AirPort base station differences
This article has two tables which show the differences between Apple's Airport base stations. The first table shows the differences between Apple's different 802.11n devices, whilst the second shows the differences between Apple's older 802.11b and 802.11g base stations.
AirPort 802.11n Differences |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feature |
802.11n Airport Extreme |
802.11n Airport |
Time Capsule 500GB |
Time Capsule 1TB |
|
MA073LL/A |
MB053LL/A |
||||
Wireless technology | 802.11a/b/g/ |
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Speed |
300Mbps |
||||
WDS capable? | Yes (extend capability as well) |
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Encryption | 40/128 bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 | ||||
WAN port speed (Mbps) | 10/100 |
10/100/1000 |
10/100 |
10/100/1000 |
|
Ethernet ports support Auto-MDIX | Yes | ||||
# of Ethernet ports | 1 WAN, 3 LAN | 1 WAN |
1 WAN, 3 LAN |
||
56K modem | No | ||||
USB Printer port | Yes | Yes |
Yes |
||
USB hard drive support |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
||
Internal Storage |
None |
500GB |
1TB |
||
Audio out | No | Yes |
No |
||
Antenna port | No |
||||
# of clients | 50 | 10 |
50 |
||
PoE (Power over Ethernet) | No |
||||
Feature |
802.11n Airport Extreme |
802.11n Airport |
Time Capsule 500GB |
Time Capsule 1TB |
|
MA073LL/A |
MB053LL/A |
||||
AirPort 802.11b/g Differences |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Feature |
Graphite M7601 |
Dual Ethernet (aka 'snow') |
Airport Extreme |
Airport |
||||||
M8930LL/A |
M8799LL/A |
M9397LL/A |
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Wireless technology |
802.11b |
802.11g |
||||||||
Speed |
11 Mbps |
54 Mbps |
||||||||
WDS capable? |
No |
Yes |
||||||||
Encryption |
40 bit WEP |
40/128 bit WEP |
40/128 bit WEP, WPA, WPA2 |
|||||||
WAN port speed (Mbps) |
10 |
|
10/100 |
|||||||
Ethernet ports support Auto-MDIX |
No |
Yes |
||||||||
# of Ethernet ports |
1 |
1 WAN, 1 LAN |
1 |
|||||||
56K modem |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
||||||
USB Printer port |
No |
Yes |
Yes (see KB 107857) |
Yes |
||||||
USB hard drive support |
No |
|||||||||
Internal Storage |
None |
|||||||||
Audio out |
No |
Yes |
||||||||
Antenna port |
No |
Yes |
No |
|||||||
# of clients |
10 |
50 |
10 |
|||||||
PoE (Power over Ethernet) |
No |
Yes |
No |
|||||||
Feature |
Graphite M7601 |
Dual Ethernet (aka 'snow') |
Airport Extreme |
Airport |
||||||
M8930LL/A |
M8799LL/A |
M9397LL/A |
||||||||
More details can be found in Identifying AirPort hardware.
Which Airport Extreme 802.11n do I have?
NOTES:
-
The single Ethernet port can be used for Ethernet clients if the graphite AirPort base station (ABS) is used to connect to a dial-up ISP.
-
The single Ethernet port can be used for Ethernet clients if the AirPort Express is used in a WDS (wireless distribution system). More information can be found in:
- The new AirPort Extreme Base Station is based on an IEEE 802.11n draft specification and is compatible with IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and IEEE 802.11g. Find out more on 802.11n.
- The new Airport Extreme Base Station supports multiple printers and hard drives via a USB hub.
- 802.11n 5x wide channel operation only available in certain countries (including US). The following countries do not allow wide-channel operation: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Japan, Latvia, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom and therefore only 2.5 speed available.
Document inspired by an original by Duane.