Airport Express, Airport Extreme & Time Capsule Explained

Rafe · 03-01-2010, 7:41 PM

Hi all

We get lots of questions in the forum in regards to Apple’s Time Capsule, Airport Express and Airport Extreme Base Stations. This is my attempt to answer those questions and explore their capabilities and limitations.

While all three devices have lots of similarities, they all have different functions. Let’s explore each device in turn:

Please note: the below is based on current products on sale by Apple (as of January 2010) and does not include details about previous models.

Airport Express (AE)
▪ Play music wirelessly
▪ Share a printer wirelessly
▪ Create a wireless network (up to 10 users)
▪ Extend an existing wireless network
▪ Take it on the road

The Airport Express is a device that can connect to your home stereo system and wirelessly stream your iTunes library from your Mac/PC. It has a USB port for you to connect your printer to enable it to become a wireless printer. Finally, you can create a wireless network or connect it to an existing wireless network to extend its range.

Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS)
▪ Share an external hard drive and printer
▪ Create large, high-speed network (up to 50 users)
▪ Simultaneous dual-band support.
▪ Router with four Gigabit Ethernet ports
▪ Access the drive over the Internet (MobileMe subscription required)

The Airport Extreme Base Station allows you to connect an external USB hard drive or printer so that you can wirelessly connect to them from any computer in your home. You can create a wireless network that supports simultaneous dual-band. You can also create a guest wireless network to keep your private network secure.

Time Capsule (TC)
▪ Back up wirelessly with Mac OS X Leopard.
▪ Expand or create a high-speed network (up to 50 users)
▪ Simultaneous dual-band support.
▪ Router with four Gigabit Ethernet ports
▪ Print Wirelessly
▪ Access the drive over the Internet (MobileMe subscription required)

The Time Capsule has all of the features of the Airport Extreme Base Station but also has a server grade hard disk inside (1TB or 2TB) for use with Mac OS Leopard/Snow Leopard’s backup utility called Time Machine.

Simultaneous Dual Band (2.4Ghz Wireless-G and 5GHz Wireless-N) – What’s the difference?

Thanks to CamFire for his contribution to this section.

In March 2009, Apple launched an Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS) with a significant enhancement - the ability to generate two SIMULTANEOUS wireless networks at different frequencies (2.4GHz, 5GHz). Apple then added this functionality to the Time Capsule.

Is this useful to anyone? Will you need this? To answer this, we need some historical facts and accompanying terms:

Wireless networking began with 802.11B at 2.4GHz, supporting 11 megabits per second (11Mbps). 802.11G at 2.4GHz and 802.11A at 5GHz were introduced as well, both allowing 54Mbps connections. Significantly, 802.11G offered *backwards* compatibility to 802.11B; what this means is that a 802.11G wireless router is capable of allowing 802.11B clients (that is, your Mac) to connect. Because the connection to the wireless router is shared by all connecting wireless B and G clients, all wireless G clients will experience a *net* drop in connection speeds - not an great situation to be in.

With the introduction of the more advanced 802.11N standard, wireless connection speeds are improved to 300Mbps (5GHz). Apple's own offerings at 54Mbps - the famous UFO-style for the AEBS - looked dismal and the A1143 AEBS came to the rescue.

Initially operating at either 2.4GHz or 5GHz but NOT both at the same time, the A1143's connection performance came under scrutiny *again* once consumers started adding portable devices - e.g., Apple iPod Touch - and game consoles connecting at 802.11G speeds.

What started out as a wireless connection experience rivalling, that of wired Ethernet connections, then began to suffer from exactly the same usage scenario as 802.11G - that 802.11N slows down significantly this time to be backwards compatible.

The introduction of the AEBS A1301, capable of generating separate wireless networks at 2.4GHz (for 802.11N, 802.11B, 802.11G) *as well as* at 5GHz (802.11N, 802.11A) resolved this situation. Now, one only need to restrict slow devices to connect at 2.4GHz and then permit the high performance ones - such as your iMac, MacBook, etc. - to connect at 5GHz and at (up to) 300Mbps connection to network disks, printers, etc.

In late 2009, the simultaneous dual-band AEBS was upgraded and given the model number A1354. The hardware innards were changed, but as a box, the A1354 remained essentially what the A1301 offered.

In principle, you can always buy TWO wireless routers to do the same job. But I wouldn't want TWO boxes...would you?

What kind of devices connect to what band/frequency?

Everything 'G' enabled connects to the ‘G’ band i.e. Xbox 360, PS3, iPhone etc.
Everything ‘N’ enabled connects to the ‘N’ band i.e. latest Macbook Pro’s and iMac’s

The Limitations of the Airport Express

The Airport Express is the only device that does not support ‘simultaneous dual band’ mode. What does that mean?

If you had a single band device (such as the Airport Express) you can connect both ‘G’ and ‘N’ speed devices to the same wireless connection, however, the ‘N’ devices downgrade their range and connection speed to ‘G’ specification (often called ‘Compatibility’ mode). The reason for this is that ‘N’ devices work on a different frequency band to ‘G’ devices.

The best way to combat this is to use your existing router supplied by your ISP and continue to use that to connect all your ‘G’ devices and use your Airport Express in ‘Wireless-N Only’ mode to connect all your ‘N’ devices i.e. Macbook/Pro/Mac Mini. That way you gain all the benefits of Wireless-N i.e. better range and faster connection speeds.

FAQ

Here are some questions that get regularly asked in the forums:

1. Can I replace my existing Internet/networking equipment with one of the Apple devices?
2. How do I connect one of these products to my existing networking setup?
3. How do I know what the speed of my wireless connection is?

Q: Can I replace my existing Internet/networking equipment with one of the Apple devices?
A: No. Whether you have a DSL modem (cable) or ADSL modem (phone line) you cannot replace your old equipment with the new Apple device. All three Apple devices do not have a modem, which is required for ADSL ISP’s.

Q: How do I connect one of these products to my existing networking setup?
A: All three Apple products connect to your existing equipment via Ethernet cable.

Q: How do I know what the speed of my wireless connection is?
A: Press and hold the Option/ALT on the keyboard and mouse-click the Airport icon on the Menu.

Q: I am familiar with the terms RSSI, SNR, etc. Can this information be seen via the OS?
A: Yes - see System Profiler/Airport.

I hope this guide helps someone out when trying to decide what device you require and what you need to know about each one.

I am more than happy to maintain this thread to keep it current and consistent. If I have made an error (I’m only human) or you would like to add something to the above, please send me a PM and I will edit/add to the above and ensure you receive the correct thanks within the thread.

Thanks - Thank you to CamFire for helping to contribute to specific parts of this thread. In particular, the history and background of Apple's Dual-Band implementation.

Cheers

Rafe

CamFire · 03-01-2010, 8:54 PM

Want to try merging (with direct edit) some of my text onto your OP? It's here.

Mudman · 03-01-2010, 9:48 PM

Nice one chaps!

matty303 · 04-01-2010, 1:10 PM

Definitely a candidate for the sticky thread if ever I saw one, nice work chaps!

**Iccz** · 04-01-2010, 1:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matty303

Definitely a candidate for the sticky thread if ever I saw one, nice work chaps!

I've put a link to this in the FAQ Sticky already, this thread was made specifically by the OP to address a few common questions users have and I am very grateful for the work he and others - who are also contributing threads for updating the FAQ - have done

matty303 · 04-01-2010, 1:49 PM

sorry hadn't checked the sticky before posting

nigelbb · 04-01-2010, 2:19 PM

I think that it needs to be pointed out that this information refers to current models only especially in regard to simultaneous dual-band support. It's only newer (since March 2009) models of the the AEBS & TC that have simultaneous dual-band support. Earlier models can be used as either 2.4GHz (A,B,G & N) or 5GHz (N only) but not both simultaneously.

Rafe · 04-01-2010, 2:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nigelbb

I think that it needs to be pointed out that this information refers to current models only especially in regard to simultaneous dual-band support. It's only newer (since March 2009) models of the the AEBS & TC that have simultaneous dual-band support. Earlier models can be used as either 2.4GHz (A,B,G & N) or 5GHz (N only) but not both simultaneously.

I did put right at the top of the post:

"Please note: the below is based on current products on sale by Apple (as of January 2010) and does not include details about previous models."

I pondered for ages whether to include details on the previous models of the above mentioned devices but decided that people probably won't be buying older kit and thus didn't include the info.

I can if people think it's relevant?

CamFire · 04-01-2010, 10:12 PM

Q&A entry:

Q:How do I know what the speed of my wireless connection is?
A: Press and hold the OPT/ALT on the keyboard and mouse-click the Airport icon on the Menu.

shaun130166 · 14-01-2010, 6:57 PM

thinking of buying an airport extreme to use with my sagem sky router to ( hopefully ) boost file download times ! there are wireless n adapters available for my ps3 ( mad catz ) and xbox360 so thats that sorted but how do i print to my canon mp620 on 802.11n while my family uses pc's on 802.11g using the same printer ? i'm using a macbook by the way !

thanks for any help ! ( thanks to rafe 17 & camfire for airport extreme threads )

Rafe · 14-01-2010, 9:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamFire

Q&A entry:

Q:How do I know what the speed of my wireless connection is?
A: Press and hold the OPT/ALT on the keyboard and mouse-click the Airport icon on the Menu.

Added to the FAQ section - cheers buddy

shaun130166 · 14-01-2010, 9:46 PM

under the airport icon some of the figures are rssi -62 and transmit rate 54 . can you explain what they mean ? my broadband is 3mb from sky through a sagem router ! are these average figures or is there any way to improve them - thanks for all your help and excellent forums !

*Steve170* · 20-01-2010, 9:37 AM

I've always been slightly confused about wireless speeds.
I have a MBP capable of wireless 'N' and an iPhone only capable of 'G'. My broadband is the 20mb cable service from Virgin and my router is a Belkin N+.

If 'G' is capable of speeds up to 54mbps, does this not mean I'm gaining no advantage if using 'N', as my broadband can only deliver 20mbps anyway? I don't understand the advantage of dual band G and N, which probably means I've got the wrong end of the stick.

CamFire · 20-01-2010, 7:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaun130166

under the airport icon some of the figures are rssi -62 and transmit rate 54 . can you explain what they mean ? my broadband is 3mb from sky through a sagem router ! are these average figures or is there any way to improve them - thanks for all your help and excellent forums !

RSSI indicates the strength/quality of the radio signals used for your wireless connection. Mine says -59 (better than -62) and my AEBS is just over 3 metres away. Transmit rate 54 (Mbps) is the speed, compare that to the 3Mbps from Sky. Mine says 216Mbps and although this does not mean that your broadband is faster, remember you are splitting/sharing the 54Mbps among the several wireless connections.

CamFire · 20-01-2010, 7:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve170

I've always been slightly confused about wireless speeds.
I have a MBP capable of wireless 'N' and an iPhone only capable of 'G'. My broadband is the 20mb cable service from Virgin and my router is a Belkin N+.

If 'G' is capable of speeds up to 54mbps, does this not mean I'm gaining no advantage if using 'N', as my broadband can only deliver 20mbps anyway? I don't understand the advantage of dual band G and N, which probably means I've got the wrong end of the stick.

The thing is the wireless connection, running at higher speeds, is split/shared among the several wireless clients (Mac) you have.

For dual-band, see the OP.

shaun130166 · 20-01-2010, 7:35 PM

thanks camfire - i see you have a AEBS - what do you think of it ? was thinking of buying one - is it possible to run the extreme on n network but still be able to print to a printer on g network - is this what it means by " simultaneous dual band "? i want to keep it wireless as well ! apologies if it's a stupid question !

CamFire · 21-01-2010, 7:25 AM

Simultaneous dual-band means that your single WLAN operates with two radio frequencies/bands, at 2.4GHz and 5GHz. All devices can see each other irrespective of which band/frequency it is connected to. That is why it is referred to as a single WLAN.