OK, the problems I found with this page, which I had come across, are that 1. it was written in 2004, and the equipment and software has gone way beyond this point. 4 years is a long time in computing terms and I need up to date information. 2. I'd appreciate if you would confirm if, in your opinon the following is accurate, but from reading around it seems that in fact YOU DON'T need to upgrade your Linksys router software any longer because the latest versions of the Linksys software actually have an officially undocumented but recognized ability to connect to the Airport Xpress now if only you know the correct sequence and settings to make it recognize them. Trouble is, I don't know these sequences and settings. Without that, I can't get the base station to talk with the Airport Xpress wireless "plugs."
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by: beowulfsPosted on 2008-01-18 at 19:07:27ID: 20695922
are you looking for something like this:
http://ryanschwartz.net/20
AirTunes, AirPort Express, and the WRT54G
Published by Ryanon 8/5/2004in General.
Heres my notes for setting up your brand spanking new AirPort Express with your Linksys WRT54G (or GS) in WDS (bridging) mode, while still allowing AirTunes to work.
Part 1: Your Linksys WRT54G(S) setup
Grab the most recent public sveasoft firmware from here. (direct link to download the G firmware file here - Description: USE OF THIS FIRMWARE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK! MAKE SURE YOU USE THE APPROPRIATE VERSION - G for WRT54G MODELS AND GS FOR WRT54GS MODELS.)
WRT54GS users, please make sure you grabbed the firmware from the first link above - the direct link is for the WRT54G ONLY!!!!!!
Install the firmware (Administration>Upgrade Firmware)
Set the channel on your Linksys to Channel 1 (Wireless>Basic Settings)
Provide the MAC address of your AirPort Expresss wireless interface on the WDS setup page (Wireless>WDS), selecting the LAN option
On the same page, toggle Lazy WDS and WDS Subnet to off.
Turn off the loopback interface (Administration>Managemen
Set Ignore Anonymous Requests to off in the Firewall setup (Security>Firewall)
Part 2: Your Airport Express Setup
Install the AirPort software that came on the CD with your AirPort Express
Hook your AirPport Express up to your Macintosh via an ethernet cable
Open the AirPort Admin Utility (Applications/Utilities/Ai
Select your new AirPort Express from the list of found access points, and click configure
On the AirPort tab, set:
Use base station to: Create a Wireless Network
Network Name to the same SSID as your WRT54G(S)
Wireless Channel to 1
If youre using WEP, youll need to enter your WEP key.
If youre not broadcasting your SSID, check the Make this a closed network box
Jump over to the WDS tab and check Enable this base station and set it to work as a remote base station
Check Allow wireless clients on this base station
Enter the MAC address for your WRT54G(S)***NOTE*** in the Main AirPort ID box. (or if youre SSID is broadcast, just click browse and pick it from the list)
***NOTE***(WIRELESS MAC ADDRESS& guess I thought that was a given, but seems to be some confusion - this is WDS - Wireless, hence the need for the WIRELESS MAC address&)
On the Music tab, check Enable AirTunes and put in a nice name for your speaker connection
Click Update and wait for your AirPort Express to reboot
Once this all is done and your AirPort Express comes up, you should see a pretty blue light on the side (front) of it, indicating that your WDS connection is up and purring and you can now hook up your speakers, fire up iTunes, and rock the house.
Wireless Encryption Addendum:
Keep in mind that you can only use WEP (or no encryption at all) with WDS due to the way MAC addresses get encrypted when using WPA, which doesnt work well when you need to hard code the remote WDS nodes MAC address on the Linksys& also, please read the comments below regarding the WEP key and a nasty little $ that is needed for this to work.