Using 802.11 g and n networking together
I’ve seen this question pop up quite a lot on the maccast forum, so here’s a little tutorial on using your shiny new 802.11n hardware without experiancing the drop in performance you’ll get by having 802.11g users on the network. I’ll also cover how to share an AirPort Extreme and the USB hard disks attached to the Extreme with all the users of the network, regardless of network hardware.
Right, first things first. I’m assuming you’ve already got an 802.11g network running already and that you know how to secure the network. Use WPA and all the usual stuff. This is specifically for the Apple AirPort Extreme and Express base stations, but the principles apply for most routers.
So, the first thing that most people have trouble getting their heads around is that each router (including the AirPort Express) is running it’s own wireless network. So the next thing you’ll want to do after you’ve had that crashing realisation is connect an ethernet cable to one of the ports on your 802.11g router and pop it into the WAN port on the back of your Extreme. Now fire up AirPort Utility and set up the network normally using the Assist Me thingie but select 802.11n Only in the Radio Mode section (5Ghz is less crowded and is faster, but 2.4Ghz will give you better range. It’s up to you which you choose). Now when it’s all set up you’ll need to choose your Extreme again and go to the Base Station menu and select Manual Setup. Choose the Internet tab and for the DNS Server type in the IP address of your 802.11g router (mine was filled in automatically) and for the Connetion Sharing pulldown menu choose Off (Bridge Mode). That last one is very important since your 802.11g router will be trying to dish out IP addresses (assuming you use DHCP; which most people are. If you don’t have to type in each computer’s IP address on your network, then you’re using DHCP) and your extreme will as well if you don’t set this.
Now you should have your network working pretty well. The next thing I wanted was for the other clients to be able to see my AirPort Disks. This is relatively easy to do, but you must have a firewall on your 802.11g router (or whichever router is connected to the internet). This is so that your data remains secure. This should work without any configuration, but you should secure them. Go to the Manual Setup screen of your Extreme in AirPort Utility and choose disks. You can select from here how you want to secure them and if you want guests to be able to access them or not.
Finally, it’s time to get the AirPort Express sorted so all the computers can use AirTunes. In AirPort Utility choose your Express and go to Manual Setup. Firstly set the security to the same as your 802.11g router, and set the password to the same. If you use WEP encryption, put a $ symbol in before the actual key. Make sure both the 802.11g router and Express are using the same channel and then type in the MAC address of the g router. To set the channel on your g router (make sure it’s not set to Auto) and to find the mac address you should refer to your router’s manual. For mine, I go to a web based admin page by typing in the IP address of the router and choosing wireless networking. It’s all pretty obvious, and if it isn’t your manual will help you. The last thing you have to do is allow your Express to link up with your g router. My router will just search for other wireless devices near by and then you just need to hit a check box. For other, you’ll need the MAC address (or AirPort ID as Apple calls it) and to type it in manually.
There you have it, 802.11 g and n devices working happily away without any of the so called drawbacks.
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