Geek Zing

We purchased our first 802.11n devices this week and have been testing them for the past few days. I have mixed feelings about the AirPort Extreme from Apple.



Pro’s

• I love the trademark Apple sleekness of the device. It’s all white with smooth rounded edges.
  
  
  
  
• It’s easy to extend. There is a very simple interface for connecting multiple routers together in a Bridged mode to extend the range using a single SSID.
  
  
  
  
• The security is great. It uses the standard WPA and WPA2, and it also has built in RADIUS support.
  
  
  
  
• The “connected devices” monitor is great. It shows all of the wireless devices that have associated with the AirPort, their signal to noise, and their estimated connection speed.
  
  
  
  
• It can host a USB hard drive or flash drive! This is a sweet feature for homes or small offices that need extra networked storage. It is very easy to configure.
  
  
  
  

Con’s

• There is no web interface!!! This is one of the biggest downfalls of this device. You MUST install the router configuration utility that currently only works on a MAC in order to configure and monitor the device. This just sucks big.
  
  
  
  
• They rename standard terms to confusing layman terms. I know that sounds condescending coming from a geek but hear me out. Because they have chosen to rename a bunch of things so that the average user can understand what they mean, they do not show up on any Google searches if you run into trouble. It also throws off experienced Network Administrators. I went through a lot of crap trying to turn off the built-in DHCP server because I couldn’t find the “Apple Term” for it anywhere.