54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614v7 Reference Manual

Advanced Configuration of the Router

6-9

April 2006

Setting the MTU Size

The normal MTU (Maximum Transmit Unit) value for most Ethernet networks is 1500 Bytes,

1492 Bytes for PPPoE connections, or 1436 for PPTP connections. For some ISPs you may need to

reduce the MTU. But this is rarely required, and should not be done unless you are sure it is

necessary for your ISP connection.

Any packets sent through the router that are larger than the configured MTU size will be

repackaged into smaller packets to meet the MTU requirement. To change the MTU size:

1.

Under MTU Size, enter a new size between 64 and 1500.

2.

Click Apply to save the new configuration.

Using the LAN IP Setup Options

The second feature category under the Advanced heading is LAN IP Setup. This menu allows

configuration of LAN IP services such as DHCP and RIP. From the Main Menu of the browser

interface, under Advanced, click on LAN IP Setup to view the LAN IP Setup menu, shown below.

Figure 6-6:

LAN IP Setup Menu

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Advanced Configuration of the Router

April 2006

Configuring LAN TCP/IP Setup Parameters

The router is shipped preconfigured to use private IP addresses on the LAN side, and to act.as a

DHCP server. The router’s default LAN IP configuration is:

•

LAN IP addresses—192.168.1.1

•

Subnet mask—255.255.255.0

These addresses are part of the IETF-designated private address range for use in private networks,

and should be suitable in most applications. If your network has a requirement to use a different IP

addressing scheme, you can make those changes in this menu.

The LAN IP parameters are:

•

IP Address

This is the LAN IP address of the router.

•

IP Subnet Mask

This is the LAN Subnet Mask of the router. Combined with the IP address, the IP Subnet Mask

allows a device to know which other addresses are local to it, and which must be reached

through a gateway or router.

•

RIP Direction

RIP (Router Information Protocol) allows a router to exchange routing information with other

routers. The RIP Direction selection controls how the router sends and receives RIP packets.

None is the default.

—

When set to Both or Out Only, the router will broadcast its routing table periodically.

—

When set to Both or In Only, it will incorporate the RIP information that it receives.

—

When set to None (default), it will not send any RIP packets and will ignore any RIP

packets received.

•

RIP Version

This controls the format and the broadcasting method of the RIP packets that the router sends.

(It recognizes both formats when receiving.) By default, this is set for RIP-1.

—

RIP-1 is universally supported. RIP-1 is probably adequate for most networks, unless you

have an unusual network setup.

—

RIP-2 carries more information. RIP-2B uses subnet broadcasting.

54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614v7 Reference Manual

Advanced Configuration of the Router

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April 2006

Using the Router as a DHCP server

By default, the router will function as a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server,

allowing it to assign IP, DNS server, and default gateway addresses to all computers connected to

the router's LAN. The assigned default gateway address is the LAN address of the router. IP

addresses will be assigned to the attached computers from a pool of addresses specified in this

menu. Each pool address is tested before it is assigned to avoid duplicate addresses on the LAN.

For most applications, the default DHCP and TCP/IP settings of the router are satisfactory. See

“IP

Configuration by DHCP

” on

page B-10

for an explanation of DHCP and information about how to

assign IP addresses for your network.

If another device on your network will be the DHCP server, or if you will manually configure the

network settings of all of your computers, clear the ‘Use router as DHCP server’ check box.

Otherwise, leave it checked.

Specify the pool of IP addresses to be assigned by setting the Starting IP Address and Ending IP

Address. These addresses should be part of the same IP address subnet as the router’s LAN IP

address. Using the default addressing scheme, you should define a range between 192.168.1.2 and

192.168.1.253, although you may wish to save part of the range for devices with fixed addresses.

The router will deliver the following parameters to any LAN device that requests DHCP:

•

An IP Address from the range you have defined

•

Subnet Mask

•

Gateway IP Address (the router’s LAN IP address)

•

Primary DNS Server (if you entered a Primary DNS address in the Basic Settings menu;

otherwise, the router’s LAN IP address)

•

Secondary DNS Server (if you entered a Secondary DNS address in the Basic Settings menu

Note:

If you change the LAN IP address of the router while connected through the

browser, you will be disconnected. You must then open a new connection to the new IP

address and log in again.

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Advanced Configuration of the Router

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Using Address Reservation

When you specify a reserved IP address for a computer on the LAN, that computer will always

receive the same IP address each time it access the router’s DHCP server. Reserved IP addresses

should be assigned to servers that require permanent IP settings.

To reserve an IP address:

1.

Click the Add button.

Figure 6-7:

Address Reservation menu

2.

In the IP Address box, type the IP address to assign to the computer or server.

(choose an IP address from the router’s LAN subnet, such as 192.168.1.X)

3.

Type the MAC Address of the computer or server.

(Tip: If the computer is already present on your network, you can copy its MAC address from

the Attached Devices menu and paste it here.)

4.

Click Apply to enter the reserved address into the table.

Note: The reserved address will not be assigned until the next time the computer contacts the

router's DHCP server. Reboot the computer or access its IP configuration and force a DHCP

release and renew.

To edit or delete a reserved address entry:

1.

Click the button next to the reserved address you want to edit or delete.

2.

Click Edit or Delete.

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Using a Dynamic DNS Service

If your network has a permanently assigned IP address, you can register a domain name and have

that name linked with your IP address by public Domain Name Servers (DNS). However, if your

Internet account uses a dynamically assigned IP address, you will not know in advance what your

IP address will be, and the address can change frequently. In this case, you can use a commercial

dynamic DNS service, who will allow you to register your domain to their IP address, and will

forward traffic directed at your domain to your frequently-changing IP address.

The router contains a client that can connect to many popular dynamic DNS services. You can

select one of these services and obtain an account with them. Then, whenever your ISP-assigned

IP address changes, your router will automatically contact your dynamic DNS service provider,

log in to your account, and register your new IP address.

From the Main Menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, click on Dynamic DNS.

Figure 6-8:

Dynamic DNS menu

To configure Dynamic DNS:

1.

Register for an account with one of the dynamic DNS service providers whose names appear

in the ‘Select Service Provider’ box. For example, for dyndns.org, go to www.dyndns.org.

Note:

If your ISP assigns a private WAN IP address (such as 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x),

the dynamic DNS service will not work because private addresses will not be routed on

the Internet.