tinman
Level 1 (10 points)

Q: Airport Express bandwidth question

Greetings,

 

I have an Airport Extreme (802.11n)......4th Generation.

 

I also have an Airport Express 802.11g.

 

The Airport Express has Airplay enabled and is what I use to stream music to stereo.  Everything works, but I'm wondering if by using an older Airport Express, am I reducing my wireless internet bandwidith in half......or does that only happen when in WDS mode?

 

Thanks.

Posted on Sep 7, 2013 2:32 PM

by John Galt,Solvedanswer
John Galt John Galt
Level 9 (50,514 points)
Mac OS X
A:

Since your Extreme is a simultaneous dual band model, any activity that occurs in the 2.4 GHz spectrum has no effect on the 5 GHz spectrum.

 

The effect you cite was only a problem with 802.11n devices having to use 802.11b/g "compatible mode" with non-802.11n devices sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. In that mode 802.11n devices would be limited to about 70% of their theoretical maximum bandwidth, not 50%.

 

For a definitive answer, you have to determine whether you are using 5 GHz to the maximum extent, or if you are mixing 802.11n and 802.11b/g devices on a 2.4 GHz channel.

 

WDS is a different matter. In a WDS, each additional base station would reduce the available bandwidth by at least 50%. With two base stations, the number of required transmissions doubles, plus "overhead", resulting in a significant degradation in wireless performance.

Posted on Sep 7, 2013 2:58 PM

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tinman

Q: Airport Express bandwidth question

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  • by John Galt,Solvedanswer

    John Galt John Galt Sep 7, 2013 2:58 PM in response to tinman
    Level 9 (50,514 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 7, 2013 2:58 PM in response to tinman

    Since your Extreme is a simultaneous dual band model, any activity that occurs in the 2.4 GHz spectrum has no effect on the 5 GHz spectrum.

     

    The effect you cite was only a problem with 802.11n devices having to use 802.11b/g "compatible mode" with non-802.11n devices sharing the 2.4 GHz spectrum. In that mode 802.11n devices would be limited to about 70% of their theoretical maximum bandwidth, not 50%.

     

    For a definitive answer, you have to determine whether you are using 5 GHz to the maximum extent, or if you are mixing 802.11n and 802.11b/g devices on a 2.4 GHz channel.

     

    WDS is a different matter. In a WDS, each additional base station would reduce the available bandwidth by at least 50%. With two base stations, the number of required transmissions doubles, plus "overhead", resulting in a significant degradation in wireless performance.

  • by tinman,

    tinman tinman Sep 7, 2013 3:44 PM in response to John Galt
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Sep 7, 2013 3:44 PM in response to John Galt

    Thanks John.

     

    I've got an extra Airport Express....802.11g sitting in a drawer.  Aside from setting up another airplay music thing or connecting a printer.....are there any other uses you can think of?  Using it in a WDS setup doesn't make much sense these days, yes?

  • by John Galt,

    John Galt John Galt Sep 7, 2013 4:15 PM in response to tinman
    Level 9 (50,514 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 7, 2013 4:15 PM in response to tinman

    Yes. Connect the older Express to your Extreme with an Ethernet cable, and you will have another access point in a "roaming" configuration: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4260

     

    It will be 2.4 GHz 802.11a/b/g only, but perfectly suitable.

     

    If your Mac is running Lion or Mountain Lion, you will need to use this workaround to reconfigure it: How to Configured an old AirPort Express