NBG334W User’s Guide

31

C

HAPTER

1

Getting to Know Your NBG334W

This chapter introduces the main features and applications of the NBG334W.

1.1

Overview

The NBG334W acts as either an access point (AP) or a secure broadband router for all data

passing between the Internet and your local network. In both

AP

and

Router Mode

you can

set up a wireless network with other IEEE 802.11b/g compatible devices. In

Router Mode

a

number of services such as a firewall and content filtering are also available. You can use

media bandwidth management to efficiently manage traffic on your network. Bandwidth

management features allow you to prioritize time-sensitive or highly important applications

such as Voice over the Internet (VoIP).

1.2

AP Mode

Select

AP Mode

if you already have a router or gateway on your network which provides

network services such as a firewall or bandwidth management.

The following figure shows computers in a WLAN connecting to the NBG334W, which acts

as an access point (A). The NBG334W allows the wireless computers to share the same

Internet access as the other computers connected to the router (B) on the same network.

Figure 1

Wireless Internet Access in AP Mode

A

B

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your NBG334W

NBG334W User’s Guide

32

1.3

Router Mode

Select

Router Mode

if you need to route traffic between your network and another network

such as the Internet, and require important network services such as a firewall or bandwidth

management.

The following figure shows computers in a WLAN connecting to the NBG334W (

A

), which

has a DSL connection to the Internet. The NBG334W is set to

Router Mode

and has router

features such as a built-in firewall (

B

).

Figure 2

Secure Wireless Internet Access in Router Mode

1.4

Router Features vs. AP Features

The following table shows which features are available in

Router

or

AP Mode

.

A

B

Table 1

Features Available in Router Mode vs. AP Mode

FEATURE

ROUTER MODE

AP MODE

DHCP

This allows individual clients to obtain IP addresses at start-

up from a DHCP server.

YES

NO

Firewall

This establishes a network security barrier, protecting your

network from attacks and controlling access between your

network and the Internet.

YES

NO

Bandwidth Management

This allows you to allocate network bandwidth to specific

applications and or subnets.

YES

NO

Any IP

This allows a computer to access the NBG334W when the

IP addresses of the computer and the NBG334W are not in

the same subnet.)

YES

NO

Wireless

This allows two or more devices to communicate without

wires, based on IEEE 802.11 wireless standards.

YES

YES

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your NBG334W

NBG334W User’s Guide

33

1.5

Ways to Manage the NBG334W

Use any of the following methods to manage the NBG334W.

•

Web Configurator. This is recommended for everyday management of the NBG334W

using a (supported) web browser.

•

Command Line Interface. Line commands are mostly used for troubleshooting by service

engineers.

•

FTP. Use File Transfer Protocol for firmware upgrades and configuration backup/restore.

1.6

Good Habits for Managing the NBG334W

Do the following things regularly to make the NBG334W more secure and to manage the

NBG334W more effectively.

•

Change the password. Use a password that’s not easy to guess and that consists of

different types of characters, such as numbers and letters.

•

Write down the password and put it in a safe place.

•

Back up the configuration (and make sure you know how to restore it). Restoring an

earlier working configuration may be useful if the device becomes unstable or even

crashes. If you forget your password, you will have to reset the NBG334W to its factory

default settings. If you backed up an earlier configuration file, you would not have to

totally re-configure the NBG334W. You could simply restore your last configuration.

1.7

LEDs

Figure 3

Front Panel

The following table describes the LEDs.

Table 2

Front Panel LEDs

LED

COLOR

STATUS

DESCRIPTION

POWER

Green

On

The NBG334W is receiving power and functioning

properly.

Off

The NBG334W is not receiving power.

Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your NBG334W

NBG334W User’s Guide

34

LAN 1-4

Green

On

The NBG334W has a successful 10MB Ethernet

connection.

Blinking

The NBG334W is sending/receiving data.

Amber

On

The NBG334W has a successful 100MB Ethernet

connection.

Blinking

The NBG334W is sending/receiving data.

Off

The LAN is not connected.

WAN

Green

On

The NBG334W has a successful 10MB WAN

connection.

Blinking

The NBG334W is sending/receiving data.

Amber

On

The NBG334W has a successful 100MB Ethernet

connection.

Blinking

The NBG334W is sending/receiving data.

Off

The WAN connection is not ready, or has failed.

WLAN

Green

On

The NBG334W is ready, but is not sending/receiving

data through the wireless LAN.

Blinking

The NBG334W is sending/receiving data through the

wireless LAN.

Off

The wireless LAN is not ready or has failed.

WPS

WPS (WiFi Protected Setup) automatically sets up security on your wireless

network. This function is currently unavailable.

Table 2

Front Panel LEDs (continued)

LED

COLOR

STATUS

DESCRIPTION

NBG334W User’s Guide

35

C

HAPTER

2

Introducing the Web

Configurator

This chapter describes how to access the NBG334W web configurator and provides an

overview of its screens.

2.1

Web Configurator Overview

The web configurator is an HTML-based management interface that allows easy setup and

management of the NBG334W via Internet browser. Use Internet Explorer 6.0 and later or

Netscape Navigator 7.0 and later versions or Safari 2.0 or later versions. The recommended

screen resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels.

In order to use the web configurator you need to allow:

•

Web browser pop-up windows from your device. Web pop-up blocking is enabled by

default in Windows XP SP (Service Pack) 2.

•

JavaScripts (enabled by default).

•

Java permissions (enabled by default).

Refer to the Troubleshooting chapter to see how to make sure these functions are allowed in

Internet Explorer.

2.2

Accessing the Web Configurator

1

Make sure your NBG334W hardware is properly connected and prepare your computer

or computer network to connect to the NBG334W (refer to the Quick Start Guide).

2

Launch your web browser.

3

Type "http://192.168.1.1" as the website address.

Your computer must be in the same subnet in order to access this website address.

• In

Router Mode

enable the DHCP Server. The NBG334W assigns your computer an IP

address on the same subnet.

• In

AP Mode

the NBG334W does not assign an IP address to your computer, so you

should check it’s in the same subnet. See

Section 4.5 on page 68

for more information.