Initial AirPort Express experiences

A warning on reset instructions. Also just set up my AirPort Express. There was a glitch in the set up using AirPort Express Assistant so that it wouldn't appear either through Assistant or the Admin Utility. Needing to use the 'rest to factory settings' I first used the manual's instructions (hold down the button for five seconds) and that didn't work. then I used the instructions on the article on the Apple web page on resetting Airport Ezpress (hold down the reset button while you plug it in). that didn't work either, After 20-25 minutes waiting on the phone to Apple, they suggested holding it for 10 seconds, and it worked. humph

Is 'backwash' as described in Glenn Fleishman's article a problem in the real world?

I'd heard about it in theory when PacBell first introduced DSL (to which I subscribed immediately), but I was unable to detect any, or exploit the possibilities when I tried, and I haven't heard of the "problem" since.

(All of my computers were on the same Ethernet hub with an Alcatel 100 DSL modem. A Power Mac 7100 running Sustworks IPNetRouter performed NAT for the other computers, using its single built-in Ethernet port, not unlike Apple's original Graphite base station.)

Is 'backwash' a cable modem problem? Again, I've heard paranoid talk, but no problems in real life. Surely the marketing folks for DSL would hype the problem, if cablem modems had it, rather than pick on imaginary problems as they do now?? ("Web hog!")

As I understand it, Glenn didn't have an actual AirPort Express when he wrote his preview.

Did your single non-wireless computer really lose its Internet access when you replaced your graphite ABS with the AirPort Express, Paul?

At 1:22 PM -0700 8/4/04, Christopher Schmidt wrote:
>Is 'backwash' as described in Glenn Fleishman's article a problem in
>the real world?

>I'd heard about it in theory when PacBell first introduced DSL (to
>which I subscribed immediately), but I was unable to detect any, or
>exploit the possibilities when I tried, and I haven't heard of the
>"problem" since.

>(All of my computers were on the same Ethernet hub with an Alcatel
>100 DSL modem. A Power Mac 7100 running Sustworks IPNetRouter
>performed NAT for the other computers, using its single built-in
>Ethernet port, not unlike Apple's original Graphite base station.)

>Is 'backwash' a cable modem problem? Again, I've heard paranoid talk,
>but no problems in real life. Surely the marketing folks for DSL
>would hype the problem, if cablem modems had it, rather than pick on
>imaginary problems as they do now?? ("Web hog!")

>As I understand it, Glenn didn't have an actual AirPort Express when
>he wrote his preview.

>Did your single ! non-wireless computer really lose its Internet
>access when you replaced your graphite ABS with the AirPort Express,
>Paul?

No, for several reasons. First, our wired computer, a beige G3
running Yellow Dog Linux, has two Ethernet ports (after adding a PCI
card), one which connects to the cable modem, the other to the switch
where the two AirPorts plug in. Second, I don't use DHCP anywhere in
the house. The G3 uses a DHCP client to get its IP for the external
network, but everything on the internal network I give a static IP
address from the 10. range. The two AirPorts act only as bridges,
and don't do NAT or DHCP. The G3 does NAT for all the other machines
with iptables, and also acts as a firewall. (So even if I used DHCP
on the house network, I could simply forbid it from getting to the
outside interface.) So there's no chance that either AirPort's DHCP
server could "backwash" to the external network, because they're not
on and they're isolated from the external network anyway.

--
Paul Schinder
schinderpobox.com

I've been following this discussion and have examined Apple's web site and have either not seen the answer to the two questions I have or have not recognized them as the answer.



[I'd really recommend that you read Glenn Fleishman's "Take Control of Your AirPort Network". <http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol/airport.html>. We're editing a major update that will soon be available for free to everyone who owns the book at that point, but the price will be jumping to $10 then, since the book is almost doubling in size to over 150 pages. -Adam]

1. I am going to be moving to temporary quarters with my 15" Flat Panel iMac soon and will be in a room with Wi-Fi access. I understand that my iMac cannot use the AirPort Card based on 802.11g technology as it was not manufactured to accept that card. I would rather not buy the 802.11b AirPort card since it would slow down the rest of any wireless network I establish with the new technology in the future. However, can I connect via the Ethernet port of the AirPort Express base station to a Wi-Fi network in the hotel in which I am staying?

[I tested this quickly, and I don't think so. The AirPort Express can receive a connection wirelessly when it's in WDS mode talking to another AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station (which the hotel won't be using in all likelihood), or when it's in client mode, talking to any other wireless access point, but I don't believe in client mode it will bridge to its Ethernet port. -Adam]

2. Using the same 15" Flat Panel iMac when I actually move into a new house, can I use a hardware wired router to connect both my iMac and an AirPort Express base station to a cable modem and therefore spread my Internet connection throughout my house, if I connect each of my other pre-iMac computers to its own individual AirPort Express base station via the Ethernet port on the AirPort Express base station. And will those computers then talk via AirPort Express at 802.11g to each other. Only the iMac is running OS 10.x. The others are running OS 9, and OS 8.1. My hope is to eventually replace the older computers with newer ones including AirPort Express cards, but my budget won't allow that right now. However, I would like to keep my options open to the higher speed for later and now by technology that I will have to replace later.

[Yes, you can use a wired gateway and have the AirPort Express Base Station distribute that Internet connection wirelelessly via WDS, and I believe that you could have other AirPort Express base stations pick that up and redistribute it to wired computers (I can't test this without additional units). But it would probably make more sense to get cheap WET11 or WET54G devices from Linksys for this purpose - they're designed to be simple Ethernet to wireless bridges. I will note also that the speeds of 802.11g are likely to be much slower in the real world as distance and obstacles play into the actual throughput of about 20-25 Mbps. -Adam]

Thanks in advance for the info, Ray Still

> Did your single ! non-wireless computer really lose its Internet
> access when you replaced your graphite ABS with the AirPort Express,
> Paul?

The reason the non-wireless computer loses internet access is because
the Airport Express only has a single ethernet connection unlike recent
Airport and Airport Extreme base stations. This single ethernet port,
when configured in base station mode and acting as the WAN connection to
a DSL or cable modem can only function as the WAN connection and can't
route to a wired LAN.

The original graphite Airport base station also only had a single
ethernet connection but the software in the base station would allow the
single ethernet connection to act both on the WAN and on the LAN when
connected to a switch or a hub. The new Airport Express does not have
this software and can only serve as a router to wireless connections
when in the base station mode.

If you need both wired and wireless connections from a base station
connected to a DSL or cable modem, the Airport Express is not the right
choice.

I got my Airport Express two days ago. I used it to replace my used
Airport Graphite, which I'm giving to my sister for use with her new
laptop. (Plus it gave me an excuse to buy an Express for myself.)

I had a bit of a rough time with it. Starting out the telephone
outlet in my bedroom was non-functional and needed a new outlet
attached to it. (The Graphite was in a different room, but I wanted
the Express close to my printer/stereo.)

After getting that straightened out and resetting the Express a few
times. (It wasn't playing well with the Graphite which was on but
connected to nothing, additionally they were both on different
channels.) I had horrible reception; My iBook 700mhz would have a
full strength connection, and then without moving anything no
connection at all. The fix was disabling WPA (Instead I configured
it to only allow access only from my laptop), restricting it to
802.11b only, enabling interface robustness, and dropping the
multicast rate down to one. I know this is a bit of overkill but it
took a finicky mostly non-functional Airport Express and made it into
a very stable setup. (I've since moved the multicast rate back to
the default, two, with no loss in performance.)

I've really enjoyed AirTunes, but I was a bit frustrated with the
lack of a volume control at first, but I looked up that command
up/down arrow controls the volume. I'd been used to using the volume
controls on my keyboard. (Oh, I don't need no stinkin remote, thats
my laptop...)

Printing works like a charm.

All in all its a great little box, well worth the money!

Nick Barnard

BTW: Amazon has Airport Expresses on sale for $118 and change.

I bought an AirPort Express a few days ago when I was staying at a
hotel with wired ethernet. It worked out of the box - I was online
using the default settings before I even ran the setup assistant.

When I got home yesterday I connected it to my stereo and I've been
listening to iTunes on my stereo from my 15" PowerBook. It sounds
great. I have a NetGear WGR614 wireless router, which doesn't support
WDS, so I set up the AE to join an existing network and use AirTunes
only. Since it supports multiple profiles, it's very easy to change the
settings when I travel with it.

One minor thing, my AirPort signal seems to be reduced slightly, from 3
to 2 or even 1 bars from my living room since I have the AE. My base
station is in my spare bedroom/office at the other end of my home,
separated from the living room by my kitchen.