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azdunerat

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 11, 2009
157
0
I have an existing AEBS but we relocated our office and it was cheaper for me to buy an express then have my ISP come out and move the line for the DsL. Well I hooked everthing up tonight and added the express as an extender with the ability to add wireless clients and all went well. My Mac mini is connected via Ethernet and I added a USB hub so I could plug in my printer and external HD. Printer works great but the Lacie HD is no were to be found. If I connect it directly to the mini it mounts right away so I know it still works. Is there a setting I am missing?
 
I have an existing AEBS but we relocated our office and it was cheaper for me to buy an express then have my ISP come out and move the line for the DsL. Well I hooked everthing up tonight and added the express as an extender with the ability to add wireless clients and all went well. My Mac mini is connected via Ethernet and I added a USB hub so I could plug in my printer and external HD. Printer works great but the Lacie HD is no were to be found. If I connect it directly to the mini it mounts right away so I know it still works. Is there a setting I am missing?

The express doesn't support HD connected via USB.
 
Can I switch the AEBS and Express locations? IE move the express to the modem and then use the AEBS as the bridge in my office with the HD connected?
 
Would love to buy the TC but no funds for that. So will my AEBS be able to use my HD as an external drive on the network if it is set up as an extender with my express connected to the modem in the other room?
 
Would love to buy the TC but no funds for that. So will my AEBS be able to use my HD as an external drive on the network if it is set up as an extender with my express connected to the modem in the other room?

Probably, but I think it would be easier to leave the AEBS where it is and plug the HDD into the AEBS. Any reason the HDD has to be in the same room as the Mac mini?
 
Would love to buy the TC but no funds for that. So will my AEBS be able to use my HD as an external drive on the network if it is set up as an extender with my express connected to the modem in the other room?
Connect your HD to your AEBS. As long as you're connected to the network, you'll have access to it.
 
Ftaok, the router and modem are in my 4 year olds bedroom(used to be my office). Not so much a worry about it in there with her, but I don't want it spinning up and down while she is sleeping.
 
Ftaok, the router and modem are in my 4 year olds bedroom(used to be my office). Not so much a worry about it in there with her, but I don't want it spinning up and down while she is sleeping.

Roger that. I think it's entirely possible to use the AExp as the main router and set-up the AEBS as the bridge router. Note - my terminology could be incorrect, but the jist of it should work.

Other than perhaps a shorter range on the AExp, I don't see any shortcomings setting it up this way.

Another option would be to connect the HDD right to the mini. I'm assuming the mini never really moves, so what's the difference. If you need to access the HDD with another computer, then just share that drive from the mini.

The downside to this is that if you intend to use this drive as a TimeMachine drive for other computers, you'd be SOL.
 
There are major shortcomings going that route. The Express will be limited in its overall data throughput. It simply can not handle the amount of data an AEBS can.

Which drive do you have, it shouldn't be audible when it spins up. All of my drives, I have to be right beside them with my ear touching them to hear the drives spin up. Vibrations are another story...
 
There are major shortcomings going that route. The Express will be limited in its overall data throughput. It simply can not handle the amount of data an AEBS can.
Do you really think this would be a problem? I would assume that he'd have very few devices on the network. The AExp can handle 10 wireless clients. That's enough for most people, right?
 
really, what is the purpose of the HD? i would just connect it directly to the mini.
 
Do you really think this would be a problem? I would assume that he'd have very few devices on the network. The AExp can handle 10 wireless clients. That's enough for most people, right?

It may be able to handle 10 clients but it doesn't mean it can handle all the data they want to transmit at the same time. The AEBS will be the better option as the "main" access point or as his gateway. Not to mention the AEBS has multiple antennas.

The AE as his gateway may be "good enough" for his network. I simply don't think it can push enough data from multiple clients. Not to mention it will also be act as the DHCP server and NAT translation. It has a smaller processor than the AEBS and the list goes on.

But don't take it from me, I'm just a Network Engineer by trade...
 
It may be able to handle 10 clients but it doesn't mean it can handle all the data they want to transmit at the same time. The AEBS will be the better option as the "main" access point or as his gateway. Not to mention the AEBS has multiple antennas.

The AE as his gateway may be "good enough" for his network. I simply don't think it can push enough data from multiple clients. Not to mention it will also be act as the DHCP server and NAT translation. It has a smaller processor than the AEBS and the list goes on.

But don't take it from me, I'm just a Network Engineer by trade...

I didn't mean to sound like I was questioning you. I honestly didn't know. Sorry.

This is good information. Thasks.
 
We run 2. iPhone's one iPad and a MacBook. The macmini is wired via Ethernet. I run the HD as a media server for plex and stream movies, however I rarely if ever have streamed movies to more than one device.
 
Well it took about an hour and a couple resets but it is all set up and rockin. No connectivity issues and I now have signal at my neighbors house. HD and printer are both available and I haven't had any throughput issues. Streamed a movie while running a software updat without any issues. Would I suggest it for a heavy professional with massive bandwidth needs, probably not. But for me it seams plenty stable.
 
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