TOPIC
This document provides late-breaking news about the AirPort software and AirPort Base Station. For information on using the AirPort software and AirPort Base Station (including the new features in AirPort version 1.1) see the wireless and Internet section of Mac Help, available in the Help menu. If you cannot find the information you are looking for in Mac Help or in this document, check out the Apple Support Web site at www.apple.com/support
DISCUSSION
Contents System requirements Problems installing the AirPort software Important information about upgrading base station software Connecting to a new AirPort Base Station using the AirPort Admin Utility Troubleshooting AirPort Base Station setup Using the AirPort Setup Assistant Internet service provider (ISP) compatibility Troubleshooting Internet access If you tried to use Remote Access to connect to the Internet Troubleshooting dial-up (PPP) Internet connections If you see an error message when you try to connect to the Internet Troubleshooting AirPort network access Problems with a computer-to-computer AirPort connection Problems accessing a network created by an AirPort Base Station Performance problems when connected to an AirPort network Problems accessing a network created by an AirPort software base station Notes about using the AirPort software Reconnecting to networks after waking from sleep Manually disconnecting the AirPort Base Station from the Internet Using BootP Switching networks Ejecting a Lucent WaveLAN PC Card Using Access Control Notes about the AirPort Admin Utility Configuring an AirPort Base Station Configuring a third party base station Problems using the Reset button Problems using Ethernet to connect to the AirPort Admin Utility Dial-up Internet connections and Internet sharing Incorrect checkbox names in Mac Help Notes about the AirPort Base Station Using multiple AirPort Base Stations on the same network AirPort Base Station automatically connects to the Internet Access Control Connecting to a base station using third-party wireless software Reinstalling base station software (firmware) Notes about an AirPort software base station About software base station Using Remote Access to connect to the Internet TCP/IP configurations when using software base station Problems using your computer as a software base station Printing Using AppleTalk File sharing Using your computer as an AirPort software base station Switching network settings while functioning as a software base station Connecting non-AirPort-equipped computers to a software base station Notes about compatibility Network Address Translation (NAT) is the process used by the AirPort Base Station to share a single IP address. Some features of the following applications do not work with NAT by default. In some cases they can be made to work through port mapping on the Base Station. For more information on application compatibility, see the Apple Support Web Site at www.apple.com/support. For information on NAT and configuring port mapping see Mac Help (available from the Help menu).
Problems installing the AirPort software If you are unable to install AirPort on your computer restart your computer with the base set of system extensions and then install the AirPort software by doing the following: 1. Choose Control Panels from the Apple menu and then choose Extensions Manager from the sub menu that appears. 2. Choose "Mac OS 9.0 Base" from the Selected Set pop-up menu. 3. Click Restart. 4. After the computer restarts, open the Extensions Manager and switch back to your previous settings. 5. Close the Extensions Manager.
6. Try to install the AirPort software again.
2. Open the AirPort Admin Utility. 3. Select your base station from the list. 4. Click Configure.
5. Choose Upload Default Software from the Base Station menu.
Using the AirPort Setup Assistant
If you've tried to use Remote Access to connect to the Internet
You can't use the Remote Access control panel or the Remote Access portion of the Control Strip to connect to the Internet using AirPort. To connect to the Internet using an AirPort Base Station that is connected to a standard phone line, open the AirPort application and click the Connect button.
If you see an error message when you try to connect to the Internet When you open an application that requires a connection to the Internet, your AirPort Base Station starts the connection process with your ISP. The time it takes the AirPort Base Station modem to make the connection depends on the condition of your telephone line and which ISP you are connecting to. You may see an error message indicating that a connection error occurred. Click the Connect button in the AirPort application and wait until the application indicates that the base station is connected. Then use your Web browser to go to another Web page. Troubleshooting AirPort network access Problems with a computer-to-computer AirPort connection If you are unable to use AirPort to access another AirPort-equipped computer, try the following: Problems accessing a network created by an AirPort Base Station If you are unable to access a network created by an AirPort Base Station, try the following: Performance problems when connected to an AirPort network If you are experiencing performance problems (such as long download times), make sure that your computer is not near any source of interference, such as a microwave oven or 2.4 GHz cordless phone. (A list of interference sources is available in Mac Help.) Problems accessing a network created by an AirPort software base station If you are unable to access a network created by an AirPort software base station try the following: Make sure that the computer functioning as the AirPort software base station is not shut down or in sleep. Open the AirPort application, click Software Base Station, and make sure that software base station is turned on. Notes about using the AirPort software Reconnecting to networks after waking from sleep Remote servers mounted on your computer's desktop will not reappear after the computer wakes from sleep if the connection is made using AirPort. Manually disconnecting the AirPort Base Station from the Internet To disconnect the AirPort Base Station from the Internet, click the Disconnect button in the AirPort application After disconnecting it may take up to one minute before the base station is ready to connect to the Internet again. Using BootP The current version of the AirPort software only lets you set a fixed IP address or obtain an IP address using DHCP. Do not set your TCP/IP control panel to use BootP when connecting over AirPort. Using BootP to configure your connection may cause unexpected results. Switching networks Switching wireless networks will interrupt any network services currently in progress. For example, if you switch networks while transferring a file, the file transfer process will be interrupted. Ejecting a Lucent WaveLAN PC Card The Lucent WaveLAN PC Card cannot be ejected when the TCP/IP or AppleTalk control panels are set to connect using AirPort (even if AirPort is turned off). To eject the the Lucent WaveLAN PC Card, switch your TCP/IP and AppleTalk configurations, then drag the card to the Trash. If you shutdown your computer, remove the Lucent WaveLan PC Card, and do not have the card inserted the next time you startup, your computer may not be able to access the network. If this occurs, open the AppleTalk or TCP/IP control panel, switch your network settings and then close the control panel. Then open either control panel again and reselect AirPort and close the control panel. Just opening a closing either control panel may also correct this problem. Using Access Control You can restrict access to a wired network connected to your AirPort Base Station (or computer functioning as a software base station) based on the AirPort ID of the AirPort Card installed in a computer. Access Control prevents computers not in the access control list from accessing the wired network attached to the base station. However, in the case of an AirPort Base Station access control will not prevent access to other computers on the AirPort network. Notes about the AirPort Admin Utility Configuring an AirPort Base Station The AirPort Admin Utility is designed to provide network administrators advanced base station configuration options. Most users will be able to configure all of the necessary base station settings using the AirPort Setup Assistant.
"Distribute IP addresses" checkbox selected.
When you enable roaming, if you want also want the AirPort Base Station to assign IP addresses using DHCP, also do the following: IMPORTANT NAT cannot be used when roaming is enabled. Wireless computers must be assigned real IP addresses using DHCP or assigned a fixed IP address. AirPort Base Station automatically connects to the Internet The AirPort Base Station automatically initiates a connection to the Internet whenever any application, such as your Web browser or e-mail program, makes an Internet request. Applications that try to access the Internet, such as the File Sharing control panel, may initiate a connection. Because of this, it may appear that the base station is dialing on its own. Check the settings of any application that may be making Internet requests automatically. Access Control The AirPort Base Station supports restricting access based on the AirPort ID of the AirPort Card installed in a computer. To enable Access Control you need to upgrade your base station using the base station software provided with version 1.1 of the AirPort software. Connecting to an AirPort Base Station using third-party wireless software If you are using a computer with wireless software other than AirPort, you may be able to connect to the AirPort Base Station and use it for Internet access. However, the network password you enter is different from the one AirPort users enter. To find the network equivalent password for your AirPort Base Station, do the following: 1. Open the AirPort Admin Utility. 2. Select your base station from the list. 3. Click Configure. 4. When prompted, enter the password for your base station. 5. Choose Network Equivalent Password from the Base Station menu. The window will display the network equivalent password for your base station. Reinstalling base station software (firmware) If your AirPort Base Station stops responding completely, you need to reset the base station and then reinstall the base station software (perform a forced reload). Reinstalling the base station software may be useful when troubleshooting a base station problem because it will restore the base station to its factory default state allowing you to reconfigure it using the AirPort Setup Assistant or AirPort Admin Utility. IMPORTANT You should only reset the base station and reinstall the software if all other methods of accessing the base station fail. Your computer must be directly connected to the base station using an Ethernet crossover cable or an Ethernet hub. You cannot configure the base station using a wireless connection. All settings will be lost. To reset the base station and reinstall the software, do the following: 1. Connect your computer to the AirPort Base Station using Ethernet. You can connect directly to the base station using an Ethernet crossover cable, or you can connect through an Ethernet hub using standard Ethernet cables. 2. Set the TCP/IP control panel to connect using Ethernet and close the control panel. You may notice a brief system delay after closing the control panel. 3. Disconnect the power adapter from the base station and then reconnect it. 4. When all three status lights glow amber, insert the end of a paper clip into the reset button hole on the bottom of the base station. 5. Press and hold the reset button for 30 seconds. The middle AirPort Base Station status light glows amber. If the light glows green, you pressed the reset button too late. Go back to step 3 and try again. 6. Double-click the AirPort Admin Utility (located in the AirPort folder inside the Apple Extras folder). After a brief delay, a list of base stations appears. If the AirPort Admin Utility is already open, click the Re-scan button. 7. Select your base station from the list and click Configure. (The base station name will be set to the Ethernet ID of the base station, for example "00-50-E4-5B-8F-EA".) 8. Follow the onscreen instructions to reinstall your AirPort Base Station software. Note: The AirPort Base Station password is set to "public". 9. Use the AirPort Setup Assistant to reconfigure the base station. IMPORTANT If you use the AirPort Setup Assistant to reconfigure the AirPort Base Station after reinstalling base station software, make sure that you select the correct set of TCP/IP settings to use to configure the base station. Because you changed your current TCP/IP configuration to Ethernet, you may have a TCP/IP configuration titled "AirPort" that uses Ethernet. When prompted to select a configuration in the AirPort Setup Assistant, do not use this configuration. If you want to use the AirPort Admin Utility to reconfigure your base station instead of using the AirPort Setup Assistant, set the TCP/IP control panel back to connect using AirPort, if necessary select the AirPort network from the AirPort application or Control Strip, click Re-scan in the AirPort Admin Utility, select your base station and click Configure, and when prompted for a password enter "public". Notes about an AirPort software base station About Software Base Station
AirPort 1.1 contains a preview version of the new software base station feature.This feature allows an AirPort-enabled computer to function as a Base Station for an AirPort network. An updated version of the software Base Station feature will be available soon from Apple. For the latest information, go to Apple's Support Web site at
http://www.apple.com/support
.
If you use Remote Access to connect to the Internet, you must have a user name and password and the "Save password" checkbox must be selected. In addition, you must also have the "Connect automatically when starting TCP/IP applications" checkbox selected in the Options window.
When you turn on software base station it will use your computer's current Internet settings (including the settings in current TCP/IP configuration) to connect to the Internet. However, if you open the TCP/IP control panel while the computer is functioning as a software base station and using PPP to connect to the Internet, you will see a TCP/IP configuration named "AirPort AP" that has AirPort as its connect via method. This configuration is only active while your computer is functioning as a software base station. The TCP/IP configuration the software base station used to connect to the Internet will be reset when you turn off the software base station.
If you have problems when using your computer as an AirPort software base station, turn it off using the AirPort application and then delete the "AirPort Prefs" and "AirPort AP Configuration" files from the Preferences folder located insider the System Folder. Then use the AirPort Setup Assistant to set up the software base station again.
Computers connected to an AirPort software base station will not be able to use AppleTalk for printing. The AirPort software base station only supports printing using TCP/IP.
Computers connected to an AirPort software base station will only be able to use TCP/IP file sharing to access computers attached to the software base station using Ethernet. Use the Network Browser (available in the Apple menu) to connect to another computer using TCP/IP. For more information on setting up file sharing using TCP/IP, see Mac Help.
If you set up your computer to be an AirPort software base station, make sure to configure its Energy Saver settings that it does not go to sleep.
Changing Internet or network settings while your computer is functioning as a software base station will cause unexpected results. Before switching network settings, turn the software base station off.
You can connect a non-AirPort equipped computer to a software base station so that you can share the Internet connection. However, if you use Ethernet as your connection to the Internet computers connected to a software base station also using Ethernet must manually configure TCP/IP instead of using DHCP. On computers using Ethernet, set the configure method in the TCP/IP control panel to Manually and enter an IP address in the range of 10.0.2.201 to 10.0.2.254.
In addition, enter 255.255.255.0 in the the Subnet mask box and enter 10.0.2.1 in the Router address box. To determine the value to enter in the Name server addr. box, open the TCP/IP control panel on the computer functioning as the software base station and enter the same value that appears there. In addition to manually configuring TCP/IP on the other computers, select the "Also provide IP addresses on Ethernet" checkbox in Network tab of the software base station window (available in the AirPort application).
Applications not compatible with network address translation (NAT) The following applications are not compatible with NAT (the process used by the AirPort Base Station to share a single IP address). For more information on application compatibility, see the Apple Support Web Site at www.apple.com/support. For information on NAT see Mac Help (available from the Help menu).
Note:
Wireless internet access requires AirPort Card, AirPort Base Station, and Internet Access (fees may apply). Some ISPs are not currently compatible with AirPort, including America Online. Range may vary with site conditions.
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Document Information | |
Product Area: | AirPort |
Category: | AirPort Software |
Sub Category: | General Topics |
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