Genie Basic Settings

26

N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR4500

Enable Wireless Isolation

. If this check box is selected, then wireless clients (computers or

wireless devices) that join the network can use the Internet, but cannot access each other or

access Ethernet devices on the network.

Enable SSID Broadcast

. This setting allows the router to broadcast its SSID so wireless

stations can see this wireless name (SSID) in their scanned network lists. This check box is

selected by default. To turn off the SSID broadcast, clear the

Allow Broadcast of Name

(SSID)

check box, and click

Apply

.

Name (SSID)

. The SSID is also known as the wireless network name. Enter a 32-character

(maximum) name in this field. This field is case-sensitive. The default SSID is randomly

generated, and

NETGEAR strongly recommends that you do not change this.

Channel

. This setting is the wireless channel used by the gateway. Enter a value from 1

through 13. (For products in the North America market, only Channels 1 through 11 can be

operated.) Do not change the channel unless you experience interference (shown by lost

connections or slow data transfers). If this happens, experiment with different channels to see

which is the best.

Mode

. Up to 217 Mbps is the default and allows 802.11n and 802.11g wireless devices to join

the network. g & b

supports up to 54 Mbps. The 450 Mbps setting allows 802.11n devices to

connect at this speed.

Security Options Settings

The Security Options section of the Wireless Settings screen lets you change the security

option and passphrase. Please note that

NETGEAR recommends that you not change the

security option or passphrase

,

but if you want to change these settings, this section

explains how.

Do not disable security

.

Change WPA Security Option and Passphrase

1.

Under Security Options, select the WPA option you want.

2.

In the Passphrase field that displays when you select a WPA security option, enter the

network key (passphrase) that you want to use. It is a text string from 8 to 63 characters.

Genie Basic Settings

27

N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR4500

Guest Networks

Adding a guest network allows visitors at your home to use the Internet without giving them

your wireless security key. You can add a guest network to each wireless network: 2.4 GHz

b/g/n and 5.0 GHz a/n.



To set up a guest network:

1.

Select

Basic >

Guest Network

to display the following screen:

2.

For a 5 GHz network, scroll down to view that section of the Guest Network screen.

3.

Select any of the following wireless settings:

Enable Guest Network

. When this check box is selected, the guest network is enabled,

and guests can connect to your network using the SSID of this profile.

Enable Wireless Isolation

. If this check box is selected, then wireless clients (computers

or wireless devices) that join the network can use the Internet, but cannot access each

other or access Ethernet devices on the network.

Enable SSID Broadcast

. If this check box is selected, the wireless access point

broadcasts its name (SSID) to all wireless stations. Stations with no SSID can adopt the

correct SSID for connections to this access point.

Allow guest to access My Local Network

. If this check box is selected, any user who

connects to this SSID has access to your local network, not just Internet access.

4.

Give the guest network a name.

The guest network name is case-sensitive and can be up to 32 characters. You then

manually configure the wireless devices in your network to use the guest network name

in addition to the main nonguest SSID.

5.

Select a security option from the list. The security options are described in

Guest Network

Wireless Security Options

on page

28.

6.

Click

Apply

to save your selections.

Genie Basic Settings

28

N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR4500

Guest Network Wireless Security Options

A security option is the type of security protocol applied to your wireless network. The

security protocol in force encrypts data transmissions and ensures that only trusted devices

receive authorization to connect to your network. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) has several

options including pre-shared key (PSK) encryption.

This section presents an overview of the security options and provides guidance on when to

use which option. Note that it is also possible to set up a guest network without wireless

security. NETGEAR does

not

recommend this.

WPA Encryption

WPA encryption is built into all hardware that has the Wi-Fi-certified seal. This seal means

the product is authorized by the Wi-Fi Alliance (

) because it complies with

the worldwide single standard for high-speed wireless local area networking.

WPA uses a passphrase to perform authentication and generate the initial data encryption

keys. Then it dynamically varies the encryption key. WPA-PSK uses Temporal Key Integrity

Protocol (TKIP) data encryption, implements most of the IEEE 802.11i standard, and is

designed to work with all wireless network interface cards, but not all wireless access points.

It is superseded by WPA2-PSK.

WPA2-PSK is stronger than WPA-PSK. It is advertised to be theoretically indecipherable due

to the greater degree of randomness in encryption keys that it generates. WPA2-PSK gets

higher speed because it is usually implemented through hardware, while WPA-PSK is usually

implemented through software. WPA2-PSK uses a passphrase to authenticate and generate

the initial data encryption keys. Then it dynamically varies the encryption key.

WPS-PSK + WPA2-PSK Mixed Mode can provide broader support for all wireless clients.

WPA2-PSK clients get higher speed and security, and WPA-PSK clients get decent speed

and security. The product documentation for your wireless adapter and WPA client software

should have instructions about configuring their WPA settings.

29

4

4.

Genie Advanced Home

Specifying custom settings

This chapter explains the features available from the Genie Advanced Home screen, shown in

the following figure:

This screen is also

displayed through the

Administration menu.

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Setup Wizard

•

WPS Wizard

•

Setup Menu

•

WAN Setup

•

LAN Setup

•

Quality of Service (QoS) Setup

Some selections on the Advanced Home screen are described in separate chapters:

•

USB Storage

. See

Chapter 5, USB Storage

.

•

Security

. See

Chapter 7, Security

.

•

Administration

. See

Chapter 8, Administration

.

•

Advanced Setup

. See

Chapter 9, Advanced Settings

.

Genie Advanced Home

30

N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR4500

Setup Wizard

The NETGEAR Genie installation process is launched the first time you set up the router.

After setting up the router the first time, if you want to perform this task again, you can run

Setup Wizard from the Advanced tab of the Genie.

1.

Select

Setup Wizard

to display the following screen:

2.

Select either

Yes

or

No, I want to configure the router myself

. If you select No, you are

taken to the Internet Setup screen (see

Internet Setup

on page

20).

3.

If you selected Yes, click

Next

. The following screen displays:

The Setup Wizard searches your Internet connection for servers and protocols to

determine your ISP configuration. The following screen displays: