The new airport express has only 3 wired ethernet connections. I was going to get one, but I already have four wired devices (mac mini, NAS, Networked laserprinter, and another computer). Can I attach a simple linksys switch to one of the ethernet jacks to increase my available number of connections?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Need more than 3 wired ethernet on new Airport Express
- Thread starter newmacuser13
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Airport to Hub
Shouldn't be a problem. I have an Airport Extreme basestation (round) and I have it hooked up to a 4-port hub. Everything works perfectly.
Shouldn't be a problem. I have an Airport Extreme basestation (round) and I have it hooked up to a 4-port hub. Everything works perfectly.
Yup. I got a Netgear 5-port Gigabit switch for my Mac Pro and a networked RAID array, so I can get extra speed, without having to replace my Linksys. But it looks like I might replace the Linksys with the 802.11n Apple router, and just leave the gigabit switch in place.
You could get rid of the NAS since the new AE can do that functionality itself, and/or if the networked laser printer has USB, plug that into the new AE and let it handle the sharing.
As long as the Nas and Mac are set to static IP's the switch has no need to pass the data from the nas to the router to the system, it will just go from the nas to they system at "1gb speed". The only stuff hitting the router will be web requests and such from the mac, and once they hit your cable or dsl modem they will only be going <10mb anyway.