Setting Up With the AirPort Admin Utility

AirPort base stations are configured using the Apple AirPort Admin Utility. When you start up this utility, it immediately searches the network for compatible AirPort base stations by sending a Multicast DNS (mDNS) query packet to the DNS port (53/UDP) on a multicast IP address. This query packet is formatted like any other DNS lookup request, but the host name it's looking for describes the desired type of network service (a wireless base station). Any mDNS-supporting device that offers the desired service responds with a standard DNS response, listing its own IP address.

If the AirPort Admin Utility fails to find any AirPort base stations advertising themselves via mDNS, the software falls back to the broadcast method of searching for base stations. When finished, the AirPort Admin Utility lists all of the discovered base stations and their IP addresses.

A. Base station name as it appears to clients B. MACaddress of Ethernet WAN port C. MACaddress of EthernetLAN port D. MACaddress of wireless card inside base station E. Base station's firmware version

After you have selected a base station in the list at the left, the AirPort Admin Utility shows information about that base station at the right. This information is useful when you are working with AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme features such as wireless bridging (explained in “Setting Up Wireless Bridging”).

Configuring Multiple Base Stations

With the AirPort Admin Utility, you can configure multiple base stations at once. You could use this feature to apply a saved base station configuration file or to update the firmware on several base stations. You should always keep the firmware up-to-date to ensure maximum compatibility and security.

To configure multiple base stations, select the desired base stations and click Multiple. You should then see the following dialog:

Select “Upload default firmware” to restore the base stations to factory settings.

Select “Upload other firmware” to load a firmware file with new features or fixes downloaded from Apple Software Updates.

Select “Upload saved configuration” to upload a specific configuration file. This is useful for configuring a large roaming network or when a number of base stations require an identical configuration.

Summary Screen

The summary screen, which appears after you click Configure, provides an overview of your base station's configuration. Here, you can quickly see some of the more common base station information.

The information shown is specific to the selected base station model. For example, antenna and USB printer information do not appear if the base station is an original AirPort Base Station. Make changes to base station names and encryption settings, and then click Update to save them and restart the base station.

Configuring Security

Since we've been talking about passwords, it seems a good time to discuss security. Because a wireless network broadcasts data over the air instead of confining it to a wire, users may assume that their communication is not secure. This is not so. Wireless networks can be almost as secure as wired networks.

AirPort provides four security features. One of these—the Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) transmission method—was developed by the U.S. military to prevent unauthorized access. It is always on. The other security features are options available at the administrator's discretion, and all can be used together for maximum security:

• WEP or WPA encryption can be enabled on the base station. This uses a password as an encryption key for data transmission. AirPort clients must supply this password to access the base station.

• Base stations can be programmed to allow entry only to authorized clients through their Ethernet hardware address (also known as a MAC address, or as an AirPort or AirPort Extreme card's “AirPort ID”).

• Base stations can be programmed as closed networks so that they don't appear in the list of available networks. This requires the client to know the name of the network.

The AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express Base Stations also introduced WAN Privacy. You can use the WAN Privacy settings to configure how the base station communicates through its WAN port. WAN privacy settings are found in the All Settings pane of the AirPort Admin Utility when you are connected to the base station for configuration.

There are three WAN Privacy settings:

• Enable Remote Configuration: Enables you to configure the base station using the AirPort Admin Utility over the WAN port. This might be useful in situations where you need to configure a remote base station over the Internet.

• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) access: Allows sophisticated third-party network management tools to access the base station for remote network monitoring. This is usually useful only in large network environments, such as schools or businesses, where network monitoring might be centralized using SNMP.

• Remote printer access: Allows remote clients that are connected through the base station's WAN port to access a locally connected network printer.

All three WAN Privacy settings are on by default. Since WAN Privacy settings determine whether your base station is easily visible to the public, deselect all options for the most security.

Internet

Click Internet to see all the fields you need for configuring your base station's Internet connection:

The items available in the Connect Using pop-up menu depend on which base station model you're configuring. For example, the modem options do not appear if you have selected an AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station (Broadband).

Set Up a V.90 or V.34 Modem

When you choose either V.90 or V.34 in the Connect Using pop-up menu, the lower half of the screen changes, and you must provide the following dial-up information:

• Main Number: The ISP's primary telephone number

• Alternate Number: A different telephone number to try when the primary number is busy

• Account Name: The login name

• Country: Affects the modem's dialing properties

Be sure to click “Change password” so that you can enter the dial-up account's password (which the ISP provides).

Set Up PPP Over Ethernet

PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) specifies how a computer interacts with a broadband Internet connection such as DSL, cable, or wireless. ISPs that use PPPoE give users the same information they would need to set up a PPP dial-up account. This usually includes a user name and a password.

To set up a base station to use PPPoE, you must provide an account name, which is the login name for the PPPoE ISP. Some PPPoE accounts also require a service name, which the ISP provides.

Be sure to click “Change password” so that you can enter the dial-up account's password (which the ISP provides).

America Online Connections

The base station can connect to America Online using two methods, AOLnet V.34 or V.90 (modem) and America Online (DSL).

As with other dial-up ISP connections, you need a main access number and an alternate number for when the primary number is busy. You don't have to provide an account name and password; you enter those in the AOL client itself.