Apple AirPort Networks - Manual (Page 4)

4 Chapter 1 Getting Started
Note: When the features discussed in this document apply to the AirPort Extreme Base
Station, AirPort Express, and Time Capsule, the devices are referred to collectively as
Apple wireless devices.
With an AirPort Extreme Base Station or a Time Capsule, you can connect a USB hard
disk so that everyone on the network can back up, store, and share files. Every
Time Capsule includes an internal AirPort disk, so you don’t need to connect an
external one. If you want, you can connect additional USB disks to the USB port on
your Time Capsule. You can also connect a USB printer to the USB port on any
Apple wireless device, so that everyone on the network can access the printer or hub.
All Apple wireless devices provide strong, wireless security. They offer a built-in firewall
and support industry-standard encryption technologies. Yet the simple setup utility
and powerful access controls make it easy for authorized users to connect to the
AirPort network they create.
You can use an Apple wireless device to provide wireless Internet access and share a
single Internet connection among several computers in the following ways:
 Set up the device to act as a router and provide Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to
computers on the network using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and
Network Address Translation (NAT). When the wireless device is connected to a DSL
or cable modem that is connected to the Internet, it receives webpages and email
content from the Internet through its Internet connection, and then sends the
content to wireless-enabled computers, using the wireless network or using Ethernet
if there are computers connected to the Ethernet ports.
 Set up the Apple wireless device to act as a bridge on an existing network that
already has Internet access and a router providing IP addresses. The device passes
IP addresses and the Internet connection to AirPort or wireless-enabled computers,
or computers connected to the wireless device by Ethernet.
This document provides information about the latest AirPort Extreme Base Station,
AirPort Express, and Time Capsule, and detailed information about designing 802.11n
networks with AirPort Utility for computers using Mac OS X v10.5 or later, and
Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 2. If you’re using previous versions of
Mac OS X, or are setting up earlier versions of AirPort devices, you’ll find more
information at www.apple.com/support/airport.