Print
Most modern consumer routers come with 4 wired Ethernet ports to work with, but for the modern geek, that is rarely enough. Adding additional wired ports to your home network is as simple as joining an Ethernet cable between the two routers, but anyone who has tried this in the past might have noticed that it creates a sharing problem. Because each of these routers are setup by default to assign its own IP addresses, computers plugged into the separate routers will have difficulty sharing files across the LAN.
Solving this problem is simple, and should be done on every router except the first. Simply log in to the Administrative Control Panel, click Setup, then disable DHCP on the second, and every subsequent access point. Doing this will allow the first router to manage the assignment of IP address’s, and will allow you to see and share across all your devices.
By daisy chaining together wireless routers, you can also expand the number of Wi-Fi devices you can have attached to your network. Most consumer routers support a total of eight connections, four via Wi-Fi, and four via the wired Ethernet ports.
Subnet Mask
A subnet mask doesn’t work like an IP address, nor is it completely independent of it. Instead, subnet masks accompany an IP address. It basically splits your IP into two parts, an extended, and host network address. Generally you can leave this number at 255.255.254.0 for your WAN, and 255.255.255.0 for your LAN.
Default Gateway
A gateway is little more than a node (or router) that serves as an access point between two networks. Your router should automatically default to an ISP supplied gateway that allows you to connect to the Internet. To put it in simple terms, it’s an entry and exit point in a network.
Virtual Server
This option allows users from the Internet to access services on your LAN. This is actually a useful feature if you want to host an FTP, game, or even web server, and allows you to get around the problem of ISP’s blocking ports. It’s important to note however that hosting a server violates the terms of service agreement with the vast majority of home Internet service providers. ISP can, and often do watch for unauthorized dedicated servers being hosted off their IP’s, so make sure you know what your individual provider allows.
Beacon Period
This is the frequency of the synchronization packets router use to keep all your devices communicating properly. Generally a setting of about 100 milliseconds is ideal.
RTS Threshold / Fragmentation Threshold
Tweaking your RTS Threshold can sometimes improve performance on crowded networks that are suffering for heavy packet collision, but if you set this too high or two low, it can have a devastating impact on the routers performance. The same can be said for Fragmentation Threshold which helps to improve performance in the presence of RF interference. Both of these settings should generally be left at 2346 bytes.
WLAN Partition
If you enable this setting, wireless clients will be prevented from communicating with each other. This is a useful setting to enable if you’re hosting a public hotspot.
WMM Enable
Enabling this can help control latency and jitter when sending streaming video over a wireless connection.
Extra Wireless Protection
If all of the devices on your network are 802.11n compatible, then turning this option off will significantly improve the performance of your router.
Hopefully this guide gave you a good overview to both how the router works, and how to increase its performance. Each manufacturer's firmware is going to look slightly different than the screen shots above, but if you understand the principals, you should now feel comfortable taking on everything from a Linksys to a Belkin. Have a router or networking tip to share? Let us know in the comments.
Comments are closed on this article
nduanetesh
November 30, 2009 at 8:52pm
So, say I want to use another wireless router to expand the range of my current wireless network. Basically, I want to use a router as a repeater or range expander. The two routers will be too far apart to connect via an ethernet cable. Can this be done with a regular router? How would I set that up? Or do I need to buy a real "wireless range extender" (which, ironically, is more expensive than a router)?
Thanks for the help!
IFLATLINEI
October 06, 2009 at 2:53pm
As already stated this is nice for the novice but even still these guides are a dime a dozen. Maybe the article writer should have done a google search. He would have seen them all over the place. Not to mention most of this stuff can be found right at the manufacturers site.
The Ultimate router guide would have included so much more that you cant get anywhere else. Like actual test results for a number of different brands and models. It would cover things like how many consumer grade routers fail to follow your port forwarding instructions 100% of the time or that you can DMZ a PC or Console and still have ports blocked. Or how quickly these things are overloaded.
Funny how testers will tests the living crap out of a Processor, HDD, Ram, but put out junk like this for a router guide. Isnt it time to expose these router companies for what they really are? Show the consumer how and why wireless really isnt for what they think its for. Like gaming.
pfjaco
October 06, 2009 at 11:00am
Come on Guy's the easiest way to add more RJ45 ports is with a network switch you can get them up to 1 Ghz with 4,8,or12 ports, or more if you go with an enterprise unit; plug the uplink from the router into port 1 of the switch (or the link port if one is specified) and and you're good to go with no IP address hassels; you can even stick a WAP into the switch if you need another wireless point.
Justin.Kerr
October 07, 2009 at 9:25am
This is a "router guide" not switch guide, but yes using a switch would be easier.
I would however qualify that by saying going with a new switch won't save you any money, and is less versatile in the long run. Not only that, but your more likely to have a spare router kicking around from a previous upgrade than a spare switch.
thefuzz4
October 06, 2009 at 10:41am
Of cours in windows if your wondering what networks are around you for finding a clear channel you can use net stumbler.
But for us linux users out there I recently discovered a very awesome tool called kismet. Kismet will not only sniff out all of the wireless networks out there but through packet sniffing will also find out the names of your networks that are not broadcasting. I found a neighboor who was not broadcasting and also had their network wide open I couldn't believe they went the step of turning off the broadcast but didn't lock it down that was about useless. If your a linux user try out kismet it's a little tricky to get setup but one it is, it's awesome.
mrvander
October 06, 2009 at 9:37am
First off, good article. Articles like these are the reason I come to MaxPC.
You write contradictory statements though early on. You write,
"...but the trick to security is to always keep your attackers guessing. Many routers give you the ability to make the wireless network
invisible, but don’t bother with this feature. Setting your network to
invisible might keep people from accidentally latching on to your
connection, but anyone using the right tools can find it easily."So you say to always keep attackers guessing then in the very next breath, say to ignore a feature that adds yet another layer of "guessing. That's just silly. Of course, if you're securing your router and don't need to broadcast it, why not turn off broadcasting? You know the SSID and as you say, the trick is to keep the attackers guessing and each layer helps.
Turn off that broadcast and maybe your neighbors more visible router will be attacked and not yours.
Justin.Kerr
October 07, 2009 at 9:30am
My point was simply that it dosn't offer (any) security beneift, and isn't worth the hassle.
Keep them guessing at your password, not your SSID which is being broadcast in the clear even if you turn it off.
WarCrime342
October 06, 2009 at 3:22pm
If I may say I think the point he's trying to get at is that it's not worth the headache or the effort to make it invisible if an intruder just side-steps with a click of the mouse. I've had my fair share of devices that have issues connecting to invisible Wi-Fi networks and it's not very practical to put into use in order keep out a hacker. Having a password and MAC Authentication list would be enough to keep unwanted roamers from connecting.
UndeniablyPC
October 06, 2009 at 4:54am
This article is pretty much useless in regards to security IMO.
Yea, it does tell you to change the default password and does tell you that essentially that WPA2 is the only way to properly encrypt a wireless signal without compromising security, but it really doesn't provide ample coverage in regards to the actual firewall settings in order to lock the router down.
In the matters of the router firewall it fails in my opinion to talk about stateful packet inspection, and how to properly configure your ports to allow only specific types of traffic through. Yes, port forwarding and QoS are important features, but they do nothing when it comes to the actual security of the network.
Also, in the area of security they should have mentioned the fact that users should only have a certain number of IPs allocated to their internal network, i.e. if you are using only 3 computers, only give your network a grand total of three IPs. Also those IPs should be associated with the specific MAC addresses of those machines. This way if someone does happen to find the network, they are unable to obtain an IP on the network. These steps are prudent when you are dealing with both a DHCP and static IP architecture. IMO.
But, I will digress and give you guys credit where it is due, as this guide will help the novice get a little better understanding in regards to the settings of their router.
Saltboy
October 06, 2009 at 5:34am
Spoofing a MAC address is a cake walk. It really is a waste of time as that is the first thing a person that knows what they are doing tries. Right now, WPA2 is about all that is useful for keeping folks off your network.
Justin.Kerr
October 07, 2009 at 9:37am
If Mac address filtering is your only means of security, it's not enough, and is easily defeated. On the other hand if you have a strong WPA2 implementation, this is an unnecessary step. To each their own.
ironorr
October 06, 2009 at 12:17am
A really easy way to find out what WiFi channels your neighbors are using is to use this command in Windows:
cmd /k netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid
It's not as pretty as the GUI example you showed, but it gets the job done quickly.
whr4usa
October 05, 2009 at 10:30pm
potentially extremely useful article as per usual MaxPC!
noticed a couple errors on terms and grammar (I agree with first poster Lolz)
W-LAN, WiFiLan OR WLAN but not just WAN
wireless networks are still Local Area Networks but a WAN is a Wide Area Network is owned and maintained by a single ISP (usually) even if its resources (bandwidth, server clusters etc.) are shared or contracted out
you won't find any accurate home wireless networking information by googling (...or Binging) 'WAN'
also a router having a DHCP server has little to do with sharing an Internet connection (ICS or NAT ring a bell..?) 192.168.0.x & 192.168.1.x are Class C Private IP addresses which esidential routers won't route, they just get looped/broadcast back across the network from which the original signal came which can eat up bandwidth at regular intervals, hence the reason for including a DHCP server for efficiency and better management but not in any way enabling the sharing of that priceless Internet connection
one more 'also' lol to implement that router stacking solution you must or rather 'should' (network appliances keep getting smarter so what do I know anyways?) set the gateway in each of the stacked routers to the static IP of the router closer to the Internet than them in terms of wiring or physical connections so that the Internet connection is directly processed instead of adding overhead to the routing firmware (this assumed you plugged the more distant routers into each closer router's main port labeled "Internet" (usually, aka physical residential gateway port)
confuse anybody yet?
ironorr
October 06, 2009 at 12:37am
Yeah, I'm guessing you will confuse many people with that garbled mess. Jesus. Did you even read that before you posted it? Do you not feel like a total hypocrite for commenting on the author's grammar?
whr4usa
September 09, 2010 at 1:04pm
I apologize for my poor spelling & typing
grammar is fine though!!
DBsantos77
October 05, 2009 at 10:04pm
I'm actually very surprised to see so many networks using WEP.I'm also surprised that devices like the Nintendo DS Lite vI require a WEP password for online play..
-Santos
lunchbox73
October 06, 2009 at 7:18am
That was a good reminder for me. I had to downgrade to WEP a couple of years ago when I bought a DS for my kid's xmas gift. Now that they don't use it any more I can ratchet back up to WPA2.
