Wireless-G Router WGR614v9 Reference Manual

Fine-Tuning Your Network

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To make a local Web server public:

1.

Assign your Web server either a fixed IP address or a dynamic IP address using DHCP address

reservation, as explained in

“Using Address Reservation” on page 4-3

. In this example, your

router will always give your Web server an IP address of 192.168.1.33.

2.

In the Port Forwarding screen, configure the router to forward the HTTP service to the local

address of your Web server at

192.168.1.33

.

HTTP (port 80) is the standard protocol for Web servers.

3.

(Optional) Register a host name with a Dynamic DNS service, and configure your router to

use the name as described in

“Using a Dynamic DNS Service” on page 4-4

.

To access your Web server from the Internet, a remote user must know the IP address that has

been assigned by your ISP. However, if you use a Dynamic DNS service, the remote user can

reach your server by a user-friendly Internet name, such as mynetgear.dyndns.org.

Configuring Port Triggering

Port triggering is a dynamic extension of port forwarding that is useful in these cases:

•

More than one local computer needs port forwarding for the same application (but not

simultaneously).

•

An application needs to open incoming ports that are different from the outgoing port.

When port triggering is enabled, the router monitors outbound traffic looking for a specified

outbound “trigger” port. When the router detects outbound traffic on that port, it remembers the IP

address of the local computer that sent the data. The router then temporarily opens the specified

incoming port or ports, and forwards incoming traffic on the triggered ports to the triggering

computer.

While port forwarding creates a static mapping of a port number or range to a single local

computer, port triggering can dynamically open ports to any computer that needs them and can

close the ports when they are no longer needed.

Note:

If you use applications such as multiplayer gaming, peer-to-peer connections, real-

time communications such as instant messaging, or remote assistance (a feature in

Windows XP), you should also enable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) according

to the instructions in

“Using Universal Plug and Play” on page 5-12

.

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To configure port triggering, you need to know which inbound ports the application needs. Also,

you need to know the number of the outbound port that will trigger the opening of the inbound

ports. You can usually determine this information by contacting the publisher of the application or

user groups or newsgroups.

To set up port triggering:

1.

Select

Port Forwarding/Port Triggering

under Advanced in the main menu. The

Forwarding/Port Triggering screen displays.

2.

Select the

Port Triggering

radio button. The port triggering information displays.

3.

Clear the

Disable Port Triggering

check box.

Figure 5-3

Note:

If the Disable Port Triggering check box is selected after you configure port

triggering, port triggering is disabled. However, any port triggering

configuration information you added to the router is retained even though it is

not used.

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4.

In the

Port Triggering Timeout

field, enter a value up to 9999 minutes. This value controls

the inactivity timer for the designated inbound ports. The inbound ports close when the

inactivity time expires. This is required because the router cannot be sure when the application

has terminated.

5.

Click

Add Service

.

6.

In the

Service Name

field, type a descriptive service name.

7.

In the

Service User

field, select

Any

(the default) to allow this service to be used by any

computer on the Internet. Otherwise, select

Single address

, and enter the IP address of one

computer to restrict the service to a particular computer.

8.

Select the service type, either

TCP

or

UDP

or both (

TCP/UDP

). If you are not sure, select

TCP/UDP.

9.

In the

Triggering Port

field, enter the number of the outbound traffic port that will cause the

inbound ports to be opened.

10.

Enter the inbound connection port information in the

Connection Type

,

Starting Port

, and

Ending Port

fields.

11.

Click

Apply

. The service appears in the Port Triggering Portmap table.

Figure 5-4

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Using Universal Plug and Play

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) helps devices, such as Internet appliances and computers, to

access the network and connect to other devices as needed. UPnP devices can automatically

discover the services from other registered UPnP devices on the network.

To turn on Universal Plug and Play:

1.

From the main menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, click

UPnP

. The UPnP screen

displays.

2.

The available settings and displays in this screen are:

•

Turn UPnP On

. UPnP can be enabled or disabled for automatic device configuration. The

default setting for UPnP is disabled. If this check box is not selected, the router does not

allow any device to automatically control the resources, such as port forwarding

(mapping) of the router.

Note:

If you use applications such as multiplayer gaming, peer-to-peer connections, real-

time communications such as instant messaging, or remote assistance (a feature in

Windows XP), you should enable UPnP.

Figure 5-5

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•

Advertisement Period

. The advertisement period is how often the router broadcasts its

UPnP information. This value can range from 1 to 1440 minutes. The default period is 30

minutes. Shorter durations ensure that control points have current device status at the

expense of additional network traffic. Longer durations might compromise the freshness

of the device status but can significantly reduce network traffic.

•

Advertisement Time To Live

. The time to live for the advertisement is measured in hops

(steps) for each UPnP packet sent. The time to live hop count is the number of steps a

broadcast packet is allowed to propagate for each UPnP advertisement before it

disappears. The number of hops can range from 1 to 255. The default value for the

advertisement time to live is 4 hops, which should be fine for most home networks. If you

notice that some devices are not being updated or reached correctly, then it might be

necessary to increase this value.

•

UPnP Portmap Table

. The UPnP Portmap Table displays the IP address of each UPnP

device that is currently accessing the router and which ports (Internal and External) that

device has opened. The UPnP Portmap Table also displays what type of port is open and

whether that port is still active for each IP address.

3.

Click

Apply

to save your settings.

Optimizing Wireless Performance

The speed and operating distance or range of your wireless connection can vary significantly based

on the physical placement of the wireless router. You should choose a location for your router that

will maximize the network speed.

The following list describes how to optimize wireless router performance.

•

Identify critical wireless links.

If your network has several wireless devices, decide which wireless devices need the highest

data rate, and locate the router near them. Many wireless products have automatic data-rate

fallback, which allows increased distances without loss of connectivity. This also means that

devices that are farther away might be slower. Therefore, the most critical links in your

network are those where the traffic is high and the distances are great. Optimize those first.

Note:

Failure to follow these guidelines can result in significant performance degradation

or inability to wirelessly connect to the router. For complete range and

performance specifications, click the link to the online document

“Wireless

Networking Basics” in Appendix B

.