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6

6.

Administration

Manage your network

This chapter describes the router settings for administering and maintaining your router and

home network. This chapter includes the following sections:

•

Upgrade the Router Firmware

•

View and Configure Logs

•

Manage the Configuration File

For information about changing the password of your router, see

Change the Password

on

page

22.

For information about upgrading or checking the status of your router over the Internet, see

Remote Management

on page

100.

For information about monitoring the volume of Internet traffic passing through your router’s

Internet port, see

Traffic Meter

on page

114.

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N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

Upgrade the Router Firmware

The router’s firmware (software) is stored in flash memory. If the router has detected that new

firmware is available, you might see a message at the top of the genie screens. If new

firmware is available, you can also use the Check button on the Firmware Upgrade screen to

check for it manually.



To check for new firmware and update your router:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration > Firmware Upgrade

.

A screen similar to the following displays:

2.

Click the

Check

button.

If new firmware is available, the router detects it and displays the Firmware Upgrade

Assistant screen.

3.

To update the router to the new firmware, click the

Yes

button.

4.

(Optional) If you have manually downloaded new firmware from the NETGEAR support

website:

a.

Click

Browse

, navigate to the firmware file (the file ends in

.img

), and select the

firmware file.

b.

Click the

Upload

button.

A progress bar shows the progress of the firmware upload process:

Administration

73

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

WARNING:

When uploading firmware to the router,

do not

interrupt the web

browser by closing the window, clicking a link, or loading a new

page. If the browser is interrupted, the firmware might be

corrupted.

When the upload is complete, your router restarts. The upload process can take up to

three minutes, and the upgrade process typically takes about one minute. To determine

whether you need to reconfigure the router after upgrading, read the new firmware

release notes.

View and Configure Logs

The log is a detailed record of websites that users have accessed or attempted to access,

router operation, DoS attacks and port scans, wireless access, and other information. Up to

256

entries are stored in the log.



To view and configure the log:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration > Logs

.

A screen similar to the following displays:

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N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

The Logs screen shows the following information:

•

Date and time

. The date and time the log entry was recorded.

•

Source IP

. The IP address of the initiating device for this log entry.

•

Target address

. The name or IP address of the website or news group that users

visited or attempted to access. Also, the IP address from which a DoS or port scan

was initiated, from which time was synchronized, or in relation to which other actions

occurred.

•

Action

. The action that occurred.

2.

Select any of the following check boxes:

•

Attempted access to allowed sites

. Log attempts to access websites that are

allowed.

•

Attempted access to blocked sites and services

. Log attempts to access websites

and services that are blocked.

•

Connections to the Web-based interface of this Router

. Log access to the router

user interface.

•

Router operation (startup, get time, and so on)

. Log router operation events such

as startup, Internet connection, firmware initialization, and time synchronization.

•

Known DoS attacks and Port Scans

. Log DoS attacks and port scans.

•

Port Forwarding / Port Triggering

. Log port forwarding and port triggering events.

•

Wireless access

. Log access by wireless clients.

•

Turn off wireless signal by schedule

. Log when the radio is turned off when the

wireless signal is scheduled to be turned off.

3.

To refresh the log screen, click the

Refresh

button.

4.

To clear the log entries, click the

Clear Log

button.

5.

To email the log immediately, click the

Send Log

button.

6.

Click the

Apply

button.

Manage the Configuration File

The configuration settings of the router are stored within the router in a configuration file. You

can back up (save) this file to your computer, restore it, or reset it to the factory default

settings.

Back Up Settings



To back up the router’s configuration settings:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration >

Backup Settings

.

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75

N450 Wireless Router WNR2500

A screen similar to the following displays:

2.

To save a copy of the current settings, click the

Back Up

button.

3.

Choose a location to store the

.cfg

file on a computer on your network.

4.

Click the

OK

button.

A copy of the current settings is saved.

Restore Configuration Settings



To restore configuration settings that you backed up:

1.

Select

ADVANCED > Administration >

Backup Settings

.

The Backup Settings screen displays.

2.

To find the

.cfg

file, click the

Browse

button.

3.

Select the file and then click the

Restore

button.

The file is uploaded to the router.

The router reboots.

WARNING:

Do not interrupt the reboot process.

Erase

Under some circumstances (for example, if you move the router to a different network), you

might want to erase the configuration and restore the factory default settings.