Time Capsule and Comcast Modem/Router

Very good.. you have done everything just right.

The TC should be in bridge mode.

Then it simply becomes a part of the single network to the comcast.

Now your airport express are just set to extend the wireless from the TC??

Let me suggest you do things a bit different. There is nothing wrong with extend wireless but you can setup roaming network will work better.

If any of the devices plugged into the TC is at a fair distance.. in another part of the house, at that point use a small gigabit switch (10/100 is also good enough if you don't need gigabit). Plug the airport express into the switch and set it to create a wireless network.. same name and same security settings as the TC.

See the roaming network info for more details.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

The normal extend wireless is explained in the normal documents for setup of the apple routers.

See also here.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145

Switches are ideal for you situation.. and they are cheap consumer items.. go into any large computer store or order online.. you can get yum char brands.. Tenda, TP-Link, edimax asus.. very cheap and they are just as good as the netgear, linksys etc.

buy one 8 port gigabit.. it is worthwhile to offload all the ports from the TC to the switch. Plug everything you need into the switch.. although for home use this is probably a step too far.. the more things connected to the one switch the better. So you have TC.. ethernet .. switch.. everything else plugged into the switch.

Then yes, use a second small switch at the other end.. that can be a little 5 port either gigabit or 10/100.. IMHO now that gigabit is cheap enough.. keep everything gigabit but it is up to you.. apple TV and express are only 100mbit.. so there is no particular need for it.

The more wireless you get connections off, the better the rest will work.. and nothing beats ethernet.. !!

Does that give you enough to go on with.. ??

Then, potentially add the Express back onto the MB switch and apply Roaming Config as suggested to maintain wireless access in the MB?

Any place you can use express as AP instead of extend wireless everything will work better. You basically double the speed for whatever connects to that AP back to the main router. And switches can be thought of as double adapter .. or power boards.. plug in one link to the main router.. and now you have 4 or 7 extra ports.. but using gigabit will help keep the speed up.

The only pain is plugpacks.. wall warts whatever you call them.. although some switches can be powered over ethernet or usb.. the cost increase is substantial and you will need power boards in places where you have all the stuff anyway.. but tag power supplies carefully so you plug everything into the right socket.. Curse all the manufacturers who don't stick to 12v for everything.. a plague on their houses.

Should I only broadcast the 5GHz network or leave both broadcasting?

You cannot broadcast only the 5 GHz band. You can assign a different name to the 5 GHz band if you want....but the 2.4 GHz band is always being broadcast. There is no way to "turn off" 2.4 GHz.

Most users should use the default setting of having both bands use the same wireless network name. That way, your wireless devices will automatically choose the best quality signal with which to connect. I think that is what most users want.

If you enable the option to assign a separate name to the 5 GHz band, then you must manually "point" your computers at that network. The problem here is that 5 GHZ signals are much weaker than 2.4 GHz signals. If your device moves some distance away from the TC......where the 2.4 GHz signal will be stronger and likely faster.....the wireless device will try to hold on to the weaker and likely slower 5 GHz signal.

Piggybacking off this conversation, as I have a similar situation, and want to make sure that I'm setting up my network in the best possible configuration.

I have a single story house with a TC in the middle, connected to a Comcast modem (not a router), with AirPort Expresses at either end of the house. The TC is setup in DHCP/NAT mode, and the AEs are in Extend Mode. The 5 GHz band is setup with the same name as the 2.4 GHz band. Is this the best configuration that I can get, without buying switches, and running eithernet to them? I have several IP devices - iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macbooks, IP security cameras, and they all connect to the TC, though the AEs are phyically closer. And when many of these devices connect, the speeds are super slow or non-existent, though they show 4 or 5 bars of connectivity. I can sit outside with my French doors wide open in line-of-site of an AE, about 20 feet away, but not be able to connect to my network. Any thoughts or ideas? TC & AEs are all running the current version of Apple Firmware.

Are your express units the latest dual band ones?

If not are you trying to extend 5ghz instead of 2.4ghz?

Did all of this work ok up until the latest firmware update.. and then go bad?

Or have you only just done the setup.. or the issue has always been the same, no matter which firmware?

LaPastenague, these are old single band AEs, so I'm extending the 2.4 GHz band. I've had this set up for a while, but never had great connectivity. Recently it's gone from marginal to terrible. I don't know if I can say that it's because of the most recent firmware update or not. I have added 7 wireless IP based security cameras, but again, I don't think that this is effecting the receptioin either ... but I could be wrong. I do know that I used to be able to go into my backyard, and have decent reception on my iPhone, and be able to stream music from my iTunes server. Not so much now.

How are you using the 7 ip based cameras.. are they setup to continuously stream to a some sort of security appliance.. software or hardware. If they are only for occasional external viewing that is fine.. but if you are streaming through them then you will kill your network for sure.

Putting the wireless cameras to the side. The latest update would not have helped.. that is for sure. If there is nothing you want in the new version.. then go back to 7.6.1. You will need to factory reset the lot and start over.

I would try to run ethernet or use EOP to the Expresses as your setup as it stands is obviously going downhill.

I would even think about a non-apple AP with very high power wireless like the Asus RT-N66U or the AC unit.. it can make a big difference.