Organization of This Document
See Also
Note: This technology developer note describes details of Apple’s implementation of the 802.11 wireless networking standard in its AirPort products and technologies. Previously, information of this type was published in Apple's product developer notes (specific to particular Macintosh computers). For implementation details for Macintosh computers introduced before October of 2005, see the product developer note for that computer.
Apple's AirPort and AirPort Extreme products implement 802.11 IEEE standards for wireless computing.
Developers who are designing networking devices that communicate with a Mac computer via 802.11 will find this document useful.
This document contains the following articles:
“AirPort Concepts” describes Apple's implementation of the 802.11 wireless networking standards and defines the key concepts you need to ensure that your product is compatible with Macintosh computers that support the standards via AirPort technologies.
“AirPort Product-Specific Details” provides details specific to particular Macintosh computers.
For specific information about a particular Macintosh computer, see the product Developer Note for that computer in the Reference Library > Hardware & Drivers > Apple Hardware.
For a list of the standard units of measure and abbreviations used in this developer note, refer to the Hardware Developer Note Terms and Abbreviations.
Apple offers the following additional resources for AirPort:
Apple's AirPort Extreme website provides background information about AirPort Extreme, Apple's implementation of the 802.11 standard.
Designing AirPort Networks describes how to set up your AirPort Extreme wireless network and maximize its performance using Max OS X v10.4 or later and Windows XP.
Designing AirPort Networks Using AirPort Utility describes how to set up your AirPort Extreme wireless network and maximize its performance using Max OS X v10.5 or later and Windows Vista or Windows XP.
AirPort technical specifications provide compatibility, configuration, and feature set, and comparison details.
Other helpful resources include:
The Wi-Fi Alliance website provides background information, product listings, and certification programs.
The IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group develops and maintains standards governing 802.11. Standards from this group are posted in PDF format on their free download site six months after initial publication.
© 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Last updated: 2008-04-28)