This is the D-Link DI-624, a typical wireless router designed for small office and home (SOHO) use. It is the size of a small book, yet provides these functions:

• • 802.11 radio: sends and receives 802.11 B and G

  • Speed: from 1 to 54Mbps depending upon signal strength and modulation scheme

  • Ethernet interfaces: four Ethernet ports

  • Cable and DSL interfaces: connect to the Internet via DSL or cable

  • Router: does network address translation between the Internet and up to four hosts on the local area network

  • Switch: four port switch

  • Firewall: filter packets from various addresses and for various ports

  • DHCP server: automatically configure hosts when they boot up on the local area network

  • HTTP server: used to manage the wireless router and for router documentation

  • Security: four different user authentication nvenienprotocols

  • VPN: traffic pass through cot location

(http://som.csudh.edu, N.A.)

• 1. Choose a to begin installing your router such as an open floor space or table. This does not need to be the permanent location of the device. Particularly for wireless routers, you may find it necessary to re-position the unit after installing it as the cables / signals may not reach all areas needed. At the beginning, its better to choose a location where it's easiest to work with the router and worry about final placement later.

  2. Plug in the router's electrical power source, then turn on the router by pushing the power button.

  3. (Optional) Connect your Internet modem to the router. Most network modems connect via an Ethernet cable but USB connections are becoming increasingly common. The cable plugs into the router jack named WAN or uplink or Internet. After connecting the cable, be sure to power cycle (turn off and turn back on) the modem to ensure the router recognizes it.

  4. Connect one computer to the router. Even if the router is a wireless model, connect this first computer to the router via a network cable. Using a cable during router installation ensures the maximum reliability of the equipment. Once a wireless router installation is complete, the computer can be changed over to a wireless connection if desired.

  5. Open the router's administration tool. From the computer connected to the router, first open your Web browser. Then enter the router's address for network administration in the Web address field and hit return to reach the router's home page.

  6. Many routers are reached by either the Web address "http://192.168.1.1" or "http://192.168.0.1" Consult your router's documentation to determine the exact address for your model. Note that you do not need a working Internet connection for this step.

  7. Log in to the router. The router's home page will ask you for a username and password. Both are provided in the router's documentation. You should change the router's password for security reasons, but do this after the installation is complete to avoid unnecessary complications during the basic setup.

  8. If you want your router to connect to the Internet, you must enter Internet connection information into that section of the router's configuration (exact location varies). If using DSL Internet, you may need to enter the PPPoE username and password. Likewise, if you have been issued a static IP address by your provider (you would need to have requested it), the static IP fields (including network mask and gateway) given to you by the provider must also must be set in the router.

  9. If you were using a primary computer or an older network router to connect to the Internet, your provider may require you to update the MAC address of the router with the MAC address of the device you were using previously. Read How to Change a MAC Address for a detailed description of this process.

  10. If this is a wireless router, change the network name (often called SSID). While the router comes to you with a network name set at the factory, you will never want to use this name on your network. Read How to Change the Router SSID for detailed instructions.

  11. Verify the network connection is working between your one computer and the router. To do this, you must confirmed that the computer has received IP address information from the router. See How to Find IP Addresses for a description of this process.

  12. (If applicable) Verify your one computer can connect to the Internet properly. Open your Web browser and visit a few Internet sites such as http://compnetworking.about.com/.

  13. Connect additional computers to the router as needed. If connecting wirelessly, ensure the network name (SSID) of each is computer matches that of the router.

  14. Finally, configure additional network security features as desired to guard your systems against Internet attackers. These WiFi Home Network Security Tips offer a good checklist to follow.

Tips:

• 1. When connecting devices with network cables, be sure each end of the cable connects tightly. Loose cables are one of the most common sources of network setup problems.

What You Need:

• • A network router

  • Network adapters installed on all devices to be connected to the router

  • A working Internet modem (optional)

  • A Web browser installed at least one computer in the network

(Bradley Mitchell, 2015)

Steps

• • 1. Launch a browser. Connect to your router by entering its IP address. This will vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer, and will be listed in the documentation.

       1. • Here are some common IP addresses for various routers:

          • Linksys, 3Com, Asus, Dell, US Robotics: 192.168.1.1

          • Qwest (AKA CenturyLink), DLink, Netgear, Trendnet, Senao: 192.168.0.1

          • Belkin, Microsoft, and SMC: 192.168.2.1

          • Apple: 10.0.1.1

          • If you have misplaced your documentation, and you do not see your router listed here, search on Google for your router name and "default IP address" to find the correct information.

          • Another way to locate your router's IP address: on a PC, open the command prompt (click on Start > Run/Search for cmd) and enter ipconfig. Look for the Default Gateway line, and try that number.

          • On a Macintosh, open the Network control panel (System Preferences..., Network) and look for Router: This is your router's IP address.

• • 1. Log in. If prompted, enter your router's user name and password, and log into your router. Not all routers will require this step. If your router defaults to requiring a password, it will be listed with the documentation. If so, the default password is generally “admin,” and you may leave the User name field blank.

• • 1. Go to Setup -> Basic Setup. Scroll down until you see DHCP Server (Enable) (Disable) radio buttons. If it is disabled, select Enable

• • 1. If you want, you can change the number that the DHCP IP assigning starts. This is optional, and is totally dependent on personal preference. If you're not sure what this is, it's totally safe to skip this step.

       1. • Some routers let you set the maximum number of DHCP clients. If your router has this setting, count all the computers, smart phones, and other internet-active devices (such as Apple TV), then add a couple extra, for guests who may visit with their smart phones and want to access the internet. Once the pre-defined maximum is reached, no one else can get an address until one expires!

• • 1. Set the DNS. Use the DNS servers provided to you by your ISP, or use the following DNS servers: 205.152.37.254, 205.152.132.235, 205.152.132.23; There are many DNS servers out there. It's best to use your ISP's if possible.

• • 1. Save your settings. Click the Save or Apply button, or whatever your router calls the button that locks in your changes.

• • 1. Configure your network devices. Open up the network configurations for the computers on your network. On a PC, go to Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Local Area Connection (or Wireless Connection) and select Obtain IP address automatically. On a Mac, go to System Preferences, then click on Network, and select Using DHCP. On a WiFi-enabled device, check the WiFi settings, and select DHCP as the source of the IP address.

• • 1. You're good to go!

Configure A Linksys Router with a Static IP Address

Most home routers are used out of the box without much custom customization. some people don’t even setup a password for their access point, so they have their wireless access point wide open to the public. In this article I will show you how to change your router IP address from dynamic to static IP address.

Remember that if you are setting up a static IP address on your home router, you need to get the IP information from your Internet service provider (ISP) or get it from your current router configuration, but keep in mind that ISPs assign IP addresses dynamically, so your actual IP address could change anytime. now, if you are assigning the static IP address from your network, then make sure is in the same subnet mask as your other devices on your network, otherwise the router will be NATTED from your network. for example if your network use the class C IP address range 192.168.1.x then your router should have an IP address on that same range.

Setting up the Linksys router with static IP address

login to your router using whatever IP you have setup on the router, and click on the Setup tab. on the Internet Connection Type choose Static IP on the drop down menu:

on the setting fields that come up, enter the appropriate information.

• • Internet IP address: Enter your chosen IP address

  • Subnet Mask : Enter the subnet mask of your network here

  • Gateway : Enter the default gateway here

  • Static DNS : Enter at least 2 DNS server IP addresses

click on Save Setting underneath and that should make the router use the static IP address instead of the dynamically assigned one.

(Nelson 2009)

Opening ports for Internet Games and Applications on NETGEAR Routers

While most games and applications that require Internet access will work perfectly with the default settings of your NETGEAR router, some may require extra configuration of the router to work correctly. This usually involves allowing incoming traffic from the Internet on particular  TCP port numbers that are specific to each game or application. To connect with these Internet services, your router needs to be set up to do one of these:

• • Use UPnP (Universal Plug and Play)

  • Open ports using port forwarding

  • Use a DMZ

  • Open ports using port triggering

  • Set NAT filtering to open

Note: Without UPnP, NETGEAR routers only support one person playing the same application at one time.

UPnP is the easiest, because port configuration is handled automatically. If your router, operating system, and application can all use UPnP, then any number of computers can use the same application at the same time.

To enable UPnP:

• 1. Open a browser and type in the following URL: http://www.routerlogin.com or http://192.168.1.1 (assuming you have not changed the default IP address on your router).

  2. Enter your admin login and password. If you have not changed the admin password, enter the default login credentials: username: admin, password: password.

  3. Click OK.

  4. Go to the Advanced tab, select Advanced Setup, and then UpnP.

  5. Select the checkbox next to Turn UpnP On.

  6. Click Apply.

Using Port Forwarding

Port forwarding selectively opens ports. This is described in the article How is Port Forwarding Configured? The only real disadvantage of port forwarding over using a DMZ is that in rare cases it may be difficult to figure out what ports an online application wants.

As games and applications get more sophisticated, they are requiring that several ports be opened. Make sure that all the ports required by a game or applications are open.

Port Triggering

Port triggering "triggers" an open incoming port when a client on the local network makes an outgoing connection to a predetermined port on a server. Port Triggering is more secure than port forwarding, because the incoming ports are not open all the time, they are open only when a program is actively using the trigger port.

NAT Filtering

This option determines how the router deals with inbound traffic. The Secured option provides a secured firewall to protect the PCs on LAN from attacks from the Internet, but it may cause some Internet games, point-to-point applications, or multimedia applications not to work. The Open option, on the other hand, provides a much less secured firewall, while it allows almost all Internet applications to work.

To enable NAT filtering, click on the ADVANCED tab, select Setup, and then WAN setup.

Using DMZ

A DMZ avoids having to figure out which ports to forward, but it makes your network very vulnerable to hackers. A DMZ is best used only during troubleshooting while setting up a game or other application. Port forwarding is preferred.

• 1. Go to the Advanced tab, select Advanced Setup, and then WAN Setup.

  2. Enable Default DMZ server and enter the IP address of the computer or the gaming console that needs access through the ports.

Issues with Specific Applications:

Xbox Live Problems

Because these games are designed to a common standard, once a LAN is configured for one game, it will tend to work for others. If you can't connect through a router with Xbox Live, visit Microsoft's XBOX support.

PlayStation

The Network setup for PlayStation will vary between games. A LAN configuration that works for one game may not work for another one. For more help with connecting your PlayStation, visit Sony's PlayStation support.

How do I enable Quality of Service (QoS)?

QoS is an advanced feature on some NETGEAR routers that can be used to prioritize some Internet applications and on-line services to minimize the impact when the bandwidth is busy. You may enable this after setting the ports on the router. Follow the steps below to enable QoS on your router:

• 1. Open a browser and type in the following URL: http://www.routerlogin.com or http://192.168.1.1 (assuming you have not changed the default IP address on your router).

  2. Enter your admin login and password. If you have not changed the admin password, enter the default login credentials: username: admin, password: password.

  3. Click ADVANCED > Setup > QoS Setup.

  4. Click Upstream QoS > Setup QoS rule.

• 1. Select the appropriate Priority Category that meets your need. Priority Category has four choices:

     1. Applications: Choose this to prioritize based on specific applications. Example: Skype

     2. Online Gaming: Choose this to prioritize gaming application,

     3. example: Counter Strike, Treasure Hunt, etc…

     4. Ethernet LAN Port: Choose this to prioritize based on specific

     5. LAN port(s) on router

     6. MAC address: Choose this to prioritize based on the MAC address of the attached devices on the network.

  2. Select the priority that you want for this category.

  3. Click Apply for changes to take effect.

The following are examples of different type of QoS settings:

In order to set a Priority for an Application “Skype” to be highest

• 1. Type a user defined name for the QoS Policy for (Ex MSN Messenger).

  2. Choose Applications as the Priority Category.

  3. Select “MSN Messenger” for Applications.

  4. Set the Priority as Normal.

  5. Click on Apply.

In order to set a Priority for an Online Gaming named “Treasure Hunt” to be Highest:

• 1. Type a user defined name for the QoS Policy for (Ex Treasure Hunt).

  2. Choose Online Gaming as the Priority Category.

  3. Select “Add a new game” for Applications.

  4. Set the Priority as Normal.

  5. Specify the Connection Type  for the game Ex TCP/UDP

  6. Set the starting port and ending port for the game - Ex. Start Port -

  7. 1500, End Port – 1700

  8. Click on Apply.

(http://kb.netgear.com, 2013)

SSID and Other Basic Wireless Settings

Now proceed to click Wireless tab and you will see Basic Wireless Settings. These are unique features for wireless router, it’s not available for those wired routers:

Manual way is used to configure this router.

Network Mode – Many different wireless operating modes are supported by this router, it can be Mixed (802.11b/g/n), Wireless-B/G Only (802.11b/g), Wireless-G Only(802.11g), Wireless-B Only(802.11b), Wireless-N Only(802.11n). In this case I select Wireless-G Only mode as most of my home computers run with 802.11g wireless network adapter. Plan to upgrade all wireless adapters to support 802.11n soon.

Network Name (SSID) – The SSID is the network name of this wireless network and must be identical for all devices in the network. When wireless clients (home computers or other wireless devices) first start up, they scan the wireless frequency band for special beacon frames that contain SSID sent by wireless routers or access points, finally connect to the network that preferred by users.

SSID is case-sensitive and must not exceed 32 alphanumeric characters. Change it and don’t use default SSID due to security concern. I set it as home-network.

Wireless Channel - There are 13 wireless channels (1-13) supported. All devices in your wireless network must use the same channel in order to function correctly. I select 11 in this case. If not too sure which channel to use, you can make use of this inSSIDer wireless scanning tool to identify good channel with no interference.

Wireless SSID Broadcast - If you enable this feature, the router will broadcast SSID and will be detected by wireless clients in the network. If you enable this feature, make sure you enable wireless network authentication shown in section below.

Click WI-FI Protected Setup option if your wireless client supports this feature, you can either press WI-FI Protected Setup button on client to join the wireless network or register the PIN for the client to join the wireless network.

Wireless Network Authentication

Although wireless client can join wireless network without authentication, but it’s dangerous as whoever detects this network can join too! So please set authentication on wireless router, so that wireless client can only join the network after successful authentication. This router supports WPA/WPA2 mixed mode, WPA2, WPA or legacy WEP authentication with pre-shared key and RADIUS authentication.

Usually home users will use WEP, WPA personal or WPA2 personal security mode. Use WPA2 personal, WPA personal or WPA2/WPA Mixed Mode if supported by your wireless adapter, then set pre-shared key for authentication. Choose AES as your WPA or WPA2 algorithm if required.

You can only use WPA2 Enterprise, WPA Enterprise or WPA/WPA2 Enterprise Mixed Mode if you have set up RADIUS server. This is the authentication with RADIUS server instead of pre-shared key .

If use WEP option, you need to set passphrase with 64 and 128 bits encryption. However my advice is you should not use WEP if possible as it’s too vulnerable.

Since my wireless network card can support WPA2, I use following setting.

You don't have to follow all settings I used above, you can just tune the wireless router according to your needs.

One last thing that I would like to tell you, if you wish to connect all home computers to access to Internet via this wireless router, please select NAT or Gateway mode in Setup->Advanced Routing page and save the settings.

If you plan to have wired connection from computer to this router, check out this article to get it done quickly. If not, proceed to check articles below to configure wireless adapter.

(http://www.home-network-help.com, N.A.)