Help with ATV networking and tech issues

Hi i am a relative noob at this but I had a question that I hope the Macrumors community will be able to help me out. My current setup includes a jailbroken ATV2 connected via ethernet to my Airport Extreme running XBMC. I also have my NAS where all my movies connected to the AEBS and the setup works flawlessly.
IN a few days I am moving to an apartment that offers Free wifi. I will not be able to use my router to connect to the internet since the building has some central internet. Therefore I will not be able to get my NAS on my own personal network meaning that the ATV2 connected to the new network will not have access to my personal media.

How can I overcome this?

If i connect the components the same way I had done before will i still be able to access my movies. I know that the AEBS will not have any incoming internet signal but will it just create an INTRAnet where the ATV can access the files on my NAS?

I wanted to connect my ATV2 wirelessly to the new network but still have it hardwired to my AEBS. This way i can access the network and use Airplay, Netflix etc but still have access to my movies.

What do you guys think is the best way to approach the problem. Can the AEBS connect to the NAS and ATV2 without having an ISP?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance

jupiterjones said:

If the device offering free wifi has an ethernet port, connect your AEBS to it with ethernet.

Alternatively, I've had some success with extending an existing wifi network from non-apple products. The challenge is being able to get the MAC address of the free wifi device so you can enter it into the AEBS "Extend an existing network" settings. If there is a web interface on the new wifi device (and assuming you can log in or find the person who is the current admin), then get the MAC address, and try extending that network.

Depending on how you've set up IP addressing, you may need to make some changes for the new network, but if you have everything set to automatic, it should (read should) just work.

Docs:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=AirPortUtility/5.1/en/ap2045.html

...you probably want to try the WDS remote first. Remember that after changing these settings, you may need to restart all the connected devices so they get their new IP addresses.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I do not have access to the router to do this. Is there a way to get the MAC address somehow without having access to the router? The way that the internet is set up is that each apartment has their own connection with this unit that is built into the wall. The unit does not have any ethernet ports. I am just given the wifi name and password when i move in.

Sorry what is the WDS remote?

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russell2 said:

If their network allows file sharing I suppose you could use one of these on your NAS if its strongly secure?

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Universal-Adapter-Office-GWU627/dp/B004UAKCS6

Click to expand...

wow this looks promising. I would bypass even needing to use my AEBS in this case. I would be the only one that would have access to my network since they have an individual network for each apartment unit. I just cant access any ports on the router since it is built into the wall.

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russell2 said:

If their network allows file sharing I suppose you could use one of these on your NAS if its strongly secure?

http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Universal-Adapter-Office-GWU627/dp/B004UAKCS6

Click to expand...

however ,would this allow fast enough data speeds? I am assuming it would show up under my shared drives since all the devices would be on the same network. Am i correct in assuming this?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to the posters thus far. Would the wireless adapter work on the NAS if the NAS needs gigabit ethernet. Noob here so I am not sure.

BTW, the NAS that I have is the Cisco NSS 324.

musicman0725 said:

This does work. The network the AEBS joins does not have to be created by an Apple router either. It can extend any wireless network that it joins (you can even turn off the wireless rebroadcasting so that it acts as an ethernet hub for a wireless network). Both the AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express can do this (only the N versions of these routers). I helped a friend set this up because he bought an old mac mini that didn't have a wireless card (one of the original powerpc versions). We used an AirPort Express to extend the network and then connected the ethernet port from the express to his machine. If you already have an Airport Extreme you don't need to buy any other equipment.

Click to expand...

Wow this is reassuring. I have the newest AEBS so it should work. What do I need to do to extend the network? Do i need to know the MAC address? Any tutorial would be helpful. Thanks

musicman0725 said:

Yeah, my friend had bought the old version of the airport express at first. He was able to get a refund and purchased the new one instead.

apatel87, The option is under the wireless tab in airport utility after you click edit. Change the Network Mode to "Extend a Wireless Network". Then select the network name and type in the password of the network you want to join. The ethernet ports on your AEBS will now extend that network and the base station will act as a wireless access point for the network. If you don't need the wireless portion of the network repeated (i.e. only need additional ethernet ports for your network), you can uncheck "Allow Wireless Clients" in version 5.6 of AirPort Utility. Version 6.0 is missing some options (such as the one above), but can also be used to extend your network.

AirPort Utility 5.6: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1482 (this can be installed/used concurrently with AirPort Utility 6.0)

Click to expand...

That sounds simple enough. I dont need the MAC address or any other info apart from the network name and password right?
Thanks guys for all of your help

Update on issue

So guys thanks for help so far. I've run into some hiccups with this set up however. When accessing the Wi-Fi network even after I put in the password to the network I still have to log in with my personal email and password when connecting to the Internet. Is there any way to configure the router so that it not only is able to access the network but also I'm able to put in the password. I am trying to extend the network using my airport extreme base station

The set up is like this. There is a general Wi-Fi network with the general password that everyone gets. When you're connected to the network you have to login with your email and password. A pop-up comes when you open Safari that allows you to do this. Is there any way to configure my airport extreme base station so I can have this work as an extender?

Any help would be much appreciated

Anyone?@