AirPort: Impossible to create a roaming network with a dialup connection

Posted by Pierre Igot in: Macintosh
January 26th, 2004 • 11:27 pm

Here’s a bug report that I submitted to Apple this morning via Bug Reporter:

* SUMMARY
AirPort: Impossible to create a roaming network with dialup connection.

* STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Connect the Ethernet ports of two (original) Graphite Base Stations (BS1 and BS2) to an Ethernet hub
2. Connect BS1 modem port to phone line providing dialup connection.
3. Connect computer running Panther to Ethernet hub.
4. Use computer to configure BS1 and BS2.
5. Configure BS2 with following settings:
AirPort: Name = Base2
AirPort: Network name = Home
AirPort: Network password = password
Internet: Connect using Ethernet
Internet: Configure manually
Internet: IP address = 10.0.1.2
Internet: Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0
Internet: Router address = 10.0.1.1
Network: Distribute IP addresses OFF
(Network: Enable AirPort to Ethernet bridging is disabled but ON)
Update BS2 with these settings.

6. Configure BS1 with following settings:
AirPort: Name = Base1
AirPort: Network name = Home
AirPort: Network password = password
Internet: Connect using modem (v.90)
Internet: modem settings for dialup connection with ISP
Network: Distribute IP adresses ON
Network: Share a range of IP addresses (using only DHCP)
Network: Beginning: 10.0.1.2
Network: Ending: 10.0.1.200
Network: Enable DHCP server on Ethernet ON
Network: Enable AirPort to Ethernet bridging ON

7. Try to update BS1 with these settings.

* RESULTS
AirPort Admin Utility refuses to update settings, saying that “Sharing a range of DHCP addresses requires the base station to be configured using Ethernet and static IP addresses.”

* REGRESSION
This used to work just fine in Jaguar with previous versions of the AirPort system software. I was able to share a range of IP addresses from 10.0.1.2 to 10.0.1.200 using only DHCP from BS1, i.e. the BS that is connected to the Internet via dialup.

Now if I try to set up BS1 to do the same thing, AirPort Admin Utility refuses, saying that I need a static IP address. Of course, I cannot get a static IP address from my ISP since I am on a dialup connection.

The only thing I can do right now is use the OTHER option for distributing IP addresses from BS1, i.e. “Share a single IP address (using DHCP and NAT)”. This works for BS1, but then I am no longer able to use BS2 to create a roaming network. I tried, and it doesn’t work — which is what Apple KB article ID 58596 says: “Important: You should not use network address translation (NAT) with active roaming. Client computers on an active roaming network should receive real IP addresses via DHCP or manually.”

I have configured all my client computers and other devices on the network to use static IP addresses in the range 10.0.1.3 to 10.0.1.200.

* NOTES
See system profile attached. Both Base Stations have up-to-date software (v.3.84). As I said, everything used to work just fine in Jaguar with previous versions of the AirPort system software. It’s only since I upgraded my computers to Jaguar and installed the latest AirPort system software (3.2) that things no longer work. This functionality needs to be restored.

I guess that’s about all I can do about these AirPort issues that have been driving me nuts in the past few weeks. This is definitely something that used to work just fine previously. Obviously Apple changed something in the AirPort software that causes it to fail now.

Irritating.


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