Equipment setup Apple AirPort Extreme
to connect to the Smile network

This router does not support IPTV port!

First, you need to connect all cables to the appropriate connectors:

• Food.
• Incoming Ethernet cable from the provider (to the corresponding WAN port.)
• Ethernet cable from the network card to any LAN port on the router. (usually indicated by numbers.)

For Windows XP:

Go to the menu , .

In the network connections window (Figure 1), click right click mouse on " " and select " Properties».

Figure 1. Network connections window in Windows XP.

In the window " Properties Connections by local network "(Figure 2) select " Internet Protocol tcp/ipProperties».

Figure 2. Local network connection properties.

In the window " Properties of the Internet Protocol TCP/IP» (Figure 3) select:

• « »
• « »

and click the button OK»

Figure 3. TCP/IP protocol

For Windows 7:

Go to the menu

, , , .

In the window " » (Figure 4) click .

Figure 4. Network and Sharing Center window shared access" in Windows 7.

In the window " "(Figure 5) find " LAN connection", right-click on it and select " Properties».

Figure 5. Window " Network connections» in Windows 7

In the window " Local Area Connection Properties" (Fig. 6)) select the item " Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"(WITHOUT unchecking the checkbox) and click on the " Properties».

Figure 6. Local network connection properties in Window 7.

In the window " Properties: Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)"(Figure 7) select:

• « Obtain an IP address automatically»
• « Obtain DNS server address automatically»

and click the button OK»

Figure 7. TCP/IP protocol

For settings of this device program needed . It is included by default in MAC OS. For Windows operating systems this program can be downloaded from the Apple website, or .

Setup using the Installation Wizard

Manually setting up Internet access

For manual settings Internet access:

Manual wireless network setup

To manually configure a wireless network:

Manually setting up a guest network

To manually configure a guest network:

Changing the password to access the device

To increase the security of your Internet use, we recommend changing the password for accessing the router’s web interface. For this:

Magazine

You may also need data from the router log. To get this information:

In order to get into the router’s web interface, you need to open AirPort - Utility. The utility is located in the Utilities - Applications folder on a Mac, or in Start > All Programs > AirPort on a Windows computer.

1. Launch AirPort Utility
2. Select the required device from the list and click the “Manual setup” button.

[Setting up WI-FI on the router]

In AirPort utility you need to select the tab at the top "Airport", in the list that opens, select “ Wireless network " We set the parameters as follows:

1. Wireless mode: Creating a wireless network.
2. Wireless Network Name: Enter the name of the wireless network. The value in this field cannot be changed.
3. Check the box: Allow expansion of this network.
4. Radio mode:
5. Radio channel selection: Select the Automatic value.
6. Wireless Security: Personal WPA/WPA2.
7. Wireless password: You must enter any set of numbers from 8 to 63. They also need to be remembered so that you can specify them when connecting to the network. Recommended to be used as a key serial number devices (indicated on the box as S/N ########).
8. Confirm the password: You must re-enter your wireless password.
9. Check the box: remember the password in the keychain.
10. Click the button below Update».

Some users of Apple devices (iPad, iPhone, etc.) have probably encountered the problem of using the Internet while on a business trip - namely, the fact that not everywhere there is wireless Wi-Fi Internet. LAN cable yes, but no Wi-Fi :(

And how evil the stubs can work with the network only via a wireless channel! What to do in such cases? For this, the cunning Apple people came up with special devices - WiFi routers.

Theoretically, you can use absolutely any router, ranging from cheap ones (from $30) to very widespread routers DLINK DIR-300 and their modifications (DIR-320, etc.) and ending with expensive (from $100) and powerful models from ASUS or the same DLINK, there is a router in this segment Apple Airport Extreme.

But using such routers is not very convenient. Firstly, the relatively large size and weight do not allow them to be carried with you often; they were created primarily as stationary devices. Secondly, often external antenna and the power supply with wires do not at all hint at the mobility of these routers.



Apple met its customers and offered a convenient mobile device - Airport Express.

In a box measuring 150*140*70 mm are placed:

• The router itself
• AirPort Utility CD
• Instructions in several languages ​​(except Russian, since Apple does not officially ship these routers to Russia)

From setup experience, we can say with great confidence that the program AirPort Utility It is better not to use the one that comes on the disk included with the router for configuration - there is a high probability that it will most likely turn out to be incompetent.



Setting up Wi-Fi router Apple Airport Express

1. Connect to router Airport Express network cable(RJ45 connector) and plug the router into an outlet (~100-220V, 50-60Hz). The status indicator on the router will turn yellow. It will light up continuously for some time, then it will start blinking, which means you can start setting up.

2. If you run the program AirPort, then it will probably show nothing and will constantly search for base stations. This is possible, for example, if the router firmware is older than that installed on iPad program AirPort.

3. Open Settings -> Wi-Fi. In chapter " Set up an AirPort base station..."Your router should be displayed - AirPort Express 6c5637 (the code can be any).



4. Tap on the line AirPort Express 6c5637. After checking, the router settings panel will be displayed:

5. Leave the option " Create new network ", especially since it is recommended.

6. Enter the name of the network, for example, My Web.

7. Router can be renamed by writing instead AirPort Express any other name.



8. Enter the password twice (at least 8 characters!) in each field: " Password" And " Examination".



10. Press " Ready". Now in the section " Wi-Fi networks"our network is displayed" My Web" and the iPad is connected to it:

11. By tapping on the line with the network, you can see the connection parameters: the received IP address, mask, etc.

Most users of modern devices prefer to use devices developed by Apple. This kind of preference is most likely due to the quality, performance and style of the products. True, they also have several disadvantages, because of which many amateurs and professionals refuse to purchase the unit. First of all, it should be noted the high cost of gadgets and the unique approach that, for example, the Airport Express router requires.

To configure the device you need to install a proprietary utility

This device is a full-fledged Wi-Fi router, adapted to almost all domestic providers.

Features of the American unit

Today, two versions of the Airport Express router are sold around the world. The new device has an updated body and a more advanced form factor. The latest version of Airport Express can support more than 50 devices connected via Wi-Fi, operate at 5 GHz, and also connect to a USB printer and print documents without the use of cables. The case is not equipped with outputs for direct connection of flash drives and modems. Another difference of the new router is the presence of AirPlay and an additional LAN port.

Apple Airport Express does not have a personal web interface, and user configuration requires the proprietary Airport utility. You can download it from the official website, then install it via the AppStore on your iPhone (iPad). Computers and laptops running MacOS are pre-equipped with this extension.

In today's article we will look at step-by-step instructions that allow even novice users of this American product to easily connect the device.

Setting up a router from Apple

The specialized website apple.ru, although adapted to the Russian consumer, has several significant drawbacks. The fact is that the “simple three steps” described on the web resource, which seem to provide quick and unhindered configuration of the unit, are in fact not enough. The user often faces various difficulties and tasks that cannot always be solved on their own.

Airport Express will be configured within the framework of one of the largest Moscow providers - Speedyline.

At the initial stage, we will take an access point, connect to it a power cord from the network and an Internet cable from the provider serving the user. The last wire must be inserted into the WAN connector (several small circles are drawn above the round hole). If the user is holding a previously connected device rather than a new one, the previous settings should be reset using the reset button.

The following manipulations will help you restore your Apple Airport Express to factory settings:

When disconnecting from the power supply, you need to turn the router over and find a small hole in it into which you can insert the end of a straightened paper clip or a toothpick. After pressing the reset button, you should not let go of your hand for several seconds, and then, while holding reset, turn the unit back on to the power supply so that the indicators indicating the operation of the access point are located in front of the eyes of the connector.

Removing previous settings

Setting up Airport Express is not possible without resetting the previous parameters that were set during the previous connection. The owner of the gadget should wait a few minutes until the router starts “blinking” the status indicator. It is this signal that indicates the need to release the held reset button. This simple manipulation allows you to reset old data and start connecting the device almost from scratch. The access point will glow exclusively yellow until the setup is completed, and only after connection the indicator color will change to green.

Continue setting up the router

Using the Explorer (Finder), in your favorites you should find programs - utilities, among which is the necessary AirPort application. Using this program, further configuration of Airport Express will be carried out, so there is no point in trying to connect the unit via a web interface, which cannot help the user due to its absence.

After opening the application, AirPort base stations will not be instantly found; a specialized notification will notify us about this. Therefore, you need to click on “Other AirPort base stations (1)”, and in the menu that opens, choose AirPort Express aa0406. The selected position opens the settings window.

The router needs to indicate the name of the network and the name of the base station, so in certain lines the user needs to indicate the names that he prefers. It is worth noting that in this section you can leave the default names. The only thing you need to come up with is a password consisting of at least 8 characters (you will have to enter it every time a new gadget tries to connect to a Wi-Fi access point).

So, that's where the simple ends. If the owner of the device, going to any browser and typing the site address, gets to desired page, which means that the provider chosen by the user is able to provide settings that allow you to connect AirPort Express “in just three steps.”

If someone is less fortunate, and your Internet provider only issues IP addresses via DHCP, you can resort to a few more simple steps. True, they can only help if the provider does not regularly check all connections by MAC address, that is, by this identification number, which every network device receives at the manufacturing plant.

Please note that some units are equipped with addresses that cannot be changed or renamed later. Such devices include Apple Airport Express. American developers assign unique MAC addresses to most of their manufactured products, including network cards, adapters, routers, phones.

If your Internet provider filters all connections, you will have to contact its operators for services. When you call technical support, you should indicate that you purchased a new router with an unchanged MAC address. Employees of the provider company will need to help with adding a new MAC address to the user’s table of allowed connections. As a result, the user will only have to configure AirPlay and a network printer.

Setting up a router when renting an external IP address

If technical support reported that the user is a tenant of an external IP address, and the router still lights up yellow, you need to configure Airport Express using a static ip.

The previously mentioned Speedyline company disables MAC address protection, so the device owner needs to download (open) the AirPort application again, click on the access point and the “Change” property. In the “Internet” subsection, the first line “Connect via” should be filled with the word “Static”. The fact is that a static address, unlike a dynamic one, is unchanged. Further configuration involves specifying the IP address, subnet mask, router and DNS server in certain columns. The information must be known to every consumer of a particular provider. If this data is missing, you need to contact technical support, where they will tell you everything.

At the moment when you configure the router, you must enter the gateway address in the “Router” section. And then, after entering all the parameters, you need to press the “Update” button and wait for the process to complete.

Once the procedure is complete, you can close AirPort Utility. The Internet access device will light up with several green circles, which will indicate the presence of the Internet.

Conclusion

Basically, basic setup The router from the American manufacturer is completed and the Airport Express consumer can happily reap the fruits of his labor.

The last time we saw original Apple networking equipment was more than two years ago. Traditionally, the company updates its products while maintaining the names. Today, among wireless devices, it offers users a compact router AirPort Express, high-speed AirPort Extreme and two models with a built-in hard drive of 2 or 3 TB - AirPort Time Capsule.

In this material we will get acquainted with the sixth generation of AirPort Extreme, which boasts the implementation of 802.11ac, clients for which are installed in the latest models of laptops and Apple computers, except Mac mini. In addition, the company decided to significantly change and appearance devices. The remaining characteristics have not changed - two wireless points access in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, gigabit network ports, USB port for drives or printers, configuration using a special utility, the capabilities of the router are significantly limited compared to other devices.

Model A1521 with article number ME918RU/A is already available on the local market. The cost of the device is comparable to the best solutions manufacturers such as Asus and Netgear.

Contents of delivery

Like other Apple solutions, the router begins to attract attention with its packaging. However, there is nothing new in it, except for the size - strong cardboard, White background, photographs and logos. Descriptions and most other text information are presented in pale font gray. It’s interesting that this time they no longer wrote “Mac + PC” on the box, and only modern versions of iOS and OS X are mentioned in the technical requirements. Note that the box opens up, as shown in the photo.

The delivery set is minimal - router, power cable, printed versions of the manual in English and Russian, warranty card. The manufacturer quite reasonably believes that modern users Their products will probably have a wireless client for configuration. So the patch cord is not included.

The firmware update occurs automatically through a proprietary utility, so there are no special downloads on the manufacturer’s website. Presented only digital copy quick guide and setup utility network printer on Windows. Note that the support section on the company’s website is quite convenient. He offers step by step instructions and help in solving problems, so it will be useful for novice users.

Appearance

In the new modification, the company decided to significantly change the design. Now the router is a vertical tower, 168 mm high. The projection is completely identical to the latest generation of Apple TV and has the shape of a square with a side of 98 mm and rounded edges. This design allows us to say that the device takes up less space on the table.

In general, the issue of evaluating router design is controversial. Some users want it to hang discreetly on the wall in the hallway, while others cannot find any place other than on their desktop. IN in this case you just need to take into account the features of this model, including the only vertical installation option. It is also worth noting the rather large weight of the device - almost 950 g.

The body is made mainly of white glossy plastic, but the top end is matte, including the black manufacturer's logo. The black bottom has a special anti-slip coating and ventilation grilles. Although it is not very clear how effective this arrangement is, since there are no grilles on the top of the device. However, according to information from the network, there is a fan hidden inside the case that can solve this issue. During the entire testing period, we heard it only by putting our ears to the ventilation holes, so, apparently, it becomes noticeable under normal conditions only after exceeding a certain temperature threshold inside the case, although it works constantly. Considering the gluttony nature of this generation of Broadcom chips, active cooling may not be superfluous. As for the stability of this model, there were no complaints about it during the tests.

The manufacturer does not indicate the maximum power consumption of the device; it can be indirectly estimated by the parameters of the built-in 12 V 5 A power supply, but they are clearly set with a reserve, even if you take into account the connection of external hard drives. In idle testing, consumption was around 7 watts. When wireless modules were operating, it increased to 12 W. Note that the numbers are not very accurate, since the device used for measurement is designed to work with a higher load.

In the lower right corner of the front panel there is a barely visible router status indicator. It has several operating modes, but overall it is not very informative. All connectors are collected on the rear panel. At the very bottom is the input of the built-in power supply. Above it is a gigabit WAN port. The manufacturer should be commended for choosing this placement of the two main connectors.

The cables from them will practically not interfere. Next comes a USB 2.0 port, and three Gigabit LAN ports complete the list. Note that all wired ports have a built-in connection indicator. In the lower right corner there is a hidden button that allows you to reset only the interface access password or all settings at once.

In general, it is somewhat strange that in 2013 a solution is offered without USB 3.0, despite the fact that the dimensions of the case allow you to easily install several connectors of this standard at once.

Hardware configuration

This model does not involve any user operations inside the case, which cannot be easily disassembled. So information from the Internet was used to describe the configuration. AirPort Extreme has the same design as the AirPort Time Capsule. Inside there are two boards (power supply and main board), separated by a compartment for hard drive, which is placed vertically diagonally along the body.

The Broadcom BCM53019 SoC contains not only the main dual-core processor, but also a USB 2.0 controller and a network switch, which eliminates the need for additional chips. The processor operating frequency is unknown. Most likely it is around 1 GHz. The radio units are represented by a pair of Broadcom BCM4360. In the 2.4 GHz band, the router operates in 802.11n with a maximum connection speed of 216 Mbps, since it does not use dual-channel operation. This limitation apparently does not depend on the region and is present on all modifications of the device. For 5 GHz, 802.11n and 802.11ac are supported. For the first maximum speed connection is 450 Mbit/s, but with the second everything is a little more complicated. Interestingly, the manufacturer on the main product page is modestly silent about specific numbers, saying only “incredibly fast”, “pushes the boundaries of speed”, “much faster speed” and “will bring connection speed to the maximum”. This information is also not available on the technical specifications page available in the support section of the site. However, if you go to the product description in the “Store” or get to the comparison table of current network products, you will find the required information that will confirm our fears. We tested the operation of the router with three adapters that were in the laboratory and came to the conclusion that the device provided for testing does not work in “real” four-channel 802.11ac mode. The fastest 1300 Mbit/s adapter connected at 600 Mbit/s, and 867 Mbit/s adapters (with two rather than three antennas) operated at 400 Mbit/s. These figures correspond to operation using two frequency channels. This situation is explained by the manufacturer's strict adherence to regional restrictions. In some countries, including Russia, the device is capable of using only two channels instead of four when operating in 802.11ac. We do not undertake to evaluate the policies of manufacturers in this matter, but it is worth recognizing that such a position is justified, although it may bring certain inconvenience to users. In any case, we can only find out the real state of affairs from tests. Note that router models for other countries, in particular the USA, Great Britain and Germany, may not have such restrictions.

Flash volumes and random access memory are 32 and 512 MB respectively. The built-in power supply is rated at 12 V 5 A. Quite large radiators are installed on the processor and radio. All six antennas (three each for the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands) are located under the top cover of the router. Compared to the previous generation, the platform's performance has increased significantly. This is especially true for increasing the amount of RAM by four times. However, how and in what applications this will affect needs to be checked in tests.

The platform itself is quite productive. However, there are certain doubts that its capabilities will really be in demand by the built-in software in this model.

Those interested can familiarize themselves with the design details of the device on the well-known resource iFixit. Firmware version 7.7.2 was used in testing.

Settings and features

Like its predecessor, for detailed configuration of the device you need to use the AirPort Utility program. The manufacturer says that it is compatible only with program versions 1.3 and higher for iOS and versions 6.3 and higher for OS X. Note that they are only available for iOS 5 and later and Mac OS 10.7.5 and later. Formally, the utility for older versions of operating systems (and Windows) also sees the device on the network, but it will not be possible to completely configure it with older versions. So the description below applies specifically to current versions of this program. I wonder what for latest generation AirPort Express has no such limitation.

You can start working with the router through a modern mobile device without a utility thanks to the built-in configuration module in iOS. The default network created by an unconfigured AirPort device was detected automatically by the smartphone and was presented in the list separately from others Wi-Fi networks. You can then enter a new network name and password to access that network and the device itself. In our case with iPhone smartphone 4S it took literally a few seconds, after which it took another couple of minutes to update the firmware.

AirPort Utility for Mac OS allows you to view the device's current status, and once you enter your administrator password, you have access to all settings. Moreover, changing them usually occurs with a reboot of the router, which is not always convenient. The program provides the ability to export and import configurations to a file, reboot and reset options, as well as the “Show passwords” item, which is usually hidden, which is useful for forgetful users.

We also note that it is possible to connect wireless printers using WPS technology, but it was not technically possible to test this function.

The router setup menu consists of five sections. IN " Base station» You can change the device name and password to access it, and also allow control via the Internet.

Mac users may find the Back to My Mac service useful, which works if you have an external white address on the router. With it you can work with home network via the Internet, including file sharing and viewing computer desktops. This feature is included with Mac OS and can be used with other routers that support UPnP. You can also specify a DMZ host. We will mention support for the IGMP protocol, but we did not test the operation of IPTV.

Permanent address, DHCP and PPPoE modes are supported for connecting to the Internet. There is no information about the supported services about the built-in DDNS client. Note that the router is also declared compatible with the IPv6 protocol, which may turn out to be quite important this year. On the “Network” tab indicate Extra options device operation.

In particular, here you can disable NAT and the DHCP server, which will turn the router into a dual-band access point. On the same page, fixed IP-MAC assignments for the DHCP server are specified, port translation rules are configured (supported TCP protocols and UDP, you can use ranges, it is possible to specify different external and internal ports).

Additionally, there is a filter to limit the access time of wireless clients to the network. It specifies the rules from the client's MAC address and the schedule for it. In the device characteristics, the manufacturer indicates a limitation on maximum amount connected clients - 50. This number will be enough for most users.

The router has two independent radio modules, which allows you to simultaneously create networks in the 2.4 GHz (802.11b/g/n) and 5 GHz (802.11a/n/ac) bands. You can independently change network names, but the security settings for them are identical. You can use WPA/WPA2 with a passphrase or with a RADIUS server.

On the page additional settings You can select the region and channel numbers used. It's a little strange that only 36, 40, 44 and 48 are offered for 5 GHz, although in automatic mode The device works at 52+56. And the proposed list of countries looks unusual: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Russia, Ukraine. So you won't be able to get additional channels on 5 GHz or use quad-channel mode in 802.11ac. Note that all thirteen channels are available for 2.4 GHz. The router allows you to create guest wireless networks. Their parameters (name and protection) are the same for the two ranges. These clients will only have access to the Internet, but not to the main local network segment (they are given addresses from a separate subnet). Please note that working via RADIUS for guest connections is not supported.

If you need to expand your network coverage, you can use multiple AirPort devices. It is recommended to connect them together with cables to ensure high performance. However, if this is not possible, operation in wireless network extension mode is allowed when using a client mode connection to the main Wi-Fi access point.

The last settings page is dedicated to external drives. On it you can see all volumes connected to the device, although without specifying file systems, and enable the network file management service. There are three options for access control - access by device password, disk password, and user accounts. In the first two cases, full rights are granted. In the third, you can choose for each user - read-only or full access. Rights are specified for all volumes at once. In the characteristics of the model, the manufacturer indicates that for the proprietary program to work Reserve copy Time Machine you need to use an AirPort Time Capsule, and an AirPort Extreme with a connected hard drive is not suitable for it. In reality, the service works in this configuration and such a limitation looks strange, but in this case it is better to be safe.

Utility for mobile devices differs slightly in capabilities from the program for Mac. It has a status page where, among other things, you can view a list of connected wireless clients, the serial number and MAC addresses of the device.

You can change the router name and password, wireless network settings and Internet connection. The additional settings menu contains items similar to those described above, including settings for routing, network drives, port translations, and others.

In general, the device does not impress with its capabilities compared to most routers, even mid-range ones, not to mention top models from leading manufacturers. I was surprised that latest version The proprietary utility for configuring the router has even fewer options than the one reviewed a couple of years ago.

Working with USB devices

The USB 2.0 port is used to work with drives and printers. It is possible to connect several devices simultaneously via a USB hub. Full operation of the printer from Mac OS is supported, including determining the status and ink level. We did not find a compatible MFP to test. For Windows, only standard printing via a network port is implemented. Please note that to work with mobile iOS devices Requires an AirPrint compatible printer.

When working with drives, you can use partitions with FAT32 and HFS+ file systems. As before, when working with names and passwords to restrict access, a folder named Shared is created on the partitions, and original files from the root of the partition over the network are not available. You can work with documents using AFP protocols in Mac OS (HFS+ only) or SMB protocols in Mac OS, Windows and other operating systems. There is a non-disabled function to turn off the power to the disks in the event of user inactivity. There are no ways to safely disable hard drives.

The maximum speed in network storage mode was tested by reading and writing large files (1.3 GB). The clients were PCs with Windows 7 and a Mac mini with OS X 10.9 connected via cable. External storage was presented by the Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex drive with a USB 2.0 adapter.

The network drive's operating speed is average for this class. The previous generation of the router was faster, showing more than 20 MB/s. We also note that the write speed on HFS+ is very uneven. When working through wireless connection data access speed is reduced to approximately 10-15 MB/s depending on file system and ongoing operations.

Performance

The router only supports IPoE and PPPoE for connecting to the Internet. So the next graph showing routing speed will have less data than usual. The test was carried out on a specialized bench for testing routers. Configurations with one/two threads and a higher load of sixteen threads were used.

For a direct gigabit connection, you can expect speeds of 800-850 Mbps. The PPPoE implementation apparently does not use all the capabilities of the hardware platform and with it we see only 250-400 Mbit/s. Of course, on mass channels with connection speeds up to 100 Mbit/s inclusive, the router will not limit users. Let us mention that when working with PPPoE, access to the provider’s local network also works simultaneously.

When testing the wireless segment, we used dual-band adapters TP-Link TL-WDN4800 (PCIe, Qualcomm/Atheros, 802.11n, up to 450 Mbit/s) and Asus PCE-AC68 (PCIe, Broadcom, 802.11n/ac, up to 600/1300 Mbit /With). The clients participating in the test worked under the operating system Windows systems 8.1. We did not have the ability to test with modern Apple laptops and desktop systems. However, it is worth considering that the controllers installed in them use the same chips as the used adapters. The wireless network was configured in WPA2-PSK mode and fixed channel numbers. Configurations with one/two threads and eight were tested. The distance between the devices was about four meters of line of sight.

In terms of speed, given the limitation in the 2.4 GHz band to work with only one channel, we did not expect much from this configuration.

For a connection speed of 216 Mbps, the results shown look good. However, you need to understand that there are practically no clients on the market who have three antennas but are not capable of operating at 5 GHz. At the same time, the vast majority of mobile devices will be able to connect in the 2.4 GHz band only at 72.2 Mbit/s, and only some, which have two antennas installed, at 144.4 Mbit/s. Actual performance is usually about half of the connection speed.

Much more interesting is the operation of the router at 5 GHz. In this case, with 802.11n you can get a connection of 450 Mbit/s, and with 802.11ac - of 600 Mbit/s (as we wrote above, our instance did not support working in this standard with four channels).

The maximum operating speed with an 802.11n device is 170-310 Mbit/s, which is an excellent indicator. If you have an 802.11ac adapter installed, you can count on more than 450 Mbps in multi-threaded mode. Regarding the above-mentioned limitation on the number of channels, we recall that in testing devices this standard from other manufacturers we received figures at the level of 440-630 Mbit/s, so we are not talking about a two-fold lag, but it’s still a little disappointing.

Let us recall that in recent testing of smartphones with support for 802.11ac, we found that mobile chips are not yet able to work in four-channel mode, so for them the regional restrictions of a given router will not play a role.

It will be interesting to compare new model with the previous generation AirPort Extreme. Let us remind you that it has gigabit ports and a dual-band 802.11n radio module. Due to a similar limitation at 2.4 GHz, with it we received operating speeds of about 90 Mbit/s in this range, and at 5 GHz the maximum performance was approximately 140 Mbit/s. True, at that time, as in this article, we did not have the opportunity to check the work with the most fast devices produced by Apple itself.

conclusions

Apple devices occupy their own niche in the market and comparing them with products from other companies is always difficult. If we look at the AirPort Extreme simply as a router or access point, we will see an expensive (in the company's official store at the time of writing the router was listed for 8,290 rubles), high-quality model with an unusual design, a powerful platform, significantly limited firmware capabilities and inconvenient management. This device has no chance of finding a place in the segment of popular top-end routers. If you look at the product from the perspective of a user of Apple computers and laptops who has the appropriate budget, then everything is not so bad. Beautiful custom case, easy setup and network integration, a significant increase in wireless performance compared to the previous generation, the implementation of several proprietary features - this may be a reason for an upgrade for some consumers, especially if they already have the latest generation clients at their disposal.

Although, of course, we should not forget that Apple devices They usually work without problems with network solutions from other manufacturers, and here AirPort Extreme is difficult to offer anything interesting. In fact, its only possible advantage from a technical point of view is connecting a hard drive to run the Time Machine service, and with reservations. But you can argue with this - inexpensive network storage is able to provide higher speed in this task, not to mention a wide range of functions. True, the cost of a combination of a good 802.11ac router and a good drive will still be more expensive than the Apple solution. But you can try to find a compromise option.

Let's try to evaluate the capabilities of the model without taking into account the cost and status of the manufacturer. For routing tasks, the device provides results familiar from other reviews - almost gigabit for IPoE and about 400 Mbit/s for PPPoE. So if your provider offers just such connection options, then popular channels The router can use up to 100 Mbit/s without problems. Wireless connection at 2.4 GHz is limited to speeds of just over 100 Mbit/s due to the inability to operate in dual-channel mode. When using 802.11ac clients, you can get up to 460 Mbps, which is lower than the competition, but still not bad. Connectable to USB 2.0 port HDD allows you to implement the simplest NAS functions, while the data exchange speed over the cable is approximately 15-20 MB/s. Possibilities of powerful hardware filling in software not fully disclosed. The router does not support PPTP and L2TP technologies, popular in our market, does not have any additional built-in services typical of the top segment (VPN, FTP, traffic control, media server, custom firewall, file download system), and cannot be used with scanners and cellular modems.

Last generation wireless router Apple AirPort Extreme is a prominent representative of solutions “not for everyone.” The most noticeable features of the product, which significantly reduce interest in it from the mass user, are high cost and limited capabilities.

At the same time, if you need a fast, modern access point (or have a compatible Internet provider), want to have a beautiful device from a well-known manufacturer, prefer models that are easy to set up, and have no significant budget restrictions, then the Apple AirPort Extreme can please you with its original design and fairly high speed in basic use cases.