Time capsule as access point; wireless roaming

Q1. True

Q2. True... the router will run NAT and DHCP

Q3. Yes.

Q4. You will get full N throughput when communicating with another device connected to the same access point (the time capsule) or a device directly connected to the gigabit router. If communicating with another device that is connected to the other access point with lower level wireless protocol, you will get the throughput of the lower protocol.

mdb288 wrote:

My setup:

Cable modem-->gigabit router (no wireless) -->Ethernet -->2 access points

Router and access points are dlink

Q1. I assume I can replace 1 access point on the Ethernet network with the TC and have it do the backup function over Ethernet for wired computers and wireless for non-wired

True or false

Yes, true.. that would work fine.

Q2. I assume it can act as a wireless access point (and let the router do the routing etc)

True or false

Q3. If it is in access point mode ... Can it do wireless roaming with the other access point (which the access points now do)

Eg I give them the same ssid and password different wireless channels...and as I walk through my house the device seamlessly connects to the access point with the strongest signal...and switches points as I move

Q4. The current access points do not support the N protocol ... Does impact wireless roaming eg is the TC limited to the fasted protocol supported by the other access point

Thx

Q2 True

Q3 True in theory.. roaming works very well on most Apple products.. but that is between Apple routers.. which do offer a few things other brands don't.. generally ok.. but PC equipment it will greatly depend on the wireless card and drivers used. A lot of PC stuff just doesn't roam.. you will need to give it a sharp kick by shutting off wireless and turning it on again.

Q4 N and G work fine together. I would shut off, throw away.. replace anything still using B wireless. The security limitation of older G is something to think about. Any system is as strong as the weakest point. Hopely everything you have is wpa2 AES (Personal in Apple Speak).. as using other levels of security is not as good. WPA+WPA2 is ok.. but I would much prefer to see the N wireless only used with wpa2. Which means if you want to roam everything uses WPA2.

There are limitations.. Apple use their own protocols.. bonjour, airplay, etc. that do not work on all PC networking equipment. But the basics of TCP/IP is of course the same.

Your type of wired network is the best.. if you start trying to wireless extend apple and non-apple routers it won't work. Apple do not use the same system.. but then that is also true of almost every brand in voodoo wireless world. So I don't find that a big problem.. and at least Apple stuff does work well together which is more than can be said of a lot of brands where wireless is incompatible across the range.

Keep to wired infrastructure.. use wireless AP's.. use SMB network names.. and keep as much stuff locked as you can.. it all works great.