Apple MA073LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station Review

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(More customer reviews)I have been using many wireless routers (Linksys, D-Link, SMC, Netgear, Siemens...) over the years, since the early days of 802.11b, but this is my first experience with an Apple router.
There is no need to comment on the manufacturing quality, design and packaging: in typical Apple fashion, they're miles ahead of the competition. For instance, unlike all the other routers I ever used that came with a 110v only power supply, the Airport Extreme Base Station (AEBS for short) comes with a universal worldwide power supply equipped with a standard power cord.
Performancewise, it is exceptional. I have been putting it through its paces over the past few days and it's barely breaking a sweat in situations where my previous routers (Linksys WRT54G and Netgear WGN824) would progressively get slower, or just plain crash and require a reboot. Coverage is excellent, better than my WGN824's which was already quite impressive.
Apple has traditionally be doing things differently, and it shows here again: unlike most routers, which are managed by accessing a built-in web server, this router can only be configured using the "Airport Utility" configuration program. The bundled CD contains a Mac OS X and a Windows version of the utility (I can already hear groans from the Linux geeks). The utility is extremely simple to use, although I haven't tried to use the more advanced features such as setting up another router like the Airport Express as a range extender.
One problem you might run into is the lack of support for "legacy" devices: although the AEBS offers a compatibility mode with WEP devices called "WEP (Transitional)" which lets WEP and WPA coexist, this mode imposes restrictions on the keys that may not work for you (for instance you won't be able to reuse an existing 40-bit WEP key). The problem is that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not compatible with the 802.11n standard, so you have to choose between speed or full backwards compatibility. Also, you should know that WEP-40 and WEP-128 are not very secure: there are utilities out there that can crack these keys easily.
Note that 802.11n gives a significant speed boost to the AppleTV and laptops equipped with compatible cards (such as Apple's Core 2 Duo laptops with the 802.11n enabler installed -- you can find the enabler on the AEBS CD). Unless you own one of these machines, there is no harm in switching to a non-802.11n radio mode. How? Just hold the command key (or control on Windows) while clicking on the "Radio Mode" popup in the Wireless tab of the AEBS configuration utility. Extra, non-n modes appear in the list, and once one is selected the WEP-40 and WEP-128 modes become available under Security. If you select WEP-40 or WEP-128 security, you can enter a hex key by prefixing it with a dollar sign.
The AEBS also comes with a versatile USB port, which can be used to attach hard disks and/or a printer (USB hubs are supported). Unlike other base stations or NAS boxes, the AEBS does not require that you reformat the disk; all you have to do is plug it in and voilà! Instant NAS, all your files show up on the network. Some very basic access control features are provided. I plugged in the external USB drive I use to backup my MacBook, and now I can do automated backups without having to worry about remembering to plug in the drive: it just works wirelessly. The AEBS also lets you share a USB printer.
In conclusion, this router is a fantastic performer. Although it's one of the most expensive 802.11n routers out there, its feature set, build quality, performance and top-notch customer support more than make up for the price difference. I recommend it highly.

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Apple has updated its highly rated wireless router with faster speed, twice the range, a lower price, and wrapped it all up in a whole new design. The new AirPort Extreme Base Station now has extra Ethernet ports for making wired computer connections and/or sharing network printers. It even has a USBslot, for connecting a USB printer, external hard drive, or other USB device. Also, it works with both Mac and Windows machines.
About 802.11n AirPort Extreme Base Station is compatible with the 802.11n draft specification, the new, all-but-finalized (as of February, 2007) standard for wireless networking, or Wi-Fi. Apple says their 802.11n is up to five times faster than the currently ubiquitous 802.11g. It uses three discreet antennas that not only double its range over previous AirPort base stations, but allows up to 50 simultaneous connections. Unless you're an office manager, school principal or a cafe owner, you probably don't care about that much capacity. Still, it's nice to know you can, say, telecommute over the Internet while someone else in your household is streaming video without slowing each other down. Thankfully, AirPort Extreme is backward compatible with 802.11a/b/g devices. Apple does caution, however, that "speed and range will be less if an 802.11a/b/g product joins the network."

And while setting up a Wi-Fi network in your home can often be a confusing, frustrating experience, consumers have learned that Apple is adept at painlessly guiding even novice users quickly through a set-up process. Apple promises that their wizard will have you up, running, and secure in the time it takes to brew a cup of coffee. It offers WPA/WPA2 and 128-bit WEP encryption, as well as a built-in firewall, which helps protect you from Internet intruders.


Sharing Features One of the most interesting features of the new AirPort Extreme Base Station is its ability to turn almost any external USB hard drive into a network attached storage (NAS) device. Just plug the disk directly into the AirPort Extreme Base Station's USB port, and it will be accessible through the built-in file sharing capabilities of both Windows and OS X. The AirPort Disk Utility software helps you set up permissions and passwords, keeping the disk (or parts of it) inaccessible from others on your network. You can similarly turn a standard USB printer into a network printer. The AirPort Extreme Base Station only has one USB port, but you will be able to plug both of those devices and more in by using a separately sold USB hub. Like most wireless routers, AirPort Extreme Base Station lets you create a list of devices allowed to access your network. A new parental control feature in this router, though, lets you lock out specific devices, like a kid's computer, from connecting during certain hours of the day, such as after bed-time.

What's in the Box Apple MA073LL/A AirPort Extreme Base Station, AirPort Utility for Mac and Windows, AirPort Disk Utility for Mac and Windows, 802.11n Enabler for Mac, Bonjour for Windows, power cord, printed and electronic documentation.

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2.4GHz 9dBi 802.11b/g Omni Wi-Fi Dipole Antenna for Network Card or Router Review

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(More customer reviews)+9dB 15" Booster Antenna for "Linksys" with RP-TNC Connector
To solve the mystery of how you can get gain out of what might appear to be a omni-directional whip: This is a collinear antenna which has coils built into it so that it acts like several vertical antennas are stacked on top of one another, each creating more gain as the radiation pattern is squashed down into the shape of a toroid or doughnut so that little power is received or transmitted either directly above or below the antenna and instead concentrated in a band around the center. If the Wi-Fi antenna you want to receive from is elevated above you then you would want this kind of a antenna to be swiveled in such a manner as to put the whip at a 90 degree orientation to the remote station to allow signal reception or transmission off of the sides of the whip where the power is greatest.
Due to the way the receive and transmit pattern is in the shape of a toroid or doughnut this type of antenna can give good gain while at the same time being omni-directional, except above and below the antenna where you don't need to waste the power anyway. If you want a antenna which has much higher gain look for a more directional antenna such as the flat panel antennas, Yagi or a parabolic reflector type of antenna which depending upon the size, can have 20 dB (or more) of gain which is a factor of 100 making a 100 milliwatt or 1/10 of a watt signal seem as powerful as a 10 watt signal, or a 1 watt signal as powerful as 100 watts. If you buy a flat panel Wi-Fi antenna and get one rated for 20 dBi of gain the half power beam width for both receive and transmit will be about 20 degrees. With a 20 dBi gain flat panel directional antenna, if you point it 10 degrees to the left or right from where it should be pointed for maximum signal you will have the equivalent of 17 dB of gain but that apparent gain will quickly drop off the further away the antenna is pointed from the proper direction. Note: It is a coincidence that a 20 dBi gain antenna has a 20 degree wide half power beamwidth, normally gain and half power beamwidth do not correlate to the same numbers except in the case of a 20 dBi gain antenna.
If you want to receive or transmit to two different locations at the same time but want each to have the best signal possible using a single high gain flat panel antenna, you can cut the difference between them sacrificing some of the gain to each one and point the antenna to an area in the middle. As long as the two stations are close enough together to be within a healthy portion of the antennas area of gain this should work out fine. Obviously, you wouldn't expect to be able to use that antenna for two different locations if one was behind you and the other in front but if both are within 30 degrees from you and not too far away a 20 dBi gain antenna could be used by cutting the difference between them. If they are too far separated in azimuth direction from you use a high gain collinear antenna with more power on each end, or perhaps using a lower gain antenna which has a much wider beamwidth or separate antennas for each radio shot. You can also use a splitter designed for 2.4 GHz and combine the receive and transmit from two separate antennas together into one feedline going back to your equipment, if necessary, but there will be a 3+ dB penalty or loss of signal level when doing so but to me this seems like the best solution if you need all the gain you can get from a flat panel or highly directional antenna to each station when using a common or single Wi-Fi transmitter and receiver such as a LinkSys or other wireless router.
Here is a good rule of thumb for line of sight radio shots without buildings or other terrain in between, every time you half the distance you increase the received power from a remote location by six dB, or if you double the distance you lose six more dB of signal level. In areas where there are trees and buildings or hills between each location this rule does not apply as the signal losses can be very great for short distances.


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