Setting up your wireless router

21

Viewing the LAN Settings

Clicking on the header of the

LAN Setup

tab will take you its header page. A quick

description of the functions can be found here. To view the settings or make changes to any

of the LAN settings, click

LAN Settings

, or to view the list of connected computers, click

DHCP Client List

.

Changing LAN Settings

All settings for the internal LAN setup of the Router can be viewed and changed here.

IP Address

–The

IP address

is the internal IP address of the Router. The default IP address is

192.168.2.1

. To access the Web-Based Advanced User Interface, type this IP address into the

address bar of your browser. This address can be changed if needed. To change the IP address,

type in the new IP address and click

Apply Changes

. The IP address you choose should be a

non-routable IP.

Examples of a non-routable IP are: 192.168.x.x (where x is anywhere between 0 and 255),

and 10.x.x.x (where x is anything between 0 and 255).

Subnet Mask

–There is no need to change the subnet mask. This is a unique, advanced

feature of your Dynex Router. It is possible to change the subnet mask if necessary; however,

do NOT make changes to the subnet mask unless you have a specific reason to do so. The

default setting is

255.255.255.0

.

DHCP Server

–The DHCP server function makes setting up a network very easy by assigning

IP addresses to each computer on the network automatically. The default setting is

On

. The

DHCP server can be turned OFF if necessary; however, in order to do so you must manually set

a static IP address for each computer on your network. To turn off the DHCP server, select

Off,

then click

Apply Changes

.

22

Setting up your wireless router

IP Pool

–The range of IP addresses set aside for dynamic assignment to the computers on

your network. The default is 2-100 (99 computers). If you want to change this number, you

can do so by entering a new starting and ending IP address and clicking

Apply Changes

.

The DHCP server can assign 100 IP addresses automatically. This means that you cannot

specify an IP address pool larger than 100 computers. For example, starting at 50 means you

have to end at 150 or lower so as not to exceed the 100-client limit. The starting IP address

must be lower in number than the ending IP address.

Lease Time

–The length of time the DHCP server will reserve the IP address for each

computer. We recommend that you leave the lease time set to

Forever

. The default setting is

Forever

, meaning that any time a computer is assigned an IP address by the DHCP server,

the IP address will not change for that particular computer. Setting lease times for shorter

intervals such as one day or one hour frees IP addresses after the specified period of time.

This also means that a particular computer's IP address may change over time. If you have set

any of the other advanced features of the Router such as DMZ or client IP filters, these are

dependent on the IP address. For this reason, you will not want the IP address to change.

Local Domain Name

–The default setting is

Dynex

. You can set a local domain name

(network name) for your network. There is no need to change this setting unless you have a

specific advanced need to do so. You can name the network anything you want such as “MY

NETWORK”.

Viewing the DHCP Client List Page

You can view a list of the computers (known as clients), which are connected to your

network. You are able to view the IP address of the computer, the host name (if the computer

has been assigned one), and the MAC address of the computer's network interface card (NIC).

Pressing the

Refresh

button will update the list. If there have been any changes, the list will

be updated.

Setting up your wireless router

23

Configuring the Wireless Network Settings

Clicking on the header of the

Wireless

tab will take you to the

Wireless

page. Under the

Wireless

tab, there are links that allow you to make changes to the wireless network

settings.

Changing the Wireless Network Name (SSID)

To identify your wireless network, an SSID (Service Set Identifier) is used. The default SSID of

the router is “Dynex”. You can change this to anything you want to or you can leave it

unchanged. If there are other wireless networks operating in your area, you will want to

make sure that your SSID is unique (does not match that of another wireless network in the

area). To change the SSID, type in the SSID that you want to use in the

SSID

field and click

Apply Changes

. The change is immediate. If you make a change to the SSID, your

wireless-equipped computers may also need to be reconfigured to connect to your new

network name. Refer to the documentation of your wireless network adapter for information

on making this change.

Using the Wireless Mode Switch

Your router can operate in three different wireless modes: “g and b”, “g only”, and “b only”.

The different modes are explained below.

g and b Mode

–In this mode, the router is compatible with 802.11b and 802.11g wireless

clients simultaneously. This is the factory default mode and ensures successful operation

with all Wi-Fi-compatible devices. If you have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g clients in your

network, we recommend setting the router to g and b mode. This setting should only be

changed if you have a specific reason to do so.

g only Mode

–g only mode works with 802.11g clients only. This mode is recommended

only if you want to prevent 802.11b clients from accessing your network. To switch modes,

select the desired mode from the

Wireless Mode

list, then click

Apply Changes

.

b only Mode

–We recommend you DO NOT use this mode unless you have a very specific

reason to do so. This mode exists only to solve unique problems that may occur with some

802.11b client adapters and is NOT necessary for interoperability of 802.11g and 802.11b

standards.

24

Setting up your wireless router

When to use b only Mode

–In some cases, older 802.11b clients may not be compatible

with 802.11g wireless. These adapters tend to be of inferior design and may use older drivers

or technology. Switching to this mode can solve problems that sometimes occur with these

clients. If you suspect that you are using a client adapter that falls into this category of

adapters, first check with the adapter vendor to see if there is a driver update. If there is no

driver update available, switching to b only mode may fix your problem. Please note that

switching to b only mode will decrease 802.11g performance.

QoS (Quality of Service) Configuration

–QoS prioritizes important data on your network

such as multimedia content and Voice over IP (VoIP) so it will not be interfered with by other

data being sent over the network. Based on 802.11e, you can turn this feature on or off by

selecting it from the drop-down menu (3) and choosing the acknowledgement mode you

want to use. If you plan to stream multimedia content or use VoIP on your network, we

recommend that you enable the QoS feature.

Changing the Wireless Channel

There are a number of operating channels you can choose from. In the United States, there

are 11 channels. In Australia, the United Kingdom, and most of Europe, there are 13

channels. In a small number of other countries, there are other channel requirements. Your

Router is configured to operate on the proper channels for the country you reside in. The

default channel is 11 (unless you are in a country that does not allow channel 11). The

channel can be changed if needed. If there are other wireless networks operating in your

area, your network should be set to operate on a channel that is different than the other

wireless networks. For best performance, use a channel that is at least five channels away

from the other wireless network. For instance, if another network is operating on channel 11,

then set your network to channel 6 or below. To change the channel, select the channel from

the list, then click

Apply Changes

. The change is immediate.

Using the Broadcast SSID Feature

Note:

This advanced feature should be employed by advanced users only.

For security, you can choose not to broadcast your network's SSID. Doing so will keep your

network name hidden from computers that are scanning for the presence of wireless

networks. To turn off the broadcast of the SSID, remove the check mark from the box next to

Broadcast SSID

, then click

Apply Changes

. The change is immediate. Each computer now

needs to be set to connect to your specific SSID; an SSID of

ANY

will no longer be accepted.

Refer to the documentation of your wireless network adapter for information on making this

change.

Protected Mode Switch

–As part of the 802.11g specification, Protected mode ensures

proper operation of 802.11g clients and access points when there is heavy 802.11b traffic in

the operating environment. When Protected mode is

ON

, 802.11g scans for other wireless

network traffic before it transmits data. Therefore, using this mode in environments with

HEAVY 802.11b traffic or interference achieves best performance results. If you are in an

environment with very little-or no-other wireless network traffic, your best performance will

be achieved with Protected mode

OFF

.

Setting up your wireless router

25

Securing your Wi-Fi® Network

Here are a few different ways you can maximize the security of your wireless network and

protect your data from prying eyes and ears. This section is intended for the home, home

office, and small office user.

At the time of this User Manual's publication, there are four encryption methods available.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

WEP is a common protocol that adds security to all Wi-Fi-compliant wireless products. WEP

gives wireless networks the equivalent level of privacy protection as a comparable wired

network.

64-Bit WEP

—64-bit WEP was first introduced with 64-bit encryption, which includes a key

length of 40 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-generated data (64 bits total). Some

hardware manufacturers refer to 64-bit as 40-bit encryption. Shortly after the technology

was introduced, researchers found that 64-bit encryption was too easy to decode.

128-Bit Encryption

—As a result of 64-bit WEP’s potential security weaknesses, a more

secure method of 128-bit encryption was developed. 128-bit encryption includes a key

length of 104 bits plus 24 additional bits of system-generated data (128 bits total). Some

hardware manufacturers refer to 128-bit as 104-bit encryption. Most of the new wireless

equipment in the market today supports both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption, but you

might have older equipment that only supports 64-bit WEP. All wireless products from Dynex

will support both 64-bit and 128-bit WEP.

64-Bit Wired

Equivalent

Privacy

128-Bit Wired

Equivalent

Privacy

Wi-Fi Protected

Access-TKIP

Wi-Fi Protected

Access 2

Acronym

64-bit WEP

128-bit WEP

WPA-TKIP/AES (or just

WPA)

WPA2-AES (or just

WPA2)

Security

Good

Better

Best

Best

Features

Static keys

Static keys

Dynamic key

encryption and

mutual

authentication

Dynamic key

encryption and

mutual

authentication

Encryption keys based

on RC4 algorithm

(typically 40-bit keys)

More secure than

64-bit WEP using a

key length of 104 bits

plus 24 additional bits

of system generated

data

TKIP (Temporal Key

Integrity Protocol)

added so that keys are

rotated and

encryption is

strengthened

AES (Advanced

Encryption Standard)

does not cause any

throughput loss