Wireless-N Home Router

Figure 5-26: Access Restrictions Tab - Internet Access Policy

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Figure 5-27: Summary

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Figure 5-28: List of PCs

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Figure 5-29: Applications & Gaming Tab - Single Port Forwarding

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Figure 5-30: Applications & Gaming Tab - Port Range Forwarding

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Figure 5-31: Applications & Gaming Tab - Port Range Triggering

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Figure 5-32: Applications & Gaming Tab - DMZ

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Figure 5-33: DHCP Client Table

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Figure 5-34: Applications & Gaming Tab - QoS (Applications)

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Figure 5-35: QoS - Applications (Add a New Application)

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Figure 5-36: QoS - Online Games

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Figure 5-37: QoS - MAC Address

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Figure 5-38: QoS - MAC Address

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Figure 5-39: QoS - Voice Device

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Figure 5-40: Administration Tab - Management

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Figure 5-41: Administration Tab - Log

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Figure 5-42: View Log

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Figure 5-43: Administration Tab - Diagnostics

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Figure 5-44: Ping Test

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Figure 5-45: Traceroute Test

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Figure 5-46: Administration Tab - Factory Defaults

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Figure 5-47: Administration Tab - Firmware Upgrade

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Figure 5-48: Status Tab - Router

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Figure 5-49: Status Tab - Local Network

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Figure 5-50: Status Tab - Local Network

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Figure 5-51: Status Tab - Wireless

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Figure C-1: Firmware Upgrade

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Figure E-1: IP Configuration Screen

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Figure E-2: MAC Address/Adapter Address

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Figure E-3: MAC Address/Physical Address

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Figure E-4: Wireless MAC Filter

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Figure E-5: MAC Address Cloning

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1

Chapter 1: Introduction

Welcome

Wireless-N Home Router

Chapter 1: Introduction

Welcome

Thank you for choosing the Linksys Wireless-N Home Router. The Wireless-N Home Router will allow you to

network wirelessly better than ever, sharing Internet access, files and fun, easily and securely and with a greater

range of up to four times farther than standard Wireless-G.

How does the Wireless-N Home Router do all of this? A router is a device that allows access to an Internet

connection over a network. With the Wireless-N Home Router, this access can be shared over the four switched

ports or via the wireless broadcast.

Use the PSK2 standard to secure your wireless network while the whole network is protected through a Stateful

Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall and Network Address Translation (NAT) technology. The Router also offers VPN

passthrough and other features, which can be configured through the easy-to-use, browser-based utility.

The incredible speed of Wireless-N makes it ideal for media-centric applications like streaming video and Voice

over IP (VoIP) telephony, so your network can handle multiple data streams at the same time, with no degradation

in performance.

But what does all of this mean?

Networks are useful tools for sharing computer resources. You can access one printer from different computers

and access data located on another computer's hard drive. Networks are even used for playing multiplayer video

games. So, networks are not only useful in homes and offices, they can also be fun.

PCs on a wired network create a LAN, or Local Area Network. They are connected with Ethernet cables, which is

why the network is called “wired”.

PCs equipped with wireless cards or adapters can communicate without cumbersome cables. By sharing the

same wireless settings, within their transmission radius, they form a wireless network. This is sometimes called

a WLAN, or Wireless Local Area Network. The Wireless-N Home Router bridges wireless and wired networks,

allowing them to communicate with each other.

Linksys recommends using the Setup Wizard on the Setup CD-ROM for first-time installation of the Router. If you

do not wish to run the Setup Wizard, then use the instructions in this Guide to help you connect the Router and

configure it. These instructions should be all you need to get the most out of the Wireless-N Home Router.

lan

(local area network): The computers and

networking products that make up the network in

your home or office.

nat

(network address translation): NAT technology

translates IP addresses of a local area network to a

different IP address for the Internet.

psk

(pre-shared key): a wireless security protocol

using TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol), which

can be used in conjunction with a RADIUS server.

spi

(stateful packet inspection)

firewall

: a technology

that inspects incoming packets of information before

allowing them to enter the network.

firewall

: Security measures that protect the

resources of a local network from intruders.

2

Chapter 1: Introduction

What’s in this User Guide?

Wireless-N Home Router

What’s in this User Guide?

This user guide covers the steps for setting up and using the Wireless-N Home Router.

•

Chapter 1: Introduction

This chapter describes the Router’s applications and this User Guide.

•

Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network

This chapter describes the basics of wireless networking.

•

Chapter 3: Getting to Know the Wireless-N Home Router

This chapter describes the physical features of the Router.

•

Chapter 4: Connecting the Wireless-N Home Router

This chapter instructs you on how to connect the Router to your network.

•

Chapter 5: Configuring the Wireless-N Home Router

This chapter explains how to use the Web-based Utility to configure the settings on the Wireless-N Home

Router.

•

Appendix A: Troubleshooting

This appendix describes some problems and solutions, as well as frequently asked questions, regarding

installation and use of the Wireless-N Home Router.

•

Appendix B: Wireless Security

This appendix explains the risks of wireless networking and some solutions to reduce the risks.

•

Appendix C: Upgrading Firmware

This appendix instructs you on how to upgrade the firmware on the Router should you need to do so.

•

Appendix D: Windows Help

This appendix describes how you can use Windows Help for instructions about networking, such as installing

the TCP/IP protocol.

•

Appendix E: Finding the MAC Address and IP Address for your Ethernet Adapter

This appendix describes how to find the MAC address for your computer’s Ethernet adapter so you can use

the MAC filtering and/or MAC address cloning feature of the Router.

•

Appendix F: Glossary

This appendix gives a brief glossary of terms frequently used in networking.

3

Chapter 1: Introduction

What’s in this User Guide?

Wireless-N Home Router

•

Appendix G: Specifications

This appendix provides the technical specifications for the Router.

•

Appendix H: Warranty Information

This appendix supplies the warranty information for the Router.

•

Appendix I: Regulatory Information

This appendix supplies the regulatory information regarding the Router.

•

Appendix J: Contact Information

This appendix provides contact information for a variety of Linksys resources, including Technical Support.

4

Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network

Network Topology

Wireless-N Home Router

Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network

Network Topology

A wireless local area network (WLAN) is exactly like a regular local area network (LAN), except that each

computer in the WLAN uses a wireless device to connect to the network. Computers in a WLAN share the same

frequency channel and SSID, which is an identification name shared by the wireless devices belonging to the

same wireless network.

Ad-Hoc versus Infrastructure Mode

Unlike wired networks, wireless networks have two different modes in which they may be set up: infrastructure

and ad-hoc. An infrastructure configuration is a WLAN and wired LAN communicating to each other through an

access point. An ad-hoc configuration is wireless-equipped computers communicating directly with each other.

Choosing between these two modes depends on whether or not the wireless network needs to share data or

peripherals with a wired network or not.

If the computers on the wireless network need to be accessible by a wired network or need to share a peripheral,

such as a printer, with the wired network computers, the wireless network should be set up in Infrastructure

mode. The basis of Infrastructure mode centers around a wireless router or an access point, such as the

Wireless-N Home Router, which serves as the main point of communications in a wireless network. The Router

transmits data to PCs equipped with wireless network adapters, which can roam within a certain radial range of

the Router. You can arrange the Router and multiple access points to work in succession to extend the roaming

range, and you can set up your wireless network to communicate with your Ethernet hardware as well.

If the wireless network is relatively small and needs to share resources only with the other computers on the

wireless network, then the Ad-Hoc mode can be used. Ad-Hoc mode allows computers equipped with wireless

transmitters and receivers to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for a wireless router or

access point. The drawback of this mode is that in Ad-Hoc mode, wireless-equipped computers are not able to

communicate with computers on a wired network. And, of course, communication between the wireless-

equipped computers is limited by the distance and interference directly between them.

Network Layout

The Wireless-N Home Router has been specifically designed for use with your Wireless-N, Wireless-G, and

Wireless-B products. It will work with notebook adapters for your laptop computers, PCI adapters for your

infrastructure

: a wireless network that is bridged

to a wired network via an access point.

ssid

(service set identifier): your wireless network’s name.

ad-hoc

: a group of wireless devices

communicating directly to each other (peer-to-

peer) without the use of an access point.