Wifi extension: TC Dualband - Powerline - Netgear Access Point vs. to Airport Extreme

which of the options is preferable? The Netgear option would probably be the cheaper one, but it does not have dual band, so that might also be an argument.

The AirPort Express that you mention in your post is not a simultaneous dual band device. It can produce a wireless signal using the 2.4 GHz band....or.....the 5 GHz band, but not both simultaneously.

If you need to have the extender at the other end of the house provide simultaneous dual band services, you will need to use an AirPort Extreme....not an AirPort Express.

Please confirm on which device you have and we can proceed from there.

By the way, you would not use WDS on the Apple device that acts as the extender. The AirPort router would be configured to "Create a wireless network" using the exact same wireless network name, security, and password as your TC wireless network. In addition, the AirPort must must be configured in Bridge Mode to operate correctly on the network.

Thanks for the clarification. Here is how to configure the AirPort Extreme (AEBS):

First, it would be a good idea to perform a Factory Default Reset and clear out any old and possibly conflicting settings that exist on the AEBS.

Pull the power plug from the back of the AEBS

Hold in the reset button on the back of the AEBS and keep hoiding it in while you plug the power back in to the AEBS

Continue holding the reset button for 8-10 seconds and then release and let the AEBS restart to a slow, blinking amber light

Connect the Ethernet cable from the powerline adapter to the WAN port (circle of dots icon) on the AEBS

Open AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup

Click the Base Station tab located just below the row of icons to assign a name to the AEBS, device password, and adjust Time Zone settings

Click the Wireless tab. Settings should look like this. (You may need to check some settings on the TC to get the correct info)

Wireless Mode = Create a wireless network

Wireless Network Name = Same name as the TC wireless network

No check mark needed next to Allow this network to be extended

Radio Mode = Automatic

Radio Channel = Automatic

Wireless Security = Same setting as the TC network

Wireless Password = Same password as the TC network

Confirm Password

Click the Internet icon

Connect Using = Ethernet

Connection Sharing = Off (Bridge Mode)

Click Update to save settings and let the AEBS restart to a green light

Then, power down your entire network...all devices...order is not important

Power up the powerline adapters

Power up the modem and let it run a moment by itself

Power up the TC the same way

Power up the AEBS the same way

Power up each other device one at a time

Check for proper network operation

do you expect throughput to be higher than before?

The throughput will be limited by the available bandwidth of the power line adapters. I couldn't find anything about their capabilities in your post, nor do you mention any specifics about the bandwidth that the network was providing when you were extending using wireless only.

My experience is that most adapters will provide about half of their advertised performance, so if you have 80 Mpbs adapters, I would expect the actual bandwidth to fall in the 40-45 Mpbs range on your local network.

If you are measuring Internet connection speed, then your bandwidth will limited to your service plan with your provider. So, if you have a 10 Mbps plan and you test the Internet connection speed at the remote AirPort location, I would expect to see something in the range of 6-7 Mpbs, maybe a bit higher.

An Ethernet cable will maintain full bandwidth, but of course you have to run the cable through the house.

isn't my wan socket at the back if the TC connected to my cable modem

Yes

so I would have looked into using any of the unused ethernet ports to connect to the powerline adapters

That's correct. You will connect a short Ethernet cable from one of the three LAN <-> ports on the TC to the power line adapter.

At the other end, you will connect a short Ethernet cable from the power line adapter to the WAN port on the AirPort. If you would rather connect to a LAN port here, that is OK since all of the ports behave the same when the AirPort is in Bridge Mode.

Thanks. Hopefully you meant to say that you ordered a pair of power line adapters. 😉

Question: Why do I need to configure the AEBS as an extension to the same channel and network name of the TC? Wouldn't this be irrelevant because of roaming?

If you check my step by step above, you will note that I specified that the Radio Channel should be set to Automatic. The AEBS will be on a different channel than the TC in this setting.

You could set the channels manually so that they were at least 3-4 channels apart, but how would you know which channels to choose? You might inadvertently choose a channel that might interfere with your network.

My recommendation is to let the AEBS and TC choose the channels automatically by scanning to find the best available channel.

The AEBS and TC must both use the same wireless network name in a "roaming" configuration. If they didn't, you would have two separate networks and you would have to log on to each one separately. I don't think you want that.

If you use the same wireless network name, then your computer will automatically choose the best access point based on its location as it moves around the house.

If you have the channels on the TC set manually now, and you want to set them manually on the AEBS, you must make sure that the AEBS channels are at least 3-4 channels apart from the TC channels. More separation will not hurt.

Yes. It sounds like you are confused on the difference between an "extended network" and a "roaming network"

An "extended" network uses a wireless connection between the two devices, and the channels are set to the same setting. SSID is the same on both. Because the devices must communicate using wireless only, there is always some bandwidth loss...usually 10-20% on average....using this type of setup.

A "roaming" network uses an Ethernet connection between the two devices. The channels are set to different settings...at least 3-4 channels or more apart. SSID is the same on both. Because both devices connect using Ethernet, full bandwidth is maintained on the network. That is why this type of network is used in better installations and almost any type of commercial network.