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Power Over Ethernet for AirPort Base Station

An anonymous user writes, "With Apple's recent announcements I took a quick stroll through some other items on the site and noticed that there's now a third AirPort Extreme Base Station. This model, at the same price as the model with modem and antenna ports, does not have a built-modem, however it does have an antenna port, supports Power Over Ethernet, and conforms to UL 2043. Great news for those that have wished they could put their Base Stations out of reach of a power outlet."

11 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Also announced by Johnny+Mnemonic · · Score: 5, Interesting


    Also announced today was AirPort Management Tools 1.0, which provide powerful tools for planning, setting up, fine-tuning, and managing larger, enterprise-class wireless networks. Both of these announcements aren't targeted towards the home user; they don't do Power-over-Ethernet, nor have to manage lots of AirPort Base Stations.

    With this plus the other things today, it sounds like Apple is starting to get serious about the Big Enterprise. WWDC could be really intersting.

    --

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    $tar -xvf .sig.tar
  2. Re:$300!?! by lxt · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Is there something else great about this that would make me crazy enough to buy this?"

    It's white! Just like the iPod!

  3. I'm waiting until... by lxt · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...power over wireless ethernet. Now that would be good... ...A man can dream :)

    1. Re:I'm waiting until... by skarth · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, I though you were dead!

  4. Re:$300!?! by larkost · · Score: 5, Informative

    I agree that it is a bit expensive, but if you start to look at the specs a bit better, you will understand more:

    USB Printer Sharing Built in

    A good antenna (optional external antenna hookup also)

    One model has a built in modem with AOL Compatibility (the only one out there)

    An application based admin interface both for Windows and Mac

    Like I said.. they are still a bit expensive, but not as much as as it first appears. Much like most of Apple's products.

  5. Re:Ethernet power rating by nadda · · Score: 5, Informative

    802.3af specifies 48V. Google for specs.

  6. UL 2043? by System.out.println() · · Score: 5, Funny

    UL 2043: "Fire Test for Heat and Visible Smoke Release for Discrete Products and Their Accessories Installed in Air-Handling Spaces" ....so my new AirPort base has a smoke detector inside it? Why don't they build that into the new Powerbooks? ;-)

    SYSTEM ERROR #43: MOTHERBOARD ON FIRE.

    1. Re:UL 2043? by Captain+Nitpick · · Score: 5, Funny
      UL 2043: "Fire Test for Heat and Visible Smoke Release for Discrete Products and Their Accessories Installed in Air-Handling Spaces" ....so my new AirPort base has a smoke detector inside it? Why don't they build that into the new Powerbooks? ;-)

      It means you can shove an airport base station into an air duct without violating safety codes.

      SYSTEM ERROR #43: MOTHERBOARD ON FIRE.
      From Ward's Wiki:
      The BeOS programmer's guide covers two functions IsComputerOn (returns 1.0 if computer is on, unspecified otherwise) and IsComputerOnFire (returns temperature if mainboard has flames coming from it, unspecified otherwise). It's right there in the printed version (though I quote from memory).
      --
      But then again, I could be wrong.
  7. Re:$300!?! by b-baggins · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Airport Base Stations also BRIDGE the wireless to wired connections. Most wireless routers do not bridge.

    Bridging is essential if you want Rendezvous to work properly between your wired and wireless machines.

    --
    You can tell a great deal about the character of a man by observing those who hate him.
  8. Not $300 but $249 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    You should check the price before you complain.
    Though you can still get a generic 54g basestation for less, they do not have the same performace or features:

    Radius Server Compatibiliry
    Excellent & Stable WPA implementation
    Built-in 56k modem with Dial in Access
    USB Print Server (with Rendezvous)
    WPA Bridging (Best i've seen so far)
    Roaming
    Inteference Robustness (Frequency Hopping)
    Antenna Output Power Control

    I set up wireless system for a living and i even use the AE Basetations for my PC customers. Not only are the features are better, the IMPLEMENTATION is far more stable. Firmware Updates are so much easier to apply.

  9. Re:External Antenna Port Worthwhile? by kencurry · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have an original graphite station. I added a lucent external antenna (I don't remember the specs, maybe a 5dB boost?) that required a "case hack" I saw posted somewhere. In may case, the antenna plugs directly into the embedded PCMCIA card. the addition did boost performance for me, but I still found that some areas downstairs remained spotty.

    I noticed that the Dr. Bott is more expensive than the lucent. To be honest, I think you will be disappointed to spend a hundred bucks and find only marginal improvement.

    --
    sigs are for losers (except to point out that sigs are for losers)