Airport Express connect to a Switch

[milenkod]

I have an Express that's being extended via WDS from an Extreme. I'd like to connect my Xbox and PS3 to the Express therefore was thinking to connect a switching hub to the Express. Will a switch work on the Express being extended and is there anything special that needs to be set-up?...cross-over cable?

 

[waw74]

It should work

No need for a crossover cable, Most new equipment is auto sensing.

 

[mchalebk]

I tried this with my home theater system and had mixed results. It would work for a day or two, but then the Airport Express would lockup and need to be reset. I suppose it's possible that I didn't choose the right switch, but it had decent reviews.

 

[waw74]

I tried this with my home theater system and had mixed results. It would work for a day or two, but then the Airport Express would lockup and need to be reset. I suppose it's possible that I didn't choose the right switch, but it had decent reviews.

probably just the express, they are hit and miss sometimes.
Mine will work great for months, then for a while it's downright crappy, then it's back to great, with no real reason.

seems to be a trend with them

 

[mchalebk]

Mine would never go more than a day or two before getting hung up. I couldn't afford to keep messing with it because one of the devices is my Dish receiver and I was using the network connection to avoid having a phone line (and if I don't have either, it costs me $5/month). It wasn't worth the hassle.

Without the switch, the Express works fine for months at a time. Two of the three other devices are WiFi capable and the third only needs the network connection occasionally, so I'm getting by without the switch now. If there were certain switches that worked more reliably, I'd be interested in knowing.

Here's the switch I tried, in case anyone is interested:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M2TAN4/ref=oss_product

 

[gwerhart0800]

I used an Express in ProxySTA mode connected to a 5 port switch for my home office config. The ProxySTA mode is not a network extension in the traditional sense, but runs as a wireless client that converts the wireless back into a wired network. I did have issues with occasional lockups on the Express. This would typically happen once or twice a month. I got in the habit of resetting it once a week to avoid issues. I also had lots of problems with the el-cheap-o switches I used. I tried several of them, but all of them had to be power cycled periodically. The outbound (PC/Mac->switch->Express->rest of the network) would work fine, but other systems in my house would be unable to reach an HP laser printer that was hanging off one of the ports on the switch and I would have to power cycle the switch to get it accessible again. I have recently switched out the Express/switch combination in favor of a 1TB Time Capsule extending my 5Ghz "N" network. I have been using this config for a month and have yet to have an issue. I am hopeful that Apple has worked out the 18 month power supply issues with the TC.