Gigabit network???

[smilinmonki666]

The iMac's & MacPro both support 10/100/1000 base networking. When will the airport express & the :apple:TV support this too?

[PlaceofDis]

i don't understand why the Apple TV doesn't, but the Airport express hasn't been updated in ages, who knows if it ever will be either.

[itickings]

Well, regarding the Airport Express - why gigabit?

Unless it is updated to 11n, there is no way it could use anywhere near its current 100Mbit. Not even theoretically. (And if it ever gets updated with 11n, real-world performance won't require gigabit either, but that's a different discussion)

[Jupeman]

Well, regarding the Airport Express - why gigabit?

Unless it is updated to 11n, there is no way it could use anywhere near its current 100Mbit. Not even theoretically. (And if it ever gets updated with 11n, real-world performance won't require gigabit either, but that's a different discussion)

Little reason for the Express to have gigabit Ethernet, but it should be updated to n wireless spec by now, imo. Apple is way over-extended it seems.

[PlaceofDis]

Little reason for the Express to have gigabit Ethernet, but it should be updated to n wireless spec by now, imo. Apple is way over-extended it seems.

or they have no plans to update it?

shame because i think its one of the best things they've put out.

[Consultant]

I use airport extreme (N + Gigabit) on my gigabit network.

Keep in mind that unless you are transferring between RAIDs, you will not saturate the gigabit network.

[itickings]

Keep in mind that unless you are transferring between RAIDs, you will not saturate the gigabit network.

Yeah, but it is pretty easy for a 100Mbit connection to be the bottleneck. We're not asking for 10Gbit (yet) ;)

[aaronw1986]

Well, regarding the Airport Express - why gigabit?

Unless it is updated to 11n, there is no way it could use anywhere near its current 100Mbit. Not even theoretically. (And if it ever gets updated with 11n, real-world performance won't require gigabit either, but that's a different discussion)

Umm, gigabit for the wired connection..

[smilinmonki666]

Umm, gigabit for the wired connection..

Yes, I did mean the wired connection. Sorry, I didn't make my question clear enough. The only time I will use a wireless connection is for my laptop and iPod/ iPhone. I prefer to use wired connections for when streaming media. My next questions would be, if I used the airport with the wired connection can I use it to extend the wireless down to the garden, pretty log garden.

[itickings]

Umm, gigabit for the wired connection..

Well, of course. But keep in mind that the Airport Express has exactly ONE (1) wired port.

Streaming audio to it won't require gigabit on that port. Printing to an attached printer won't require gigabit on that port. Wireless 11a/b/g won't require gigabit on that port.

So, what good would gigabit do?

[Jupeman]

shame because i think its one of the best things they've put out.

Agreed, it is brilliant. It'd be nice if they offered an 'n' one, to keep all their products "up to date".

[Jshwon]

Quick question, what determines gigabit speed? Is it the devices alone that are connected, the cable itself, or the speed coming from the ISP?

Sorry if its a dumb question but I wonder if its worth it to buy a device partly based on gigabit capabilities.

[aaronw1986]

Quick question, what determines gigabit speed? Is it the devices alone that are connected, the cable itself, or the speed coming from the ISP?

Sorry if its a dumb question but I wonder if its worth it to buy a device partly based on gigabit capabilities.

The cable and device connected mainly. ISP's providing gigabit is not in the near future, sorry. It will need to be fiber optic. THe main benefit for gigabit is networking, i.e. transferring files.

[trainguy77]

It will need to be fiber optic.

It could probably pass 100 base/t on coaxial, fiber channels wouldn't be required to the houses, at least i don't think so. I could be wrong though.

[aaronw1986]

It could probably pass 100 base/t on coaxial, fiber channels wouldn't be required to the houses, at least i don't think so. I could be wrong though.

how would 1000MB/s pass over a 100MB connection?>

[trainguy77]

how would 1000MB/s pass over a 100MB connection?>

I was meaning it could pass over 100MB/s over Coaxial so eventually it might be worth upgrading the ethernet connection.

[Sunnzy]

Me too waiting for an update for the Airport Express 11n to add to my home-built router... and 11n is >100Mbit in theory so it is very important to have a gigabit port on a 11n AP for those who want to plug it in to an existing switch.

[macleod199]

Little reason for the Express to have gigabit Ethernet, but it should be updated to n wireless spec by now, imo. Apple is way over-extended it seems.

I keep saying this every time this comes up - where are they going to cram the extra antennas for n? Why do you think the iPhone/iPod Touch don't have N, either??

[Sesshi]

Quick question, what determines gigabit speed? Is it the devices alone that are connected, the cable itself, or the speed coming from the ISP?

Sorry if its a dumb question but I wonder if its worth it to buy a device partly based on gigabit capabilities.

Gigabit speed is the cable in the main.

Put it like this:
A low-cost Gigabit NAS will actually deliver barely-Megabit speeds to Gigabit wire.

If you buy a Gigabit device, the only thing that is guaranteed is that it will talk on a Gigabit network. It is not a guarantee of Gigabit speeds on that network.

[Sunnzy]

I keep saying this every time this comes up - where are they going to cram the extra antennas for n? Why do you think the iPhone/iPod Touch don't have N, either??

Then explain this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Edimax/EW7718UN/

[trainguy77]

Then explain this: http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Edimax/EW7718UN/

Take a look at the frequency it runs at. Then go look at what N is capable of running on. (in the new extreme for ex) Is apple really going to offer a crippled N product? I doubt it.

[Sunnzy]

Take a look at the frequency it runs at. Then go look at what N is capable of running on. (in the new extreme for ex) Is apple really going to offer a crippled N product? I doubt it.

The Airport Express is much bigger compared to that USB stick, and it draws power from an actual electrical socket rather than a little USB port... with these extra room (compared to the USB tick) and power, and with Apple's engineering team, I don't see why it can't be done.

Yes, it may not have the performance of those Linksys with 3 external antennas, but it should still offer much better performance than the current non-antenna 11g Express.