Airport part deux
<a href="http://www.apple.com/airport/" target="_blank">http://www.apple.com/airport/</a>
AirPort's new features include:
compatibility with AOL
two Ethernet ports, one 10BASE-T for wide area connections such as DSL or cable modem, and a new 10/100BASE-T port for local area networking;
firewall protection providing added security from unauthorized access via the Internet;
support for up to 128-bit password and data encryption;
RADIUS support enabling schools and businesses to centrally manage user access control; and
AirPort Card compatibility with Cisco's LEAP security method, popular in many higher-education institutions.
AirPort offers a data rate of up to 11 megabits per second, enabling simultaneous sharing of a single Internet connection by up to 50 users and has a typical range of 150-foot radius from the base station.
AirPort's new features include:
compatibility with AOL
two Ethernet ports, one 10BASE-T for wide area connections such as DSL or cable modem, and a new 10/100BASE-T port for local area networking;
firewall protection providing added security from unauthorized access via the Internet;
support for up to 128-bit password and data encryption;
RADIUS support enabling schools and businesses to centrally manage user access control; and
AirPort Card compatibility with Cisco's LEAP security method, popular in many higher-education institutions.
AirPort offers a data rate of up to 11 megabits per second, enabling simultaneous sharing of a single Internet connection by up to 50 users and has a typical range of 150-foot radius from the base station.
Comments
I'm really enjoying Apple's new fast-paced between-the-big-shows announcement schedule.
Escher
Mac Guru
good-bye any fruity color ever again...
[img]http://a772.g.akamai.net/7/772/51/e5da8af4a1d902/www.apple.com/airport/images/index_topimage11092001.jpg
[/img]
HEY! Why doesn't that image load???
[ 11-13-2001: Message edited by: ZO ]</p>
What I have now is a cable modem, plugged into the uplink port of a 4-port hub, which all of my computers are networked to. There's only one more space left, so I was going to connect the Base Station for when we get our iBook to that, and use AirPort. But, I also wanted to be able to plug the iBook in sometimes, for faster speeds, maybe for troubleshooting, or if the base station has trouble or somesuch. But I would need to buy another hub for that, since I only have one spot left.
Then I saw this new Base Station and that it has two ethernet ports, and I thought, "Wow, I'll be able to plug it into the hub and when I want a wired connection, plug my iBook into it!" But maybe not, since on the Tech Specs page it says that the WAN port is for use with cable/DSL modems. I wonder if that means I'll be able to do it or not.
Or maybe I could just put the Base Station between the cable modem and the hub; can the Base Station do DHCP to the wired network side? (without NAT, if it's possible--isn't it problematic?) I was also debating buying a new router/cable modem because the one my ISP gave me sucks. But if the Base Station can do DHCP, I might as well not bother! Anyone know for sure?
Thanks in advance. :cool:
<strong>Or maybe I could just put the Base Station between the cable modem and the hub; can the Base Station do DHCP to the wired network side? </strong><hr></blockquote>
Brad: That's the whole point of adding the extra Ethernet port to the base station.
Escher
<strong>Does anyone know if Airport will still work with your old base station if you upgrade your Mac to Airport 2.0?</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yes, I just upgraded. Unless you use AOL, there are literally no new features to be seen. Stuff that isn't supported just won't appear, so that Radius panel doesn't show up for me.
No big loss; it'll be identical for most people, unless you buy a new Base Station and want to hook up some wired clients through that Ethernet port.
<strong>but will this mean that it will be another year or so before Apple supprts 802.11a? It seems to be vastly superior in every aspect, and with Apple JUST releasing an updated 802.11b Station, it seems we won't get in the action for a while... *groan*</strong><hr></blockquote>
802.11a is not as great as you think. From what I understand the real world speed (23Mbps) of 802.11a is only about half of what is claimed (54Mbps) while the range is actually far less than what you get with 802.11b. This was the right thing for Apple to do.
apple_otaku
<strong>802.11a is not as great as you think. From what I understand the real world speed (23Mbps) of 802.11a is only about half of what is claimed (54Mbps) while the range is actually far less than what you get with 802.11b. This was the right thing for Apple to do.apple_otaku</strong><hr></blockquote>
I agree. Apple market the range of AirPort as around 150ft, but in real terms it's usually closer around 75-100ft (Or 25-50 using an original PowerBook G4). The operable range of 802.11a is typically around 50ft.
On top of this, and this is what makes it a real pain in the ass, 802.11a (And any other wireless standards using the 5GHz band) often struggle to get signals through walls.
I think 802.11b will be the wireless LAN standard for at least the next two years, and given the number of locations where connections are available (See Apple's new <a href="http://www.apple.com/airport/locations.html" target="_blank">AirPort</a> pages) I think Apple have made the correct decision.
There are wireless access points at a couple of Starbucks here in NYC, and after years of avoiding the chain, I now have a very good reason to go in from time to time. This could perhaps be viewed as a bad thing, I guess.
On a side note, doesn't the new Base Station look lovely?
<strong>pretty crappy morals releasing this new base station after a few hundred (maybe thousands) bought the old one the last 3-4 weeks with a new iBook or Powerbook.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Why? This always happens. You can't just tell everyone "don't buy it because we have a new one about to come out". This happens with computers all the time too... how many people bought a highend G4 500Mhz only to find the next day that that same model became the low end for a quarter of the price? Sucks... yes.
Hey... cool, new gremlins
<img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[Cheers]" /> <img src="graemlins/biggthumpup.gif" border="0" alt="[Thumbs Up]" /> <img src="graemlins/bugeye.gif" border="0" alt="[Skeptical]" /> <img src="graemlins/news.gif" border="0" alt="[Announcement]" /> <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[Are you kidding?]" /> <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
<strong>
Why? This always happens. You can't just tell everyone "don't buy it because we have a new one about to come out". This happens with computers all the time too... how many people bought a highend G4 500Mhz only to find the next day that that same model became the low end for a quarter of the price? Sucks... yes.
</strong><hr></blockquote>
no, this is a little different. this is just apple being shitheads to people who bought new Powerbooks and iBooks with a base station. they knew that people woul buy thousands of base stations with the new machines and they screwed their customers. big difference than updating a PowerMac after a year