Apple AirPort Networks manual Getting Started

Getting Started 1

AirPort offers the easiest way to provide wireless Internet access and networking anywhere in the home, classroom, or office.

AirPort is based on the latest Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11n draft specification and provides fast and reliable wireless networking in the home, classroom, or small office. You can enjoy data transfer rates of up to five times faster than data rates provided by the 802.11g standard and more than twice the network range.

The new AirPort Extreme Base Station and the new Time Capsule are based on simultaneous dual-band technology, so they work in both the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) or 5 GHz spectrum at the same time. And they are 100 percent backward-compatible, so Mac computers and PCs that use 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or IEEE draft specification 802.11n wireless cards can connect to an AirPort wireless network. They also work flawlessly with the AirPort Express for wireless music streaming and more. The AirPort Extreme Base Station and Time Capsule have three additional 10/100/1000Base- T Gigabit Ethernet ports, so you don’t need to include another router in your network.

To set up an AirPort Extreme Base Station, an AirPort Express, or a Time Capsule, you use AirPort Utility, the easy-to-use setup and management application. AirPort Utility has a simple user experience, with all software controls accessible from the same application. It provides better management of several Apple wireless devices, with client-monitoring features and logging.

If you’re using AirPort Utility version 5.4 or later, you can set up a guest network, in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, so that guests can connect to the Internet using your AirPort network, while you keep your private network secure. You can also choose to set up guest accounts that expire, to grant temporary access to your network; you no longer need to give your network password to visitors in your home or office.

You can even set up accounts with time constraints for the best in parental controls. AirPort Utility supports IPv6 and Bonjour, so you can “advertise” network services such as printing and sharing a hard disk over the Wide Area Network (WAN) port.

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