Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Running both N and G wireless in home

J

jriddel

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 15, 2008
12
0
Right now I have a Dlink DGL-4300 gaming router that works really well. It serves my computer and xbox 360 hard wired as well as two PS3s and a macbook and brand new MBP (roomates).

I'm getting a new Macbook here in a month or so and really want to take advantage of the N based wireless network but I have a few questions. I was reading somewhere on these forums that if you had an AEBS but had like a PS3 connect to it on G then it will slow everything down to G and not let it take advantage of the N.

Do I have to run two different routers if I want to best of both worlds? Is this a good option and if so what would be the best way to suppliment what I have already?

Also completely random.... If I have an AEBS with a drobo connected to the USB does that work? Or do I have to spring for the crappy droboshare attatchment?

Thanks and any help would be greatly appreciated so I can get my mac on soon!
 
I bought an AEBS and used it in b/g/n mode for a while, but got tired of the compromise, so I hooked my old Linksys WRT54g up to serve the b/g devices and set the AEBS to n-only 5GHz mode. Basically I just turned off the DHCP server in the Linksys and wired it to the AEBS. Now I have the best of both worlds, and it was free (I was getting the AEBS anyway). I could have gone with an Airport Express for the b/g network, but that was another $99 that I was too cheap to spend.

P.S. I have a Drobo but haven't hooked it up to the AEBS yet. I use a WD MyBook hooked to the AEBS for Time Machine backups from 2 different Macs on the network with no issues. I just add the AEBS disk to my startup items so that it mounts whenever I login.
 
danny_w said:
I bought an AEBS and used it in b/g/n mode for a while, but got tired of the compromise, so I hooked my old Linksys WRT54g up to serve the b/g devices and set the AEBS to n-only 5GHz mode.
Click to expand...

That's kind of how I have set it up... But that's two devices and two networks, and if I don't compromise performance, I would rather like to have only one.
 
That's how you would have to do it. Your original post was correct; the AEBS in b/g/n mode will run at n-speed so long as there is no b/g device active on the network. Once a b/g device becomes active, the n-speed is throttled down, and will resume its n-only activity once the b/g becomes inactive again.

Drobo should work fine as it is; the Droboshare is ethernet-based NAS, which you won't need because the AEBS has a USB for that.
 
jackiecanev2 said:
That's how you would have to do it. Your original post was correct; the AEBS in b/g/n mode will run at n-speed so long as there is no b/g device active on the network. Once a b/g device becomes active, the n-speed is throttled down, and will resume its n-only activity once the b/g becomes inactive again.

Drobo should work fine as it is; the Droboshare is ethernet-based NAS, which you won't need because the AEBS has a USB for that.
Click to expand...
I don't think that is quite correct. I think that in compatible mode you are limited to 130Mbs without b/g devices present; in n-only mode (either 2.4GHz or 5GHz) you can get up to 300Mbps.
 
I have two wireless networks in my home.

One is 5GHz N-only (via an Apple Time Machine) which supplies streaming network access to two Apple TV's and my MacBook.

The other is an AirPort Exteme in B/G-compatible mode, connected in bridge mode via ethernet to the Time Machine, supplying access to my iPhone, my wife's iPhone, my daughter's iPhone, my wife's older non-N MacBook, my daughter's non-N MacBook Pro, and old iMac G4 in my son's room, my HP laptop for work, a PowerMac Cube (which doesn't see much use), and my wife's Mac mini (though now connected via ethernet).

Having two, despite the increased setup complexity, makes things better. When everyone is on the computer and when both Apple TV's are in use, there's nary a hiccup on anyone's machine. And my high bitrate encodes for the Apple TV, streaming off my Mac Pro (connected to the Time Machine via gigabit ethernet), never skip.
 
xraydoc said:
I have two wireless networks in my home.

One is 5GHz N-only (via an Apple Time Machine) which supplies streaming network access to two Apple TV's and my MacBook.

The other is an AirPort Exteme in B/G-compatible mode, connected in bridge mode via ethernet to the Time Machine, supplying access to my iPhone, my wife's iPhone, my daughter's iPhone, my wife's older non-N MacBook, my daughter's non-N MacBook Pro, and old iMac G4 in my son's room, my HP laptop for work, a PowerMac Cube (which doesn't see much use), and my wife's Mac mini (though now connected via ethernet).

Having two, despite the increased setup complexity, makes things better. When everyone is on the computer and when both Apple TV's are in use, there's nary a hiccup on anyone's machine. And my high bitrate encodes for the Apple TV, streaming off my Mac Pro (connected to the Time Machine via gigabit ethernet), never skip.
Click to expand...


Can you elaborate on how to set up a b/g airport express in bridge mode. I'd like to run 2 networks with that and an Airport Extreme n. Thanks in advance.
 
If you want to set up two networks...

I also recently answered the same question, and posted some instructions - so here they are...

You need to set-up your D-Link router first, make sure it is set to g, or b/g. Create a SSID and encryption method, then hook one ethernet cable into the WAN port of your AEBS, then...

1. Open AirPort Utility, select your Base Station, and click Continue...

2. Insert a name for your TC (Not an SSID!) and a disk access password, then hit Continue.

3. Select "I don't have a wireless network" - you need to select this option to be able to have two wireless networks in your home.

4. Enter a SSID, and a encryption method and password.

5. On the next screen, select "Bridge Mode".

6. Make sure "Configure IPv4" is set to "Using DHCP", then hit Continue, and update your Base Station.

7. When you are on the main screen again, select your Base Station, and hit Manual Set-up.

8. Head over to the Wireless tab, in the AirPort heading.

9. In the Radio Mode drop down menu, select 802.11n only, 5GHz.

10. Hit update, when done, close AirPort Utility.

As for your Drobo, no, you don't need Drobo Share, as you can just connect it to the USB port...

11. Connect your Drobo to your AEBS via USB, and re-open AirPort Utility, select Manual Setup, then hit Disks, make sure your Drobo appears in the right column. You can then set-up Time Machine to back up to your Drobo as well, if you wish.

Also, if you buy the previous generation Drobo, the one without FireWire, you'll save some cash - and also, if you are going to be buying it from the Drobo Store, you can use the GeekBiref.tv (Great podcast by the way!) coupon, by entering cali at checkout to save even more dosh!

Hope this helps!
 
dylanbrown said:
Also, if you buy the previous generation Drobo, the one without FireWire, you'll save some cash - and also, if you are going to be buying it from the Drobo Store, you can use the GeekBiref.tv (Great podcast by the way!) coupon, by entering cali at checkout to save even more dosh!
Click to expand...
I didn't know about this when I bought mine, but the drobo store probably charges shipping which might make it a moot point. I got mine from Amazon for $349 with free shipping and no tax.
 
That is a fantastic deal! Also the Drobo store would be probably
More expnsive that Amazon.com, so you'd have probably saved nothing. Also $350, over here in the UK, Drovo costs £350, that's just under $680!!

Anyway, hopefully those instructions will help you set up your AEBS.
 
I have two networks. One Linksys WRT54G on "b/g", one Airport Extreme BS on "n". The problem I run into with this is iPhone "remote" app does not work on the "n" network where my MB & MBA is on. So I have to set the APBE to "n (b/g)". Anyone with a fix?
 
My roomate was reading up on some new dual band routers that will take signals from everything on both 2.4 and 5Ghz. What are those about? Man I am computer savy but a networking retard....
 
Also on the drobo connected to AEBS how well does that work with streaming high quality video to Apple TV and other things? Would a first gen drobo be just as good?
 
DjAmTraX said:
I have two networks. One Linksys WRT54G on "b/g", one Airport Extreme BS on "n". The problem I run into with this is iPhone "remote" app does not work on the "n" network where my MB & MBA is on. So I have to set the APBE to "n (b/g)". Anyone with a fix?
Click to expand...

Strange. Remote works fine for me - the iPhone is on the b/g network and the AppleTVs are on the n network.

Edit: Make sure one network is in bridge mode, not running as a separate network. If the Remote app and the target are on different subnets it wont work.
 
xraydoc said:
Strange. Remote works fine for me - the iPhone is on the b/g network and the AppleTVs are on the n network.

Edit: Make sure one network is in bridge mode, not running as a separate network. If the Remote app and the target are on different subnets it wont work.
Click to expand...
Works fine for me too.
 
Here is my set-up.

Cable modem to Linksys WRT54G, Linksys ethernet to AEBS (bridge mode).
iPhone, MacBook Air & MacBook on AEBS - N(b/g/), everything else on Linksys WRT54G (g).

When I set AEBS to N (5ghz) only, iPhone cannot find iTunes Library on MacBook. Set AEBS back to (b/g/n), it works find.

What am I doing wrong?
 
If you use Bridge Mode to setup your network (instructions above) then you'll be able to use the remote app to control iTunes will work fine.
 
The remote app will work as that is how I have my network set-up. I can control my Apple TV and MacBook fine with my touch.
 
Thanks! Now I have an n network and a g network. All devices are running snappier now! :D
 
I, too, have separate "g" and "n" networks ...

I have my old Linksys WAP54g running an all "g" network and an Airport Extreme running a 2.4Ghz "n" network. All of the windows stuff (kids PC, Xbox 360, wife's laptop, and a few older systems) are on the "g" network and the "n" hosts a Mac Mini (via an Airport Express), a MacBook Pro and an Apple TV. The Mini has 3TB of external drives that serve movies rips to the Apple TV. I got better performance this way than when I tried to run everything via the Airport Extreme in mixed mode. (No more stutters when streaming movies.) I had originally planned to put the Apple network on 5Ghz, but the Apple TV gets very poor reception at 5Ghz because of the amount of structure between it and the Extreme. (The higher the signal frequency, the less it will penetrate structural components.)

BTW, I live in a rural area where sucking down two channels of the 2.4Ghz spectrum is not a problem ... I can imaging that it would be more challenging in a higher density area. It would be a good idea to check for competing networks prior to setting up your network to make sure that you don't run into interference problems. Most of the issues that people have when setting up wireless networks can be tracked back to interference issues.
 
dylanbrown said:
I also recently answered the same question, and posted some instructions - so here they are...

You need to set-up your D-Link router first, make sure it is set to g, or b/g. Create a SSID and encryption method, then hook one ethernet cable into the WAN port of your AEBS, then...

1. Open AirPort Utility, select your Base Station, and click Continue...

2. Insert a name for your TC (Not an SSID!) and a disk access password, then hit Continue.

...
Click to expand...
Quick question for you though regarding this setup... If your primary router (the b/g) that provides the wired internet input into the AEBS is only a 10/100 Mbps (wired)... since it's doing the routing for all for of the attached devices (with the AEBS being in bridge mode) does that bottleneck all devices downstream of the AEBS to operate at less than 1 Gbs? Meaning, does it dummy down an AEBS to only 10/100?
 
If the traffic is only through the AEBS then it will transfer data at those speeds.

The minute you hit the 100 Mbit network, its going to transfer data at those speeds.

OTOH, don't overestimate the speed of your cable modem or other "wired internet input". 100 Mbit is probably more bandwidth than most people get from their broadband internet download speeds anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back