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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.
From the main menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, click UPnP. The UPnP menu
appears.
The available settings and displays in this menu are:
Turn UPnP On
UPnP can be enabled or disabled for automatic device configuration. The default setting for
UPnP is disabled. If disabled, the router will not allow any device to automatically control the
resources, such as port forwarding (mapping) of the router.
Note:
If you use applications such as multi-player 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 6-5
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Advertisement Period
The Advertisement Period is how often the router will broadcast 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 may 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 may 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.
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 losing connectivity. This also means that
devices that are further away may 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, please see
“Wireless Communications” in
Appendix B
.
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Choose placement carefully.
For best results, place your router:
Near the center of the area in which your computers will operate.
In an elevated location such as a high shelf where the wirelessly connected computers
have line-of-sight access (even if through walls).
Avoid obstacles to wireless signals.
Keep wireless devices at least two feet from large metal fixtures such as file cabinets,
refrigerators, pipes, metal ceilings, reinforced concrete, and metal partitions.
Keep away from large amounts of water such as fish tanks and water coolers.
Reduce interference.
Avoid windows unless communicating between buildings.
Place wireless devices away from various electromagnetic noise sources, especially those in
the 2400–2500 MHz frequency band. Common noise-creating sources are:
Computers and fax machines (no closer than one foot)
Copying machines, elevators, and cell phones (no closer than 6 feet)
Microwave ovens (no closer than 10 feet)
Choose your settings.
Use a scanning utility to determine what other wireless networks are operating nearby, and
choose an unused channel.
Turn off SSID Broadcast, and change the default SSID. Other nearby devices may
automatically try to connect to your network several times a second, which can cause
significant performance reduction.
Changing the MTU
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 any device in the data path has a lower MTU setting than
the other devices, the data packets must be split or “fragmented” to accommodate the one with the
smallest MTU.
The best MTU setting for NETGEAR equipment is often just the default value, and changing the
value may fix one problem but cause another. Leave MTU unchanged unless:
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You have problems connecting to your ISP, or other Internet service, and either the technical
support of the ISP or of NETGEAR recommends changing MTU. These may require an MTU
change:
A secure Web site that won't open, or only displays part of a Web page
Yahoo email
— MSN
America Online's DSL service
You use VPN and have severe performance problems.
You used a program to optimize MTU for performance reasons, and now you have
connectivity or performance problems..
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 until
the problem goes away.
Table 6-1
describes common MTU sizes and applications.
To change the MTU size:
1.
In the Advanced section of the main menu, click WAN Setup.
2.
Under MTU Size, enter a new size between 64 and 1500.
Note:
An incorrect MTU setting can cause Internet communication problems such as the
inability to access certain Web sites, frames within Web sites, secure login pages,
FTP or POP servers.
Table 6-1.
Common MTU Sizes
MTU
Application
1500
The largest Ethernet packet size and the default value. This is the typical setting for non-
PPPoE, non-VPN connections, 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 don't have 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.
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3.
Click Apply to save the new configuration.
Optimizing Your Network Bandwidth
As your network grows, it may consist of several segments of different networking technologies,
each providing different throughput. In planning your network, you should first consider which
devices will have the heaviest traffic flow between them. Examples are:
A media center in one room streaming high-definition video from a server in another room
A storage device that is used for backing up your computers
Next, consider the throughput of your network devices. Where possible, make the heaviest-traffic
connections using higher-speed technologies, with no lower-speed bottlenecks in the path.
Figure 6-6

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