Reference Manual for the 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 v2

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About This Manual

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Introduction

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Chapter 2

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the NETGEAR

®

108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router

WGT624 v2. The WGT624 v2 wireless router provides connection for multiple personal

computers (PCs) to the Internet through an external broadband access device (such as a cable

modem or DSL modem) that is normally intended for use by a single PC. This chapter describes

the features of the NETGEAR 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 v2.

Key Features of the Router

The 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 v2 with 4-port switch connects your local area

network (LAN) to the Internet through an external access device such as a cable modem or DSL

modem.

The WGT624 v2 wireless router provides you with multiple web content filtering options, plus

browsing activity reporting and instant alerts -- both via e-mail. Parents and network

administrators can establish restricted access policies based on time-of-day, web site addresses and

address keywords, and share high-speed cable/DSL Internet access for up to 253 personal

computers. In addition to the Network Address Translation (NAT) feature, the built-in firewall

protects you from hackers.

With minimum setup, you can install and use the router within minutes.

The WGT624 v2 wireless router provides the following features:

•

802.11g wireless networking, with the ability to operate in 802.11g-only, 802.11-turbo-g-only,

or 802.11b+g modes.

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Easy, web-based setup for installation and management.

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Content Filtering and Site Blocking Security.

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Built in 4-port 10/100 Mbps Switch.

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Ethernet connection to a wide area network (WAN) device, such as a cable modem or DSL

modem.

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Extensive Protocol Support.

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Login capability.

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Front panel LEDs for easy monitoring of status and activity.

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Flash memory for firmware upgrade.

802.11g Wireless Networking

The WGT624 v2 wireless router includes an 802.11g wireless access point, providing continuous,

high-speed 54 Mbps access between your wireless and Ethernet devices. The access point

provides:

•

802.11g wireless networking at up to 108 Mbps.

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802.11g wireless networking, with the ability to operate in 802.11g-only, 802.11-turbo-g-only,

or 802.11b+g modes, providing backwards compatibility with 802.11b devices or dedicating

the wireless network to the higher bandwidth 802.11g devices.

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64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption security.

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WEP keys can be generated manually or by passphrase.

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Wireless access can be restricted by MAC address.

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Wireless network name broadcast can be turned off so that only devices that have the network

name (SSID) can connect.

A Powerful, True Firewall with Content Filtering

Unlike simple Internet sharing NAT routers, the WGT624 v2 is a true firewall, using stateful

packet inspection to defend against hacker attacks. Its firewall features include:

•

Denial of Service (DoS) protection.

Automatically detects and thwarts DoS attacks such as Ping of Death, SYN Flood, LAND

Attack, and IP Spoofing.

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Blocks unwanted traffic from the Internet to your LAN.

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Blocks access from your LAN to Internet locations or services that you specify as off-limits.

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Logs security incidents.

The WGT624 v2 will log security events such as blocked incoming traffic, port scans, attacks,

and administrator logins. You can configure the router to email the log to you at specified

intervals. You can also configure the router to send immediate alert messages to your email

address or email pager whenever a significant event occurs.

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The WGT624 v2 prevents objectionable content from reaching your PCs. The router allows

you to control access to Internet content by screening for keywords within web addresses. You

can configure the router to log and report attempts to access objectionable Internet sites.

Security

The WGT624 v2 wireless router is equipped with several features designed to maintain security, as

described in this section.

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PCs Hidden by NAT

NAT opens a temporary path to the Internet for requests originating from the local network.

Requests originating from outside the LAN are discarded, preventing users outside the LAN

from finding and directly accessing the PCs on the LAN.

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Port Forwarding with NAT

Although NAT prevents Internet locations from directly accessing the PCs on the LAN, the

router allows you to direct incoming traffic to specific PCs based on the service port number

of the incoming request, or to one designated “DMZ” host computer. You can specify

forwarding of single ports or ranges of ports.

Autosensing Ethernet Connections with Auto Uplink

With its internal 8-port 10/100 switch, the WGT624 v2 can connect to either a 10 Mbps standard

Ethernet network or a 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet network. Both the LAN and WAN interfaces are

autosensing and capable of full-duplex or half-duplex operation.

The router incorporates Auto Uplink

TM

technology. Each Ethernet port will automatically sense

whether the Ethernet cable plugged into the port should have a ‘normal’ connection such as to a

PC or an ‘uplink’ connection such as to a switch or hub. That port will then configure itself to the

correct configuration. This feature also eliminates the need to worry about crossover cables, as

Auto Uplink will accommodate either type of cable to make the right connection.

Extensive Protocol Support

The WGT624 v2 wireless router supports the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

(TCP/IP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP). For further information about TCP/IP, refer to

Appendix B, “Network, Routing, Firewall, and Basics

.”

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IP Address Sharing by NAT

The WGT624 v2 wireless router allows several networked PCs to share an Internet account

using only a single IP address, which may be statically or dynamically assigned by your

Internet service provider (ISP). This technique, known as NAT, allows the use of an

inexpensive single-user ISP account.

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Automatic Configuration of Attached PCs by DHCP

The WGT624 v2 wireless router dynamically assigns network configuration information,

including IP, gateway, and domain name server (DNS) addresses, to attached PCs on the LAN

using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). This feature greatly simplifies

configuration of PCs on your local network.

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DNS Proxy

When DHCP is enabled and no DNS addresses are specified, the router provides its own

address as a DNS server to the attached PCs. The router obtains actual DNS addresses from

the ISP during connection setup and forwards DNS requests from the LAN.

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PPP over Ethernet (PPPoE)

PPPoE is a protocol for connecting remote hosts to the Internet over a DSL connection by

simulating a dial-up connection. This feature eliminates the need to run a login program such

as Entersys or WinPOET on your PC.

Easy Installation and Management

You can install, configure, and operate the 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router WGT624 v2 within

minutes after connecting it to the network. The following features simplify installation and

management tasks:

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Browser-based management

Browser-based configuration allows you to easily configure your router from almost any type

of personal computer, such as Windows, Macintosh, or Linux. A user-friendly Setup Wizard is

provided and online help documentation is built into the browser-based web Management

Interface.

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Smart Wizard

The WGT624 v2 wireless router Smart Wizard automatically senses the type of Internet

connection, asking you only for the information required for your type of ISP account.

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Firmware Auto-Update

The WGT624 v2 wireless router automatically checks the Internet to see if a newer version of

firmware is available. If so, it asks you if you want to install the upgrade. This lets you take

advantage of product enhancements for your WGT624 v2 as soon as they become available.