always seem to be options that are not well covered in the 'manual' when setting up slightly more complex networks. I'm hoping someone can provide some clarification on our configuration or parhaps some advice.
For many years we have used a series of generations of Aiport basestations to create a WDS (wireless distributed) network. This is where one base station is the master and other base stations extend the range of the network wirelessly. This is not a set of wireless basestations creating an extended network by sitting on an ethernet backbone - that's a different configuration.
Anyway, we now have a Time Capsule, an Airport Extreme, and an Airport Express. The Time Capsule is the master and the other two base stations extend the network. By default, the basestations select the channel automatically but we have selected manual channels because we have neightbours that all seem to want to sit on channel 1. We've opted for channel 13, a less used channel.
[Internet ADSL Modem]
|
[Airport Extreme] ---- [Time Capsule] ---- [Airport Express]
The Extreme and the Express both operate in Bridge Mode only, that is, they simply extend the configuration of the master basestation and do not ditribute private addresses or do any NAT. I reckon this keeps it simple. Any changes made on the Time Capsule - such as Access Control changes - are pushed out to the other two stations automatically. This seems to be a significant improvement over version 5 of the airport software.
My main question relates to the 5GHz network option. I can turn on a 5GHz discrete network on the Time Capsule. It receives a unique name so it's clearly distinguished from the 2.4GHz network when connecting to it on our Macs. You would expect the other two base stations to be able to extend the 5GHz network too but their 5GHz options remain turned off by default. I can turn them on manually but I'm not sure if they should all be configured to work on the same channel or even if turning them on at all is a good idea.
Over the years, the setup of a WDS network has become easier (if only for the reason that Apple has removed some of the more confusing options and simply enables them in background). But the 5GHz network configuration is far from clear. Any advice anyone might have would be much appreciated. Thanks.

My main question relates to the 5GHz network option. I can turn on a 5GHz discrete network on the Time Capsule. It receives a unique name so it's clearly distinguished from the 2.4GHz network when connecting to it on our Macs. You would expect the other two base stations to be able to extend the 5GHz network too but their 5GHz options remain turned off by default.
It appears as if your Time Capsule is a simultaneous dual band version which produces both a a 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz network.....and you have enabled the option to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz network.
If both your AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express are also simultaneous dual band versions, they can extend both the 2.4 GHz and 5 Ghz signals from the Time Capsule.......but only if the Time Capsule is configured to use the same wireless network name for both bands.
The simultaneous dual band version of the AirPort Express is easy to identify......it looks like a miniature AirPort Extreme. Check the Model No on the bottom of the AirPort Extreme and report back with that to find out if your AirPort is simultaneous dual band.
Earlier versions of the AirPort Extreme could produce a 5 GHz or 2.4 GHz network, but not both at the same time.
Once we have clarification on your AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express, we can decide on the options that will be available to you as far as "extending" both bands.

Extend Network and AirTunes

Hi,
Can you extend your current AirPort network and still stream your music with AirTunes.

coolchris540-
Greetings and welcome to the Apple boards.
Do you mean extend the physical distance that it will cover and stream from one end to the other?
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

TWO Aiport express in WDS network and NAS drive?

Hi,
I know this question has been asked several times: one airport express cannot be connected to USB nor NAS drive. But what about TWO airport express?
We now have 2 airport express (b/g) at home presently participating in a WDS network with the following connections:
- Aiport express #1 (WDS main) - living room
=> ethernet = connected to internet
=> jack = connected to HIFI
- Airport express #2 (WDS remote) - office room
=> USB = connected to printer
My question is the following: would it be possible to connect the ethernet port of Aiport express #2 to a NAS drive? How has the Airport express #2 to be configured (WDS remote? WDS relay? Connection sharing= "bridge" or "distribute a range of IP"?) for this purpose?
I could not find any clear answer yet on this particular situation.
Thanks in advance for your help with this. I do not want to buy a NAS drive and realize that it does not work...
Ludovic

My question is the following: would it be possible to connect the ethernet port of Aiport express #2 to a NAS drive?
Yes that should work.
How has the Airport express #2 to be configured (WDS remote? WDS relay? Connection sharing= "bridge" or "distribute a range of IP"?) for this purpose?
Either WDS remote or relay should work. You do not want it distributing IP addresses. Configuring it as a WDS remote or relay should automatically prevent this setting.

Do I need 2 airport expresses to run a network and airtunes at the same time?

Meaning, if I set up the network in my office with the airport express, I need another one plugged into the stereo for air tunes right? unless I want to unplug it and move it back and forth right?

If the stereo and the Internet modem are not in the same room, then "yes," you will need another AirPort Express in order to do both simultaneously.

WDS Network AE Noise -1 Rate -1

I am trying to troubleshoot my WDS network and losing my connection with my MBP. I noticed that the wireless connection between the AE and the Extreme BS shows Noise -1 and Rate -1. I do not know how to interpret these values. Can someone shed some light on them for me?
Thanks
J

When enabling mac filtering, do I need to include the mac addresses for clients on both the base station and express or just one or the other?
Both.
Don't confuse MAC address filtering with security. It offers no real security. The MAC addresses are broadcast between the connected client and the base station, therefore they are easily discovered and cloned.
If you want security, use WPA2 or WPA with a non-dictionary password.

The Difference between Extending a Wireless network and WDS?

I have an Extreme (n) and an Express (n).
I want to make sure the signal is strong upstairs and share a printer (connected to the express) and use AirTunes. I also may add an external drive to the Extreme.
What's the difference between Extending a Wireless Network and using WDS? Will there be a speed difference?
Message was edited by: J. Christopher Edwards

I think you don't get it
If I have another draft N router that operates at 2.4G and I have only n devices I can still use WDS and it will connect using draft n in the 2.4G band.
If one g device connects to the network will go in mixed mode.
The AEBS will still report 130 Mbps for your n clients and 54 for your g clients.
If the other router is g only obviously you can't connect between the two router at n mode but still the AEBS will be in mixed mode and not in g. The Extreme will still report 130 Mbps for the connected n clients.
I can tell you that because I have actually implemented it am not taking off the documentation.
The same device if I try to use the "extend n network" does not even see the AEBS but will happily keep the n in the WDS mode and though the bandwidth is halved it is still more than g.
In any case enough for this!

AirPort Express - extend network and/or AirTunes - one or both ?

I would like use my second AE to extend my existing AE network AND wire it to my stereo to use the AirTunes feature. No trouble setting it up for AirTunes but can't seen to get it to extend the network. Any tips about how I can get both features to perform as advertised?

If you need more wireless coverage, you can use the WDS configuration method for a "mix" of older "b/g" and newer "n" devices.
The big downsides here are that WDS operates only at "g" wireless, so you lose any faster "n" capability on the network...and...the bandwidth of the entire network will be cut in half. So, in effect you will have a bit more wireless coverage, but it will be a "g" wireless network running at half speed.
I don't recommend this, but if you want to try, post back for more details.

My airport express (n) and my airport express (g) in a WDS network. . help?

Hey guys,
I have two airport expresses. Up until now I've had the Wireless N version plugged into the modem, and then have that as part of a WDS network bridging to the G express upstairs.
The N one has been temperamentla and sometimes needs a reset to work - as I game wireless this means I get cut out alot.
I've decided to switch them around now and have switched each physical base station.
I went into Aiport utility and simply changed the settings in each one around.
For example where the main airport was the "Main" Participate in WDS Network, I changed that to "Remote WDS Network". Where the "Remote WDS Network, I've changed to "Main WDS Network".
The end result is I get solid green lights on both (so the network is on) however in Network Settings I get "The network is connected via a self assigned IP and may not be able to connect to the internet".
I'm currently typing this wired.
Can anyone tell me what's wrong?

The use of n and g together may cause issues since they set up different through the software. The one plugged into the modem should be main. The g uses the "WDS" setting, and the n uses something different like "extend network". I am dumbfounded as to how the settings need to be to work correctly. I have to g devices and one n device, and I had to use the two g devices to extend my network, and the n device is just for AirTunes. It doesn't work well anymore since apple updated the firmware and updated iTunes. I feel Apple have messed up big time. Check the boards and you will notice lots of issues that have become permanent problems recently with all the updates apple has thrown at us. My system worked flawlessly for 6 years, now it is nothing but dropouts, expresses disappearing from network and then reappearing hours later. It is a big problem that Apple created.

Airport Express: Extend a network and do Airtunes at the same time?

Hi, I'm trying to organize the people in my apartment building to share an internet connection wirelessly.
The connection is originating from a friend's apartment; he has a Linksys router, probably "g" flavor.
We're going to put one Airport Express in a neighbor's apartment to extend that.
I have an Airport Express connected to my stereo which I use only for Airtunes.
So I'm wondering: can I connect my Airport Express to this network and extend it and ALSO use it for Airtunes?
Also: Can I prevent my neighbors from seeing my Airport Express for Airtunes purposes? IE, I don't want my stereo to show up in the "multiple speakers" drop down of iTunes for other people connecting to the network...
Hope there's a way to work this out...

can I connect my Airport Express to this network and extend it and ALSO use it for Airtunes?
In order to extend the wireless range of the Linksys router, you would have to configure your AX and the Linksys in a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). Unfortunately, very few non-AirPort router are WDS-compatible. The few Linksys models that are reported to be compatible are the WRT54G & WRT54GS.
If you can create a WDS, streaming iTunes should not be a problem.
Also: Can I prevent my neighbors from seeing my Airport Express for Airtunes purposes? IE, I don't want my stereo to show up in the "multiple speakers" drop down of iTunes for other people connecting to the network...
No, but you can establish an iTunes Speaker password so they would not be able to stream to it.

Can I Use 802.11n Base Station and 802.11n AirPort Express in an 802.11 ac Time Capsule Main Base Station WDS Network?

I havea "wirelessly challenged" 2-story home and need to extend the range. Currently I have an 802.11n Main Base Station with an 802.11n Airport Express Remote. It's not getting the job done (upstairs connection is weak).
I am considering getting an 802.11ac Airport Time Capsule to help, even though I currently only have devices with 802.11n wireless connectivity (future-proof a little).
I an planning on setting up a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) Network:
1.) Setting up the Time Capsule as the Main Base Station connected to a Cable modem
2.) Reconfiguring and Setting up the current AirPort Extreme 802.11n as a Relay Base Station
3.) Reconfiguring and Setting up the current AirPort Express 802.11n as a Remote Station
I cannot "hard wire" one Base Statio to the other.
Will this work?

Will this work?
Unfortunately, no. WDS is a older, very inefficient way to extend the wireless network signal.
As such, newer operating systems like Lion, Mountain Lion and Mavericks do not even offer settings for this older WDS type of network.
In addition, the new Time Capsule has no capabilities to use WDS settings at all, even if you used a Mac with another operating system to try to set things up.
Even if it were possible to set up a WDS network, the speed on the network would be incredibly slow. As you know, WDS only operates at "g" wireless speed levels. Each "relay" or "remote" that you add to the network each cuts that bandwidth or speed in half.
With a WDS "main", "relay" and "remote", the network would be operating at about 14 Mbps......a tiny fraction of what the devices would be capable of providing normally.

WDS networking issue - Airport Extreme (802.11n) and remote Airport Express

*Background Info:*
Airport Extreme 802.11n (Fast Ethernet)
Version: 7.2.1
Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network (set as main)
Network Name: @Home
Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel: 1
Airport Express
Version: 6.3
Wireless Mode: Participate in a WDS network (set as remote)
Network Name: @Home
Wireless Security: WPA/WPA2 Personal
Channel: 1
Radio Mode: 802.11b/g compatible
Connect Using: AirPort (WDS)
Connection Sharing: Off (Bridge Mode)
Issue
Please help as I'm having issues with my WDS network. I've setup using both the wizard and manual and also hard reset on both units to setup again but cannot get them both to communicate to one another. Both units are showing green LED under their configuration. For my last attempt, I've tried adding the Airport ID (MAC) of the Airport Express to the Access Control and also DHCP Reservations on the Airport Extreme but still no luck.
The Airport Express (setup as remote) does not even show up in the Airport Extreme's Summary as Wireless Clients. In the WDS tab, the Airport Extreme is set up as WDS main, Allow wireless clients box checked and WDS Remotes has the Airport Express' AirPort ID in the list. On the Airport Express, WDS is set up as remote, with Allow wireless client box checked and the Airport ID of the Airport Express in the WDS Main.
I can connect clients to both units. Both units are configured using the same Network Name and have the same WPA/WPA2 security key. The Airport Extreme (main) however is connected to my broadband so any devices or clients connected to it are able to get outside. Connected devices or clients are assigned IP address via DHCP with IP 10.0.x.x. If wifi devices or clients connect to the Airport Express (remote) they are assigned a completely different IP addresses 169.254.x.x, they are not able to browse the internet or talk to other clients connected on the 10.0.1.x network. The Internet Connection configuration on the Airport Express (remote) is Connect Using Airport (WDS) and Using DHCP. I've even tried manually and entered the IP address 10.0.1.199 that I had assigned to the Airport Express from the Airport Extreme and Router Address as IP of Airport Extreme (10.0.1.1).
I think I've tried everything but I'm still having this problem. The remote Airport Express is not extending my existing Airport Extreme network. Any ideas???

Christopher,
This may or may not be helpful, or it may be something you've already tried or are aware of so I apologize if that's the case.
I have been researching ways to set up the Dual Band Network supported by the AEBS and came across your post. I've got an AEBS and (2) AirPort Express set-up currently (AEBS is main and the Express are participating in the WDS as remotes) and I'm trying to configure one of the Express to utilize a 802.11b/g compatible network while the AEBS runs a 5Ghz 802.11n Only network.
AAR, since the AirPort Express are 2.4Ghz 802.11b/g ONLY (no support for 802.11n), you have to be sure to set-up your AEBS first and select "802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)" in the Radio Mode drop-down on the AEBS before you attempt to connect an AirPort Express. The AEBS should be set-up as your "WDS main" and the Express should be set-up as a "WDS remote" for the network you established when you set-up the AEBS.
Bottom line here is the Express won't be seen by the AEBS unless the AEBS is 'looking' in the 802.11b/g 2.4Ghz frequency.
Hope this was helpful.

WDS Extended Network and Passwords

Hi. I setup a WDS network with an Airport extreme base station as the main and an Aiport Express as the remote. It works perfectly as it extends the reach of the network to all my house. The only issue is that when I try to setup the WPA passwords (to protect the network) the base stations stop recognizing each other and I lose the extended capabilities. When I switch back to no passwords, everything starts working well again.
Any suggestions?

Carlos Camilion wrote:
when I try to setup the WPA passwords (to protect the network) the base stations stop recognizing each other and I lose the extended capabilities.
A "static WDS" arrangement requires that all stations have the same settings for a number of things, including encryption type and network password. Have you been successful in changing those values on both units and still find that they don't communicate?

Time Capsule WDS trial and error--working now

*{ I }*
I consider myself an expert in using Mac computers and Mac wireless systems although I am no hacker and no programmer by any stretch of the imagination (although I did teach myself how to use HyperStacks way back in 1990!). Although Apple overall provides a relative ease of use for computer technology, setting up a WDS network under b or g mode is still not always perfect. In this post, I relay my experiences of using a new Time Capsule to join an existing WDS network in 802.11g mode. It took several trials and errors and there might still be some glitches but for now it seems to be working.
note: you might want to skip to the last section roman numeral five if you want to skip the "travels with Conal and his Time Capsule" and see what my most helpful hint is.
*{ II }*
WDS stands for Wireless Distribution System which is when you use wireless routers to extend the range of your networks using a wireless method rather than linking each router by long cables. In the ideal situation, you would link the routers by cables but in a home situation one may not be able to have unsightly cables hanging everywhere.
My previous WDS system looked something like this:
DSL Modem == Extreme ~~ Express1 ~~ Express2 ## laptop
Key
== represents wired connection between routers
~~ represents wireless connection between routers
## represents wireless connection to a wireless device that is not a router (eg., laptop)
Extreme = Airport Extreme, the previous generation that looked like a saucer (or humourously I have heard called a "boob-style" station.
Express1 and Express2 = Airport Express, the previous generation that only could broadcast in b or g
My laptop usually connects to the network from Express2 because that has the strongest signal in my room.
*{ III }*
When I received my Time Capsule, I wanted to replace the existing Express2 and make Express2 simply become a wifi client (not a router) so that I can still use it for AirTunes and not to have it broadcast router signals. The reason for this is because Express2 and Time Capsule reside in the same room and aside from the redundancy of network signals, I don't know if having two wireless routers in such close proximity to each other would cause havoc on my network performance. I wanted the network to look like this schematic:
Extreme ~~ Express1 ~~ Time Capsule
I unplugged Express 2 and took it to the same location as Express 1 and Extreme 1. Then I plugged in Time Capsule. The idea of putting them in close proximity for set up was so that they could properly configure each other.
I opened up Airport Utility and it saw all four of my routers. I went through the wizard for Time Capsule selecting the option for it to replace an existing router. When all configurations were automatically set Time Capsule rebooted and in about two minutes or less, Airport Utility tells me there was an error configuring the Time Capsule. I knew immediately then that I had a few long hours ahead of me.
After that first failure I tried these various ways:
1. retried the wizard automatic way (never worked for my setup which albeit is not the simplest of network setups is neither the most complicated)
2. performed a manual configuration whereby I added the Time Capsule Airport ID to Express1 making Time Capsule a remote router of Express1; then I manually added Express1 to TimeCapsule as a router that it should connect to (that didn't work for some reason)
3. finally I got out the ethernet cable, hard reset Time Capsule, plugged in ethernet cable from laptop to TimeCapsule, and the manually added the Airport ID to Express1 and vice versa.
Note that I went through trial #2 several times fiddling around with other various WDS configuration etc. Finally what really worked for me was #3. I find that despite that I should be able to configure a new router wirelessly, I was not able to do so with success. I had to do it in a wired ethernet fashion.
After that was done, all was set. Well, almost because I still had to reconfigure Express2 so that it no longer would work as a router but as a wifi client.
*{ IV }*
Now my whole network looks like this
DSL Modem == Extreme ~~ Express1 ~~ TimeCapsule ## Express2 ## laptop
Note that Express2 and my laptop are actually both connected wirelessly to TimeCapsule. I am unable to draw it in another way due to the limitations of using linear text to represent parallel items.
*{ V }*
So, my advice for those who are having trouble with configuring Time Capsule or other wireless router, sometimes you might want to try plugging in an ethernet cable so that not only is the connection more solid but that pretty much continual contact with the router is available.
I realise that WDS in 802.11n is configured slightly differently and so perhaps WDS setup has improved but as it stands in 802.11g and 802.11b in the way Apple has implemented it, I would not suggest someone below the level of expert doing it. It can be very baffling, confusing, and irritating. I would never ask my father to try to set up WDS on his own even though there is a wizard for it. I know some people (like Chris Prillo) has had no problems with the wizard, but I have always had problems with the wizard. Not only did I have problems with it when trying to get the Time Capsule to replace an existing router, but when I set up my original WDS network I also couldn't use the wizard to set it up. It kept giving me errors.
Message was edited by: Conal Ho
Message was edited by: Conal Ho

You are over complicating things. I have a Time Capsule (TC), AirPort Extreme (AE) Base Station and AirPort Express (AX) all working flawlessly with WDS.
Make sure to write down the MAC addresses of the TC, AE, and AX. You will need them to configure WDS.
Using the AirPort Admin util configure the TC. Turn on WDS and set the TC to be the main.
Using the AirPort Admin software configure the first AX. Turn on the WDS and set it as a remote client of the TC. You will need the MAC address of the TC.
Using the AirPort Admin software configure the second AX. Turn on the WDS and set it as a remote client of the TC. You will need the MAC address of the TC.
You may have to reboot each device after each config change.
See my blog post on this at http://islandinthenet.com/2008/07/01/airport-everywhere-with-wireless-distributi on-system-wds/
Message was edited by: Khurt Williams

WDS network and Airtunes

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