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GENERAL_SMILEY · Mar 13, 2003, 01:23 PM

So I'm getting a new 17 inch power book, it comes with Airport Extreme built in so I thought I might as well get a base station.

I already have router modem going into a switch, with a number of computers plugged into it.

Can I just plug the base station in as though it were a computer?

It only has one uplink port (I think thats what it is called) and that is being used to connect to the router, is this a problem?

I've never used wi fi, so apologies if question is obvious.

sbjordal · Mar 13, 2003, 02:23 PM

Originally posted by GENERAL_SMILEY:
So I'm getting a new 17 inch power book, it comes with Airport Extreme built in so I thought I might as well get a base station.

I already have router modem going into a switch, with a number of computers plugged into it.

Can I just plug the base station in as though it were a computer?

It only has one uplink port (I think thats what it is called) and that is being used to connect to the router, is this a problem?

I've never used wi fi, so apologies if question is obvious.

You're on the money so far...plug the basestation in to the switch (pick the right port on the basestation...the WAN port is the one you wanna use...has circled dots by the port)...
plug it in, open up your Airport admin utility, and search for the basestation. Log in using the password of 'public' and configure it for dhcp. Decided if your Router will be the DHCP server for your airport or if you want the basestation to act as the dhcp router. either way is fine, as long as the two dhcp server don't give out conflicting IP addresses.

GENERAL_SMILEY · Mar 14, 2003, 03:38 AM

thanks =]

[disaster - Apple aren't shipping the laptops till April!!!! This is really annoying, excuse me while I go and cry

]

aaanorton · Mar 14, 2003, 11:27 AM

Originally posted by sbjordal:
Log in using the password of 'public' and configure it for dhcp. Decided if your Router will be the DHCP server for your airport or if you want the basestation to act as the dhcp router. either way is fine, as long as the two dhcp server don't give out conflicting IP addresses.

Don't do this! Your router is already ditributing IPs, so the BS should NOT. If you set both to serve IPs, you'll end up with different subnets. The router should serve IPs right through the BS to any wireless clients. Set the BS to not distribute IPs.

Toyin · Mar 14, 2003, 11:36 AM

Why buy the Airport base station at all? I was in a similar situation and I replaced my router with a Linksys 54g router. It supports 802.11b and 802.11g and works great with my 12" PB (on g only or on mixed).

ratlater · Mar 14, 2003, 12:38 PM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
Don't do this! Your router is already ditributing IPs, so the BS should NOT. If you set both to serve IPs, you'll end up with different subnets. The router should serve IPs right through the BS to any wireless clients. Set the BS to not distribute IPs.

Agreed, make sure the basestation is configured to NOT distribut IPs.

-matt

OpenStep · Mar 14, 2003, 05:55 PM

Uhh it can be set to distribute IP addresses with dhcp as long as the abs is connected to the exsisting switch/router through the wan port.

ngrundy · Mar 14, 2003, 06:17 PM

why are you pluging the wan port into the LAN?!?!?!?!

Plug the LAN port into the LAN, and do not set it to act as a DHCP server. Putting yourself behind an un-needed level of NAT is NOT going to make life easier.

The WAN port is designed to have xDSL/Cable/NT1/Frame/Blah pluged into it, not the local LAN, that is what the LAN port is for.

[goes off muttering]

aaanorton · Mar 14, 2003, 06:17 PM

Originally posted by OpenStep:
Uhh it can be set to distribute IP addresses with dhcp as long as the abs is connected to the exsisting switch/router through the wan port.

Yes, it can. BUT DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SET IT UP THIS WAY. Unless you have a very specific reason for (and understanding of) separating your subnets, do not do this. It will only cause headaches later. A LAN should have only one device distributing IPs to the entire LAN. Keep it simple.

OpenStep · Mar 14, 2003, 06:23 PM

Originally posted by ngrundy:
why are you pluging the wan port into the LAN?!?!?!?!

Plug the LAN port into the LAN, and do not set it to act as a DHCP server. Putting yourself behind an un-needed level of NAT is NOT going to make life easier.

The WAN port is designed to have xDSL/Cable/NT1/Frame/Blah pluged into it, not the local LAN, that is what the LAN port is for.

[goes off muttering]

The WAN port is the incoming connection, it doesn't matter if it is a cable/dsl/connected to another router. The wan port simply is the port the base stations net connection comes in through. The Snow and Extreme base stations have 2 ports, one for incoming(the wan port) and the lan port (for connecting a wired comp or a switch). In his setup, he has a modem going into a router, the router connected to a switch. The new base station would connect to the exsisting switch through its wan port (configured in the admin utility to grab an ip with dhcp) then distribute ip's to the wireless clients. There is no way the base station would interfere with his wired clients unless he plugged the lan port on the back of the base station into the switch.

aaanorton · Mar 14, 2003, 06:33 PM

Originally posted by OpenStep:
The new base station would connect to the exsisting switch through its wan port (configured in the admin utility to grab an ip with dhcp) then distribute ip's to the wireless clients.

This has to be one of the most common mistakes made by people setting up their home LANs. Again, do not do it this way. Let the router distribute ALL the IPs and the BS bridge them, like it was designed.

aaanorton · Mar 14, 2003, 06:36 PM

bumpety.

aaanorton · Mar 14, 2003, 06:46 PM

Originally posted by Toyin:
Why buy the Airport base station at all? I was in a similar situation and I replaced my router with a Linksys 54g router. It supports 802.11b and 802.11g and works great with my 12" PB (on g only or on mixed).

It sounds to me like he has more computers for the LAN than would be available by switching the switch for a wireless router. Usually those only offer 3 or 4 LAN ports. If that is enough, though, I would definitely do that too. I probably wouldn't go Linksys, but that's another issue.
In fact, to save some cash, it may be about getting another brand of wireless AP, instead of Apple's. Netgear has some great prices. A friend just picked up a Netgear 814 for 49 bucks. That's great.

ngrundy · Mar 14, 2003, 09:27 PM

Originally posted by OpenStep:
The WAN port is the incoming connection, it doesn't matter if it is a cable/dsl/connected to another router. The wan port simply is the port the base stations net connection comes in through. The Snow and Extreme base stations have 2 ports, one for incoming(the wan port) and the lan port (for connecting a wired comp or a switch). In his setup, he has a modem going into a router, the router connected to a switch. The new base station would connect to the exsisting switch through its wan port (configured in the admin utility to grab an ip with dhcp) then distribute ip's to the wireless clients. There is no way the base station would interfere with his wired clients unless he plugged the lan port on the back of the base station into the switch.

Far out. I hope, I really hope that no one has their network setup like this.

the Wide Area Network (WAN) Port is for connecting to Wide Area Networks such as your ISPs network. The Local Area Network (LAN) port is for connecting to your Local Area Network, something like your network within the house.

If you do as OneStep suggests you end up with 2 logical networks and one physical. Your Wired and your Wireless. If you do the sane thing and plug the LAN port into your switch you get one logical and one physical network.

Any Device that is plugged into the WAN port is subject to firewalling, Network Address Translation (NAT), Port Address Translation (PAT) and ye ol routing. You also have the problem that while your laptop has an ip of say, 192.168.1.2 your router on the wired network will have something like 10.0.0.1. You could have 15 machines hanging off your ABS and your router is only going to see one IP, the one of the ABS itself..

If you plug your LAN port of the ABS into your LAN (shocking idea i know) then the ABS acts like a media converter. It converts the signels on the cat5 to 2.4Ghz wireless and back again transparently. It does not do any routing, NAT, PAT or firewalling on the data. Each machine has its own uniquie IP on the one LOGICAL AND PHYSICAL network. It's the same as a cable modem or adsl modem, they convert the HFC or POTS signel to a signel that can be put over cat5, you don't see them in your network during traceroutes.

Seriously,
LAN <--> LAN
WAN <--> WAN