Digital Trends

Apple AirPort Extreme

February 4th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup and Use

For those who've owned earlier versions of the AirPort Extreme, the setup and configuration process for the new AirPort Extreme will be relatively simple. Those of you who have never used an AirPort Extreme base station, the automatic setup process is simple, but not as simple and tinker-free as setting up a new Mac computer. Setup requires a little thought and attention, but not too much.

The primary setup actions are easy - pull the AirPort Extreme from the packaging and remove the plastic wrap. Plug it in to an outlet. Run a LAN cable from your cable/DSL/T1 modem to the WAN port on the back of the AirPort Extreme. That's it - the hardware is set up.

On your Mac, insert the AirPort Extreme installation CD. Once the CD opens, click on the AirPort setup icon. This begins the setup wizard with which you will be able to name your network (SSID) and your base station (in case you have more than one, or if you also use an AirPort Express). You'll be asked to indicate the type of internet connection you have. If you don't know this, your internet provider will be able to tell you. You'll have the option of setting up the AirPort Extreme with or without encryption. Encryption is a very wise choice. A few moments later, the AirPort Extreme setup process will be complete. The base station will reboot and your connection should be live. You may need to re-connect to the base station using your wireless connection icon, but chances are your Mac will automatically make friends with the AirPort Extreme.

There are a great number of ways you can manually configure the AirPort Extreme to match your exact needs. To do this, open your Utilities folder, launch the AirPort Extreme Utility app, select your base station, then hit Command-L (or select the Base Station menu, then Manual Setup). There are enough custom options to keep you occupied for a while. If you royally screw something up (unlikely), you can always do a hard reset of the AirPort Extreme by way of the reset button on the back of the base station.

In short, the setup process is pretty easy. More inexperienced users may need to ask for help, but there's a good chance everyone will be able to do it all on their own.

AirPort Utility Screen Shot, Summary Page


AirPort Utility Screen Shot, Password and Time Settings


AirPort Utility Screen Shot, Internet Settings Page

Peripherals

The first thing I did after setting up the base station was attach a printer. I set up my HP printer via the USB port. It worked instantly, just as if I'd had it plugged directly into my laptop via USB. No difficulties at all. Lag time from hitting the "Print" button till printing began was the same as before.

I also have a network-enabled printer, so I set it up on the base station using one of the available LAN ports. Setting up a printer with a specific IP address takes a little more setup time, but it's equally simple. To use a specific IP address in an internal network, like so many 192.168 networks, one must open the AirPort Extreme Utility app, select the base station, then hit Command-L (or select the Base Station menu, then Manual Setup), and use the Internet/DHCP settings to change the AirPort Extreme from the standard 10.0 IP to 192.168.whatever.

Luckily, the setup interface for the AirPort Extreme is awesome in simplicity and impeccably organized. Changing the IP address for the base station takes no more than 20 seconds - less if you don't gawk at the pretty interface.