Stephen Korecky
Monday, April 9, 2007

When Apple quietly released the new AirPort Extreme Base Station ($179) at Macworld Expo on January 9, 2007, people got excited. And who wouldn't get excited? There's a lot to love about this new local area wireless networking system! The AirPort Base Station now features three LAN ports, the ability to connect a shared USB network hard drive ("AirPort Disk"), the ability to connect a USB hub, and support for 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n wireless standards. Plus, it works with your Apple TV.

If you're lucky enough to have one of these new Base Stations, you're probably going to need some help setting it up. Of course, Apple's made the set up pretty easy. But as any experienced network administrator knows, setting up a wireless network is a black art.

Let’s get started by putting the disc that came with your new AirPort into your CD drive. We’ll assume that most people who bought the new AirPort Extreme have new Macs (Macs with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, or one newer) and 802.11n AirPort cards. If not, that’s okay too. If you do have a 802.11n AirPort card, you'll need to install the AirPort Extreme 802.11n Enabler for Mac or purchase it from Apple. No matter what type of AirPort card you have, you'll need to install everything on the disc.

Getting Started: Setting Up

Apple has created a nice little application that assists you in configuring your AirPort. It's called AirPort Utility, and you can find it here:

User > Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility.app

When you open it, it should look like this:

Your screen should look like ours, except instead of seeing "Home" in Base Station Name, you'll see something like "WG86743." In this window, we'll do two things.

1. Name the network (SSID). This name will be displayed on all computers looking for a wireless network. Don’t worry, you can turn this off later.
   
   
2. Name your AirPort Extreme. This is useful if you have more than one AirPort Extreme, or if there are other wireless networking systems in the area. A good rule of thumb is to name it according to the place you're going to use it (i.e.: Home).

Click Continue.

Configure AirPort Extreme Security

We always hated wireless security, because it was always so hard to set up! No longer. WPA2 is amazing! You can now use any password you want. Even a password like “¨©ˆ¨∫åø” is no problem for WPA2.

Keep in mind that not all computers (especially older ones) support WPA2, so double-check to make sure they do before you select this option! If they don't support WPA2, you’ll have to resort to WEP. This is okay, but you need to create a password that is exactly 13 characters. You should also know that WEP is notoriously insecure. In fact, nearly anyone can use freely-available tools to crack a WEP wireless network in less than a minute.

You don’t have to use security. You might want to create a public access point that is freely available to anyone. For home use, we'd recommend that you create a password. If you don't set a password, know that the amber light on your AirPort will stay on. (Even if the AirPort is working, it will still blink amber if there's no password set.)

Select a security level, enter a password, and click Continue.

How Do You Connect to the Internet?

If you're using the AirPort Extreme at home, you'll probably want to select the second option. In rare cases, or if you're using in the AirPort Extreme in an office environment, you may want to select the first option. (You'll know if the first option applies to you.) When in doubt, select the second option.

Click Continue.

If you selected the second option, you'll be asked additional questions about your Internet connection. Select the option that pertains to your particular setup. If you're not sure which option to choose, and you know you have DSL or Cable, select the first option. (This should work for most people.) If you don't know which option to select, contact your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

Click Continue.

Specify Your IP Address

Nine out of ten people use DHCP. If you don't, you should know what to do here. If you're stuck, then you should contact your ISP for this information.

Click Continue.

Using a USB Network Drive with AirPort Extreme

If you have a USB hard drive connected to your AirPort Extreme, pay special attention to these options. If Macs will be the only computers using this hard drive, format the drive via Disk Utility ( Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility ) and use Mac OS Extended format. If you're using Windows XP or later with the AirPort, format the drive with FAT32 format. If you are using both, then we'd recommend that you stick with the FAT32 format, but you may have problems with Mac-only extensions (i.e.: .sit or sitx). To prevent problems, use extensions on all your files (i.e.: Untitled.jpg verses Untitled).

Configure the options and click Continue.

Protect Your AirPort

If you don't enter a password here, other individuals will be able to hijack your AirPort Base Station by performing a basic set up -- just as you have here! Entering a password is the best thing you can do to protect yourself and your AirPort.

Enter a password and click continue.

Your AirPort Extreme is Set Up!

That's it! Now just check the summary to make sure everything looks right. Your screen should look quite a bit like ours. (We've hidden our Serial Number, AirPort ID, and Ethernet ID, but you should see yours.)

Meet Your Macinstructor

Stephen Korecky has been using Macs for as long as he can remember, and he currently supports Macs at a photography studio. He has extensive knowledge of the Mac OS X operating system and is always trying to learn something new and exciting. Stephen has been designing and building web sites for many years and is currently working towards a degree in graphic design. Contact him at stephen@macinstruct.com