Adding security to a WDS network


Airport Base Stationdon't do it right you'll lose the remote nodes....

Lets say you have created a WDS network with an Airport Extreme (or Express) as a main base station and a couple of Airport Express units as WDS nodes.

You've got this working, you can print, stream AirTunes and the network is extended successfully.

However for some reason you have not implemented any wireless security.

So you add a password using WPA and oh dear you find that your Airport Express remote nodes have "vanished".

The reason the Airport Express loses its connection is that it doesn't know the new password and therefore is no longer part of what is effectively a new network.

You have two ways of solving this problem.

1. When adding security to a WDS network, add it to the remote nodes first then turning them off, before adding the wireless encryption (password) to the main base station and turning the nodes back on.

This will enable the nodes to know the password as you reconfigure the main base station with it.

2. Hard/Factory reset the Airport Express nodes and then reconfigure the main base station with the password before then configuring the reset Airport Express units as effectively new WDS remote nodes.

Resetting AirPort Express
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=108044

Posted: Sun - October 8, 2006 at 10:00 PM         | |

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