Netgear Router WGR614v9 User Manual

							Wireless-G Router WGR614v9 Reference Manual
Fine-Tuning Your Network 5-9
v1.1, May 2008
To make a local Web server public:
1.Assign your Web server either a fixed IP address or a dynamic IP address using DHCP address 
reservation, as explained in “Using Address Reservation” on page 4-3. In this example, your 
router will always give your Web server an IP address of 192.168.1.33. 
2.In the Port Forwarding screen, configure the router to forward the HTTP service to the local 
address of your Web server at 192.168.1.33. 
HTTP (port 80) is the standard protocol for Web servers.
3.(Optional) Register a host name with a Dynamic DNS service, and configure your router to 
use the name as described in “Using a Dynamic DNS Service” on page 4-4. 
To access your Web server from the Internet, a remote user must know the IP address that has 
been assigned by your ISP. However, if you use a Dynamic DNS service, the remote user can 
reach your server by a user-friendly Internet name, such as mynetgear.dyndns.org.
Configuring Port Triggering
Port triggering is a dynamic extension of port forwarding that is useful in these cases:
• More than one local computer needs port forwarding for the same application (but not 
simultaneously).
• An application needs to open incoming ports that are different from the outgoing port.
When port triggering is enabled, the router monitors outbound traffic looking for a specified 
outbound “trigger” port. When the router detects outbound traffic on that port, it remembers the IP 
address of the local computer that sent the data. The router then temporarily opens the specified 
incoming port or ports, and forwards incoming traffic on the triggered ports to the triggering 
computer. 
While port forwarding creates a static mapping of a port number or range to a single local 
computer, port triggering can dynamically open ports to any computer that needs them and can 
close the ports when they are no longer needed.
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 also enable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) according 
to the instructions in “Using Universal Plug and Play” on page 5-12. 
						

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To configure port triggering, you need to know which inbound ports the application needs. Also, 
you need to know the number of the outbound port that will trigger the opening of the inbound 
ports. You can usually determine this information by contacting the publisher of the application or 
user groups or newsgroups.
To set up port triggering: 
1.Select Port Forwarding/Port Triggering under Advanced in the main menu. The 
Forwarding/Port Triggering screen displays.
2.Select the Port Triggering radio button. The port triggering information displays.
3.Clear the Disable Port Triggering check box.
Figure 5-3
Note: If the Disable Port Triggering check box is selected after you configure port 
triggering, port triggering is disabled. However, any port triggering 
configuration information you added to the router is retained even though it is 
not used. 
						

							Wireless-G Router WGR614v9 Reference Manual
Fine-Tuning Your Network 5-11
v1.1, May 2008
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.
Using WMM for Wireless Multimedia Applications
The Wireless-G Router supports Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) to prioritize wireless voice and video 
traffic over the wireless link. WMM 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, 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, are assigned to the best effort category, which receives a lower priority than voice and 
video. WMM QoS is enabled by default. 
						

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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.
• You used a program to optimize MTU for performance reasons, and now you have 
connectivity or performance problems.
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, 
or FTP or POP servers. 
						

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If you suspect an MTU problem, a common solution is to change the MTU size to 1400. If you are 
willing to experiment, you can gradually reduce the MTU size from the maximum value of 1500 
until the problem goes away. Ta b l e 5 - 1 describes common MTU sizes and applications.
To change the MTU size:
1.In the main menu, under Advanced, select WA N  S e t u p. 
2.In the MTU Size field, enter a new size between 64 and 1500.
3.Click Apply to save the new configuration.
Overview of Home and Small Office Networking 
Technologies
Common connection types and their speed and security considerations are:
•Broadband Internet. Your Internet connection speed is determined by your modem type, 
such as ADSL or cable modem, as well as the connection speed of the sites to which you 
connect, and general Internet traffic. ADSL and cable modem connections are asymmetrical, 
meaning they have a lower data rate to the Internet (upstream) than from the Internet 
(downstream). Keep in mind that when you connect to another site that also has an 
asymmetrical connection, the data rate between your sites is limited by each side’s upstream 
data rate. A typical residential ADSL or cable modem connection provides a downstream 
throughput of about 1 to 3 megabits per second (Mbps). Newer technologies such as ADSL2+ 
and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) will increase the connection speed to tens of Mbps.
Table 5-1.  Common MTU Sizes
MTUApplication
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 do not have large e-mail 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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•Wireless. Your Wireless-G Router Model WGR614v9 provides a wireless data throughput of 
up to 300 Mbps using technology called multiple input, multiple output (MIMO), in which 
multiple antennas transmit multiple streams of data. The use of multiple antennas also 
provides excellent range and coverage. With the introduction of the newer WPA and WPA2 
encryption and authentication protocols, wireless security is extremely strong.
To get the best performance, use RangeMax NEXT adapters such as the WN511B for your 
computers. Although the RangeMax NEXT router is compatible with older 802.11b and 
802.11g adapters, the use of these older wireless technologies in your network can result in 
lower throughput overall (typically less than 10 Mbps for 802.11b and less than 40 Mbps for 
802.11g). In addition, many older wireless products do not support the latest security 
protocols, WPA and WPA2.
•Powerline. For connecting rooms or floors that are blocked by obstructions or are distant 
vertically, consider networking over your building’s AC wiring. NETGEAR’s Powerline HD 
family of products delivers up to 200 Mbps to any outlet, while the older-generation XE 
family of products delivers 14 Mbps or 85 Mbps. Data transmissions are encrypted for 
security, and you can configure an individual network password to prevent neighbors from 
connecting.
The Powerline HD family of products can coexist on the same network with older-generation 
XE family products or HomePlug 1.0 products, but they are not interoperable with these older 
products.
•Wired Ethernet. As gigabit-speed Ethernet ports (10/100/1000 Mbps) become common on 
newer computers, wired Ethernet remains a good choice for speed, economy, and security. 
Gigabit Ethernet can extend up to 100 meters with twisted-pair wiring of Cat 5e or better. A 
wired connection is not susceptible to interference, and eavesdropping would require a 
physical connection to your network.
Assessing Your Speed Requirements
Because your Internet connection is likely to operate at a much lower speed than your local 
network, faster local networking technologies might not improve your Internet experience. 
However, many emerging home applications require high data rates. For example:
• Streaming HD video requires 10 to 30 Mbps per stream. Because latency and packet loss can 
disrupt your video, plan to provide at least twice the capacity you need.
Note: Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and environmental factors, 
including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and 
network overhead, can lower actual data throughput rate. 
						

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• Streaming MP3 audio requires less than 1 Mbps per stream and does not strain most modern 
networks. Like video, however, streaming audio is also sensitive to latency and packet loss, so 
a congested network or a noisy link can cause problems.
• Backing up computers over the network has become popular due to the availability of 
inexpensive mass storage. Ta b l e 5 - 2 shows the time to transfer 1 gigabyte (1 GB) of data using 
various networking technologies.
Table 5-2.  Theoretical Transfer Time for 1 Gigabyte
Network ConnectionTheoretical Raw Transfer Time
Gigabit wired Ethernet 8 seconds
RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N 26 seconds
Powerline HD 40 seconds
100 Mbps wired Ethernet 80 seconds
802.11n wireless 45 seconds
802.11g wireless 150 seconds
802.11b wireless 700 seconds
10 Mbps wired Ethernet 800 seconds
Cable modem (3 Mbps) 2700 seconds
Analog modem (56 kbps) 144,000 seconds (40 hours)