Airport Express; sufficient for my needs.

[Nowisee]

I currently own an iphone 4S and will be buying a ipad mini for mostly internet consumption.

I'm buying the newest MBP 13" for internet productivity and other hobbies that require it.

I live in Chiang Mai, Thailand. My condo room 50/sqmeters only has LAN Ethernet connection in the rooms, WiFi in the lobby.

I want a WiFi network for my room/porch. It's mostly for internet surfing, video watching and online TV (with the iphone/ipad devices) and nothing too demanding with the MBP for internet use.

Using a friends Window's laptop connected to my room's LAN connected via ethernet cable, I did a speed test using the standard Ookla site.

It registered 25Mbps DL and 30Mbps UL.

I've seen YT videos of speeds elsewhere in Thailand of 40Mbps.

Now sure if there are faster locations.

SO... my question is regarding connecting to the internet.

Obviously no ethernet on the MBP.

The Airport Express does not have the latest WiFi rated .11ac, but it seems suited to small apt/condo and for all of my needs.

The data rate is 300Mbps and the Extreme is 1.3Gbps.

*Ok, here is the dumb question. IF the internet speed tests show under 300Mbps, is there any reason to pay up for the higher speed of the Extreme?

The MBP is the only .11ac device and if I ever get access to or need that speed I will purchase the TB/ethernet dongle... speaking of the dongle, I will probably buy one anyway.

With the dongle, I could probably get around the room with my long ethernet cable, but I have read that keeping the dongle attached to the MBP it will eventually create a less than ideal connection (becoming loose)... and I would have to have my MBP on to use the network feature while using the ipad/iphone. So I would rather not that be the solution.

I don't have the luxury of buying a refurbed device here (and the Singapore store almost never has them) so buying a refurbed Extreme is not available.

The cost of buying both the dongle and the Express is not an issue either.

I'm not interested in buying another manufacturers device or from the discount electronic store.

SO, back to the question*.

[DogNo1]

I suggest that you buy the Airport Extreme. It has beam-forming capabilities that can maximize the strength of the connections of all of your Apple devices and you would be future proofing for the time when you might want to buy new devices that will use 802.11ac. It has strong radios on both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. Of course you will be able to connect all of your devices at once, including your Windows PC. You might want to buy a 802.11ac dongle for it so you can dispense with that Ethernet cable. Don't forget to password protect your wireless access or you might get some people within range hitching a free ride on your router. Good luck!

[sfokevin]

Given you are in a small space reception with either should be fine... And as you have said the bottleneck will be your provider not either router... I would go with the express as you can easily throw it in your suitcase to travel... But the extreme has the advantage of USB plug that accepts a hard drive... One thing you can do is set your ipad and computer on different channels one to 2.4 and the other to 5mhz

[recom273]

I ran the same kind of system in my apartment back in BKK for a couple of years, i was using an express, I think it will suit your spec's. I had the express (rip) for something around 8 years, used its capability of wifi printing, the wifi audio ( although i did notice a drop in quality ) and using the iphone as a remote control. I should buy a couple more of them when i remember, the price drop to 3,500 is quite a bargain.

Setup was just as simple as you think, just plug-in the ethernet cable, run the wizard .. bingo.

(OT) The only frustrating thing about them, which i struggled with for years was configuring / port forwarding through the Apple firewall, it only restricted me when i was downloading torrents, im happier now i have a direct line and proper router. Should you go down this path in the future, you can run the express within that wifi network, so it will never be a redundant bit of kit.

[DogNo1]

Caution! The only hard drive that works on the Airport Extreme USB port is one for the Mac. NTFS and FAT32 drives won't work!

[Nowisee]

I'll plug a hard drive into the MBP when I need to.

I suggest that you buy the Airport Extreme. It has beam-forming capabilities that can maximize the strength of the connections of all of your Apple devices and you would be future proofing for the time when you might want to buy new devices that will use 802.11ac. It has strong radios on both 2.4 and 5 Ghz. Of course you will be able to connect all of your devices at once, including your Windows PC. You might want to buy a 802.11ac dongle for it so you can dispense with that Ethernet cable. Don't forget to password protect your wireless access or you might get some people within range hitching a free ride on your router. Good luck!

I don't know what a .11ac dongle is. I'll have to look into that.

Given you are in a small space reception with either should be fine... And as you have said the bottleneck will be your provider not either router... I would go with the express as you can easily throw it in your suitcase to travel... But the extreme has the advantage of USB plug that accepts a hard drive... One thing you can do is set your ipad and computer on different channels one to 2.4 and the other to 5mhz

I'll plug a hard drive into the MBP when I need to. I will look at how to assign each to a different freq.

I ran the same kind of system in my apartment back in BKK for a couple of years, i was using an express, I think it will suit your spec's. I had the express (rip) for something around 8 years, used its capability of wifi printing, the wifi audio ( although i did notice a drop in quality ) and using the iphone as a remote control. I should buy a couple more of them when i remember, the price drop to 3,500 is quite a bargain.

Setup was just as simple as you think, just plug-in the ethernet cable, run the wizard .. bingo.

(OT) The only frustrating thing about them, which i struggled with for years was configuring / port forwarding through the Apple firewall, it only restricted me when i was downloading torrents, im happier now i have a direct line and proper router. Should you go down this path in the future, you can run the express within that wifi network, so it will never be a redundant bit of kit.

Direct line and proper router? Explain please.

[nullx8]

Caution! The only hard drive that works on the Airport Extreme USB port is one for the Mac. NTFS and FAT32 drives won't work!

Makes no difference, since the data us shared via afp and/or smb (can be read by mac, windows, linux, netware, ...)

[recom273]

Direct line .. A dedicated line, 3BB where i pay the bill, not a shared connection supplied by your condo.

You said you have a RJ45 / ethernet socket in the wall ? I presumed you had a shared line.

Proper router .. Like a dedicated Netgear, TP-Link, (insert popular manufacturer here ) where i have full administrator rights and a password, and i can configure the settings myself.

(I use a few private torrent sites, whereby to download more content, i need to upload an equivilant amount of data, being able to be seen / connectable to other downloaders is quite important, which means making a hole in the firewall, the apple firewall seemed quite complicated and i never managed to be connectable. To be honest, you neednt worry, unless its your thing )

I dont see where the "802.11ac dongle to dispense with the ethernet cable" ?? would help here. Neither the MBP or ipad have an ethernet port, so you need wifi. The only dongle / adaptor choice would be a usb>ethernet @ 1,000B

The only place you are going to use the ethernet cable is too your airport ( whatever model you decide ). If your apartment is like most, then the ethernet port/power/TV point are in close proximity. The airport express plugs to the power, a 50cm ethernet cable connects the two, i plugged the audio out into my surround system via 3.5mm jack, and the printer was sitting on a shelf not far away, connected to the airport via USB.

Try the express at 3,200B, i think you will be happy. If not, send me a PM, I will buy it off you.

[recom273]

also thinking ethernet>thunderbolt @1090B would give you gigabit connectivity,

ethernet>USB dongle would give you faster than wifi.

If you chose the extreme, then you change the frequency in the advanced settings of the wizard.

Thinking back, the basic functions of the wizard were pretty easy, you run it on your MBP .. First the airport is powered up, it scans for the ethernet connection, asks you for the access password provided by your ISP or apartment ( if any ), you name your network, gives you the option of setting a security password, asks if you are connecting a printer and activates that function, then sends all the info to the airport, the airport restarts and you connect using your apple device to the name of the network using the person password you set earlier.

You might want to take a look at this relating to the dual band capabilty of an extreme, unless you are going to use the USB storage for homestreaming to an apple TV, the 3,000B extra could be spent somewhere else. Maybe theres something more to it, but i just dont see the target market. Even then, 6,000B for the extreme seems excessive, add a further 3,000B and you got yourself a a 2TB time capsule ( @9,500B ) with the same functions and a backup of your data.

ETS: A windows laptop will be able to run the config wizard.

Edited December 1, 2013 by recom273

[nullx8]

ETS: A windows laptop will be able to run the config wizard.

The ipad/iphones/ipods will

No issue there

[sfokevin]

Caution! The only hard drive that works on the Airport Extreme USB port is one for the Mac. NTFS and FAT32 drives won't work!

Makes no difference, since the data us shared via afp and/or smb (can be read by mac, windows, linux, netware, ...)

If you have a problem just plug the hard drive directly into your Macbook and reformat it so the Mac likes it... Then it should work fine plugged into your wifi router... But for day to day access of large files this wifi setup is very slow... What it is good for is a spare drive that you use only for time machine backups.. Edited December 1, 2013 by sfokevin

[Nowisee]

also thinking ethernet>thunderbolt @1090B would give you gigabit connectivity,

ethernet>USB dongle would give you faster than wifi.

If you chose the extreme, then you change the frequency in the advanced settings of the wizard.

Thinking back, the basic functions of the wizard were pretty easy, you run it on your MBP .. First the airport is powered up, it scans for the ethernet connection, asks you for the access password provided by your ISP or apartment ( if any ), you name your network, gives you the option of setting a security password, asks if you are connecting a printer and activates that function, then sends all the info to the airport, the airport restarts and you connect using your apple device to the name of the network using the person password you set earlier.

You might want to take a look at this relating to the dual band capabilty of an extreme, unless you are going to use the USB storage for homestreaming to an apple TV, the 3,000B extra could be spent somewhere else. Maybe theres something more to it, but i just dont see the target market. Even then, 6,000B for the extreme seems excessive, add a further 3,000B and you got yourself a a 2TB time capsule ( @9,500B ) with the same functions and a backup of your data.

ETS: A windows laptop will be able to run the config wizard.

The TB/ethernet Gigabit connection will only be useful in computer-computer connectivity.

I can't see how anything faster than the speed capabilities of the Express @ 300mbps will ever be an issue. EVEN, if I were to wait and see if the new express uses the .11ac. ISP speeds that I see are rarely ever faster than 50mbps... IF, I'm understanding this correctly...so the bottleneck remains in the provider.

IF, I ever want to do anything beyond the expresses capability (I'm thinking Torrent stuff??) then can't I just use the TB/Ethernet dongle?

The hard drive concern is solved by plugging directly into the MBP.

As far as getting another router... I don't seem to know enough about router stuff to function beyond the basic needs of what the Express does.

My ONLY concern is that I am able to use any one of the many good VPN companies.

[nullx8]

As far as getting another router... I don't seem to know enough about router stuff to function beyond the basic needs of what the Express does.

My ONLY concern is that I am able to use any one of the many good VPN companies.

you are right about your points, it makes really no sense, unless you copy on a rgulary basis VERY large amounts of data between the devices

or have shared application acessing the same databases or somethings like that.

.. but i doubt that to happen judging from your initial post

i have partly wired network with 2 additional airport extreme, a 6TB harddisc Bay connected to one of them,

it holds over 400 movies, which does the appletv play flawlessly via 2 wifi connections to upstairs bedroom or downstairs Tv.

never had any issues at all ..

using the wbole inrastructure every day for my work as well.

with about 2TB of rabidly changing data for my work every day.

use 2 Internet connections and 2 Permanent established VPN connections.

never have to push any buttons or change settings, it just works

so forget all of that .. get an Airport and a Mikrotik Router (even the smallest one will do (costs about 1500 baht)) ..

then you get seamlessly integrated VPN working and also never ever have to do the reboot/reset/trash&rebuy rituals like on the other mentioned brands which are (unless they are very expensive) just end user junk with zero features.

Edited December 5, 2013 by nullx8

[recom273]

"As far as getting another router... I don't seem to know enough about router stuff to function beyond the basic needs of what the Express does."

The express isnt a router, its a wifi access point.

[sniffdog]

Also the Extreme has Gibabit ports as opposed to the 100Mb ports of the Express. Gigaports are so much better if you move data around between computers and devices on your network (now or in the future).

[Nowisee]

As far as getting another router... I don't seem to know enough about router stuff to function beyond the basic needs of what the Express does.
My ONLY concern is that I am able to use any one of the many good VPN companies.

you are right about your points, it makes really no sense, unless you copy on a rgulary basis VERY large amounts of data between the devices
or have shared application acessing the same databases or somethings like that.
.. but i doubt that to happen judging from your initial post

i have partly wired network with 2 additional airport extreme, a 6TB harddisc Bay connected to one of them,
it holds over 400 movies, which does the appletv play flawlessly via 2 wifi connections to upstairs bedroom or downstairs Tv.
never had any issues at all ..

using the wbole inrastructure every day for my work as well.
with about 2TB of rabidly changing data for my work every day.

use 2 Internet connections and 2 Permanent established VPN connections.
never have to push any buttons or change settings, it just works

so forget all of that .. get an Airport and a Mikrotik Router (even the smallest one will do (costs about 1500 baht)) ..
then you get seamlessly integrated VPN working and also never ever have to do the reboot/reset/trash&rebuy rituals like on the other mentioned brands which are (unless they are very expensive) just end user junk with zero features.

Jesus... that's a lot of sheeit to mess with...

Thanks for the confirmation, I'm pretty sure this will suit my needs for a while and if and when I need to, I'll make the changes.

"As far as getting another router... I don't seem to know enough about router stuff to function beyond the basic needs of what the Express does."

The express isnt a router, its a wifi access point.

Whatever, but thanks for the correction.

Also the Extreme has Gibabit ports as opposed to the 100Mb ports of the Express. Gigaports are so much better if you move data around between computers and devices on your network (now or in the future).

As I stated, I am not moving giant files around using wired gigaports...that I don't even have. I am only interested in a wifi world for my phone,tablet and computer. IF and when the need arises I will simply use a TB/Ethernet dongle...problem solved...

Thanks for all the input.

On to the next computer/techno challenge of researching a good VPN company/service for basic needs of security (stealth and bypassing the BS restricting censorship) and watching the occasional US/UK TV.

I've seen Witopia, StrongVPN and a couple others. I've read HideMyAss is currently not working well with OS Mavericks.

[Nowisee]

I did forget to ask that question regarding the Express, but I am reading now that it does in fact support the popular VPN pass through protocols.

Any changes with this regarding Mavericks?

[sfokevin]

I did forget to ask that question regarding the Express, but I am reading now that it does in fact support the popular VPN pass through protocols.

Any changes with this regarding Mavericks?

Which Popular VPN?