Airport Extreme/Express opinions

[fruitbat]

Hi,
I was wondering if someone can confirm or tell me otherwise...

In my living room - I have my media server which is wired to my router, but id like to move that to the other side of the room.. So i had a new idea on the weekend, to try the apple route. (Note - i dont want to run a cable up the side of the wall and into the roof etc etc and down the other side.

A config like this - Router connected to an Airport Express/Extreme where the router is - (both look cool).
Then move the media server to the other side of hte room and put in a airport express that is connected to the media server.

Would that work?

 

[MagicDude4Eva]

The AEX running in bridge mode will function perfectly fine. I used this setup before. My biggest issue was that the signal from the study to the lounge was too weak and forced me to run a cable instead.

 

[koffiejunkie]

Yes, it would work - I used this setup for several years with two 1st gen Airport Expresses. It worked brilliantly - stable with very good performance. The Airport Utility makes htis child's play to set up too. In a previous life I set up identical wireless bridges using a variety of consumer and pro kit (Netgear, D-Link, Zyxel, Cisco, etc) and the difference in ease of use is a canyon and then some. Granted, nearly a decade have passed, so it's possibly easier now.

That said, I had issues in my last place - thin walls in a dense area, so lots of interference. Server box was in a room adjacent to the lounge, and the connection was mosty to allow the TV to play content over DLNA. 1080p content, especially higher bitrate stuff struggled a bit. I eventually ran a cable and disconnected the second Airport Express.

The other caveat is that the Airport Express only has 100mbit NICs, so while it can do 802.11n, you're still limited to 100Mbit/s. The Airport Extreme has Gigabit ports and 802.11ac. I'll also say that the Airport Express is by far the best (consumer) wireless access point I have used.

In my current place I don't have the need to bridge, but since my internet is actually faster than my Aiport Express, I'm looking at getting an Airport Extreme - just need to decide if I want the Airport Extreme or the Time Capsule which has it built in. Decisions, decisions...

 

[koffiejunkie]

Another hint, if you have an older Mac with an older version of OSX (I don't remember which - Lion or Snow Leopard?), the older Airport Utility requires a *little* bit more know-how (it's still fall-off-a-log easy) but gives you more control over setting up the bridge. Worth trying if you don't get the desired results with the current one.

 

[fruitbat]

Another hint, if you have an older Mac with an older version of OSX (I don't remember which - Lion or Snow Leopard?), the older Airport Utility requires a *little* bit more know-how (it's still fall-off-a-log easy) but gives you more control over setting up the bridge. Worth trying if you don't get the desired results with the current one.

Thanks for the feedback!

I'm thinking im going to go ahead and get 2 airport expresses, and test it out. And it will tidy up the lounge a little if it works!

Thanks again.

 

[SauRoNZA]

It would work but would be a ridiculously expensive adventure and not work as well as running the cable.

Max R500 to have a cable run by a professional.

R3000+ for the wireless option which will be inferior.

 

[fruitbat]

It would work but would be a ridiculously expensive adventure and not work as well as running the cable.

Max R500 to have a cable run by a professional.

R3000+ for the wireless option which will be inferior.

Yea - but i dont want the cable going up the wall... and the apple kit looks o so sexy too!

Sex sells ;-)

 

[fruitbat]

Another hint, if you have an older Mac with an older version of OSX (I don't remember which - Lion or Snow Leopard?), the older Airport Utility requires a *little* bit more know-how (it's still fall-off-a-log easy) but gives you more control over setting up the bridge. Worth trying if you don't get the desired results with the current one.

Hi,

I went with a time capsule, and an airport express. Used my macbook to set it all up, and it was indeed super easy. Setup is much neater now without the media server on the book shelf in the open... its now next to the couch on the other side of the room - completely out of sight (From my son!)

 

[koffiejunkie]

Ha! I just picked up an Airport Extreme today, only to find I'm not getting any better performance out of it. Spend a few hours swearing at myself until I realised one of my network cables are cat-5, and not 5e/6. Swapped it out and now all is nice and fast

 

[Space_Chief]

Not chuffed with my Airport Extreme. Sucks donkey's b@lls IMHO.

 

[aquadat0r]

Not chuffed with my Airport Extreme. Sucks donkey's b@lls IMHO.

@Space_Chief, can you please explain a bit more?

 

[krycor]

Ive been waiting for this device to be refreshed.. Meh