Hi Alex,
On Dec 13, 2008, at 5:14 PM, Alex Jurgensen wrote:
How do you set up proxy sta?
I can only excerpt from part of the instructions. I don't have an
AirPort Extreme with 802.11N to try this on. I actually got this Take
Control guide to read up about Time Capsule.
To use ProxySTA mode, follow these steps:
1. Launch AirPort Utility, select the Express N, and click Manual
Setup.
2. Select the AirPort view, and click the Wireless button.
3. From the Wireless Mode pop-up menu, choose Join a Wireless
Network (Figure 69).
Figure 69: Choose a network and enter its password, if any.
4. Choose the network from Network Name pop-up menu (or for
closed network, type in a network name), choose the appropriate
security method, enter the network’s password, and re-enter it for
verification. (AirPort Utility fills in the password if it’s a network
you’ve previously joined on this computer and chosen to remember
its password.)
5. You can choose to check or uncheck the Allow Ethernet Clients box.
Unchecking it still leaves printer sharing and music streaming over
AirTunes available, if you’re using the Express for either or both
purposes.
Note: Why extend a network and not allow Ethernet clients? If
you were using the Express solely for music streaming or printer
sharing. This seems unlikely, but Apple predicts every need!
6. Click Update.
Now your Express N is connected to the Wi-Fi network, and any
computer connected to its Ethernet port, or via an Ethernet switch
plugged into its Ethernet port, can access that Wi-Fi network, and,
presumably, the Internet via that Wi-Fi network.
There's actually more discussion about general network configuration
and specific recommendations for how things work with particular other
brands of network hardware. Also, they offer the following definition
of ProxySTA:
Note: The term ProxySTA refers to the base station acting as
a proxy, a kind of intermediary, between your computers and a
Wi-Fi network; and acting as a station, the technical 802.11 term
(abbreviated STA) for an adapter. An adapter connects to what
we and Apple call a base station, but which is known more
precisely as an access point (AP).
I've had to leave out references to other figures and their captions
which wouldn't make any sense excerpted out of context.
If you're interested, you can take a look at the TakeControl pages for
this book:
http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/airport-n.html
(One warning, the TakeControl books people recently tried to improve
the Accessibility of the checkout and purchasing, which is to the
good, but I think they must have done something to the last but one
"Order confirmation page" because I had a problem with that page.)
Cheers,
Esther
Thanks for listening,
Alex,
On 13-Dec-08, at 11:49 AM, Esther wrote:
Hi Scott,
I'll append a few comments to Woody's reply
Secondly once you have used the airport utility to configure the
device, I assume you simply use the remote speakers option in
iTunes and the music you select in iTunes simply streams over
your network to the airport express which is located near your
stereo?
Yes. once the express is on the network when you launch itunes
there will be a new pop up menu in the lower right area of the
itunes browser that you could select as many "airtunes" express
connected speakers you desire. With the addition of a software
called Air Foil you could stream any audio from your computer
Esther: Yes, you can assign a name for each location that you have
an AirPort Express. It's also possible to extend the range of your
AirPort network by adding on additional AirPort Express units.
Actually, I've read that in the new AirPort Express with Draft N
connectivity there's a new option for extending any wireless
network. (This isn't the case with the older model AirPort Express
that I have; in order to extend wireless networks through WDS, you
had to use compatible wireless network hardware, which generally
meant another AirPort device). Excerpt from "Take Control of Your
802.11n AirPort Network", section on AirPort Express extras:
<begin quote>
CONNECT TO ANY BASE STATION
The AirPort Express with Draft N contains a special, lightly docu-
mented mode that allows it to connect wirelessly to any Wi-Fi
network,
not just other Apple base stations, and share the connection it
creates
via Ethernet. This mode, called ProxySTA by Apple but
not mentioned under that name in Apple’s documentation, is handy
for using the Express N in circumstances where you can’t control how
the network works.
Music streaming and printer sharing: These functions work
no differently with ProxySTA than they do when you use them with
Wireless Distribution System (WDS) or connect the base station via
Ethernet to the rest of a network.
With ProxySTA, Ethernet clients—computers connected directly or
multiple computers connected via an Ethernet switch—must obtain a
DHCP address through a passthrough connection on the network that
the Express has joined.
<snip> instructions for setting up ProxySTA mode
<end quote>
Woody
Cheers,
Esther
