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tritonus · Aug 26, 2003, 02:09 PM

Simple question:

I have an AEBS attached to my DSL router. Two wireless clients connect to AEBS:

1. my 17" PB with AE (802.11g)
2. neighbor's PC (duh) with PC card (802.11b)

I set the AEBS to "802.11g/b" compatible (default setting I think).

Now the question:

Obviously, AEBS throttles down to 11 Mbit/sec for 802.11b PC client. But what happens to my 17" PB with AE? Do I also have 11 Mbit/sec speed because of AEBS being throttled down for the PC, or do I get 54 Mbit/sec as both are 802.11g devices?

Where can I check the AirPort connection speed (not signal strengh) on my 17" PB?

Thanks!

ghporter · Aug 26, 2003, 02:16 PM

If ANY computer on the wireless net is 802.11b only, the base steps down to 11Mbps and the whole network runs at 11Mbps. So, if ANY are "B" wireless, the whole network runs as if it were entirely "B" wireless.

tritonus · Aug 26, 2003, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
If ANY computer on the wireless net is 802.11b only, the base steps down to 11Mbps and the whole network runs at 11Mbps. So, if ANY are "B" wireless, the whole network runs as if it were entirely "B" wireless.

Thanks. Are you really sure? Then I'm being punished for sharing my WLAN with a PC.

I think it should be 11 for her and 54 for me. What if I set the AEBS to 802.11g? Won't she be able to connect at all then?

aaanorton · Aug 26, 2003, 04:55 PM

Originally posted by tritonus:
Thanks. Are you really sure? Then I'm being punished for sharing my WLAN with a PC.

I think it should be 11 for her and 54 for me. What if I set the AEBS to 802.11g? Won't she be able to connect at all then?

That's definitely how it works. It has nothing to do with sharing with a PC, but with the fact that the PC is using a .11b card. And yes, selecting g-only will disallow the PC from connecting at all.
This doesn't matter to you whatsoever, though. For your setup, you'd never be able to reach g speeds anyway. Even .11b is MUCH faster than your internet connection, so that will not be affected at all. And if you want to share files with that PC, then you'd still be limited to the speed of its connection anyway. You have no way of taking advantage of g speeds, currently, so share away. It won't make a difference.

tritonus · Aug 27, 2003, 01:12 AM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
That's definitely how it works. It has nothing to do with sharing with a PC, but with the fact that the PC is using a .11b card. And yes, selecting g-only will disallow the PC from connecting at all.
This doesn't matter to you whatsoever, though. For your setup, you'd never be able to reach g speeds anyway. Even .11b is MUCH faster than your internet connection, so that will not be affected at all. And if you want to share files with that PC, then you'd still be limited to the speed of its connection anyway. You have no way of taking advantage of g speeds, currently, so share away. It won't make a difference.

That's true. It would only matter if I had a second Mac with AirPort Extreme.

What if the PC would use a 802.11g compatible card instead of the current 802.11b card? Systems requirements for PCs are:

http://www.apple.com/airport/specs.html
"A PC with a Wi-Fi certified IEEE 802.11b wireless card"

Does that mean that 802.11g PCs cannot connect to an AEBS?

tritonus · Aug 27, 2003, 01:16 AM

One more thing:

http://www.apple.com/airport/
"Data rates greater than 11 Mbps require an AirPort Extreme Base Station, an AirPort Extreme Card, and an AirPort Extreme-ready computer. If a user with an AirPort-enabled computer or a Wi-Fi certified 802.11b product joins an AirPort Extreme wireless network, that user will get up to 11 Mbps and the AirPort Extreme users on the same wireless network will get less than 54 Mbps. To achieve maximum speed of 54 Mbps the wireless network may only have AirPort Extreme-enabled computers on it. Actual speed will vary based on range, connection rate, and other factors."

"Will get less than 54 Mbps" meaning 11 Mbps or somewhere between 11 and 54 Mbps?

Still one more thing:

What happens if the PC with 802.11b goes offline, shutting down the machine. Will AEBS dynamically switch to 54 Mbps for my 17" PB (on the fly)?

Thanks you all.

ghporter · Aug 27, 2003, 10:31 AM

If ANY machine on the wireless network, of any type (Mac or PC or Linux or Solaris or Unix or "Bob's OS"), is running 802.11b, then the ENTIRE network runs as an 802.11b network. It doesn't matter who made any part of the network, it doesn't matter if the wireless access point is made of plastic or platinum, and it doesn't matter what day of the week it is. Mars' close approach has nothing to do with it. If you want the 802.11g speeds, every client on the network, as well as the access point must be 802.11g.

This whole thing is caused by the hardware only being able to do one or the other standard at a time. That's all.

tritonus · Aug 27, 2003, 10:41 AM

Originally posted by GHPorter:
If you want the 802.11g speeds, every client on the network, as well as the access point must be 802.11g

Yeah, I hear you, thanks. Maybe you can answer those two questions (see above) then:

1. What happens if the PC with 802.11b goes offline, shutting down the machine. Will AEBS dynamically switch to 54 Mbps for my 17" PB (on the fly)?

2. What if the PC would use a 802.11g compatible card instead of the current 802.11b card? Systems requirements for PCs are: http://www.apple.com/airport/specs.html "A PC with a Wi-Fi certified IEEE 802.11b wireless card"

aaanorton · Aug 27, 2003, 01:39 PM

Originally posted by tritonus:
1. What happens if the PC with 802.11b goes offline, shutting down the machine. Will AEBS dynamically switch to 54 Mbps for my 17" PB (on the fly)?

2. What if the PC would use a 802.11g compatible card instead of the current 802.11b card? Systems requirements for PCs are: http://www.apple.com/airport/specs.html "A PC with a Wi-Fi certified IEEE 802.11b wireless card"

1. Not sure, but I think so.
2. As GHP pointed out, if all clients and AP are .11g, then you will have a .11g network. Remember, though, that 54 Mbps is theoretical. Half that is probably more realistic.

But this REALLY doesn't matter. It's like driving a mini-van on a highway that has a 500 mph speed limit, and being upset that you can't get on the other highway with a 4000 MPH limit. Either way, your mini-van is only gonna go 100-150 MPH, at best, so why be concerned what the speed limit is?

tritonus · Aug 27, 2003, 02:57 PM

Originally posted by aaanorton:
But this REALLY doesn't matter.

Yes, I knew from day one that my DSL uses 0.3 Mbps from my 11/54 Mbps AirPort network.

But I also know it MATTERS in the following situation: I buy a second Mac, for example a Power Mac G5 for my home office. For transfering files between PB and PM, AirPort Extreme @ 54 Mbps would be a benefit.

Just out of curiousity, can I monitor the AEBS mode is running on? Thanks for your help.