Specify Your Internet Settings

36

N900 WiFi Router

5.

In the

Internet Connection Type

list, select

PPPoE

.

6.

Enter the settings that your service provider gave you.

If your service provider gave you only one user name and password, the service provider

most likely supports dual stack PPPoE (a single ppp session). If the service provider gave

you two user names and passwords for IPv4 and IPv6, then the router must use different

PPP session.

•

To use separate PPP sessions (the default setting), leave the

Use the same Login

information as IPv4 PPPoE

check box cleared and complete the PPP Login and

Password

fields.

•

To use a single PPP session to establish the IPv4 and IPv6 Internet connection, select

the

Use the same Login information as IPv4 PPPoE

check box.

The screen adjusts and the router automatically detects the information in

Router’s

IPv6 Address on WAN

field. Go to

Step

10

.

The

Router’s IPv6 Address on WAN

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.

7.

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.

8.

In the

Password

field, enter the password for the ISP connection.

9.

In the

Service Name

field, enter a service name.

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

Specify Your Internet Settings

37

N900 WiFi Router

Note:

The default setting of the

Connection Mode

list is

Always On

to

provide a steady IPv6 connection. The router never terminates the

connection. If the connection is terminated, for example, when the

modem is turned off, the router attempts to reestablish the connection

immediately after the PPPoE connection becomes available again.

10.

To specify domain name server addresses, select the

Use These DNS Servers

radio button

and complete the

Primary DNS

and

Secondary DNS

fields.

11.

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).

12.

To specify the interface ID to be used for the IPv6 address of the router’s LAN interface,

select the

Use This Interface ID

check box.

If you do not specify an ID here, the router generates one automatically from its MAC

address.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.

Change the MTU Size

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

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 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:

-

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.

Specify Your Internet Settings

38

N900 WiFi Router

Note:

An incorrect MTU setting can cause Internet communication

problems. For example, you might not be able to access certain

websites, frames within websites, secure login pages, or FTP or POP

servers.



To change the MTU size:

1.

Launch a web browser from a computer or wireless device that is connected to the

network.

2.

Type

http://www.routerlogin.net

or

.

A login screen displays.

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 screen displays.

4.

Select

ADVANCED > Setup > WAN Setup

.

5.

In the

MTU Size

field, enter a value from 64 to 1500.

6.

Click the

Apply

button.

Your settings are saved.

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

Specify Your Internet Settings

39

N900 WiFi Router

until the problem goes away. The following table describes common MTU sizes and

applications.

Table 2.

Common MTU sizes

MTU

Application

1500

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.

1492

Used in PPPoE environments.

1472

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

1468

Used in some DHCP environments.

1460

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

1436

Used in PPTP environments or with VPN.

1400

Maximum size for AOL DSL.

576

Typical value to connect to dial-up ISPs.

40

4

4.

Optimize Performance

You can set up the router to optimize performance for applications such as Internet gaming,

high-definition video streaming, and VoIP communication. By default, the router uses Wi-Fi

Multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS).

This chapter contains the following sections:

•

Optimize Internet Gaming with Upstream QoS

•

Add QoS Rules by Service

•

Improve Network Connections with Universal Plug and Play

•

Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of Service