extending airport network

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extending airport network

Hi,

Being from PC world, I'm struggling to extend an existing wireless network.

I'll try to expose you my situation, knowing that being french in France, I use products bought in France with French interfaces. I'll do my best to translate it properly.

Existing network is working with 2 Airport Extreme Base stations 802.11.g (A and B, see drawing below).

I'm endlessly trying to add a third Airport Extreme Base stations 802.11.n (4th generation dual band, C in the below drawing).

When trying to participate as a WDS network, I never succeed in finding the right parameters to get it fixed (always got the blinking orange light on C)

I've tried to parameter the C Base according to principle of "Extended network". Option "extend network" was always rejected, I could only "Connect to existing network" that seems to be useless since C base did not provide any connection to the network (nor through Ethernet connection or through Wifi connection) despite the fact that LED had turned Green.

I Mac is running under OS X 10.4.11

As a side problem to this issue, I've installed on my PC laptop (Win XP SP3) the Airport Utility V5.5. I do not understand why the application is not detecting any of the 3 Airport base. I had to use a spare I Mac to run the configuration tool.

I sincerly one of you could help me to sort out this situation.

Posted on Jul 29, 2012 6:10 AM

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Answer 1

Tesserax

Level 10

148,787 points

Jul 29, 2012 10:21 AM in response to lost-in-Mac

When using "mixed' AirPort base station, the only option available to extend the wireless network using wireless connections between the base station is a Wireless Distribution System (WDS). AirPort routers, in a WDS, can be configured as either the "main," "relay," or "remote" base station. The base station connected directly to the Internet modem will always be the "main." With three base stations, you can either have a "main" and two "remotes" OR a "main," a "relay," and a "remote." Which you choose will depend on your networking requirements. The following will provide detail step-by-step instructions on setting up each of these WDS types.

Static WDS Setup with "Mixed" (802.11g & 802.11n) AirPort Base Stations

Note: To facilitate the WDS set up:

Perform a "factory default" reset on all of the base stations that you plan on using in the WDS. This will get them back to their respective "out-of-the-box" configurations.
To avoid having to "switch" wireless networks within the AirPort Utility, temporarily connect the remote (& relay) base station(s) to the AEBSn or Time Capsule by Ethernet during the set up phase, and then, relocate it to the desired location when complete.
Be sure to jot down the AirPort IDs (MAC addresses) for each of the base stations to be used in the WDS. The AirPort ID is printed on the label on the bottom/side of the base station.

Main Base Station Setup

Click the AirPort status menu in the menu bar and choose the wireless network created by the base station you want to set up as the main base station.
Open AirPort Utility (located in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder on a Macintosh computer, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a computer using Windows).
Select the main base station, and then, choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
Enter the base station password if necessary. If the base station is using the default password of public, you will not be prompted for a password.
Click Wireless in the toolbar, and then, choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu. Note: You will need to hold down the Option key in order to get this option on the AEBSn, 802.11n AirPort Express Base Station (AXn), or Time Capsule (TC).
Click WDS and then, choose “WDS main” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
Select the “Allow wireless clients” checkbox if you want client computer to connect to this base station.
Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the base station you want to connect to this base station.
Click Update to send the new settings to the base stations in the WDS.

Remote Base Station Setup

Open AirPort Utility; select the remote base station, and then, choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
Enter the base station password, if necessary.
Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar, and then, click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then, choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
Click WDS and choose “WDS remote” from the pop-up menu.
Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the WDS Main field.
Click Update to transfer the settings to the base station.

Relay Base Station Setup

Open AirPort Utility; select the relay base station, and then, choose Manual Setup from the Base Station menu.
Enter the same network password as the main base station, if necessary.
Click AirPort in the toolbar, and then, click Wireless. Choose “Participate in a WDS network” from the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, and then, choose the same channel as the main base station from the Channel pop-up menu.
Click WDS and choose “WDS relay” from the WDS Mode pop-up menu.
Enter the AirPort ID of the main base station in the Main AirPort ID field.
Click the Add "+" button and enter the AirPort ID of the remote base station this relay base station will connect to.
Click Update to transfer the new WDS settings to the relay and remote base stations.

ref: Apple Support: Setting up and configuring a Wireless Distribution System (802.11b/g)

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