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xmishx · Dec 2, 2003, 10:10 PM

I've got 4 computers networked together via hub and cat5 cable. They are all connected to a cable modem and printer as well as each other. I would like to add a Airport base station or anything similar (info on anything cheaper would be greatly appreciated) to use with my new iBook with airport card. Is this solution as simple as wiring the base station into my hub, or is there more involved.

Thanks,

X

chabig · Dec 5, 2003, 12:09 PM

It's pretty much as simple as you say...connect the base station to the hub. You'll want all of the machines to be on the same network, and by default the base station acts as a DHCP server. So you'll probably want to turn that off and just let the base station be a bridge.

Chris

ghporter · Dec 6, 2003, 11:45 AM

Because of problems I've seen, I'd add one thing to what chabig recommended: replace the hub with a switch. Hubs are effectively network "party lines," sharing the single outside connection without any supervision. A switch, on the other hand, looks at each individual packet and sends it only to the appropriate destination, whether the outside connection or another computer on the LAN side. This makes switches much faster, and prevents network traffic jams, which are pretty common with hubs.

An alternative to the switch is a cable/DSL router. These have a small switch, as well as placing a layer of protection between your cable modem and your network. They have their own DHCP server, which you can turn off if you want your base station to handle that. They also present only one computer connection to the cable modem, which can be a big issue with some cable providers.

Neither of these devices are very expensive; you can spend less than $50US and be very happy with your resulting network.

By the way, my network started out all wired as well. I added a wireless access point (not an AirPort Base Station) to accomodate my laptop. I went with a third party device instead of an Apple product mainly because the ABS didn't offer much different from the product I bought-except for being three times as expensive! You can use ANY 802.11b/g access point with your laptop's AirPort card.

xmishx · Dec 6, 2003, 01:33 PM

Thanks for the info, guys. I infact do have a switch with all 5 ports connected to either a modem, printer or computers. There is a 6th port that says uplink. Would that be where the AP plugs into?

As cheap as the Airport has gotten, I would still consider a 3rd party device for the AP. Can you suggest any manufactures that are well made and economical?

Thanks,

X

John Strung · Dec 6, 2003, 02:38 PM

Normally AP would go into the uplink port, but if the other five ports are already in use, you probably can't use the uplink port.

In most hubs and switches, the uplink port is not actually a separate port. It is the same port as the immediately adjacent straight-through port, just wired backwards so you can hook it up to another hub or switch without using a cross-over cable. On most hubs or switches, therefore, if you want to use the uplink port, you can't use the immediately adjacent straight-through port.

chabig · Dec 7, 2003, 01:21 AM

Assess your need to use Appletalk over your network. It you need it, then Apple's base station may be your only option. The third party wireless access points don't usually relay Appletalk packets.

Chris

ghporter · Dec 7, 2003, 10:59 AM

Apple's products may be less expensive than they have been, but they're still around $200, while third party products are hovering at around $100. Here is where you have to, as chabig says, balance your possible need for AppleTalk with your cash on hand. If you're thoroughly tied to AT, go with the AEBS; otherwise shop around for a third party product.