ECUPirateBoy

Q: 2 TB TC Time Capsule Configuration with Guest Network and Multiple Airport Express

So I have a similar question and I too have noticed that Bob seems to be well versed in these issues. I am new to this forum so I apologize in advance if this is not the correct format for posting this question and the length of the post. A little history. We recently moved into a large 3 story home and I wanted to setup a primary wireless network and guest network for my kids with timed access. Using OS X and Airport Utility 6.3.2. Service comes into a basement HVAC room full of metal ducting (not an ideal location for a TC which I will address later). I have a AV closet which houses a rack mounted audio and security system on the first floor and have (2) hardwired connections to the basement service area and another to a Study on the opposite end of the house on the first floor. From the AV closet I recently ran CAT5 home runs to the second floor and basement and installed a Netgear switch with the goal of installing hard wired Airport Expresses for increased coverage. It should be noted that I cannot without great difficulty get any additional wires from the service area directly to the AV closet.

 

Prior to today I had the following setup which was more of a temporary setup

I have a new 2TB TC (ME177L1/A) in the Study that I used to replace an oder 1TB TC that I thought may have been on the fritz (see below) and an Airport Express acting as a wireless extender in the AV closet.

The TWC Arris TG1672G Router was in Routed with NAT mode (although I was under assumption it was in bridged mode as that is what I asked TWC to do)-connected to it was security system from AV closet and TC located in Study-Things worked well at times, but I seemed to have random outages that I could not explain. A ping plotter at the router indicated I had a good internet feed.

 

Today I had TWC Signature Tech come out to investigate the issue and explain I wanted to hook up my Netgear switch and (2) additional Airport Expresses in the basement and second floor areas where I had run CAT5. This would take me to a total of (3) Airport Express units.

He explained that if I wished to have the TC create a wireless network and maintain the most flexibility I would need to move the TC to the basement as now that the Arris was in true bridged mode and not Routed with NAT only port 1 on the Arris would be active so my previous connections to port 2 (which fed the security system) would need to be relocated.

 

My question is as follows. With the TC in the basement and connected to the (1) active port on the Arris I now have (3) LAN ports that I can use coming out of the TC. Can I put a Netgear Gigabit (JGS524) switch in front of the Airport Expresses and still be able to configure as noted above? Will this effect throughput? If I cannot put the Netgear switch in front of the Airport Expresses can I use the output of the Airport Express to provide bandwidth to the Netgear switch and not lose throughput?

 

I hope this makes sense.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, Mac OS X (10.0.x), null

Posted on Jul 26, 2015 11:26 AM

Close

Q: 2 TB TC Time Capsule Configuration with Guest Network and Multiple Airport Express

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Jul 26, 2015 12:58 PM in response to ECUPirateBoy
    Level 10 (105,268 points)
    Wireless
    Jul 26, 2015 12:58 PM in response to ECUPirateBoy
    With the TC in the basement and connected to the (1) active port on the Arris I now have (3) LAN ports that I can use coming out of the TC

    That is correct.  If for some reason, you need more than 3 LAN ports at that location, you can always add an Ethernet switch to one of the LAN ports on the TC.

     

    Can I put a Netgear Gigabit (JGS524) switch in front of the Airport Expresses and still be able to configure as noted above?

    Sure, assuming that the switch and wiring is working correctly.

     

    Will this effect throughput?

    No, between the TC and switch and out of the switch......but.....the Gigabit Ethernet signal will drop down to 100 Mbps as soon as it reaches an AirPort Express since the Express only has 100 Mbps ports on the device.....so anything that connects to the AirPort Express via wireless or Ethernet will connect at a maximum of 100 Mbps.......when the TC and the Gigabit switch can both provide 1,000 Mbps speeds.

     

    If I cannot put the Netgear switch in front of the Airport Expresses can I use the output of the Airport Express to provide bandwidth to the Netgear switch and not lose throughput?

    The Expresses are going to take whatever signal they receive and drop it down to 100 Mpbs, so if you place the switch downstream of an Express, you will be feeding 100 Mbps into a 1,000 Mbps capable switch. It will work, but there will be a huge speed drop on the network after any of the Express devices.

     

    As far as setting up the Expresses.......I would recommend that you set them up using a short, spare Ethernet cable.....any length will do.....by temporarily connecting from a LAN port on the TC to the WAN "O" port on the Express.  Once the Express is set up, you can then move it back to the desired location on the network.

     

    If you notice that the AirPort Express does not seem to be performing correctly at the final location, then you have to start troubleshooting the Ethernet cabling and switch.......since you know that the Express has been set up correctly.

  • by ECUPirateBoy,

    ECUPirateBoy ECUPirateBoy Jul 26, 2015 1:43 PM in response to Bob Timmons
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 26, 2015 1:43 PM in response to Bob Timmons

    Thanks Bob. I think my concern came with the comment the TWC tech made stating that the Airport Express may not allow a second WiFi (guest network) to be setup if they were placed downstream of a non-apple device, i.e.. Netgear Switch. Based on your answer that doesn't appear to be the case. As for extending the range of the TC base station utilizing the (3) Airport Express units I plan to follow the information provided in this link. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204616

     

    For the Guest Network I want to enable access control (mainly so the kids lose connectivity at bed time). I had some trouble with this previously when I had it setup as it seemed other devices lost access as well even thought they were not on the Guest network. What am I missing here?

  • by Bob Timmons,

    Bob Timmons Bob Timmons Jul 26, 2015 1:59 PM in response to ECUPirateBoy
    Level 10 (105,268 points)
    Wireless
    Jul 26, 2015 1:59 PM in response to ECUPirateBoy
    I think my concern came with the comment the TWC tech made stating that the Airport Express may not allow a second WiFi (guest network) to be setup if they were placed downstream of a non-apple device

    Sounds like he does not understand what a switch is or does.  It simply passes through the same Ethernet signal to multiple devices.

     

    As for extending the range of the TC base station utilizing the (3) Airport Express units I plan to follow the information provided in this link. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204616

    Unfortunately, this document is well over 3 years out of date.....and it assumes that you will be using the Leopard (10.5.x) or Snow Leopard (10.6.x) operating system on your Mac.  The basic info here is good, but the "how to" is just plain wrong for a user who has Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, or Yosemite installed on their Mac.

     

    Get the TC up and running OK. When you are ready to set up an AirPort Express, we'll show you how using the setup "wizard"......which is tons easier than the steps in that old support document.

     

    Timed Access is a whole other subject.  We'll tackle that later, but basically all that you have to do is set it up on the Time Capsule and the other AirPorts will automatically pick up the same settings.