27 houdini's
guy with great hairdo
Since i've been ready to throw the whole lot in an incinerator out of blistering frustration, here's my request and a proposal for a HOWTO on (in apple lingo) creating a WDS configuration for those who do not want to read the 82 page manual andor those who are totally sent into the bush by the happy-go-lucky autosetupassistant.
A WDS configuration is meant to extend the range of your wireless network, using one base as the main and others as relay or remote stations (the distinction between relay and remote i must say is not described very clearly by apple).
In my case i use a zyxel 650 modem, a 2003 model airport extreme (firmware v 5.6) and an 2005 model airport express (firmware v6.2).
Apple makes it sound simple - just select the WDS option on one of the airport bases. Make the base connected to the modem the "main" (in my case the extreme), and the other (the express) "remote", and your set.
Well your not! What i got is a very unstable connection, bases dropping off, becoming undiscoverable, slow internet connections.
The reason why i think the connection is unstable: when you set up WDS, by default the settings for 'network' on both stations are set to 'distribute DHCP using nat'. This creates conflicts between the bases and between the bases and your computer, especially if your computer might by in proximity of both bases.
So. What you do is either
set up your modem as bridge, and the main base to distribute IP addresses, and the remote set up NOT to distribute IP addresses (did not test this one)
or (what works for me)
set up your modem as router (distributing IP addresses), set up the (ethernet-)connected base as the main, and SWITCH OFF distribute IP addresses on both bases.
Why? the modem now distributes IP addresses, and the main and remote base just bridge (or pass on) the signal to client computers. Strange though, in this setup, the client computers AND the bases get an IP address, but it works!
I use two powerbooks (FW800, airport extreme cards, 1 mb ram 60 GB HD) as clients, one running 10.3.9 one 10.4.3. Latest updates installed.
IP addresses:
modem IP xx.1xx.110.168
modem router IP address 192.168.1.1
main base IP 192.168.1.31
remote base IP 192.168.1.32
client computer one IP 192.168.1.33
client computer two IP 192.168.1.34
here's some resources:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=2005093011343164
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php story=20051108095118472&query=airport
and apple's hardcore user instructions:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPortNetworks.pdf
A WDS configuration is meant to extend the range of your wireless network, using one base as the main and others as relay or remote stations (the distinction between relay and remote i must say is not described very clearly by apple).
In my case i use a zyxel 650 modem, a 2003 model airport extreme (firmware v 5.6) and an 2005 model airport express (firmware v6.2).
Apple makes it sound simple - just select the WDS option on one of the airport bases. Make the base connected to the modem the "main" (in my case the extreme), and the other (the express) "remote", and your set.
Well your not! What i got is a very unstable connection, bases dropping off, becoming undiscoverable, slow internet connections.
The reason why i think the connection is unstable: when you set up WDS, by default the settings for 'network' on both stations are set to 'distribute DHCP using nat'. This creates conflicts between the bases and between the bases and your computer, especially if your computer might by in proximity of both bases.
So. What you do is either
set up your modem as bridge, and the main base to distribute IP addresses, and the remote set up NOT to distribute IP addresses (did not test this one)
or (what works for me)
set up your modem as router (distributing IP addresses), set up the (ethernet-)connected base as the main, and SWITCH OFF distribute IP addresses on both bases.
Why? the modem now distributes IP addresses, and the main and remote base just bridge (or pass on) the signal to client computers. Strange though, in this setup, the client computers AND the bases get an IP address, but it works!
I use two powerbooks (FW800, airport extreme cards, 1 mb ram 60 GB HD) as clients, one running 10.3.9 one 10.4.3. Latest updates installed.
IP addresses:
modem IP xx.1xx.110.168
modem router IP address 192.168.1.1
main base IP 192.168.1.31
remote base IP 192.168.1.32
client computer one IP 192.168.1.33
client computer two IP 192.168.1.34
here's some resources:
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=2005093011343164
http://www.macfixit.com/article.php story=20051108095118472&query=airport
and apple's hardcore user instructions:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/DesigningAirPortNetworks.pdf