[help] both local network and internet with AirPort

Hi guys!

While sitting here in Perm, Russia, and waiting the new iMac to finally become available for Russian mac-fans, i've got an idea to make all my network connections wireless. But before doing something or buying any hardware, i decided to consult some experienced mac-users here, on Aqua-Soft forums, on how can i do it (if it is possible at all).

So here is my question:

Some guys from my neighborhood and me, we have our computers (by now all they are Windows-computers) connected into a local network (ordinary network, not wireless).

So when I finally buy an iMac, will it be possible to:

1) connect my iMac with my old Windows-PC using AirPort?

2) connect the wire for my local network to the AirPort and share the local network connection both with my iMac and my Windows-PC (use my AirPort as a local network hub)?

3) get a broadband internet connection and share it with both my iMac and my Windows-PC, also using AirPort (use my AirPort as an internet connection router)?

(I'd like to have all the three things together with one AirPort Base Station.)

Thanx in advance for your answers/recommendations.

#337364

1) yes go to the mac fourm page there should be a post there called tips it explains the way to connect your iMac to a PC, tried and test i have the new iMac with airport and it works prefectly

2) yes, i have a D-Link wireless Hub, and as soon as i turned on my mac for the first time, it picked up my wireless connection, really easy, and no hassels like windows. Just install your wireless hub before you turn on your mac for the first time, cause it sets it up during install process, but its just as easy doing it later.

3) yes, if you get AirPort Express with AirTunes,or any airport hub, you connect it to your boardband and you can share the connection with up to 10 computers, as long as the pcs have wireless cards

#337372

Yes, I know that these three sings are generally possible with an iMac and an AirPort Base Station, but my question was whether I would be able to connect both my Windows-PC and my iMac to the Internet and to my local network at the same time - does the AirPort have enough ports to connect both a local network cable as well as Internet connection cable to it?

#337777

The Apple Airport Extreme has one WAN port (for internet connection), and one LAN port (for your wired network), so I think that would work.

#338911

Thanks, bhound. That's what I wanted to hear.

(I knew, what is LAN; but I didn't knew, what is WAN (I'm an absolute hardware idiot); so I wasn't sure, if it is the right thing for my issue.)

#339031

WAN is wide area network....in other words the internet usually

#339044

sorry of topic but why are there advertisments in the first post? And yea Kingryu has the basic idea of WAN down

#339315