[slobizman]

Hi, I'm new to the forum and joined because it looks like there are some very bright and helpful people here.

So, I'm 20 year PC guy who has seen the light and am swapping my PC's for Mac's. Of course I have some networking questions. I've got things working okay, but I don't think correctly.

Here's what I've got: I have an existing cat5 Ethernet network, receiving the internet through DSL. There are several PC's on it and now I've just added 1 iMac connected via ethernet cable, 1 Time Capsule connected via ethernet cable, and two Airport Express's each connected via ethernet cable. The two Expresses and the Time Capsule are distributed around the house so as to cover most of it (it's a very long, large house to cover). I have a MB and a MBP that I connect wirelessly through these three points.

So, what's the problem?

1) I'm not sure I really have my Time Capsule set up properly. I am able to surf wirelessly through it and my iMac and MBP can back up to it. But, I had to go through many, many attempts at getting it to work and I'm not sure what I have going really. I think it' in "bridge" mode now.

2) the MCP and MB do not roam between access points. They stay connected to the original access point they started with, and then when I move throughout the house, they stay connected to that access point and don't switch to the other ones.

3) My Mac's can access the PCs' drive, but my PC's cannot access the Mac's.

I'm really just confused overall as to how I am to set up the Expresses and TM, so that they 1) I can roam between them, 2) access goes both ways between the Mac's and PC's. I'm a pretty good techie, but I need pretty detailed info on the Mac end still at this point.

Thanks so much to anyone who has a few minutes to help me out.

[ide3308]

well, first of all, in airport utility you want to set up a WDS (wireless distribution), where all the wireless APs are in the same network, and seamlessly integrated. you shouldnt have to know or worry about which express you have connected to. as for question number 3, that is normal i dont think i have ever figured out how to fix that. try enabling windows sharing in Sys preferences, i dont have a PC to test it with so i dont know if it works. good luck!

[slobizman]

Originally Posted by ide3308 

well, first of all, in airport utility you want to set up a WDS (wireless distribution), where all the wireless APs are in the same network, and seamlessly integrated. you shouldnt have to know or worry about which express you have connected to. as for question number 3, that is normal i dont think i have ever figured out how to fix that. try enabling windows sharing in Sys preferences, i dont have a PC to test it with so i dont know if it works. good luck!

So, when I select "participate in a WDS network", the WDS tab comes up and asks if it is a main, relay or remote. Which would it be? And would all three be the same? or does my Time Capsule have to be Main maybe?

[slobizman]

Clarification: If these are WDS, would they be communicating with each other wirelessly? I have them all connected directly into the ethernet network and will want each access point getting the net directly from the ethernet network into which it is plugged, rather than being passed along wirelessly from the neighboring access point in the WDS. This is because the distances might cause a weaker handshake between units.

[frdmfghtr]

I have a question to lead off: Is the Time Capsule connected to the DSL modem directly or through some other router? How many ports do you need on the router?

If I were setting up a network like this, I would go about it as follows:

(0) Update the Airport Express and Time Capsule firmware; updates came out yesterday or today.

(1) Set up the Time Capsule as the DHCP server and main router; connect it to the DSL modem and get it set up however you want, as far as network name, WPA2, DHCP addresses to use, etc. Get it working without the Airport Express units connected.

(2) Set up one Airport Express as a base station using the same settings, except in the "Internet" settings, set it to "bridge" mode. This way, the Airport Express acts simply as a wireless access point, and the Time Capsule serves as the DHCP server and router.

If that all works, set up the second AE the same way.

I have a similar setup with a Time Capsule and Airport express, but the Airport Express is operating in the other direction; it connects wirelessly to the Time Capsule, and the Ethernet port is used by an old iMac acting as an "iTunes server" for my Apple TV.

If you have some other router set up and just want the Time Capsule to connect to the network on its own, set it up the same way as the Airport Express.

Oh, and yes--WDS would mean that the Airport Express units (set to be remote units) would connect wirelessly to the Time Capsule (WDS bas station).

Good luck--I hope this helps.