Airport Extreme Setup - Modem, Ethernet questions

Kauai said:

I need an ethernet cord to connect the router and modem, right?

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I assume your incoming line from the ISP is coaxial cable; in which case yes- you'd need an ethernet cord.

The Modem/Router I've been using is called the SBG900 Wireless Surfboard Gateway. In my experience, the speeds have been dismal, but I should be able to use this as my modem -- right?

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Don't know. You'd likely have to turn off the router part of the device through its control software- whatever that may be.

Does the modem even effect the speed of your internet or is that just the router?

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It can, but your connection is probably slow because you are paying less for a slower throughput.

Just use your existing Modem, then connect the Ethernet cable from it to your Airport Express.

This problem is actually related to the strange nature of High Speed Internet (DSL/Cable/etc). The device that connects to your ISP is a Modem. It is always a modem, it will always be a modem. This is because the signal being sent is analog, converted (or modulated) to digital, and sent to your computer. That is not to say that the signal it is receiving is not also digital, but it is encoded in the analog signals of the medium. Most modems have a single ethernet port on them which you would connect to a router. You would then setup that router with your PPPoE information, configure it for a static IP, or set it up to get an address from your modem (sometimes assigned by your ISP, other times by the modem, because it also contains a rudimentary router). Over the years, manufacturers have been including routers in the same box as modems, but since they have multiple ethernet jacks, and/or contain wireless access points, they are often called routers, which they are not, they are still Modems, because they are still doing basic modem processes, modulation and demodulation, where the word modem comes from.

To be perfectly honest, most manufacturers have gotten away from using the term "Modem" or "Router" for the equipment that connects you to your ISP. Mainly due to the confusion caused when someone buys a third party router, and thinks it can replace the modem, instead of just operating the internal network. The preferred term is "Internet Gateway", which means it is a combination Modem, Router, and Firewall, with the option of also including wireless.

BTW, I work in Tech Support for an ISP, and am always fighting with my coworkers, because they continue to use the term Router, instead of Modem or Gateway, which does nothing but confuse customers.

TEG