Now that I have a Core 2 Duo portable and a Core 2 Duo iMac, I figured that I might be able to take advantage of the new Apple Airport Extreme (N) base station. I was able to get the base station for PhP9,000, delivered by the reseller (yeah, nothing beats that kind of a service!). After 10 minutes, I had the unit unpacked and ready for installation.

Just like any other Airport access points, configuration is done via a Mac application. The new Airport Extreme base comes with a new version of the Airport Utility as well as the IEEE 802.11n Enabler software for Core 2 Duo Macs. Installing the software is a cinch, of course. I wish that Apple supports a browser-based configuration tool just like the other WiFi routers from other manufacturers.

I connected the base station to my broadband modem, entered the user name and password for PPPoE and rebooted. Yeah, another gripe is that it requires a reboot every time you change something - very much unlike Apple, huh? Anyway, it automatically logs in and gave me internet connectivity on my MBP.

With internet connection, the next logical thing to do is to check if there are updates, both the base station firmware and the OS. Software update indicated updated drivers so I downloaded and installed it. Running Airport Utility also indicated a new firmware for the base station, version 7.1, which I downloaded and installed without incident. What baffles me, however, is the fact that Apple allows firmware updates via WiFi, something which other manufacturers are not comfortable recommending. The firmware update was successful and as always, it rebooted the base station.

Now it is time to configure all other features of the base station by selecting Manual Setup. First on the list is securing the network (the base station automatically prompts you to set a base station name, SSID and password when you first configure it). Generating and assigning a random 64-character WPA 2 key adds a level of security on top of MAC address filtering. That should be enough but if you have access to a RADIUS server, then I highly recommend that you use it instead.

An added feature that I found is the Timed Access for each MAC address in the filter list. You can set the time and day(s) when a particular MAC address can access the internet. I reckon that this is useful for parents to limit their children’s on-line time.

By default, DHCP is enabled. Unfortunately, I could not find a way to disable DHCP. I simply set DHCP to give very limited IP address range with a limit of 10 minutes before a refresh is required. Another issue I have with the base station is the fact that you cannot assign its IP address, it always defaults to the x.x.x.1. I had all my previous routers set to other IP addresses. I wish that Apple will change this in the future.

The Airport Extreme base station has NAT enabled by default along with the default host (DMZ?). Network Address Translation (NAT) is important if you are sharing your broadband connection with other computers. With my old router, I had my MBP on the DMZ, meaning, it is visible on the WAN. Risky, yes, but hey, I’m not running Windows OS so I am pretty confident that I’m safe. Hehehe. No, I don’t recommend it to everyone - just those who know what they are doing, of course. :P And oh, don’t forget to check if all your ports are in stealth mode, i.e., port scanners won’t get a response from your router (the old Airport Extreme base station used to fail this test).

Next feature that made me purchase the base station is IPv6 support. It provides you with options to configure IPv6 as a node or a tunnel (6to4). I configured mine to Tunnel and enabled the IPv6 firewall (enable Block Incoming IPv6 connections). Checked the connection by going to www.kame.net and see if the turtle moves (IPv4 connections display a static turtle) and it doesn’t, on Safari! On Firefox and Camino, you need to tweak the config (about:config), look for network.dns.disableIPv6, then set it to "false". Still no IPv6. Weird, huh? It went on like this for a couple of minutes until I decided to search the Apple Discussion group for similar issues. There is a bug! IPv6 will not work if you have "Enable Default Host" checked (Apple is aware of this already and working on a fix, I hope). After I disabled it, IPv6 worked as expected. w00t! So what if I can connect to the IPv6 network? Well, personally, it makes my home network future-proof. In addition, this is important for university research - developing IPv6 only applications and services.

Sharing the printer in my home network was done through an Airport Express. With the Airport Extreme supporting USB printer and file sharing, I simply connected my Brother laser printer and boom! It spat out a test page, indicating that it is working. On both my MBP and my wife’s iMac, it was like magic - no installation, no configuration! :)

With the printer connected, File sharing is impossible since the base station only has one USB port. Don’t fret since it supports USB hubs! Right now, I am using my brother’s 4-port USB hub, a "pasalubong" from JavaOne 2007, with the printer connected and a USB flash disk. :)

File-sharing can be secured either by user accounts, via a disk password or via a common base station password. I first tried setting access by user accounts and mounted my 2GB USB thumbdrive. Accessing the Airdisk is done either via the Airport Disk Utility or Finder’s "Connect to Server". One thing I found out, though, by using "Secure by User Accounts", you will not be able to see the other files in the disk (well DUH!). A new directory is created for the user. I switched to "Secure by Base Station Password" and that made the entire Airdisk content visible. Securing the Airdisk by disk password provides users with access similar to "Secure by Base Station Password" but without divulging, obviously, your base station password. So, I guess the choice depends on your personal preference. :)

So after spending less than 24 hours with the Apple Airport Extreme (N) Base station, here’re what I like and dislike so far.

1. No Web Interface. Linux users will not be able to configure the

base station.

2. Turning off DHCP is not possible

3. Base Station IP address assignment

4. No Gigabit Ethernet (for me, it does not matter since I have no

use for it... yet)

5. No AirTunes (yeah, I miss Airport Express Airtunes)

6. Reboots for every setting change

1. Speed and coverage (obvious and expected)

2. IPv6 support

3. Airdisk

4. Printer Sharing

5. SNMP support

MY recommendation - if your network is capable of Apple’s IEEE 802.11N implementation and you transfer gigabytes of data between computers wirelessly, then you may find the Apple Airport Extreme a good investment. If one of your computers cannot connect via IEEE 802.11n or if you require fast (gigabit speed) wired transfer or if you do not transfer files wirelessly between computers often, then don’t buy it - unless, of course, you have cash to burn.

My next gadget is the AppleTV - now I hope that my editor will get me a demo unit for testing. :)

Until next week, cya!