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How to setup Airport Extreme as wireless router for Comcast cable modem.

i have got a comcast connection for recently and i am trying to configure my airport extreme as wireless router for this.

i am not good at network configurations. Can someone please tell me whether i need to use manual option or using DCHP option to configure it.

and also how to get the information for dns server ip, dhcp client id, router address etc. is ther any way i can see these details in my system. i am currently able to access internet by connecting the ethernet cable from the modem as LAN connection.

Thanks

MacBook Black, Mac OS X (10.5), Intel Core2 Duo 2.1GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HD

Posted on May 4, 2008 12:06 AM

Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 4, 2008 11:04 AM

Try the following ...

AirPort Extreme Base Station Setup (AEBSn) w/Cable Modem

Perform a "hard" reset of the AEBSn.
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107451)

Modem/Router Power ReCycling
o Power-off the Cable modem, AEBSn, & computer(s); Wait at least 30 minutes.
o Power-on the Cable modem; Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s)

Setup the AEBSn
Either connect to the AEBSn's wireless network or, temporarily, connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to one of the LAN ports of the AEBSn, and then, using the AirPort Utility in Manual Mode, check these settings:

AirPort - Base Station
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Base Station Password: (optional)
o Contact: (optional)
o Location: (optional)
o Set time automatically (optional)
o Time Zone: <select your time zone>
o Status Light: Always On (Default)
o Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port (unchecked)
o Advertise configuration globally using Bonjour (unchecked)

AirPort - Wireless
o Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
o Network Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Allow this network to be extended (unchecked)
o Radio Mode: 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
o Channel: Automatic
o Wireless Security: None

AirPort - Wireless - Wireless Options
o Region: <select your region>
o Multicast Rate: 2 Mbps
o Transmit Power: 100%
o Create a closed network (unchecked)
o Use interference robustness (unchecked)

Internet - Internet Connection
o Connect Using: Ethernet
o Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
o IP Address: <provided by your ISP>
o Subnet Mask: <provided by your ISP>
o Router Address: <provided by your ISP>
o DNS Server(s): <provided by your ISP>
o Domain Name: <provided by your ISP>
o DHCP Client ID: (optional)
o Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
o Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address

Internet - DHCP
o DHCP Range: 10.0 1.x
o DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0.1.2
o DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
o DHCP Lease: 4 hours
o DHCP Message: (optional)
o LDAP Server: (optional)
o DHCP Reservations: (optional)

Internet - NAT
o Enable default host at: (leave blank)
o Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol (checked)

Once you have verified Internet access, I strongly suggest that you use wireless encryption (WPA or WPA2) to secure your network.
7 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

May 4, 2008 11:04 AM in response to Community User

Try the following ...

AirPort Extreme Base Station Setup (AEBSn) w/Cable Modem

Perform a "hard" reset of the AEBSn.
o (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107451)

Modem/Router Power ReCycling
o Power-off the Cable modem, AEBSn, & computer(s); Wait at least 30 minutes.
o Power-on the Cable modem; Wait at least 15 minutes.
o Power-on the AEBSn; Wait at least 5 minutes.
o Power-on the computer(s)

Setup the AEBSn
Either connect to the AEBSn's wireless network or, temporarily, connect your computer directly (using an Ethernet cable) to one of the LAN ports of the AEBSn, and then, using the AirPort Utility in Manual Mode, check these settings:

AirPort - Base Station
o Base Station Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Base Station Password: (optional)
o Contact: (optional)
o Location: (optional)
o Set time automatically (optional)
o Time Zone: <select your time zone>
o Status Light: Always On (Default)
o Allow configuration over Ethernet WAN port (unchecked)
o Advertise configuration globally using Bonjour (unchecked)

AirPort - Wireless
o Wireless Mode: Create a wireless network
o Network Name: <whatever you wish or use the default>
o Allow this network to be extended (unchecked)
o Radio Mode: 802.11n (802.11b/g compatible)
o Channel: Automatic
o Wireless Security: None

AirPort - Wireless - Wireless Options
o Region: <select your region>
o Multicast Rate: 2 Mbps
o Transmit Power: 100%
o Create a closed network (unchecked)
o Use interference robustness (unchecked)

Internet - Internet Connection
o Connect Using: Ethernet
o Configure IPv4: Using DHCP
o IP Address: <provided by your ISP>
o Subnet Mask: <provided by your ISP>
o Router Address: <provided by your ISP>
o DNS Server(s): <provided by your ISP>
o Domain Name: <provided by your ISP>
o DHCP Client ID: (optional)
o Ethernet WAN Port: Automatic (Default)
o Connection Sharing: Share a public IP address

Internet - DHCP
o DHCP Range: 10.0 1.x
o DHCP Beginning Address: 10.0.1.2
o DHCP Ending Address: 10.0.1.200
o DHCP Lease: 4 hours
o DHCP Message: (optional)
o LDAP Server: (optional)
o DHCP Reservations: (optional)

Internet - NAT
o Enable default host at: (leave blank)
o Enable NAT Port Mapping Protocol (checked)

Once you have verified Internet access, I strongly suggest that you use wireless encryption (WPA or WPA2) to secure your network.

May 4, 2008 8:45 PM in response to Tesserax

I appreciate your help. I asked ISP for the details you provided and i got the details except router address for which they said router manufacturer should provide the details.

please let me know where i can find the router address in airport extreme.

thanks for your help.

May 5, 2008 8:03 PM in response to Community User

A router will have at least two IP addresses, one for the WAN-side (Internet facing), and one for the LAN-side (your local network).

The WAN-side address is typically provided by your ISP and is an address that can be "seen" from the Internet. You can find this WAN-side IP address on the AirPort Summary page within the AirPort Utility.

On the other hand, the default LAN-side IP address of the AirPorts is 10.0.1.1. This LAN-side address is the one "seen" by computers connected to the AirPort (both via wire or wirelessly).

May 7, 2008 7:05 PM in response to Tesserax

Thanks for your time in answering my question. i have successflly configured my airport extreme for internet...

thanks again.i appreciate it.

Jul 20, 2008 3:15 PM in response to Tesserax

A big "thank you" to Tesserax.

I just installed Comcast cable, and had bought a new AEBS to set up my wireless. I spent about 24 hours getting very, very frustrated - both with my apparent inability to get it working, and with the lack of service from Comcast.

I've set up numerous Airport configs, and thought it would be piece o' cake. It wasn't. The airport wireless came up nice and strong, but I was unable to get a connection to the internet via the wireless, even though I could via a hard-wired ethernet cable.

I followed the protocol Tesserax gave - and BINGO, I'm now happily online wirelessly. Two things seemed to be different to my protocol:
1. How long I let the CATV modem stay unplugged. The old 5 minute rule seems not to apply - but the 30 mins works.
2. Setting up first w/o security; then going back and setting up WPA/WPA2. I don't know why - but this seems to make a big diff.

thanks Tesserax. All Comcast / Mac / Airport users should get a copy of your setup protocol.

How to setup Airport Extreme as wireless router for Comcast cable modem.

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