The

router

automatically detects the information in the following fields:

•

Router’s IPv6 Address on WAN

.This field shows the IPv6 address that is acquired for the

router

’s

WAN (or Internet) interface. The number after the slash (/) is the length of the prefix, which is also

indicated by the underline (_) under the IPv6 address. If no address is acquired, the field displays

Not Available.

•

Router’s IPv6 Address on LAN

.This field shows the IPv6 address that is acquired for the

router

’s

LAN interface. The number after the slash (/) is the length of the prefix, which is also indicated by

the underline (_) under the IPv6 address. If no address is acquired, the field displays Not Available.

6.

In the

Login

field, enter the login information for the ISP connection.

This is usually the name that you use in your email address. For example, if your main mail account

is [email protected], you would type JerAB in this field. Some ISPs (like Mindspring, Earthlink, and

T-DSL) require that you use your full email address when you log in. If your ISP requires your full

email address, type it in this field.

7.

In the

Password

field, enter the password for the ISP connection.

8.

In the

Service Name

field, enter a service name.

If your ISP did not provide a service name, leave this field blank.

The default setting of the

Connection Mode

menu is

Always On

to provide a steady

IPv6 connection. The

router

never terminates the connection. If the connection is

Note

terminated, for example, when the modem is turned off, the

router

attempts to

Specify Your Internet Settings

46

Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router Model R6900

reestablish the connection immediately after the PPPoE connection becomes available

again.

9.

Select an IPv6 Domain Name Server (DNS) Address radio button:

•

Get Automatically from ISP

.Your ISP uses DHCP to assign your DNS servers.Your ISP

automatically assigns this address.

•

Use These DNS Servers

. If you know that your ISP requires specific servers, select this option.

Enter the IP address of your ISP’s primary DNS server. If a secondary DNS server address is

available, enter it also.

10.

Select an IP Address Assignment radio button:

•

Use DHCP Server

. This method passes more information to LAN devices but some IPv6 systems

might not support the DHCv6 client function.

•

Auto Config

. This is the default setting.

This setting specifies how the

router

assigns IPv6 addresses to the devices on your home network

(the LAN).

11.

(Optional) Select the

Use This Interface ID

check box and specify the interface ID to be used for the

IPv6 address of the

router

’s LAN interface.

If you do not specify an ID here, the

router

generates one automatically from its MAC address.

12.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.

Manage the MTU Size

The maximum transmission unit (MTU) is the largest data packet a network device transmits.

MTU Concepts

When one network device communicates across the Internet with another, the data packets travel through

many devices along the way. If a device in the data path uses a lower maximum transmission unit (MTU)

setting than the other devices, the data packets must be split or “fragmented” to accommodate the device

with the smallest MTU.

The best MTU setting for

NETGEAR

equipment is often the default value. In some situations, changing

the value fixes one problem but causes another.

Leave the MTU unchanged unless one of these situations occurs:

•

You experience problems connecting to your ISP or other Internet service, and the technical support

of either the ISP or

NETGEAR

recommends changing the MTU setting.These web-based applications

might require an MTU change:

Specify Your Internet Settings

47

Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router Model R6900

•

A secure website that does not open or displays only part of a web page

•

Yahoo email

•

MSN portal

•

America Online’s DSL service

•

You use VPN and experience severe performance problems.

•

You used a program to optimize MTU for performance reasons and now you are experiencing

connectivity or performance problems.

If you suspect an MTU problem, a common solution is to change the MTU to 1400. If you are willing to

experiment, you can gradually reduce the MTU from the maximum value of 1500 until the problem goes

away. The following table describes common MTU sizes and applications.

Table 3. Common MTU sizes

Application

MTU

The largest Ethernet packet size. This setting is typical for connections that do

not use PPPoE or VPN and is the default value for

NETGEAR

routers, adapters,

and switches.

1500

Used in PPPoE environments.

1492

Maximum size to use for pinging. (Larger packets are fragmented.)

1472

Used in some DHCP environments.

1468

Usable by AOL if you do not send or receive large email attachments, for example.

1460

Used in PPPoA environments.

1458

Used in PPTP environments or with VPN.

1436

Maximum size for AOL DSL.

1400

Change the MTU Size

Warning

An incorrect MTU setting can cause Internet communication problems. For

example, you might not be able to access certain websites, frames within

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48

Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router Model R6900

websites, secure login pages, or FTP or POP servers. Change the MTU only

if you are sure that it is necessary for your ISP connection.

To change the MTU size:

1.

Launch a web browser from a computer or WiFi device that is connected to the network.

2.

Enter

.

A login window opens.

3.

Enter the router user name and password.

The user name is

admin

. The default password is

password

. The user name and password are

case-sensitive.

The BASIC Home page displays.

4.

Select

ADVANCED > Setup > WAN Setup

.

The WAN Setup page displays.

5.

In the

MTU Size

field, enter a value from 64 to 1500.

The normal MTU (maximum transmit unit) value for most Ethernet networks is 1500 bytes, 1492 bytes

for PPPoE connections, or 1436 for PPTP connections.

6.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.

Specify Your Internet Settings

49

Nighthawk AC1900 Smart WiFi Router Model R6900

4

Optimize Performance

You can set up the

router

to optimize performance for applications such as multiplayer gaming, peer-to-peer

connections, or real-time communications such as instant messaging. By default, the

router

uses Wi-Fi

Multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS).

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Prioritize Internet Traffic With Quality of Service

on page 51

•

Optimize Internet Gaming With Upstream QoS

on page 51

•

Add Upstream QoS Priority Rules

on page 53

•

Optimize Video Streaming With Downstream QoS

on page 61

•

Add Downstream QoS Priority Rules

on page 62

•

Improve Network Connections With Universal Plug and Play

on page 67

•

Manage Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of Service

on page 68

50