Setting up Airport Extreme 802.11ac

Bob Timmons wrote:

In theory, the co-ax to Ethernet adapters will work. In practice though, things do not always work as well as the theory might suggest.

If you decide to try the co-ax adapters, I would recommend that you have a clear understanding of the store's return policy before you buy.

This is one of those times where you will not know how well.....or if.....something will work until you try it out in your home.

Keep in mind that most co-ax to Ethernet adapters will offer up to 200-250 Mbps performance. Your new "ac" AirPort Extreme is capable of operating up to almost 1,000 Mbps and the older Extreme will top out at about 450 Mbps over wireless connections. There will be some performance loss with the adapters.....how much, we cannot say.....you will have to try them out.

If the co-ax adapters do not work as hoped, then you can explore the option of running Ethernet cable, which will support connections up to 1,000 Mbps if you use CAT5e or CAT6 cabling.

Thanks Bob. Another question: I know when using wireless extenders more is not necessarily better as the network can get overly complicated. Does this hold true with wired extenders? I have two older AEBS that could be used for wired extension. I could place one in the middle of the house, and the other at the far end of the house for a total of 3...all wired.

too funny.....guess it's ok as long as they eventually leave.

I will try the ethernet over coax first. If that does not work out I will return and run ethernet cable.

I really do appreciate the help. Will keep you posted. May reach out to get help configuring Airports correctly

more to come....

Loner T wrote:

The ActionTec that I mentioned will give you back a CoAx and an ethernet RJ45, so you can have both. HPNA/Powerline may be a bit more tedious. You do not need to climb into the attic and go into crawl spaces.

Do you know if your Coax plant is using an RG59 cable or an RG6? RG6 has better bandwidth than RG59, but if you are saying it is an older house, it may be highly likely that you have RG59 cabling.

A question before I proceed. The Verizon router is in the office where the main AEBS is (AEBS is connected to router via ethernet)

When adding the the coax adapter kit, I'm assuming I can just place them before the Fios TV boxes, tap into coax, split to adapter and TV box, then ethernet from adapter to Airport. I would then do the same at the second location.

Reason I ask is this seems like it will be bypassing the Fios router in the office and want to be sure that this wont's cause a problem.

Yes. I have the MI424WR. Data connection is coax, not ethernet

ok. I received the MoCA adapters. been playing around but something is not right. When I had everything running internet would drop in and out. I have now removed the second AE and now it's back to normal. I was even having problems from the computer that is hardwired to the FIOS router so I'm guessing the network didn't like something that had been connected.

To start from scratch, what settings do i need for the main AE and then the two AE's that will be connected to extenders?

thanks guys

Loner T wrote:

If the Extenders are also connected via MoCA/Ethernet, then, all should be via Ethernet. Is it possible that you had the Extenders using WiFi for extension while the WAN ports of Extenders was also connected to the FIOS router?

If all AEs are hardwired, and you reset them to factory settings, each of them will detect the hardwired connection and automatically be bridged.

As a test, remove the AE that is connected to the FIOS router directly, reset it to factory defaults, after it glows Amber slowly, connect it via Ethernet to the FIOS router and Airport Utility 6.x will recommend a bridged configuration. Test Wireless and Wired connectivity from the AEBS.

Once this is working, reset the second AE to factory defaults, connect its WAN port to one of the LAN ports on the first AE which is hardwired to the FIOS router. Airport Utility should set this second AE up for Extending the network via Ethernet. Once it is working, disconnect it's WAN port from the LAN port of the first AE, and move it to the MoCA/Ethernet extension in a different room. Test and validate if it is working correctly and your network is stable.

ok. It was all working good for a while then it went haywire again. When checking with Airport Utility it said the AE's did not have a valid IP address. I noticed the IP addresses are different and I have read where some say they need to all be the same. Anyways, Re-set everything and now it's fine but I'm guessing after a while it will go on the blink again. When (if) it does I will do what you suggest above.

I have noticed utilizing the adapters it's not set up like a true ethernet roaming network. I set them all up as individual wireless networks with the same name and password. Like I said, worked great for a while but then things went south after a couple of hours when I got the invalid IP error message

Loner T wrote:

patfraley wrote:

ok. It was all working good for a while then it went haywire again. When checking with Airport Utility it said the AE's did not have a valid IP address. I noticed the IP addresses are different and I have read where some say they need to all be the same. Anyways, Re-set everything and now it's fine but I'm guessing after a while it will go on the blink again. When (if) it does I will do what you suggest above.

In your network, the only DHCP provider (aka DHCP server) should be the FIOS router. Both AEs should get an IP from the same range. For example, if the FIOS router has 192.168.1.2 - 192.168.1.100, then AE1 should be 192.168.1.x and the second should be 192.168.1.y where x and y are two distinct numbers between 2 and 100. If either one has a different range, it is a problem that should be fixed.

I have noticed utilizing the adapters it's not set up like a true ethernet roaming network. I set them all up as individual wireless networks with the same name and password. Like I said, worked great for a while but then things went south after a couple of hours when I got the invalid IP error message

If both AEs broadcast the same SSID(s) and have the same password and are set to create a wireless network, it should be a roaming network. Can you check if both AEs show a bridged configuration, now that they are configured and working? One suggestion would be look at the logs on the FIOS router for any IP address conflicts. Once AEs have IPs they should at least have a 24 hour IP lease. On the router, there is a My Network tab, if you click on it, you should see the names of the two AEs and the IPs assigned to them. When you see the network go south, check the same tab again and look for any differences.

The only issue I have seen with these adapters are channel conflicts on the CoAX. The Adapters do have a web server interface that can be accessed.

Please see http://support.actiontec.com/doc_files/ECB2500_Configuration_Guide_v1.1_NCS.pdf

well....was working great for a few days but now the secondary AE's connected to coax adapters are back to blinking amber lights with "no valid ip" error messages. In doing research I came across this site which has loads of information specifically for FIOS. This thread in particular shows all the different ways the FIOS router can be set up to be used with a secondary router. What it doesn't cover is the adapters.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/16077

I am only having problems with the AEs connected to the COAX adapters. The main AE connected to the Fios router is fine and never suffers from the IP address error message.

Now what??

thanks