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New AEBS and TC are Capable of 450 Mbps

david803sc

david803sc

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
56
0
Lake Wylie, SC
I read some articles that stated the new 3x3 AEBS and TC were only capable of 300 Mbps, those reporta are wrong, I bought a new AEBS and have that setup as my new router and I have a new TC setup to extend my Wireless N network they are showing in the Airport Utility speeds between 400 and 450 Mbps look at the first device in the list.

http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=200211&stc=1&d=1256419609
 

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Hey David,

Can you break this down for us network newbs? What are we looking at here, what is the top device, etc?

I've attached a screen shot of my current setup.

Modem -> TC (dual band) -> extended by AEBS (single band) w/ AE attached.
 

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The top Device is the new Time Capsule, it is in Bridge Mode Connecting to the new Airport Extreme which is being used as a Router, It is the speed on my Wireless N Network, The TC is set to Join the network an acts as a bridge I have an xbox 360, DVR and mac mini connected to the TC's ethernet ports, and they connect to my network via the Wireless N network to the router.

Bridge 1 and Bridge 2 are 2nd gen Airport Extreme's also in bridged mode one is in my office connected to my iMac, printer, and vonage device, bridge 2 is in my entertainment center and connects a Blue Ray, Apple TV, and a DVR wirelessly to the rest of the network.
 
david803sc said:
The top Device is the new Time Capsule, it is in Bridge Mode Connecting to the new Airport Extreme which is being used as a Router, It is the speed on my Wireless N Network, The TC is set to Join the network an acts as a bridge I have an xbox 360, DVR and mac mini connected to the TC's ethernet ports, and they connect to my network via the Wireless N network to the router.

Bridge 1 and Bridge 2 are 2nd gen Airport Extreme's also in bridged mode one is in my office connected to my iMac, printer, and vonage device, bridge 2 is in my entertainment center and connects a Blue Ray, Apple TV, and a DVR wirelessly to the rest of the network.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that. What is the reasoning behind using the TC as a Bridge rather than extending your AEBS's network?
 
How do you get that screen to show up in airport utility ?

Also, I don't know how it goes so fast. I checked with network utility and my iMac that was literarily 5 feet away from airport only got 260.
 
powerbook911 said:
How do you get that screen to show up in airport utility ?

Also, I don't know how it goes so fast. I checked with network utility and my iMac that was literarily 5 feet away from airport only got 260.
Click to expand...

In the Airport Utility select the device, than "manual setup" than go to the "Advanced Tab" > "Logs and Statistics" > "Wireless Clients" and there you will see the same screen I posted.

Regular 2X2 Wireless N is capable of 300 Mbps, the 3X3 is capable of 450 Mbps.

Increasing your speed Tips:

1) Try moving the position of the devices around even just slightly can affect your speed.

2) use manual channel selection, and check the speed find the channel that works best.

3) Make sure you are using "wide channels"

4) Check your multicast rate, the higher the better.
 
rkdiddy said:
Thank you for that. What is the reasoning behind using the TC as a Bridge rather than extending your AEBS's network?
Click to expand...

My devices are grouped together around the house and not all have wireless capability, so for example in my bedroom my DVR and XBOX 360 both need an ethernet connection, by putting the TC in Bridged mode, it can wirelessly join the network and I can use all the ethernet ports on the back to connect my devices as if it was a switch.

The TC and AEBS router are never moved so they are positioned and set to operate at the highest link speed possible and are able to maintain that connection without interruption. I have an AEBS in my sons room he also has an XBOX 360, a DVR and an MSNTV all setup the same way.

Having so many AEBS in bridged mode is expensive, but my house is not wired for ethernet at all, and this gives me the most capacity to hook up all my devices and gives me a very stable and fast LAN.
 
I'm getting conflicting reports on the 450mbps/300mbps capabilities of these new AEBS/TC. david is saying "yes - 450 mbps is possible", others are sayings the third-antenna is only for "spatial-diversity" - I think if somebody could just hook the thing up with an Intel 5300 laptop - we can get this all cleared-out!
 
So the AEBS and the TC can connect to each other at that rate, but no current Apple computer can do so over 300 mbps?
 
crellion said:
Which brings about the question - is a 300mbps to 450mbps speed bump enough to buy these new-gen routers if you had an old Airport Draft-N?
Click to expand...


Probably depends on what you can get for it. I just bought my dual-band about a month ago so i'm not really willing to take a $50 loss...and a quick look at ebay made it seem like $50 would be a pretty accurate measure.

The bummer for me, after seeing this thread and viewing my connection log, I realize that I'm only getting about 120 mbps tops due to where I have my router positioned and the new one would probably connect faster due to the signal strength. Thanks 14 day return policy!
 
and my imac only connects to the new station at 260. But it is from August 2007, were the August 2007 chips only up to 260 ?

The AEBS and imac are on top of each other almost, so they can't get any closer.

What sucks even more is that even though the new AEBS is suppose to be stronger signal, my Mac mini is only approximately 25 feet away and it connects at only 130.
 
david803sc said:
In the Airport Utility select the device, than "manual setup" than go to the "Advanced Tab" > "Logs and Statistics" > "Wireless Clients" and there you will see the same screen I posted.

Regular 2X2 Wireless N is capable of 300 Mbps, the 3X3 is capable of 450 Mbps.

Increasing your speed Tips:

1) Try moving the position of the devices around even just slightly can affect your speed.

2) use manual channel selection, and check the speed find the channel that works best.

3) Make sure you are using "wide channels"

4) Check your multicast rate, the higher the better.
Click to expand...

David, thanks so much for this. Just changing my multicast rate gave me a huge bump. I wonder why thats not a default setting?
 
crellion said:
Which brings about the question - is a 300mbps to 450mbps speed bump enough to buy these new-gen routers if you had an old Airport Draft-N?
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that the new AEBSs and TCs require the use of the new Airport Utility for setup. You need OS X 10.5.7 (or greater), WinXP SP3 , Vista to be able to set up the new devices.

david803sc said:
My devices are grouped together around the house and not all have wireless capability, so for example in my bedroom my DVR and XBOX 360 both need an ethernet connection, by putting the TC in Bridged mode, it can wirelessly join the network and I can use all the ethernet ports on the back to connect my devices as if it was a switch.
Click to expand...

David, can you explain what the difference is between Bridge Mode and Extend Mode? I would also like to be able to connect my future AV gear with ethernet, but don't have cat5 lines running to my TV.

What advantages/disadvantages would there be to using Bridge or Extend? Does Extend mode shut down the ethernet ports on the secondary AEBS?

Thanks.
 
Scottsdale said:
Nice thread. Thanks for sharing. I am definitely going to pay the money for a bump from first gen to new AEBS.
Click to expand...

On a side-note, does anyone know how durable these routers are for mobility? Say if I can pack one of these in my laptop bag - are they pretty hardy to travel with? The Airport Express just doesn't cut it for me...
 
crellion said:
On a side-note, does anyone know how durable these routers are for mobility? Say if I can pack one of these in my laptop bag - are they pretty hardy to travel with? The Airport Express just doesn't cut it for me...
Click to expand...

I only have the AEBS, so I can't comment about the TC. I'm guessing that you wouldn't want to subject the TC to any more movement than needed due to the HDD.

As for the AEBS, it seems durable enough. One quick note. It's pretty heavy. I was surprised at how heavy it was when I bought it. It's a good 3 lbs or so. I'm coming from a Netgear 11g router which was about 1/4 lb or so.
 
ftaok said:
I only have the AEBS, so I can't comment about the TC. I'm guessing that you wouldn't want to subject the TC to any more movement than needed due to the HDD.

As for the AEBS, it seems durable enough. One quick note. It's pretty heavy. I was surprised at how heavy it was when I bought it. It's a good 3 lbs or so. I'm coming from a Netgear 11g router which was about 1/4 lb or so.
Click to expand...

Judging from other people's view - it seems the AEBS is actually pretty durable. The TC on the other hand has faults in its durability due to the faulty PSU which tends to burn out after a year or so... However it seems if I stick with AEBS - it should be a pretty modular and mobile router for my use...
 
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