Netgear Router WGR614v8 User Manual

							54 Mbps Wireless Router WGR614v8 User Manual
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4.In the Port Triggering Timeout field, enter a value up to 9999 minutes. This value controls 
the inactivity timer for the designated inbound ports. The inbound ports close when the 
inactivity time expires. This is required because the router cannot be sure when the application 
has terminated.
5.Click Add Service. 
6.In the Service Name field, type a descriptive service name. 
7.In the Service User field, select Any (the default) to allow this service to be used by any 
computer on the Internet. Otherwise, select Single address, and enter the IP address of one 
computer to restrict the service to a particular computer. 
8.Select the service type, either TCP or UDP or both (TCP/UDP). If you are not sure, select 
TCP/UDP.
9.In the Triggering Port field, enter the number of the outbound traffic port that will cause the 
inbound ports to be opened. 
10.Enter the inbound connection port information in the Connection Type, Star ting  Port, and 
Ending Port fields.
11 .Click Apply. The service appears in the Port Triggering Portmap table. 
Figure 5-4 
						

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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.
To turn on Universal Plug and Play:
1.From the main menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, click UPnP. The UPnP screen 
displays.
2.The available settings and displays in this screen are:
•Turn UPnP On. UPnP can be enabled or disabled for automatic device configuration. The 
default setting for UPnP is disabled. If this check box is not selected, the router does not 
allow any device to automatically control the resources, such as port forwarding 
(mapping) of the router.
Note: If you use applications such as multiplayer 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 5-5 
						

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•Advertisement Period. The advertisement period is how often the router broadcasts 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 might 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 might 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. 
3.Click Apply to save your settings.
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 loss of connectivity. This also means that 
devices that are farther away might 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, click the link to the online document “Wireless 
Networking Basics” 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 2 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 1 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 might 
automatically try to connect to your network several times a second, which can cause 
significant performance reduction. 
• Use WMM to improve the performance of voice and video traffic over the wireless link.
Configuring Quality of Service
Quality of Service (QoS) is an advanced feature that can be used to prioritize some types of traffic 
higher or lower than others. The Wireless-G Router can provide QoS prioritization over the 
wireless link and on the Internet connection. To configure QoS, use the QoS Setup screen.  
						

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From the main menu of the browser interface, under Advanced, select QoS Setup. The QoS Setup 
screen displays:
You can enable WMM, Internet Access QoS, Bandwidth Control, as well as modify or create QoS 
rules.
Using WMM QoS for Wireless Multimedia Applications
The Wireless-G Router supports Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS) to prioritize 
wireless voice and video traffic over the wireless link. WMM QoS provides prioritization of 
wireless data packets from different applications based on four access categories: voice, video, 
best effort, and background. For an application to receive the benefits of WMM QoS, both it and 
the client running that application must be WMM enabled. Legacy applications that do not support 
WMM, and applications that do not require QoS, are assigned to the best effort category, which 
receives a lower priority than voice and video. 
WMM QoS is enabled by default. You can disable it in the QoS Setup screen, shown in Figure 5-7 
on page 5-16, by clearing the Enable WMM check box and clicking Apply.
Using the QoS Priority Rule List to Prioritize Internet Access
You can give prioritized Internet access to the following types of traffic:
• For specific applications
• For specific online games
• On individual Ethernet LAN ports of the router
• From a specific device by MAC address
Figure 5-6 
						

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The QoS Priority Rule List identifies the rules that will be applied when you enable QoS. 
For convenience, the QoS Policy table lists many common applications and online games that can 
benefit from QoS handling. Follow the instructions below to modify, delete, or create new rules.
QoS for Applications and Online Gaming
To create a QoS policy for applications and online games:
1.From the main menu, under Advanced, click QoS Setup. The QoS Setup screen displays, as 
shown in Figure 5-6 on page 5-15.
Figure 5-7 
						

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2.From the QoS Setup page, click Setup QoS Rule to verify that one of the preconfigured rules 
will meet your requirements. If not, click Add Priority Rule. The QoS - Priority Rules screen 
displays.
3.In the Priority Category list, select either Applications or Online Gaming. In either case, a 
list of predefined applications or games displays in the Applications drop-down list.
4.From the Applications list, you can select an existing item, or you can scroll to the bottom of 
the list and select Add a New Application or Add a New Game.
a.If you chose to add a new entry, the screen expands as shown:
b.In the QoS Policy for field, enter a descriptive name for the new application or game.
c.Select the packet type, either TCP, UDP, or both (TCP/UDP), and specify the port 
number or range of port numbers used by the application or game.
Figure 5-8
Figure 5-9 
						

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5.From the Priority drop-down list, select the priority that this traffic should receive relative to 
other applications and traffic when accessing the Internet. The options are Low, Normal, High, 
and Highest.
6.Click Apply to save this rule to the QoS Policy list and return to the QoS Setup screen.
7.In the QoS Setup screen, select the Turn Internet Access QoS On check box.
8.Click Apply.
QoS for a Router LAN Port
To create a QoS policy for a device connected to one of the router’s LAN ports:
1.From the main menu, under Advanced, select QoS Setup. The QoS Setup screen displays, as 
shown in Figure 5-6 on page 5-15.
2.From the QoS Setup page, click Setup QoS Rule to verify that one of the preconfigured rules 
will meet your requirements. If not, click Add Priority Rule. 
3.From the Priority Category list, select Ethernet LAN Port. The QoS - Priority Rules screen 
changes:
4.From the LAN port list, select the LAN port that will have a QoS policy.
5.From the Priority drop-down list, select the priority that this port’s traffic should receive 
relative to other applications and traffic when accessing the Internet. The options are Low, 
Normal, High, and Highest.
6.Click Apply to save this rule to the QoS Policy list and return to the QoS Setup screen.
7.In the QoS Setup screen, select the Turn Internet Access QoS On check box.
8.Click Apply.
Figure 5-10 
						

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QoS for a MAC Address
To create a QoS policy for traffic from a specific MAC address:
1.From the main menu, under Advanced, click QoS Setup. The QoS Setup screen displays, as 
shown in Figure 5-6 on page 5-15.
2.From the QoS Setup page, click Setup QoS Rule to verify that one of the preconfigured rules 
will meet your requirements. If not, click Add Priority Rule. 
3.From the Priority Category list, select MAC Address. The QoS - Priority Rules screen 
changes:
4.If the device to be prioritized appears in the MAC Device List, select it. The information from 
the MAC Device List is used to populate the policy name, MAC Address, and Device Name 
fields. If the device does not appear in the MAC Device List, click Refresh. If it still does not 
appear, you must complete these fields manually. 
5.From the Priority drop-down list, select the priority that this device’s traffic should receive 
relative to other applications and traffic when accessing the Internet. The options are Low, 
Normal, High, and Highest.
6.Click Apply to save this rule to the QoS Policy list and return to the QoS Setup screen.
7.In the QoS Setup screen, select the Turn Internet Access QoS On check box.
8.Click Apply.
Figure 5-11 
						

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Editing or Deleting an Existing QoS Policy
To edit or delete an existing QoS policy:
1.From the main menu, under Advanced, click QoS Setup. The QoS Setup screen displays, as 
shown in Figure 5-6 on page 5-15.
2.From the QoS Setup screen, click Setup QoS Rule to view the QoS Priority Rule list. 
3.On the QoS Priority Rule List, select the radio button next to the QoS policy to be edited or 
deleted, and do one of the following:
• Click Delete to remove the QoS policy.
• Click Edit to edit the QoS policy. Follow the instructions in the preceding sections to 
change the policy settings.
4.Click Apply throughout these screens to save your changes.
Changing the MTU Size
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 might fix one problem but cause another. Leave MTU unchanged unless one of these 
situations occurs:
• You have problems connecting to your ISP, or other Internet service, and either the technical 
support of the ISP or of NETGEAR recommends changing the MTU size. These might require 
an MTU change:
– A secure Web site that will not open, or displays only part of a Web page
–Yahoo e-mail
–MSN
– America Online’s DSL service
• You use VPN and have severe performance problems.