need help with airport setup

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MaxTek's picture
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need help with airport setup

What is the best way to setup two macs with a cable modem. Currently I have a strawberry iMac hooked up to a cable modem and I need to connect my G4 Quicksilver to the cable modem as well.

Can anyone suggest two ways? First with cables and second with a wireless card in the G4.

Thanks.

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Get an ethernet hub . . . or. . .

Get an ethernet hub and three ethernet cables. Cable modem to the hub's input, computers to the hubs outputs. That's the first and cheapest way.

The second way, buy the (current) Airport Extreme Base Station from Apple for $200. Plug the cable modem to the input, the wired computer to the out put, a USB printer to the USB port on the Base Station, and you'll have wireless access with your G4 Quicksilver, assuming that it already has an Airport (Extreme version I think) card installed in it. That's the second and more medium ranged option.

The third option is to get an Airport card and the cage that goes with it and install that in addition to everything in the second option. Assuming that it can take an Airport card. They are about $100 on Ebay, but then you'll be completely wireless with your computer network.

BTW the USB printer will be shared by the network, as described in option 2.

Mutant_Pie

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Thank you very much! In th

Thank you very much!

In the first option, is the hub considered a "router"?

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A router and a hub are differ

A router and a hub are different. A router can act as a hub, but does much more.

They're well worth the cost (very little, if you get a non-wireless router), and provide you with an extra level of security and convenience.

I've been using an aging Linksys 4-port BEFSR41 for four or five years and it's been very useful. It provides IP addresses for all computers on my home network, stealths several ports on my PCs that would otherwise be visible to the world, disallows p2p file sharing ports on all but one PC, and acts as a 10/100 hub for my basement computers. Having DSL, it also means I don't need annoying special software on each machine to connect to the net.
They're currently going for around $10 CDN on ebay. I'm sure other models are as good or better, but I've no experience with them. A 10/100 hub will likely cost about as much.

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I know that my ISP won't work

I know that my ISP won't work with just a hub, and I suspect that other ISPs are similar. Consumer routers have things like DHCP servers and NAT and firewalls and lots of other handy things.

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Router, not hub

I should have written router from the start. Sorry.

Mutant_Pie

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added PC wireless laptop to scenario

Ok, Powermac G4, Strawberry iMac, PC Wireless Laptop and Epson printer.

Since I am adding a PC laptop does that mean the Airport base station is out? Should I forget that and buy a wireless router, airport card for the G4?

What setup do you recommend.

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Your PC should be able to con

Your PC should be able to connect to the AirPort with no hitch.

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No problem here.

I connect PCs to my AirPort base station all the time.

Did it just this weekend when my sister in law came to visit. She's a Mac-phobe, so I set her Hell's Dell up on my network for her to check her email. Took about 45 seconds.

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PC's can connect to airport fine but...

Older macs and PC's cant use the newer encryption called WPA. This is sad because its a great feature, it makes the passwords you can use much more friendly. WPA (Wireless Protected Access) security standard is far more secure than WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy) If the PC is newer, youre all set. The powerbook would need to have 10.3 (I think, others might correct this) in order to use it. Why is it important? If you password protect your airport wireless network, the PC and Mac will have to type in (and then store in the keychain) the password you use. The older WEP is your only option for older Windows computers and Mac OS 9, and its passwords arent as friendly, in some cases the windows equivalent can be a real pain. Setting this up you have to know in advance what youre dealing with. This forum can help though, even if it looks like the computers are older it can still be done.

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added more hardware to this mix

I will need to add more hardware to the mix:

an older GCC TEchnologies Elite XL laserprinter with ethernet
an Epson All in One printer
G4 Quicksilver
PC Laptop
Cable Modem
and maybe the G3 iMac

We talked about the router but now that there are two printers should I be using a HUB or still a router.

I want both the Mac and the PC to have internet access
and both the Mac and PC to be able to print to both printers

Help.

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Still stick with the router.

Still stick with the router. I can personally vouch for the Linksys WRT54G.

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Re: Still stick with the router.

Still stick with the router. I can personally vouch for the Linksys WRT54G.

So everything I mentioned, plugs into the router?

The PC Laptop will need to surf wirelessly (pcmcia card), plus use the printers. How is that set up. Sorry for the stupid questions. I am having trouble visioning this in my head.

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Networked printers generally

Networked printers generally get IP addresses from DHCP, just like a computer. You can look in the router to find the printer IPs and that's what you use to set up the networked printer in OS X (and Windows/OS 9, I think).

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See if this helps.

Email me with specific questions. Hope this helps.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvsjr/250177677/

dvsjr

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Re: See if this helps.

Email me with specific questions. Hope this helps.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvsjr/250177677/

dvsjr

Wow! That's perfect, I can't thank you enough. Mooseman, many, many thanks as well.

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Re: See if this helps.

Email me with specific questions. Hope this helps.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dvsjr/250177677/

dvsjr

One last question I hope. I will be purchasing everything today or tomorrow.

Should I buy the Apple Extreme Base station or just get a wireless router (with a built in switch or not)?

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Unless you intend on sharing a dial up connection ...

The Linksys WRT54g is the way to go. If you need the ability to share a dial up connection wirelessly, the airport extreme base station is the way to go. Personally, I don't think the airport base stations are worth the money, with the exception of the extremely limited express (and only as a point for printer sharing/stereo driving). I had the pleasure of having one in my office, was nice. Wouldn't have worked out well at home.

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Use your judgement

I recommend apple. Especially for people who arent versed in networking. When I do people who take my advice and use Apple stuff don't seem to ever need followup help.

Just consider the points:
• It can be more expensive to buy.
• Its easier to setup
• It works as I described for your scenario. (shares USB printer, bridges ethernet to wireless)
• In the long run, the quality of the Apple equipment and the time you save could make up for the higher price. My time is worth a lot to me.

Everyone is going to weigh in on which router is their fave. Weigh the options, the benefits and the drawbacks, and decide for yourself.

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