Airport Setup

[BadExample]

Hello,
I got the Airport Base Station and I got it to work with my PC through the LAN (Im on it now), but my cable modem is in the WAN slot and is not being found by the airport in my TiBook...What do I do? the instructions on the Airport Disc and manual do not help to remedy this situation....
Anyone got any idea? if so let me know...thanks

[Rower_CPU]

Have you run "Airport Setup Assitant" or any of the software that came with it?

Those should pretty much lead you through the setup process.

[BadExample]

yes I have, but not Airport Admin Utility cannot locate my base station, so I cannot set it up as a DCHP Server, which is what I am told I need to do....

[chmorley]

As my Airport is the original one (w/only 1 ethernet slot), I am not sure that this is necessarily the solution. However, I would first try to change one setting (or two) in the Airport Admin Utility.

First, in the "Internet" tab, make sure you are connecting to the internet using Ethernet (not the modem). Make sure you are using DHCP. This should probably fix it.

If not, in the "Nework" tab, make sure three boxes are checked--"Distribute IP addresses (Share a single IP address)", "Enable DHCP server on Ethernet", and "Enable AirPort to Ethernet bridging".

If this doesn't do it, your (newer) base station is too different for me to help.

Chris

[chmorley]

If your Airport Admin Utility isn't finding your base station, things start to get more complicated. I have dealt with this before, though.

Have to run. If this still isn't resolved by the time I get back, I will reply further.

Good luck,
Chris

[Rower_CPU]

Have you made Airport active in the network panel of System Prefs?

Do you see the base station in the pull-down list?

[BadExample]

I did see it in network prefs, and al the info i need is in there, and it is in the pull down list by the airport radar icon, and the network is checked off as well, so I dont really understand why it is not working on Airport Admin Utility...

Thanks

[Rower_CPU]

The only other thing I can think of is to reset the base station by cycling the power.

I can help you more when I get home to my Airport...

[BadExample]

cycling the power? just turning it off and reconnecting the base?


let me know

[Rower_CPU]

Yeah. Unplug the power and ALL ethernet connections, then let it sit for a couple of minutes.

Then reattach the power, wait for it to come all the way up, and then attach the Cable modem (WAN), then the LAN.

Double check connection via the PC, and then retry the Airport.

[cleo]

When you power cycle, turn off the cable modem, too. Then, in order, power up each part of the process - modem, then airport, then computers - taking time between for each to powerup properly.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by cleo
When you power cycle, turn off the cable modem, too. Then, in order, power up each part of the process - modem, then airport, then computers - taking time between for each to powerup properly.

Good suggestion. It's funny how that's the first thing all the broadband tech support people tell you to do...

So, BadExample, I'm back home now on my Airport if you need anymore help.

[BadExample]

yeah this is still not working, i did it all; cycling the power, but it will not find the base through airport admin...
whats goin on? my internet from the LAN in the airport works, i am using it to type these replies....
i dont know how this works out?!?!??!

[chmorley]

Originally posted by BadExample
yeah this is still not working, i did it all; cycling the power, but it will not find the base through airport admin...
whats goin on? my internet from the LAN in the airport works, i am using it to type these replies....

What do you mean by this? There isn't a LAN in the base station, so I am guessing you are referring to the modem in there. Is your connection dial-up speed or fast (like your cable modem)? I guess I am confused.

One other thing, have you installed the Airport software on your Mac? Also, are using OS X? If so, have you checked your settings in your Network control panel?

Chris

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by chmorley

What do you mean by this? There isn't a LAN in the base station, so I am guessing you are referring to the modem in there. Is your connection dial-up speed or fast (like your cable modem)? I guess I am confused.

One other thing, have you installed the Airport software on your Mac? Also, are using OS X? If so, have you checked your settings in your Network control panel?

Chris

The Base Station 2 has a LAN port in addition to the WAN port.

[chmorley]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


The Base Station 2 has a LAN port in addition to the WAN port.
Okay. I get that. But how is he connecting to the internet? Is the cable modem actually providing his internet access, or is it the modem?

So, again, do you have the Airport software installed on your computer. Are you using OS X?

Chris

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by chmorley
Okay. I get that. But how is he connecting to the internet? Is the cable modem actually providing his internet access, or is it the modem?

So, again, do you have the Airport software installed on your computer. Are you using OS X?

Chris

Cable modem, it's in his first post.

[BadExample]

the cable modem is providing me with the access....but it in OSX, it does not recognize the base station....
I don't know whats going on, because I reset the station and I also reinstalled the software...



thanks..

[BadExample]

okay..when I reinstall the software after I reset the base, the setup assistant says "you cannot join a station that has DHCP turned off, please go to Airport Admin Utility" when I do that, it will not and cannot recognize or find my base.....

[Quark]

BadExample,

I have almost the EXACT setup that you do. Cable Modem, hardwired the Airport2 to a switch with M$ PCs connected to it, my Mac (the new iMac) is downstairs connected wirelessly.

All of it works, but I had to jump a few hoops. I am currently away from the house, but I will give you information that will get you going with little to no pain - hopefully.

I'll have to gather everything together (I think I have it all in one place by the Mac). You'll see another post from me over the next few days.

Don't Panic -- be patient.

Take care,
Quark

[BadExample]

Thanks...I can definetly wait.

Talk to you later thanks for the help everyone..

[chmorley]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU


Cable modem, it's in his first post.
No, it isn't.

It says that he has a cable modem connected, but it wasn't clear that the base station was configured correctly to access it. I was trying to figure out if the base station was accessing the cable modem or if it was using the modem built into it. I try not to make assumtions when troubleshooting--it makes everything take longer.

Thanks for the help, though, Rower.

Chris

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by chmorley

No, it isn't.

It says that he has a cable modem connected, but it wasn't clear that the base station was configured correctly to access it. I was trying to figure out if the base station was accessing the cable modem or if it was using the modem built into it. I try not to make assumtions when troubleshooting--it makes everything take longer.

Thanks for the help, though, Rower.

Chris

Yeah, it is. He said quite clearly that his PC was connecting to it via the LAN port in the Base Station.

I'm still waiting to see how this will be resolved. My Airport setup was completely painless, and I'm amazed that nothing has been figured out yet.
Unless of course, he somehow made a closed network and hasn't entered the right password...:p

[Quark]

Read my previous thread first: Airport Help (http://www.macrumors.com/forums/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=2134&highlight=airport). Even though it appears to be a little off of your topic, the information and links contained within will be enlightening.

Here are links to 2 specific articles that got me all the answers I needed:
Reloading Software from Mac OS X (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106685)
How To Reset (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106602)

I would be more than happy to assist you directly via e-mail if you need more specific information.

Instead of creating a "Closed Network", try creating a regular DHCP network first. Then go into the Airport Admin program and go into the Access tab and add your ID from the Airport card in your notebook. I added mine as the only one and it will not allow any other to use it except for that one, wirelessly. If you have additional Airport cards, just add them to the list of authorized connections.

Also, go ahead and force the following settings (this will further limit who can use your wireless network - several non-Airport cards are not compatible with these settings):
Channel: (anything, other than the default)
Station density: High
Multicast rate: 11 mb/s

Good Luck!

Quark

[BadExample]

Thanks for the help guys; it is finally up and working. This message is coming from my PBG4.....thanks a bunch for helping me out again!


Paul:)

[redAPPLE]

that was an interesting thread...

i ordered my airport base station 2 days ago and it should come really soon.

i hope i won't have a difficult time installing it...

(i am sorry to say, i would have to connect a pc (just for temporary use))

there were a lot of "good" suggestions, but which one worked?

[BadExample]

the last suggestion. with the links regarding reinstalling software as well as the hard reset; that helped me to do it right...

Good luck with the setup; should be somewhat easy

[Quark]

Originally posted by redAPPLE
that was an interesting thread...

i ordered my airport base station 2 days ago and it should come really soon.

i hope i won't have a difficult time installing it...

redAPPLE,

Don't worry. It'll work fine. I experimented and tried several different things and I essentially "painted myself into a corner".

Let me know if you have any difficulties -- I'm sure that I'll have the answers you need.

BadExample -- I am very happy to hear that you got it working. That "hard reset" thingy took me a long time to find, but once I found it, I was able to try out several different scenarios - several of which required a "hard reset". Also, if you need any additional assistance, I would be more than happy to help.

Take Care,
Quark

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Quark


redAPPLE,

Don't worry. It'll work fine. I experimented and tried several different things and I essentially "painted myself into a corner".

Let me know if you have any difficulties -- I'm sure that I'll have the answers you need.

BadExample -- I am very happy to hear that you got it working. That "hard reset" thingy took me a long time to find, but once I found it, I was able to try out several different scenarios - several of which required a "hard reset". Also, if you need any additional assistance, I would be more than happy to help.

Take Care,
Quark

hi quark.

i got this problem. maybe you could help me, if not, i guess there are a lot of helpful souls out there, who might be able to help me.

i will try to explain every detail and so you guys could understand.

i have an ibook, which is configured to a wireless internet connection (well, i had one, i messed up with the airportconfiguration, but i guess i could reinstall everything and it would work again).

in this setup, 1 rj45 cable is connected to the lan connection. the rj45 is connected to a 10/100 netgear hub. and the hub is connected to a cable modem.

my isp gave me 1 static ip address to use. i have the airport2 base station.

so here comes the "tricky" part. i bought a new iMac and i want to create a network (for file transfers between the iMac and ibook) and eventually, i want to share the internet connection so the iMac could be used to surf the net.

i would care to add some more details, but i would need some feedback, if everything is clear up to this point.

thanks in advance.

[Rower_CPU]

It's actually quite straightforward.

1) Set up the hub to use the IP address given to you by your ISP.

2) Set up the hub as a DHCP server.

3) Set your Macs to DHCP, and they will take an IP address from the hub.

That's all there is to it.:)

[Quark]

Not sure that I understand your setup. How and where is the Airport2 connected?

According to what you just wrote, you said you have the Airport2, but not connected to anything.

Ignore the HUB comments from the previous poster (no offense intended). I have never, ever heard of any HUB being configurable -- so I don't know what the previous poster is trying to say.

Here's my 2 cents:

1. Plug your cable modem directly into the Airport base station (WAN port).
2. Plug the HUB into the Aiport base station (LAN port).
3. Plug a Mac into the HUB
4. Configure and setup the Airport base station
5. done, now you should be able to unplug the Mac and use the wireless Airport network AND the wired HUB network.

If this doesn't work, I strongly recommend getting rid of the HUB and buying something called a switch - it looks like a HUB, but it works far more efficiently and cleanly with a Router/Gateway/Airport2 BaseStation.

I'm not sure that I fully understood your question and I hope that this helps.

Quark:)

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Quark
Not sure that I understand your setup. How and where is the Airport2 connected?

According to what you just wrote, you said you have the Airport2, but not connected to anything.

Ignore the HUB comments from the previous poster (no offense intended). I have never, ever heard of any HUB being configurable -- so I don't know what the previous poster is trying to say.

Here's my 2 cents:

1. Plug your cable modem directly into the Airport base station (WAN port).
2. Plug the HUB into the Aiport base station (LAN port).
3. Plug a Mac into the HUB
4. Configure and setup the Airport base station
5. done, now you should be able to unplug the Mac and use the wireless Airport network AND the wired HUB network.

If this doesn't work, I strongly recommend getting rid of the HUB and buying something called a switch - it looks like a HUB, but it works far more efficiently and cleanly with a Router/Gateway/Airport2 BaseStation.

I'm not sure that I fully understood your question and I hope that this helps.

Quark:)

No offense taken. I was using his terminology. He said hub, I assumed he meant router but used his term to avoid confusion.

I'm still not clear as whether or not the Airport2 is to be used at all...:confused:

The iMac needs to be plugged in all the time to the hub/switch/router.

If you are going to use the Airport2, you need to make sure that you UNcheck the distribute IP addresses option in the Network tab of the Airport Admin Utility. Otherwise your computers will not be able to see each other, they will be on different subnets.

[redAPPLE]

Ok ok guys.

NO FIGHTING NOW!

:D

My "thing" is a Netgear Dual Speed "Hub" DS106.

Maybe someone could even explain, what a router, switch and a hub really is.

at work, the giant "hub" is called a switch. a router must be the same thing as a hub.

rower noted, i should setup the "hub" as a dhcp server. in regards to quark's comment, i, too, didn't even know, one could setup a hub as a dhcp server.

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Quark
Not sure that I understand your setup. How and where is the Airport2 connected?

According to what you just wrote, you said you have the Airport2, but not connected to anything.

Ignore the HUB comments from the previous poster (no offense intended). I have never, ever heard of any HUB being configurable -- so I don't know what the previous poster is trying to say.

Here's my 2 cents:

1. Plug your cable modem directly into the Airport base station (WAN port).
2. Plug the HUB into the Aiport base station (LAN port).
3. Plug a Mac into the HUB
4. Configure and setup the Airport base station
5. done, now you should be able to unplug the Mac and use the wireless Airport network AND the wired HUB network.

If this doesn't work, I strongly recommend getting rid of the HUB and buying something called a switch - it looks like a HUB, but it works far more efficiently and cleanly with a Router/Gateway/Airport2 BaseStation.

I'm not sure that I fully understood your question and I hope that this helps.

Quark:)

Ok. Right now, my ibook is wirelessly "connected" (wow. a cool oxymoron) to the internet. an rj45 cable is connected in the lan slot. this rj45 is connected to the hub. and an uplink cable (rj45), which is connected to the hub, runs to the wall socket (which my isp setup for me).

if i plug my cable modem directly to the base station, that would mean, i can only have a maximum throughput of 11 mbps, right?

that means, any other computer i connect to the hub (in the future) can only connect with 11 mbps, am i right in this assumption?

my hub is a 10/100 mbit netgear.

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by redAPPLE


Ok. Right now, my ibook is wirelessly "connected" (wow. a cool oxymoron) to the internet. an rj45 cable is connected in the lan slot. this rj45 is connected to the hub. and an uplink cable (rj45), which is connected to the hub, runs to the wall socket (which my isp setup for me).

if i plug my cable modem directly to the base station, that would mean, i can only have a maximum throughput of 11 mbps, right?

that means, any other computer i connect to the hub (in the future) can only connect with 11 mbps, am i right in this assumption?

my hub is a 10/100 mbit netgear.

The 11 mbps is only for the wireless (802.11b) throughput, not the hardwired.

Although I would be amazed if you were getting anywhere near that kind of bandwidth with a commercial cable/dsl connection.

[Quark]

Read this carefully, because it is easy to miss one of the points. It took me a while to understand this, so I'll try to explain in a simplified way.


HUB: A HUB is a device that connects several computers to each other. When a signal comes into the HUB, it is sent to EVERY computer on the HUB, even though only one of those computers is the actual recipient of the transmission. A HUB is a DUMB device that only sends a signal to all ports at the same time.

HUB ISSUES: Since it sends the signal to every port at the same time, if one of the other computers is trying to send a signal at the same time, it generates something called a "COLLISION". Two signals collide and try to go through the HUB at the same time. When this happens each computer retransmits the data until it gets through.

SWITCH: Almost identical to a HUB (externally), but internally it registers each computer connected to it. When a signal comes into the SWITCH, it is sent DIRECTLY to the ONE PORT that is the Recipient. So NONE of the other ports will be sent useless information. Collisions almost never occur with a switch. They do happen, but only when the two computers are trying to send information to eachother at the same time, and even then the switch usually handles it without a retransmission.

ROUTER: This is very different from a HUB and a SWITCH. What a Router does (also known as a Gateway) is it connects to a network (like your cable modem/ISP). It tells the network that it is the only computer connected and logged in. It allows you to connect a HUB to the ROUTER and the ROUTER will manage all the computers locally without letting the external network (cable modem/ISP/Internet) see them. So you can have five computers connected, each of them will have their own Dynamic IP address, so they can see each other, but when any of them go to the external network (Internet), the ROUTER makes it look like one computer.

ROUTER EXAMPLE:
iMac: 10.0.0.2 (IP Address)
iBook: 10.0.0.3 (IP Address)
iPad: 10.0.0.4 (IP Address)
iWalk: 10.0.0.5 (IP Address)
ROUTER/Airport2 BaseStation: 10.0.0.1 (IP Address, internal network, this is the address that your iMac, iBook, iPad, and iWalk will see)

Cable Modem: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (this number is provided by your ISP, usually dynamically/automatically) The ROUTER knows this number and that is what the ISP will see as the only computer connecting to the internet. So when the iMac connects to the Internet, it is actually connecting to the Router and the Router talks to the Internet for it. Same with the iBook, iPad, iWalk.

Your cable modem cannot transmit data faster than 10Mbs. Usually it won't transmit beyond 1-2 Mbs.

Your Airport2 BaseStation cannot transmit data faster than 11Mbs.

All the computers hardwired to the HUB will be able to send/receive data up to 100Mbs.

Ask me some more specific questions on any of the above and I'll try to explain with additional examples.

Quark:cool:

[Rower_CPU]

Originally posted by Quark
…
Your Airport2 BaseStation cannot transmit data faster than 11Mbs.
…

Once again, this is the wireless bandwidth.

The LAN port going out to your hub is 10/100.

http://www.apple.com/airport/specs.html

But since the max you can get out of your cable/dsl modem is 10...:/

[Quark]

Originally posted by Rower_CPU

Once again, this is the wireless bandwidth.

The LAN port going out to your hub is 10/100.

http://www.apple.com/airport/specs.html

But since the max you can get out of your cable/dsl modem is 10...:/

Well, yeah, but that only matters if you are hardwired into a 10/100 network through the WAN port. If he is connecting the WAN port to the Cable Modem, it is irrelevant because the Cable Modem will not go beyond 1-2Mbps.

Context of the discussion... :rolleyes:

Quark

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Quark


Ask me some more specific questions on any of the above and I'll try to explain with additional examples.

Quark:cool:

You good man, mon.

Let me read it again carefully and should i have further questions, i'd bombard :D you with them.

thanks a lot.