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Even on different networks?

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The two networks - if they *are* separate networks - have to have different network addresses, eg 192.168.1.x and 192.168.2.x. The iMac would then have to have a 192.168.1.x address on the wired LAN and a 192.168.2.x address on the wireless LAN, and corrrespondingly different router addresses - the router address on a device interface must be an address in the same network range as the device interface's IP address.

If you are using Bridged mode in the AEX then the wireless and wired networks are bridged together as a single network, with all the wired and wireless interfaces having unique 192.168.1.x addresses.

Either way, the iMac has to have two different IP addresses if it is connected to the wired and wireless LANs.

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everything else (AEX, ATV, PS3 and laptops) is wireless, and I want them to stay that way

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I have an AEX. I'm not sure that it can operate as a wireless-to-wireless router. Is that what you are trying to do? I have mine connected to the ethernet, and providing wireless service in a part of the house that my Netgear router can't reach wirelessly. As far as I know it can connect wireless-to-wired or wired-to-wireless. I may be wrong, but I couldn't see how to make it do wireless-to-wireless.

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You come and tell it that . The saga started with point 1 that I made in this post. It's only the AEX and ATV that it won't talk to simultaneously (via wireless), everything else is fine.

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Yes, I saw that thread, but completely lost track of what worked and what didn't. Sorry, but I really can't imagine any mechanism that would stop the router talking to the two devices, unless (a) they have the same IP address or (b) they somehow managed to have the same MAC address.

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The two networks - if they *are* separate networks - have to have different network addresses

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OK, I understand that.

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Is that what you are trying to do?

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All I want it to do is act as a wireless device with an audio output that iTunes can still see if I start streaming video to the Apple TV first . Setting it up on a "separate" network makes it do that, but I'd much rather have it on the same one as everything else. Apart from anything else, I'd like to add another AEX in another room at some point and don't want to go through this again!

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unless (a) they have the same IP address or (b) they somehow managed to have the same MAC address.

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IP addresses different, guaranteed, just checked the MAC addresses and (as expected) they're different.

You've started one or two other trains of thought though, I'll have another play...

Bill needs to address ATV and AEX individually in order to initiate simultaneous streams from more than one file stored on a single fire disk attached to his iMac. However, with both devices joining a single wireless network created by his 3Com, the AEX disappears as an output device if he connects to the iMac's shared library from his Macbook at the same time as ATV is taking a stream from the iMac. I recreated the same set up here (ATV and AEX joining the main wireless access point, in my case an AESBn) and was able to do what Bill requires without any trouble. Here's the strange thing, when his AEX disappears from iTunes as an output device, it is still reachable (responds to ping) from the Macbook. To me this suggests a DNS problem, of the kind Bonjour would use (assuming iTunes is looking for the name of AEX rather than its IP address).

I had Bill recreate the same set up but excluding 3Com - having Macbook, iMac, ATV all join the network created by AEX leaving 3Com out of it (there is no wire to AEX from 3Com and Bill understands it therefore has no internet). So we know that what Bill wants to do is possible but at the moment, not if 3Com is the main access point. There's the dilemma.

One difference- I didn't have the ATV on the AEX network, that still went via the 3Com...

For the moment I've put everything back the way it was, I'll have a poke about the 3Com settings. Somewhat hampered by not knowing what most of them are for, I might be doing a lot of googling

Very odd, and just to be clear, this is the arrangement that doesn't work?

3Com creates a wireless network and is the DHCP router
ATV joins 3Com
AEX wireless mode "Joins a wireless network" with Network name (select 3Com) and Internet set to Configure Using DHCP

Now there's a thing... if the AEX gets its IP via DHCP it works. If I give it a fixed IP (different to everything else, nothing else changed) it doesn't...

Super! In that case it could be the Subnet Mask and/or Router address at fault- if you still prefer to use a static IP, make sure Subnet Mask and Router IP is the same as when using Configure using DHCP setting. Static IPs work best if the DHCP router assigns them out, as in configure the 3Com and leave AEX on Configure using DHCP. Do the same for ATV, make a note of its wireless MAC address and configure 3Com to dish out a static IP.

Subnet masks are all the same, I've been caught like that before! Same goes for router IP, that's correct. Looks like Apple and 3Com just don't like each other . (I've seen similar before- my Vista laptop won't get DNS addresses from my SO's Speedtouch router. Thank goodness for OpenDNS )

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Static IPs work best if the DHCP router assigns them out

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I prefer static IPs for 'static' devices, but I didn't even know routers could dish them out, I thought devices grabbed them for themselves... Time to RTFM, thanks for the advice

With any luck, that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train

I just had a quick look at the user guide, unfortunately i think you may find the 3Com doesn't support dishing out static IPs by MAC address or DHCP Client name, sorry. In theory it should work doing things the other way around (as you've done, setting the ip manually on each device) provided they are unique and compatible with the subnet.

From the user guide, pg 111
"Static Addressing
You must enter an IP Address and the subnet mask manually on every device. Using a static IP and subnet mask means the address is permanently fixed."

There's something seriously screwy somewhere... there's a router page that allows me to assign IPs by MAC, and the devices pick them up OK.

But iTunes still won't see the AEX if movies are being streamed. So I went back to static IP on the ATV and dynamic on the AEX (which worked before) and now that doesn't work either .

So I tried dynamic on both, and the ATV decided it didn't want to use DHCP, the client list on the router showed 0.0.0.0 and the ATV was using a 169 address...

I think some major resetting to defaults and starting again is on the cards... alternatively, what router have you got?