Something that was not announced during the keynote at MacWorld yesterday is that Apple release an update Airport Extreme Base Station. The update wireless route/gateway supports several 802.11 wireless standards (b,g) including the yet to be finalised “n”. Of course being a mac compatible Apple product all of the current WiFi security features are supported as well including the very crackable WEP. Interestingly Apple chose to limit the router to 802.3u (100BASE-T). With more media whizzing around home networks Apple should have provided support for faster networks.
Feature list:
- Wireless protocols
- 802.11a/b/g
- Draft 802.11n
- Security
- Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2)3
- Wireless security (WEP) configurable for 40-bit and 128-bit encryption
- MAC address filtering
- NAT firewall
- Support for RADIUS authentication
- 802.1X, PEAP, LEAP, TTLS, TLS, FAST
- Interfaces
- RJ-45 10/100BASE-T Ethernet WAN port for connecting a DSL or cable modem
- Three RJ-45 10/100BASE-T Ethernet LAN ports for connecting computers or network devices
- USB port for connecting a USB printer or USB external hard drive
- 802.11 wireless
What distinguishes Apple’s product from similar offerings from Cisco/LinkSys and Netgear is the inclusion of a USB port on the back of the device. You can plug in a USB printer of external hardrive and make this devices network aware. You can even plug in a USB hub thus making any supported USB device available via the network. Apple has not release any details on what USB device are compatible with the AirPort Extreme.
I noticed that the new AirPort Extreme has the same size form factor as the mac mini. I can imagine the AirPort Extreme stacked under a mac mini connected to a Belkin Hub and one of mac mini form factor external hard drives.
Author: KhürtI'm a husband, a father to two very smart kids, an information security manager and a web developer. I'm a Mac geek who loves photography, hefe-weisse ale and Ethiopian coffee. I'm @khurtwilliams on twitter.
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