AirPort networking
AirPort is a wireless networking protocol from Apple Computer designed for their Macintosh computers. It is based on the IEEE 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi) standard and has been certified to be compatible with other 802.11b devices. According to Apple, AirPort is capable of speeds up to 11 Megabits per second and distances of 150 feet from the base station. The current version support encryption up to 128 bits.
AirPort first debuted on July 21 1999 in Macworld Expo New York. AirPort card was sold as option in Apple's iBook line of notebooks and AirPort base station was also introduced. AirPort allowed transfer rates up to 11 Mbit/s. Antennas were integrated into iBooks display so reception was very good. Apple was first manufacturer to embrace 802.11b wireless networking. AirPort card was later added as option in almost the whole product line including PowerBooks, eMacs, iMacs, and Power Macs. Only Xserves didn't have AirPort option.
On January 7th, 2003, Apple Computer introduced AirPort Extreme, based on the 802.11g specification. AirPort Extreme allows data transfer of up to 54 Mbit/s, and is fully backwards-compatible with the thousands of existing 802.11b (AirPort) base stations in coffee shops, retail stores, offices and homes. Apple has begun shipping Airport Extreme capabilities with their newest line of PowerBooks, but they do not work in older Maces--the Airport bus cannot support the new faster transfer rate. However, an Airport Extreme base station can communicate both with newer 802.11g-based devices and the older 802.11b AirPort cards.
AirPort also describes several products including the AirPort base station and AirPort card. AirPort Extreme features bridging, which allows a single Base Station to link with another AirPort Extreme Base Station in order to increase the signal strength (previously, each base station had to be connected to a hard internet line). A software base station for AirPort and AirPort Extreme also exists, meaning that one can turn a computer with a hard internet connection into a wireless network server as long as it has an AirPort card.
An AirPort base station can be used as a fully-featured LAN and/or to connect to the Internet. Some base stations have a modem and all have an Ethernet port. Some AirPort Extreme base stations also feature a USB port to connect a printer, meaning that that printer can then be seamlessly used as a network device. The newest Airport Extreme base station also supports Power over Ethernet. There have been four generations of base stations. The first ("graphite') was based on the Lucent WaveLan PC-Card and used an embedded 486 processor. The second ("snow") has a Motorola PowerPC 860. The third generation ("Extreme") runs on an AMD Alchemy Au1500 processor which is based on the MIPS architecture. The latest generation is the AirPort Express. Its processor is not yet known.
The current version of AirPort software (original edition) is 2.1.1. The current version of Airport Extreme software is 3.4.2. AirPort software 3.2 or newer include WPA encryption support.
AirPort is most often used in portable computers such as the iBook and PowerBook, though some people use this technology on stationary computers because they find it easier than running wires throughout their house.
On June 7th, 2004, Apple Computer introduced AirPort Express, based on the 802.11g specification. AirPort Express is AirPort base station the size of a power adapter and includes Audio-out, USB for remote printing and ethernet-port. AirPort Express supports AirTunes functionality, which allows audio to be streamed over wireless network to the AirPort Express, which outputs the audio through its audio-out to stereos, for example. AirTunes functionality requires iTunes 4.6, or newer. Audio-out supports digital optical and analog output. AirPort Express can also be used to easily expand wireless coverage via WDS-bridging.