Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network, 3rd Edition

Find real-world advice from Wi-Fi wizard Glenn Fleishman on setting up a wireless network using Apple’s 802.11n-enabled AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule base stations. You’ll find the answers to questions that may otherwise frustrate you, such as how to choose the best band and channel for your network, use pre-802.11n clients, set up complex Internet addressing, share USB disks and printers, share files with Lion’s AirDrop, secure your network, solve a variety of connection problems, and much more. Updated for AirPort Utility 6.1, OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, and the 2012 AirPort Express!

“This Take Control book is a must-have for anyone who needs to quickly and easily set up an AirPort network.”

—Phil Kearney, “father” of Apple’s AirPort product line

If you’re trying to solve a particular problem, you can jump in and read the topics in this ebook in any order, but if you start at the beginning, you’ll learn how Apple’s 802.11n gear fits into the world of Wi-Fi networking.

With that background, you’ll learn where to position and how to set up base stations, with diagrams showing common network scenarios – see two examples above – and with step-by-step instructions for configuring key Internet sharing and security options and connecting client computers. For those who have funky Internet connections or tricky IP addressing needs, Glenn provides extended advice for creating a working Wi-Fi network.

Glenn provides real-world directions for important scenarios, including how to:

Create a basic (or not so basic) Wi-Fi network, using Apple’s base stations:

• Set up a wireless network with a single base station, or with multiple base stations – whether you want to extend a network with Ethernet or a wireless connection (or a mix of the two), Glenn examines your options and provides configuration steps. He also touches briefly on powerline connections.
• Keep your existing network, but replace an older or broken base station with a new one.
• Export your base station’s configuration, either to make a backup or to create a model configuration to use on other base stations.
• Connect Macs (specific steps for 10.5 Leopard and later), iOS devices, and Windows 7 computers to your network.
• Set up reliable and relevant security for your network. Also, add a guest network that gives your guests Internet access while restricting their access to local resources.

Attach peripherals to your network:

• Add a USB-connected printer, and connect to the printer from Mac and Windows computers.
• Add a USB-attached drive to a Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme, and configure client access.
• Connect a 2nd- or 3rd-generation Apple TV to your network

Do more networking:

• Set up a Time Machine backup to a Time Capsule base station.
• Expand the capabilities of an AirPort Express by setting up audio streaming, trying Rogue Amoeba’s Airfoil media streaming utility, or extending your network with ProxySTA.
• Share files conveniently and wirelessly with Lion’s AirDrop file-transfer feature, plus understand the type of networking that AirDrop uses.
• Put computers more directly on the Internet with port mapping or a default host.
• Set up Back to My Mac with iCloud in order to access an AirPort or Time Capsule drive remotely, or to configure your base station remotely.
• Set up a Software Base Station or do ad-hoc networking.

Understand what’s going on and solve problems:

• Find out what the icon on your Wi-Fi menu means, and discover what the colored light on your base station is trying to tell you.
• Learn what a MAC address is, plus how to find it. (Hint, 1 Infinite Loop is not the MAC address that you seek.)
• Read background information about the bands and channels used with Wi-Fi networking, understand how Apple’s Wi-Fi gear fits into the picture, and get ideas for how to create an optimal network that avoids interference problems.
• Understand the differences among AirPort Utility 6 (for Mac), AirPort Utility for iOS, and AirPort Utility 5 (for Mac and Windows). Find a free download link for the previous edition of this ebook, which covers AirPort Utility 5.
• Learn how to update the firmware in your base station, and how to revert to an older version of your firmware, if necessary.

“If anyone knows about real-world Wi-Fi, it’s Glenn Fleishman.”

—Mark Frauenfelder, co-founder of bOING bOING

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Quick Start to AirPort Networking
Chapter 3 Quick Troubleshooting Guide
Chapter 4 Mac Wi-Fi Iconography
Chapter 5 Light Reading
Chapter 6 Learn Wireless Basics
Chapter 7 Wi-Fi Gear from Apple
Chapter 8 Plug In Your Base Station and Get Started
Chapter 9 Set Up a Network
Chapter 10 Pick the Right Place and the Right Channel
Chapter 11 Advanced Networking
Chapter 12 Connect Your Devices
Chapter 13 AirPort Express Extras
Chapter 14 Connect Multiple Base Stations
Chapter 15 Reach Your Network Remotely
Chapter 16 Set Up a Shared Printer
Chapter 17 Set Up a Shared USB Disk
Chapter 18 Share Files with AirDrop
Chapter 19 Secure Your Network
Chapter 20 Overcome Interference

Appendix A: Apple TV and Wi-Fi
Appendix B: Configuration Files
Appendix C: Setting Up a Software Base Station
Appendix D: Channels Explained
Appendix E: What and Where Is a MAC Address?