[Walker]

I have moved to a new location. At my old home I had high speed cable internet access & I used an Airport base station for wireless access. At my new home we've got ADSL high speed. I was able get everything up and running using an airport express. However, now the aiport signal strength menu item has a timer running. Should I simply leave it on? Is the ADSL modem connected all the time now?

Also, I need to do some rearranging of computer items, and I'll need to unplug the airport express & ADSL modem. Do I risk losing the connection if I don't plug things back in a certain order?

Thanks,

lw

[ghporter]

Easy part first: The correct order for reconnecting your network stuff is this:
modem
router
other.

That's also the order for powering the items up. Connect everything first, then power it up. This allows all the little embeded computers to do their own little bootups and stabilize before they need to start talking among themselves.

I have never seen the timer you're talking about, but I have a hunch that it's because you have the computer establishing the DSL connection. This type of connection is called PPPoE, or Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet. It requires you to log in each time you establish a connection. This is somewhat akin to using a dialup connection, so I'll bet that what you're seeing is just a nice little "don't go over your online time quota" timer.

What I'd do is use the Express' setup software to make it, not your computer, establish the connection. It's a lot simpler and cleaner, and it helps your computer stay focused on what you're doing, not how you're connected. You do this using the AirPort Setup Assistant or the Admin Utility. Here is a knowledge base article on how to set it up.

[tooki]

Actually, Glenn, it is the base station doing the connection. Apple's Airport base stations all transmit the connect time to the client computers (displayed in the menu bar in Mac OS X, in the control strip in Mac OS 9) for PPP and PPPoE connections. Very good for people using metered dialup, superfluous for pretty much everyone else.

I believe there is a preference somewhere to turn the client display off.

tooki

[ghporter]

Tooki, since I have not used dialup in (sheesh! that's a long time), and never with a Mac, I hadn't seen this in action. (I'm glad I guessed right about the function!) Is it a function connected to the base station's PPPoE functions?