The AirPort Extreme is a wireless router from Apple. The name AirPort Extreme also refers to the protocol (802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n), the expansion card and the base station. On on January 9, 2007, the AirPort Extreme Base Station was updated to support the 802.11a/b/g and Draft-N protocols. This version was renamed to just AirPort Extreme. This revision also adds two LAN ports for a total of three.[1] It now more closely resembles the square-shaped 1st generation Apple TV and Mac mini, and is about the same size as the Mini. The AirPort Extreme base station can serve a maximum of 50 wireless clients simultaneously and has no port for an external antenna.
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The new AirPort Disk feature allows users to plug a USB hard drive into the AirPort Extreme for use as a network-attached storage (NAS) device for Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows clients.[3] Users may also connect a USB hub and printer. The performance of USB hard drives attached to an AirPort Extreme is slower than if the drive were connected directly to a computer. This is due to the processor speed on the AirPort extreme. Depending on the setup and types of reads and writes, performance ranges from 0.5 to 17.5 MB/s for writing and 1.9 to 25.6 MB/s for reading.[4] Performance for the same disk connected directly to a computer would be 6.6 to 31.6 MB/s for writing and 7.1 to 37.2 MB/s for reading.
On August 7, 2007, the AirPort Extreme began shipping with Gigabit Ethernet, matching most other Apple products.
On March 19, 2008, Apple released a firmware update for both models of the AirPort Extreme to allow AirPort Disks to be used in conjunction with Time Machine, similar to the functionality provided by Time Capsule.[5] However, this feature was later discontinued.[6]
On March 3, 2009, Apple unveiled a new AirPort Extreme with simultaneous dual-band 802.11 Draft-N radios. This allows full 802.11 Draft-N 2x2 communication in both 802.11 Draft-N bands at the same time.
On October 20, 2009, Apple unveiled an updated AirPort Extreme base station with antenna improvements.
On June 21, 2011, Apple unveiled an updated AirPort Extreme base station, referred to as AirPort Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation).
The detailed table of output power comparison between the previous model MC340LL/A and the current model MD031LL/A can be seen below:[7] [8]
| Frequency range (MHz) | Mode | AirPort Extreme model | Output power (dBm) | Output power (mW) | Comparison (percents) | Difference (percents) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2412–2462 | 802.11b | Previous | 24.57 | 286.42 | 100 | -10.3 |
| Current | 24.10 | 257.04 | 89.7 | |||
| 802.11g | Previous | 21.56 | 143.22 | 100 | +114.8 | |
| Current | 24.88 | 307.61 | 214.8 | |||
| 802.11n HT20 | Previous | 21.17 | 130.92 | 100 | +96.8 | |
| Current | 24.11 | 257.63 | 196.8 | |||
| 5745–5825 | 802.11a | Previous | 23.07 | 202.77 | 100 | +61.1 |
| Current | 25.14 | 326.59 | 161.1 | |||
| 5745–5805 | 802.11n HT20 | Previous | 22.17 | 164.82 | 100 | +104.6 |
| Current | 25.28 | 337.29 | 204.6 | |||
| 5755–5795 | 802.11n HT40 | Previous | 21.44 | 139.32 | 100 | +181.8 |
| Current | 25.94 | 392.64 | 281.8 |
| Approx. release date | AirPort Extreme | Model | Wi-Fi standard | LAN ports | Built-in modem | External antenna port | Power over Ethernet | Gigabit ports | Simultaneous dual-band capable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 9, 2007 | MA073LL/A | A1143 ('1st Generation', previously 'Fast Ethernet') | 802.11a/b/g/Draft N | 3 | No | No | No | No | No, but can provide either a 5 GHz or a 2.4 GHz network |
| August 7, 2007 | MB053LL/A | A1143 ('2nd Generation', previously 'Gigabit Ethernet') | 802.11a/b/g/Draft N | 3 | No | No | No | Yes | No, but can provide either a 5 GHz or a 2.4 GHz network |
| March 3, 2009 | MB763LL/A | A1301 ('3rd Generation', previously 'Simultaneous Dual-Band') | 802.11a/b/g/Draft N | 3 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| October 20, 2009 | MC340LL/A | A1354 ('4th Generation', previously 'Simultaneous Dual-Band II') | 802.11a/b/g/Final N | 3 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| June 21, 2011 | MD031LL/A | A1408 ('5th Generation') | 802.11a/b/g/Final N | 3 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |