Setting Up Wireless Home Network

Hey all,

Long time reader, first time poster...

I'm about to setup a home wireless network, and just want to run my plan past you guys to make sure everything will work the way I envision, or to hear of similar setups and the issues/victories that go along with them.

In my home, I have an iMac, PS3, and iPhone. I currently have your standard wired cable internet connection. I'm thinking of purchasing a D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router (they're super on sale this week, haha), which I will of course connect to my current cable connection. My iMac is N enabled, but I will be connecting it directly to the routers' gigabit ethernet port, and configuring it as a media server with Playback or PS3 Media Server, or similar software. My plan for my PS3 is to simply connect it to the wireless network I will be setting up with the D-Link and if all goes well, stream media from my iMac wirelessly.

Am I missing anything in my setup, or am I not considering something I should be considering? I work in IT, so I'm comfortable configuring the wireless router.

Thanks!

Nope, not missing a thing - except note that the PS3 is 'g' not 'n', unless the newer ones have been upgraded - haven't kept up and my PS3 is about 3 yrs old now.

Hi,
I would be grateful for any assistance.
I'm just considering upgrading from a Belkin 54G ADSL Wireless Router as this is quite old and firmware updates have been discontinued. I'm looking at the Airport Extreme and wondered whether this is relatively easy to do. I can access my current router's settings so would it be a simple case of noting all the current settings down and replicating them into the utility of the Airport or would it take care of most of that for me? Can you forsee any difficulties that I may have?

Setup for all of the Apple routers is about as simple as this stuff gets. If your current setup is working your idea should work fine.

Be aware that the Airport Extreme does not have some of the advanced features that some touters provide so if you need some of those features this might not be the best choice. For most people this is not much of an issue. Have a look at Chapters 2 and 3 of http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/airportextreme_802.11n_userguide.pdf

This may also provide you with additional helpful information about possible setup options Designing AirPort Extreme Networks: Manuals

Hi Slydude,
I very much appreciate your guidance. Just a question, and forgive my shallow knowledge base, but the schematic config shows the Airport connected to a DSL modem, does this mean that I will need to retain my original equipment ? Is the Airport just a wireless router and not a combined device?
Cheers,
Liam

You will need to hang on to your modem. The Airport models can function as routers but do not have built in modems. If you are using some other router you won't need that unless you are trying to extend the network.

If your modem has a built in router it is probably best to turn that function off when using the Airport as a router. You don't want both devices trying to handle routing.

Ahh I understand. I think maybe I will upgrade with a combined device for the avoidance of clutter. Loving all things Mac I can't understand why they just don't do the full hit though.
Thanks by the way.
Liam

Glad I could help. If you are going with a combined router/modem check with your ISP. They may have a unit available as an upgrade for your existing unit. Some providers also provide a list of devices that they prefer you use. I suspect this is to make life easier for their tech support department.