Airport Extreme Extend wifi network to LAN

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Airport Extreme Extend wifi network to LAN

Hi,

I have 2 NAS (Sony Nasne) that need a LAN connection near my TV, and a PS4 that is used to watch TV streaming from the Nasne and gaming.

The thing is that my main router (a Time Capsule) is not in the same room that my TV (the 2 Nas need to be near the TV so they can use the TV antenna) so connecting them by LAN to the Time Capsule is not practical.

As the PS4 is the main way I access to the Nas to watch recorded and live TV, I want it to have a full LAN connection to the two Nas.

Si I am thinking of adding a Airport Extreme that would connect to the Time Machine by Wifi, and to connect the 2 NAS and the PS4 to the Airport Extreme by LAN.

I think that should be doable but if the signal from the NAS to the PS4 has the next path, I don't think I'll get a good signal on the PS4.

Nas <LAN> Airport Extreme <Wifi> Time Capsule <Wifi> Airport Extreme <LAN> PS4

I want to be sure that in the configuration I describe the signal will have the next paths :

Nas to PS4 : Nas <LAN> Airport Extreme <LAN> PS4

PS4 to the Net : PS4 <LAN> Airport Extreme <Wifi> Time Capsule <> Net

Would such a configuration work ? In that case are there any special settings needed on the Airport Extreme ?

PS4 is used for online gaming.

Thanks for your help

Posted on Mar 30, 2015 5:47 PM

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Answer 1

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LaPastenague

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67,202 points

Mar 30, 2015 6:34 PM in response to luinily

It should work ok, as long as you have reasonable wireless signal at the spot where your TV is located from the TC.. you can see this on your laptop or ipad or whatever devices you have.

The Extreme can link to the TC using extend wireless and then connect the local devices by ethernet.. that is fine.

How well this all works then comes down to wireless around you, level of interference and standard wireless voodoo.

The alternative is using EOP (homeplug) as these adapters can give you better and more consistent results than wireless.. but sometimes they work and sometimes not.. much like wireless really.

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Answer 2

luinily Author

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Mar 30, 2015 6:33 PM in response to LaPastenague

Thanks for your answer.

I don't have any problem with the wifi connection (I'm mainly using it in the same room than the TV) so I think that part should be ok. My main concern is that the data from the NAS goes directly to the PS4 through the AExtreme and does not pass through the TC and the wifi part of the network, has it would be too heavy.

Right now as a temporary solution I'm having the NAS on LAN directly with the TC, and the PS4 on wifi on the TC. This configuration is usable but sometimes the video quality is bad, and having a 10m cable going from one room to the other isn't ideal either.

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Answer 3

Mar 30, 2015 6:33 PM in response to luinily

The paths that you want will "work"......but how much potential signal speed will be lost in the wireless "hop" between the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme....and how that will ultimately affect your performance is open to question.

That loss......even with a good wireless connection between the Time Capsule and AirPort Exteme is going to be on the order of 40% or more.

It would be much better if you could connect the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme using a wired Ethernet connection, since there will be no speed loss with this type of setup.

For example, here is what Apple's support document says about "extending":

In the case of a wirelessly extended network, throughput may be reduced to less than 60 percent of that of a single device. The general rule is to keep the Wi-Fi network as simple as possible. You can accomplish this by using the minimum number of Wi-Fi base stations required to service the physical network area and by using Ethernet wherever possible.

Extending the range of your Wi-Fi network by connecting Wi-Fi base stations together using Ethernet is always the best option, and will provide the best throughput.

So, your question about whether this will "work" is relative. How well it will work is probably something that you really will not know until you actually try it out in your home.

If you decide to try this....with a wireless "hop" between the Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme, please post back to let us know how the setup is working for you.

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Answer 4

luinily Author

Level 1

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Mar 30, 2015 6:33 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thanks,

I'll try this and report after testing the configuration.

For the wireless part, at the end it will mostly be for the PS4 to connect to the web so having some might not be a problem, if it is I'll need to find a way to put a cable..

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Answer 5

Mar 30, 2015 6:57 PM in response to luinily

You are probably OK, if your main concern is the Internet connection to the PS4 since the network speed will still probably be higher than the speed of Internet connection......unless you have one of the new high speed 300+ Mbps type Internet connections.

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Answer 6

luinily Author

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Apr 1, 2015 5:29 PM in response to luinily

I did the setup yesterday, the TV watching on the PS4 was working fine, and the web access on the PS4 seems to be fine too (could play FFXIV, access the store and watch youtube on the PS4).

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Answer 7

Apr 1, 2015 6:12 PM in response to luinily

Sounds like you are all set. Nice work.

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