kair: Locations, Port Configurations and Manual IP Addressing

There are many situations where your AirPort performance will be improved by overriding the ability of your computer to Automatically detect a network and subsequently then receive its IP address (the Mac OS default settings). The ability to find your network among the many in your neighborhood is enhanced by creating a Location in your System Preferences that tells your computer to connect to yours, and yours alone. Disabling unused Port interfaces can help your Mac negotiate to the proper interface, improving connectivity. Reliability of reconnecting after sleep, or having another computer on your network connect to you can be improved using static IP addresses. Any of these methods can be used alone, but used together, they can provide a powerful boost to your AirPort or Ethernet connectivity.

Create a New Location

Creating a new Location allows you to optimize your network settings for the networks to which you frequently connect. I have Locations for my home and work networks where I use static IP addresses, as well as Locations (Wireless and Ethernet) optimized for receiving IP addresses dynamically when I am on the road using other networks, most of which distribute IP addresses dynamically. I have even created a Null Location where all of the interfaces are disabled which I use for troubleshooting purposes.

Launch System Preferences, select the Network icon and in the Show Menu, select Add Location (Tiger Specific Help, Panther Specific Help). Give the Location a pithy name and then Show Port Configurations. If your connection method is AirPort, drag AirPort to the top of the list, or if the connection method is Ethernet, make sure Ethernet is the topmost listed interface. Disable any unused interfaces. Set up a number of Locations for your frequent stops, it's easy to change your network set-up to these optimized Locations, simply go to the Apple Menu>Locations and select the one you want.

Manual IP Addressing

I have a saying: "If it ain't moving, or if it moves in one network, it should have a Manual IP Address." Manual IP Addressing helps networked computers find each other (e.g. swapping files), or find network printers. Once you have set up a Location, make sure you are using that Location then go to the TCP/IP Tab and use this information to assign your computer a Manual IP Address:

IP Address: 10.0.1.201 (add one for each additional device .202, .203, etc.)
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
Router: 10.0.1.1
DNS: 10.0.1.1

Note: This addressing scheme assumes you are using an AirPort Base Station in its default settings as your primary router. A similar set of numbers exists for all other third party routers. Check your router documentation for the correct manual static IP Addressing information.

It doesn't matter whether or not the device attaching to the router is attaching wirelessly, or if it is connected to the local area network using ethernet. Neither does it matter if you are connecting a computer or a printer or other ethernet or wireless equipped device to the LAN. I feel that all stationary devices and all mobile devices commonly sharing a network should be configured to have a static, manually applied IP Address. Follow the same convention for all devices that regularly attach to your network making sure you do not duplicate any IP addresses. Your guests will still be able to draw an IP address from your router using the dynamic DHCP server built into your router.




Wireless Connect from Sleep Options

You can set up your computer to access only your home network by indicating Specified Network (Panther) or Preferred Network (Tiger). Doing so will assure that you are connecting to your network instead of that of your neighbor.

Select the AirPort Tab of the System Preference>Network preference pane.

For Panther, select Specific Network from the pulldown menu. Fill in the Network Name (SSID) and password for the network. On networks using third party routers, you may have to use the hexadecimal equivalent password instead of the clear text passphrase.

For Tiger, select Preferred Network. If you have already connected to this network in the past, scroll down and select the network in the resulting window. If this is the first time you are connecting to a network, click the + and fill in the required information. On networks using third party routers, you may have to use the hexadecimal equivalent password instead of the clear text passphrase.

Note: If you should perform these steps while using Panther, and then upgrade to Tiger, there may be a couple of problems of which you should be aware. For more information, see:

Frank Canzolino, "Tiger and Lost Wireless Network Connectivity", 05:08pm May 3, 2005 CDT

When You're Done

Apply your changes, Restart, Repair Permissions

Note

Sometimes, the IP address shown in System Preferences>Network>TCP/IP tab will show an address in the 169.xxx.xxx.xxx family. This IP address indicates a failure to associate with your network. This tip will normally not establish a connection with your network when you see this address.

Thanks to Henry B., Duane, and iFelix for their assistance in creating this tip.