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59-640: AirPort is a discontinued line of wireless routers and network cards developed by Apple Inc. using Wi-Fi protocols . In Japan , the line of products was marketed under the brand AirMac due to previous registration by I-O Data. Apple introduced the AirPort line in 1999. Wireless cards were discontinued in 2009 following the Mac transition to Intel processors , after all of Apple's Mac products had adopted built-in Wi-Fi. Apple's line of wireless routers consisted of

118-587: A dial-up modem and an Ethernet port. It employs a Lucent WaveLAN Silver PC Card as the Radio, and uses an embedded AMD Élan SC410 processor. It connects to the machine via the Ethernet port. It was released July 21, 1999. The Graphite AirPort Base Station is functionally identical to the Lucent RG-1000 wireless base station and can run the same firmware. Due to the original firmware-locked limitations of

177-651: A hotspot , which can be a physical location or digital location where Wi-Fi or WAP access is available. An AP connects directly to a wired local area network , typically Ethernet , and the AP then provides wireless connections using wireless LAN technology, typically Wi-Fi, for other devices to use that wired connection. APs support the connection of multiple wireless devices through their one wired connection. There are many wireless data standards that have been introduced for wireless access point and wireless router technology. New standards have been created to accommodate

236-404: A limited number of frequencies legally available for use by wireless networks. Usually, adjacent APs will use different frequencies (channels) to communicate with their clients in order to avoid interference between the two nearby systems. Wireless devices can "listen" for data traffic on other frequencies, and can rapidly switch from one frequency to another to achieve better reception. However,

295-415: A wireless access point ( WAP ) (also just access point ( AP )) is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network or wireless network. As a standalone device, the AP may have a wired or wireless connection to a switch or router , but in a wireless router it can also be an integral component of the networking device itself. A WAP and AP is differentiated from

354-545: A 2 × 3 MIMO antenna configuration. The cards in the Mac Pro and Apple TV have two antenna connectors and support a 2 × 2 configuration. The Network Utility application located in Applications → Utilities can be used to identify the model and supported protocols of an installed AirPort card. The Macbook Air Mid 2013 uses a Broadcom BCM94360CS2 (main chip BCM4360 : 2 × 2 : 2). AirPort and AirPort Extreme support

413-411: A Broadcom BCM 943224 PCIEBT2 Wi-Fi card (main chip BCM43224: 2 × 2 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz). The MacBook Pro Retina Mid 2012 uses Broadcom BCM94331CSAX (main chip BCM4331: 3 × 3 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, up to 450 Mbit/s). In early 2007, Apple announced that most Intel Core 2 Duo -based Macs, which had been shipping since November 2006, already included AirPort Extreme cards compatible with

472-417: A USB hub and printer. The performance of USB hard drives attached to an AirPort Extreme is slower than if the drive were connected directly to a computer. This is due to the processor speed on the AirPort extreme. Depending on the setup and types of reads and writes, performance ranges from 0.5 to 17.5 MB/s for writing and 1.9 to 25.6 MB/s for reading. Performance for the same disk connected directly to

531-507: A computer would be 6.6 to 31.6 MB/s for writing and 7.1 to 37.2 MB/s for reading. The AirPort Extreme has no port for an external antenna. On August 7, 2007, the AirPort Extreme began shipping with Gigabit Ethernet , matching most other Apple products. On March 19, 2008, Apple released a firmware update for both models of the AirPort Extreme to allow AirPort Disks to be used in conjunction with Time Machine , similar to

590-587: A hard disk or other storage device. The AirPort Express functions as a wireless access point when connected to an Ethernet network. It can be used as an Ethernet-to-wireless bridge under certain wireless configurations. It can be used to extend the range of a network, or as a printer and audio server. In 2012, the AirPort Express took on a new shape, similar to that of the second and third generation Apple TV. The new product also features two 10/100 Mbit/s Ethernet LAN ports. The AirPort Time Capsule

649-488: A new AirPort Extreme (802.11 Draft-N) Base Station , which introduced 802.11 Draft-N to the Apple AirPort product line. This implementation of 802.11 Draft-N can operate in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ISM bands, and has modes that make it compatible with 802.11b/g and 802.11a. The number of Ethernet ports was increased to four—one nominally for WAN, three for LAN, but all can be used in bridged mode. A USB port

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708-427: A small number of devices that are close to each other, but ad hoc networks do not scale well. Internet traffic will converge to the nodes with direct internet connection, potentially congesting these nodes. For internet-enabled nodes, access points have a clear advantage, with the possibility of having a wired LAN . It is generally recommended that one IEEE 802.11 AP should have, at a maximum, 10–25 clients. However,

767-418: A standard or optional feature. The original AirPort system allowed transfer rates up to 11  Mbit/s and was commonly used to share Internet access and files between multiple computers. In 2003, Apple introduced AirPort Extreme , based on the 802.11g specification, using Broadcom's BCM4306/BCM2050 two-chip solution. AirPort Extreme allows theoretical peak data transfer rates of up to 54 Mbit/s, and

826-489: A three-stream wireless router allows transfers of up to 1.3 Gbit/s on the 5 GHz bands). Some wireless routers have one or two USB ports . These can be used to connect printer or desktop or mobile external hard disk drive to be used as a shared resource on the network. A USB port may also be used for connecting mobile broadband modem , aside from connecting the wireless router to an Ethernet with xDSL or cable modem. A mobile broadband USB adapter can be connected to

885-493: A variety of security technologies to prevent eavesdropping and unauthorized network access, including several forms of cryptography . The original graphite AirPort base station used 40-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). The second-generation model (known as Dual Ethernet or Snow) AirPort base station, like most other Wi-Fi products, used 40-bit or 128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). AirPort Extreme and Express base stations retain this option, but also allow and encourage

944-474: Is Linux . Less frequently, VxWorks is used. The devices are configured over a web user interface served by a light web server software running on the device. It is possible for a computer running a desktop operating system with appropriate software to act as a wireless router. This is commonly referred to as a SoftAP . In 2003, Linksys was forced to open-source the firmware of its WRT54G router series (the best-selling routers of all time) after people on

1003-448: Is a simplified and compact AirPort Extreme base station. It allows up to 50 networked users, and includes a feature called AirTunes (predecessor to AirPlay ). The original version (M9470LL/A, model A1084) was introduced by Apple on June 7, 2004, and includes an analog–optical audio mini-jack output , a USB port for remote printing or charging the iPod (iPod Shuffle only), and a single Ethernet port. The USB port cannot be used to connect

1062-536: Is a version of AirPort Extreme with a built-in hard drive currently coming in either 2 TB or 3 TB sizes, with a previous version having 1 TB or 500 GB. It features a built-in design that, when used with Time Machine in Mac OS X Leopard, automatically makes incremental data backups. Acting as a wireless file server, AirPort Time Capsule can serve to back up multiple Macs. It also includes all AirPort Extreme (802.11 Draft-N) functionality. On March 3, 2009,

1121-476: Is based on a Broadcom 802.11g chipset and is housed in a custom form factor, but is electrically compatible with the Mini PCI standard. It was also capable of being user-installed. Variants of the user-installable AirPort Extreme card are marked A-1010 (early North American spec), A-1026 (current North American spec), A-1027 (Europe/Asia spec (additional channels)) and A-1095 (unknown). A different 802.11g card

1180-520: Is easy and does not require an access point, an ad hoc network is used in situations such as a quick data exchange or a multiplayer video game . Due to its peer-to-peer layout, ad hoc Wi-Fi connections are similar to connections available using Bluetooth . Ad hoc connections are generally not recommended for a permanent installation. Internet access via ad hoc networks , using features like Windows ' Internet Connection Sharing or dedicated software such as WiFi Direct Access Point , may work well with

1239-605: Is fully backward-compatible with existing 802.11b wireless network cards and base stations . Several of Apple's desktop computers and portable computers, including the MacBook Pro , MacBook , Mac Mini , and iMac shipped with an AirPort Extreme (802.11g) card as standard. All other Macs of the time had an expansion slot for the card. AirPort and AirPort Extreme cards are not physically compatible: AirPort Extreme cards cannot be installed in older Macs, and AirPort cards cannot be installed in newer Macs. The original AirPort card

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1298-425: The 802.11n protocol. This revision also adds two LAN ports for a total of three. It now more closely resembles the square-shaped 1st generation Apple TV and Mac Mini, and is about the same size as the mini. The new AirPort Disk feature allows users to plug a USB hard drive into the AirPort Extreme for use as a network-attached storage (NAS) device for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows clients. Users may also connect

1357-730: The Linux kernel mailing list discovered that it used GPL Linux code. In 2008, Cisco was sued in Free Software Foundation, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. due to similar issues with Linksys routers. Since then, various open-source projects have built on this foundation, including OpenWrt , DD-WRT , and Tomato . In 2016, various manufacturers changed their firmware to block custom installations after an FCC ruling. However, some companies plan to continue to officially support open-source firmware, including Linksys and Asus. Wireless access point In computer networking ,

1416-613: The UL 2043 specifications for safe usage in air handling spaces, such as above suspended ceilings. All three models support the Wireless Distribution System (WDS) standard. The model introduced in January 2007 does not have a corresponding PoE, UL-compliant variant. An AirPort Extreme base station can serve a maximum of 50 wireless clients simultaneously. The AirPort Extreme was updated on January 9, 2007, to support

1475-429: The finalization of the 802.11n standard in 2009 inherent problems integrating products from different vendors are less prevalent. Wireless access has special security considerations. Many wired networks base the security on physical access control, trusting all the users on the local network, but if wireless access points are connected to the network, anybody within range of the AP (which typically extends farther than

1534-403: The "AirPort Extreme Base Station": 1. M8799LL/A – 2 Ethernet ports, 1 USB port, external antenna connector, 1 56k (V.90) modem port 2. M8930LL/A – 2 Ethernet ports, 1 USB port, external antenna connector. 3. M9397LL/A – 2 Ethernet ports, 1 USB port, external antenna connector, powered over Ethernet cable (PoE/UL2043) The AirPort Base Station was discontinued after the updated AirPort Extreme

1593-722: The AirPort Base Station (later AirPort Extreme ); the AirPort Time Capsule , a variant with a built-in hard disk for automated backups; and the AirPort Express , a compact router. In 2018, Apple discontinued the AirPort line. The remaining inventory was sold off, and Apple later retailed routers from Linksys , Netgear , and Eero in Apple retail stores. AirPort debuted in 1999, as "one more thing" at Macworld New York, with Steve Jobs surfing

1652-589: The Graphite design, allowing for a shared Internet connection with both wired and wireless clients. Also new (but available for the original model via software update) was the ability to connect to and share America Online 's dial-up service—a feature unique to Apple base stations. This model is based on Motorola 's PowerPC 855 processor and contained a fully functional original AirPort Card, which can be removed and used in any compatible Macintosh computer. Three different configurations of model A1034 are all called

1711-666: The Mac Pro. With the introduction of the Intel-based MacBook Pro in January 2006, Apple began to use a standard PCI Express mini card . The particular brand and model of card has changed over the years; in early models, it was Atheros brand, while since late 2008 they have been Broadcom cards. This distinction is mostly of concern to those who run other operating systems such as Linux on MacBooks, as different cards require different device drivers . The MacBook Air Mid 2012 13", MacBook Air Mid 2011 13" and MacBook Air Late 2010 (11", A1370 and 13", Model A1369) each use

1770-474: The Silver card, the unit can only accept 40-bit WEP encryption. Later aftermarket tweaks can enable 128-bit WEP on the Silver card. Aftermarket Linux firmware has been developed for these units to extend their useful service life. A second-generation model (known as Dual Ethernet or Snow , model M8440, part number M8209LL/A) was introduced on November 13, 2001. It features a second Ethernet port when compared to

1829-580: The Time Capsule to the AirPort Time Capsule and added support for the 802.11ac standard. Apple produced numerous wireless card used to connect to wireless networks such as those provided by an AirPort Base Station. The original model, known as simply AirPort card , was a re-branded Lucent WaveLAN/Orinoco Gold PC card, in a modified housing that lacked the integrated antenna. It was designed to be capable of being user-installable. It

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1888-518: The Time Capsule was updated with simultaneous dual-band 802.11 Draft-N capability, remote AirPort Disk accessibility through Back to My Mac , and the ability to broadcast a guest network at the same time as an existing network. On October 20, 2009, Apple unveiled the updated Time Capsule with antenna improvements resulting in wireless performance gains of both speed and range. Also stated is a resulting performance improvement/time reduction on Time Capsule backups of up to 60%. In June 2011, Apple unveiled

1947-422: The actual maximum number of clients that can be supported can vary significantly depending on several factors, such as type of APs in use, density of client environment, desired client throughput, etc. The range of communication can also vary significantly, depending on such variables as indoor or outdoor placement, height above ground, nearby obstructions, other electronic devices that might actively interfere with

2006-415: The actual over-the-air rate for data throughput. Thus a typical 54 Mbit/s wireless connection actually carries TCP/IP data at 20 to 25 Mbit/s. Users of legacy wired networks expect faster speeds, and people using wireless connections keenly want to see the wireless networks catch up. By 2012, 802.11n based access points and client devices have already taken a fair share of the marketplace and with

2065-568: The consumer market can reach sustained real-world speeds of some 240 Mbit/s at 13 m behind two standing walls ( NLOS ) depending on their nature or 360 Mbit/s at 10 m line of sight or 380 Mbit/s at 2 m line of sight ( IEEE 802.11ac ) or 20 to 25 Mbit/s at 2 m line of sight ( IEEE 802.11g ), wired hardware of similar cost reaches closer to 1000 Mbit/s up to specified distance of 100 m with twisted-pair cabling in optimal conditions ( Category 5 (known as Cat-5) or better cabling with Gigabit Ethernet ). One impediment to increasing

2124-680: The disk as a shared volume. Macs running Mac OS X 10.5 and later, which includes the Time Machine feature, can use the Time Capsule as a wireless backup device, allowing automatic, untethered backups of the client computer. As an access point, the unit is otherwise equivalent to an AirPort Extreme (802.11 Draft-N), with four Gigabit Ethernet ports and a USB port for printer and disk sharing. In March 2008, Apple released an updated AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11 Draft-N 2x2 radio. All other features (analog and digital optical audio out, single Ethernet port, USB port for printer sharing) remained

2183-492: The draft-802.11 Draft-N specification. Apple also offered an application to enable 802.11 Draft-N functionality on these Macs for a fee of $ 1.99, or free with the purchase of an AirPort Extreme base station. Starting with Leopard, the Draft-N functionality was quietly enabled on all Macs that had Draft-N cards. This card was also a PCI Express mini design, but used three antenna connectors in the notebooks and iMacs, in order to use

2242-510: The functionality provided by Time Capsule . On March 3, 2009, Apple unveiled a new AirPort Extreme with simultaneous dual-band 802.11 Draft-N radios. This allows full 802.11 Draft-N 2x2 communication in both 802.11 Draft-N bands at the same time. On October 20, 2009, Apple unveiled an updated AirPort Extreme base station with antenna improvements. On June 21, 2011, Apple unveiled an updated AirPort Extreme base station, referred to as AirPort Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation) . The AirPort Express

2301-424: The increasing need for faster wireless connections. Access points can provide backward compatibility with older Wi-Fi protocols as many devices were manufactured for use with older standards. Some people confuse wireless access points with wireless ad hoc networks . An ad hoc network uses a connection between two or more devices without using a wireless access point; the devices communicate directly. Because setup

2360-533: The intended area) can attach to the network. The most common solution is wireless traffic encryption. Modern access points come with built-in encryption. The first generation encryption scheme, WEP , proved easy to crack; the second and third generation schemes, WPA and WPA2 , are considered secure if a strong enough password or passphrase is used. Some APs support hotspot style authentication using RADIUS and other authentication servers . Opinions about wireless network security vary widely. For example, in

2419-435: The limited number of frequencies becomes problematic in crowded downtown areas with tall buildings using multiple APs. In such an environment , signal overlap becomes an issue causing interference, which results in signal degradation and data errors. Wireless networking lags wired networking in terms of increasing bandwidth and throughput . While (as of 2013) high-density 256-QAM modulation, 3-antenna wireless devices for

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2478-667: The main SoC or may be separate chips on the printed circuit board . It also can be a distinct card connected over a MiniPCI or MiniPCIe interface. Some dual-band wireless routers operate the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands simultaneously. Wireless controllers support a part of the IEEE 802.11 -standard family and many dual-band wireless routers have data transfer rates exceeding 300 Mbit/s (For 2.4 GHz band) and 450 Mbit/s (For 5 GHz band). Some wireless routers provide multiple streams allowing multiples of data transfer rates (e.g.

2537-509: The network. The CPU is an AU1500-333MBC Alchemy (processor) . A second model ( M8930LL/A ) lacking the modem and external antenna port was briefly made available, but then discontinued after the launch of AirPort Express (see below). On April 19, 2004, a third version, marketed as the AirPort Extreme Base Station (with Power over Ethernet and UL 2043) , was introduced that supports Power over Ethernet and complies to

2596-472: The router market. Bloomberg News noted that "Apple rarely discontinues product categories" and that its decision to leave the business was "a boon for other wireless router makers." An AirPort router is used to connect AirPort-enabled computers to the Internet, each other, a wired LAN , and/or other devices. The original AirPort Base Station (known as Graphite , model M5757, part number M7601LL/B) features

2655-528: The router to share the mobile broadband Internet connection through the wireless network. Some wireless routers come with either xDSL modem, DOCSIS modem, LTE modem, or fiber optic modem integrated. The Wi-Fi clone button simplifies Wi-Fi configuration and builds a seamless unified home network, enabling Super Range Extension, which means it can automatically copy the SSID and Password of your router. The most common operating system on such embedded devices

2714-406: The same. At the time, it was the least expensive ($ 99) device to handle both frequency bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) in 2x2 802.11 Draft-N. In March 2009, Apple unveiled AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products with simultaneous dual-band 802.11 Draft-N radios. This allows full 802.11 Draft-N 2x2 communication in both 802.11 Draft-N bands at the same time. In October 2009, Apple unveiled

2773-440: The signal by broadcasting on the same frequency, type of antenna , the current weather, operating radio frequency , and the power output of devices. Network designers can extend the range of APs through the use of repeaters , which amplify a radio signal, and reflectors , which only bounce it. In experimental conditions, wireless networking has operated over distances of several hundred kilometers. Most jurisdictions have only

2832-414: The speed of wireless communications comes from Wi-Fi 's use of a shared communications medium: Thus, two stations in infrastructure mode that are communicating with each other even over the same AP must have each and every frame transmitted twice: from the sender to the AP, then from the AP to the receiver. This approximately halves the effective bandwidth, so an AP is only able to use somewhat less than half

2891-440: The updated AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule products with antenna improvements (the 5.8 GHz model). In 2011, Apple unveiled an updated AirPort Extreme base station, referred to as AirPort Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation) . The latest AirPort base stations and cards work with third-party base stations and wireless cards that conformed to the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11 Draft-N, and 802.11 Final-N networking standards. It

2950-408: The updated Time Capsule with a higher capacity 2 TB and 3 TB. They also changed the wireless card from a Marvell chip to a Broadcom BCM4331 chip. When used in conjunction with the latest 2011 MacBooks, MacBook Pros, and MacBook Airs (which also use a Broadcom BCM4331 wireless chip), the wireless signal is improved thanks to Broadcom's Frame Bursting technology. On June 10, 2013, Apple renamed

3009-655: The use of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and, as of July 14, 2005, WPA2 . Wireless router Wireless routers typically feature one or more network interface controllers supporting Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet ports integrated into the main system on a chip (SoC) around which the router is built. An Ethernet switch as described in IEEE 802.1Q may interconnect multiple ports. Some routers implement link aggregation through which two or more ports may be used together improving throughput and redundancy. All wireless routers feature one or more wireless network interface controllers . These are also integrated into

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3068-489: The web on an iBook using wireless internet technology for the very first time in a public demo of an Apple laptop. The initial offering consisted of an optional expansion card for Apple's new line of iBook notebooks and an AirPort Base Station. The AirPort card (a repackaged Lucent ORiNOCO Gold Card PC Card adapter) was later added as an option for almost all of Apple's product line, including PowerBooks , eMacs , iMacs , and Power Macs . Only Xserves did not have it as

3127-481: Was announced on January 7, 2003. In addition to providing wireless connection speeds of up to a maximum of 54 Mbit/s, it adds an external antenna port and a USB port. The antenna port allows the addition of a signal-boosting antenna, and the USB port allows the sharing of a USB printer. A connected printer is made available via Bonjour 's " zero configuration " technology and IPP to all wired and wireless clients on

3186-488: Was also modified in such a way that it could not be used in a regular PCMCIA slot (at the time it was significantly cheaper than the official WaveLAN/Orinoco Gold card). An AirPort card adapter is required to use this card in the slot-loading iMacs . Corresponding with the release of the AirPort Extreme Base Station, the AirPort Extreme card became available as an option on the current models. It

3245-524: Was discontinued in June 2004. In 2004, Apple released the AirPort Express base station as a " Swiss Army knife " multifunction product. It can be used as a portable travel router, using the same AC connectors as on Apple's AC adapters; as an audio streaming device, with both line-level and optical audio outputs; and as a USB printer sharing device, through its USB host port. In 2007, Apple unveiled

3304-477: Was included for printers and other USB devices. The Ethernet ports were later updated to Gigabit Ethernet on all ports. The styling is similar to that of the Mac Mini and Apple TV . In January 2008, Apple introduced Time Capsule , an AirPort Extreme (802.11 Draft-N) with an internal hard drive. The device includes software to allow any computer running a reasonably recent version of Mac OS or Windows to access

3363-539: Was included in the last iteration of the PowerPC-based PowerBooks and iBooks. A major distinction for this card was that it was the first "combo" card that included both 802.11g as well as Bluetooth . It was also the first card that was not user-installable. It was again a custom form factor, but was still electrically a Mini PCI interface for the Broadcom WLAN chip. A separate USB connection

3422-637: Was not uncommon to see wireless networks composed of several types of AirPort base station serving old and new Macintosh, Microsoft Windows , and Linux systems. Apple's software drivers for AirPort Extreme also supported some Broadcom and Atheros-based PCI Wireless adapters when fitted to Power Mac computers. Due to the developing nature of Draft-N hardware, there was no assurance that the new model would work with all 802.11 Draft-N routers and access devices from other manufacturers. In approximately 2016, Apple disbanded its wireless router team. In 2018, Apple formally discontinued all of its AirPort products, exiting

3481-463: Was used for the on-board Bluetooth chip. The AirPort Extreme (802.11g) card was discontinued in January 2009. As 802.11g began to come standard on all notebook models, Apple phased out the user-installable designs in their notebooks, iMacs and Mac Minis by mid-2005, moving to an integrated design. AirPort continued to be an option, either installed at purchase or later, on the Power Mac G5 and

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