|
After envying other AAUG members who wirelessly connect to CompUSA's WiFi network during our monthly training sessions there, my wife and I decided our next laptop should be wireless. Then in February 2005 came my chance for a new laptop: my daughter wanted our 1999 Lombard Powerbook. So I suddenly needed to learn about Apple's AirPort wireless network system. Knowing nothing about it or WiFi, I downloaded and read Apple's Designing AirPort Networks (see endnote), but felt it omitted information that I'd probably need, like troubleshooting tips. Remembering that Tidbits Electronic Publishing produces ebooks that aim to cover just such shortcomings in Apple materials, I checked Tidbits.Com and sure enough, found a Take Control of Your AirPort Network e-book. Probably the main question anyone wants answered about Glenn Fleishman's 155-page ebook (v. 1.1.3) is whether it's worth the $10 asking price. So let me give the short answer: yes.
Here's why. While it necessarily repeats some of Apple's own Designing AirPort Networks document, Fleishman's considerable experience with networks--he and Tidbits Publishing founder Adam Engst authored the 500-page Wireless Networking Starter Kit--promises that his tips for smooth setup and operation of a wireless network save rookies like me from hours of frustration and wasted time. For example, the section "Pick the right place for your base station" says to turn on your wireless gateway (Apple calls its Extreme and Express gateways "base stations") and test for signal strength before trying to set up all the parameters both your computer and gateway will need (e.g., TCP/IP settings, dial-up settings). The gateway's default settings, "no matter what the maker, will provide a name and a signal" (26). The signal-level bars in the Internet Connect application (Applications->Utilities->Internet Connect) then show signal strength as you try one place after another in relation to the gateway's location. This tip isn't covered in Apple's documentation for the AirPort Extreme Base Station that I bought along with a new 14" iBook in March 2005, and it's a tip that prevents you completing network configuration of the gateway without knowing whether broadcast range will be sufficient.
But before giving a rundown of similar tips, let me explain how the e-book is set up. Like others in the Take Control series, the ebooks are meant to be read on your computer screen (although they do provide helpful tips for printing) and as such incorporate links throughout that jump you to different parts based on what you want to read. Also, on the cover of the ebook (that is, page i of the .pdf file) is a Check for Updates button which, if you are connected to the Internet, will see whether the ebook has been updated since the last time you read it. This one about AirPort Networks has been updated a number of times since version 1.0; in fact, it was updated in the seven days between the time I thought of reviewing it and the time I received the .pdf file from Randy Brandon, AAUG's reviews coordinator. These frequent revisions make the Take Control series an even better deal, and minor ones are free to registered owners. The important changes in this ebook are listed on pages iv and v, covering software and firmware revisions from Apple, expanded discussions in several parts, updated screen shots for the new software, and discount coupons available for other ebooks, hardware, and software.
Although many parts of Fleishman's ebook are helpful, the following seven were most helpful to me. If I hadn't already read Apple's 80-page Designing AirPort Networks, I'd also include the Quick Start section (pages 2-4 with its links to pertinent parts of the document, and Wireless Basics (pages 4-9). In fact, the Basics section does include much info that Apple doesn't, like information about original AirPort hardware, the 802.11a standard, and both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands used for WiFi broadcasting--and why you should care about any of these.
1. Pick a base station (pages 9-26). This section explains why Apple hardware is an attractive choice for gateways, and provides a helpful chart that immediately answered one of my questions: how many gateways does Apple offer, and which ones work with dial-up connections? Oddly, Apple's web site makes discovering this information unnecessarily difficult by skimping on its descriptions of AirPort Extreme Base Stations and AirPort Express ones. Turns out AirPort Express (the less-expensive option at $129) works only with a broadband connection to the Internet--one that joins the gateway to your cable modem with an ethernet (category 5) cable. And Apple makes two models of the Extreme Base Station: one with a modem (which I need) and one that acquires power via its ethernet cable instead of an AC outlet. This plenum model is rated for fire safety and is aimed at schools and businesses that want to locate the gateways in drop ceilings, away from AC outlets. Fleishman section explains why buying an older graphite or snow AirPort Base Station is not a bargain (but includes a tip about inexpensive fixes for graphite ones that have died from a blown capacitor). It also covers a number of non-Apple brands (e.g., Asante, Belkin, Buffalo, and Linksys) and discusses their advantages and drawbacks vis-a-vis Apple's hardware.
2. Connect without AirPort adapters (Appendix C). The section above includes links to this appendix, which explains where to find cards for older Powerbooks (like my old one that my daughter now has) that fit in the PC card slot--and are usually less expensive than Apple's AirPort card, which these older models won't accept. Different models are described, evaluated, and priced, and links are given to the various company sites that sell them.
3. Pick the right place for your base station (pages 26-30). Here Fleishman explains how to measure signal strength using your laptop or a "sniffer," a device that detects WiFi network signals or any 2.4GHz waves--from microwave ovens or wireless phones or anything else that might be interfering with your network on that bandwidth. The tip described above occurs in this section along with the one to stay in any particular spot at least 30 seconds to be sure the signal doesn't waver. Oddly, neither Fleishman nor Apple say how many bars are adequate nor whether it's possible to light up all the bars. With my Extreme Base Station five feet from my iBook, only 13 of 15 bars light up. Does that mean something's wrong with my new equipment?
4. Setting up an Internet connection (pages 30-62). This is the longest part of the ebook. It includes many diagrams showing various permutations for network setups--and there are plenty, since gateways can be connected to other gateways as part of a large network (bridging, to support client roaming--moving about without losing a network connection). Of course, most of us at home want to share a single Internet connection (that is, a single IP number from your ISP) with other home computers, and depending on which gateway you use, this setup also has numerous possible configurations. Many of these are described and pictured in diagrams, including how to understand and configure distributing a single IP address among networked computers using NAT and DHCP (see my discussion about these initialisms below). Fleishman also explains with screen shots how to set up port mapping with a Linksys WRT54G gateway, a popular alternative to Apple's hardware for extending AirPort networks. Interspersed are tips for preventing trouble and easing the job of network setup.
5. Improve coverage area and range (pages 67-83). This is a very helpful discussion about how to extend the range of an AirPort network wirelessly--a wireless distribution system, or WDS--so that, for example, you have coverage all through your house instead of in just a few rooms. This wireless bridging can be accomplished either with Apple hardware or with others' products, and Fleishman explains again advantages and drawbacks of both, with specific explanations and diagrams for Buffalo, HomePlug, and Linksys products. He also includes how to solve poor range for Titanium Powerbooks, how to use antennae, and how to troubleshoot and solve WiFi conflicts, including those caused by Atheros's "108" or "Turbo G" technology, and those caused by your neighbors in the next apartment running their own WiFi network. These are especially valuable tips, which of course don't appear in Apple's documentation. Also, Fleishman warns that a heavily subscribed AirPort WDS can experience sharply curtailed available bandwidth--reduced by as much as 88%. Apple's document simply says (70) that a WDS "may affect overall network performance," which is not enough guidance to prevent someone purchasing additional hardware that may prove ineffective later.
6. Secure your network (pages 83-107). This second longest section explains how to tell whether you need security on your WiFi network, and if so, whether to use WEP, MAC address filtering, WPA (personal or enterprise), SSL, SFTP, or VPN, among others. Fleishman also explains how to connect to a non-AirPort WiFi (at your school, Starbucks, or airport terminal, for example), even from Windows XP! These discussions explain all the initialisms and whether they'd be appropriate for certain circumstances--like yours at home. Again, each scenario supplies appropriate screen shots to aid in setup. For me, a complete novice, this information helped tremendously in deciding whether and how to deploy security for my home network, and why I might not want to join a public WiFi network for my e-mail if it's not secure. How to make e-mail secure is covered (105-107). Also, the sidebar about MAC addresses (88) is much more helpful than the info given in Apple's document. Fleishman also explains why some security measures, like "closed networks" and "MAC address filtering" are NOT very secure; Apple's document (e.g., 18, 58) doesn't mention these weaknesses.
7. AirPort management tools (Appendix D). Apple has free management tools available for configuring and monitoring AirPort networks--but this is the only place I've seen them mentioned. The AirPort Client Monitor allows real-time monitoring of signal strength and data transmit rate while you're connected to a WiFi network, and AirPort Management Utility provides tools to configure one or more Apple gateways and to log traffic--sort of an AirPort Admin Utility on steroids. Whether I use these or not, at least now I know they exist and how to use them, if it becomes necessary.
Maybe I should also include an eighth section, Setting up AirPort Express (Appendix A), even though my gateway is the Extreme one. Presently, I have no plans to stream music from iTunes, but my daughters with Macs probably do, and the reasonable price of the Express makes it a good choice for a gift. As a bonus, Fleishman's ebook provides more details than Apple's document about setting up the Express--for example, how to use Express to serve wireless AND wired clients (by adding a non-WiFi gateway, like a $50 Linksys model). And Fleishman reveals that Keyspan's $60 Express Remote uses infrared to remotely control the iTunes library you stream to your stereo--another cool gizmo gift!
What could be improved? Occasionally, Fleishman assumes knowledge the reader may not have. In my opening example about finding signal strength (paragraph 2), he assumes I know which application on my iBook has the signal strength bars. I do now, but he could have told me to use the Internet Connect program instead of letting me hunt for it. Also, the many initialisms (see #6 above), while spelled out upon first use, could be gathered in a glossary for easy reference. Same for the many URLs sprinkled through the text. On that topic it seems to me that Fleishman should provide Apple's URL for Express and Extreme, as well as mentioning that some information is available under the Mac's Help menu. And even though I understand that revisions would be more troublesome if page numbers were added to the internal links, such numbers would certainly increase the usefulness of the ebook when printed. Finally, the flow chart for how to connect to the Internet (31) doesn't seem to include connecting via dial-up, which is what I need.
But these are minor defects, especially considering the amount and quality of information for $10. Plus its text is very clean; I found only two errors in the 155 pages, and neither caused confusion. If you want to get started with--or enhance--an AirPort network, Fleishman's ebook is a necessary companion to Apple's Designing AirPort Networks document.
Note: Apple's document Designing AirPort Networks is available in .pdf format from by choosing the link to it under Documentation (top right-hand side of page). Searching under "airport +manual" on the same page finds many related AirPort manuals, too.
|
