Apple has posted a firmware update for its Airport Extreme Base Station with 802.11n, to bring it to version 7.1. The new update can be downloaded from Apple's web site; users will also be notified of its availability if they launch the Airport Utility software that comes with the device.
Apple's newest Airport Extreme Base Station employs a draft specification of the IEEE 802.11n wireless networking standard. That provides wireless networking capabilities that are up to five times faster than before for compatible Macs, and the device operates at up to twice the range as its predecessor. It's also backwards-compatible with the 802.11g and 802.11b wireless networking specs supported by earlier Mac models. Other features include a USB port that can share both printers and hard disk drives on the network.
This release of the firmware "includes general fixes, compatibility updates, and security improvements for the Airport Extreme Base Station with 802.11n," according to Apple.
To improve security, the updated firmware changes the default setting on the Airport Extreme Base Station to limit inbound IPv6 traffic to the local network. The update also performs additional validation on Airport Disk access requests.
