Router Basics

Wireless routers with built-in switches are everywhere. Although there are diffe
rences between the routers, they have largely the same features. This guide prov
ides a summary of the common aspects of the routers currently on the market. Rea
ding your router manual is still necessary to know exactly what features your ro
uter has and where they are located, but reading this will give you an idea of w
hat to expect before diving into the manual.

What is a router?

A router is any device that acts as a gateway between 2 or more separate network
s. In our case, that means that the local network is connected to the Internet,
and vice versa. The router ignores traffic local traffic or traffic it is not co
nfigured to handle, but when Internet access is attempted from within the local
network, it springs into action. With NAT (Network Address Translation), the rou
ter shares the Internet connection to all the computers connected to the local n
etwork. The router keeps track of the originating local computer and manages the
connection with the outside Internet server. If a computer on the Internet atte
mpts a connection with the router or to a local computer past the router, the ro
uter denies the connection unless the router was specially configured to allow t
hat connection.

Many routers can treat the wireless LAN (WLAN) as a separate network from the wi
red LAN. This is often done because wireless networks are easy to break into. Th
e idea is that people can keep their wired computers away from the untrusted wir
eless network. The router will still share the Internet connection (WAN) to both
the wireless and wired LANs, regardless of this configuration.

WAN connection

WAN stands for Wide Area Network. With a wireless router, it is used for the Int
ernet connection. All of the WAN settings are the settings for the Internet-faci
ng side of the router.

Router MAC Address (Clone MAC address)

A MAC address is a hardware identifier that is roughly unique. Many companies, e

specially cable ISPs, must store the MAC address of the router or Internet-facin
g computer, and they are configured to only allow that MAC address to connect to
their network. If that is the case, your two options are to notify your ISP of
the new MAC address or set the router s MAC address to the MAC address of the prev
iously Internet-facing router/computer.

Routers will show the router s current MAC address and offer a form to change the
MAC address. Enter the MAC address if needed.
DHCP client

All routers have a DHCP client (also called Dynamic IP address ). DHCP is the proto
col that automatically configures an IP address, netmask, gateway, and DNS addre
sses. The DHCP client gets the router s IP address and other network info. Usually
, this is just a radio button to select if this is how your ISP offers connectio
n info. Most cable ISPs use this method.

Static IP

If your ISP provides a static IP, then fill in the IP information they provided
you with when you signed up. This includes the IP address, netmask, gateway, and
DNS addresses. Most T1/T3-type connections and business DSL services provide st
atic IPs and use this method.

PPPoE

PPPoE stands for Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet. PPP is the technology us
ed for dialup Internet access. PPPoE works similarly except it works over a netw
ork connection. Most DSL ISPs now use PPPoE. You ll need to enter your PPPoE usern
ame and password. Some ISPs also require a service name to be entered. Usually,
you do not need to enter the IP/DNS addresses. However, if you have a static IP
through PPPoE, then you will need to enter your IP and DNS addresses your ISP pr
ovides.

PPTP

Not every router supports PPTP connections, but many do. PPTP stands for Point-t
o-Point Tunneling Protocol. PPTP is used to join 2 networks using the Internet a
s an intermediary network. It allows your home computers to connect to your work
network over the Internet. It is also commonly used by xDSL ISPs in Europe. The
key is to enter the PPPTP userID, password, and PPTP Gateway IP address. The IP
addresses, subnet mask, and default gateway may or may not be required.

DNS

Some routers break the DNS addresses into their own setup. Just enter the IPs fo
r the DNS servers your ISP provides. There are also many DNS servers that can be
used from any connection. You can search for those DNS servers with Google.

LAN
The LAN settings are for your Local Area Network. This is the settings section f
or the local computers connected to the router. This includes setting up the loc
al IP for your router and configuring the DHCP server so your computers can be a
utomatically configured via DHCP, rather than requiring manual static configurat
ion.

Set router IP

This IP is the IP your local computers see the router as. Generally, you ll want t
o use an IP inside one of the reserved IP address ranges. Router IPs typically e
nd in .1 or .254. The most common home router IP is 192.168.2.1.

DHCP server

A DHCP server provides automatic configuration to computers that are connected t

o it. It assigns an IP address to the computer, and gives it the network netmask
, gateway IP, and DNS IPs. If you choose to disable the DHCP server, you can con
figure your computers manually to use the router. That is generally more complic
ated, so I generally recommend enabling the DHCP server.

The starting and ending IP addresses determine what the range of IP addresses wi
ll be assigned to the local computers. It is a good idea to give a larger range
than the computers you have. Doing that means you won t have to worry about runnin
g out of IP addresses.

The lease time determines how long a specific computer will be assigned a specif
ic IP. This can be as short as a few minutes or as long as months. If you want t
o make sure that your computers keep the same IPs for a long time, then set a lo
ng lease time.