Belkin F5D8231-4D Users Manual

N1 Wireless Router

Belkin Tech Support

US: 877-736-5771

310-898-1100 ext. 2263 UK: 0845 607 77 87 Australia: 1800 235 546 New Zealand: 0800 235 546 Singapore: 800 616 1790 Europe: www.belkin.com/support

Belkin International, Inc.

501 West Walnut Street Los Angeles, CA 90220, USA 310-898-1100 310-898-1111 fax

Belkin Ltd.

Express Business Park, Shipton Way Rushden, NN10 6GL, United Kingdom +44 (0) 1933 35 2000 +44 (0) 1933 31 2000 fax

© 2007 Belkin International, Inc. All rights reserved. All trade names are registered trademarks of respective manufacturers listed. Mac, Mac OS, Apple, and AirPort are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows, NT, Microsoft, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

Belkin B.V.

Boeing Avenue 333 1119 PH Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands +31 (0) 20 654 7300 +31 (0) 20 654 7349 fax

Belkin Ltd.

4 Pioneer Avenue Tuggerah Business Park Tuggerah, NSW 2259, Australia +61 (0) 2 4350 4600 +61 (0) 2 4350 4700 fax

P75170-C

N1 Wireless Router

User Manual

F5D8231-4

Table of Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Advantages of a Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Placement of your N1 Wireless Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2. Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3. Knowing your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Setup Assistant Software System Requirements . . . . . . . . 10

4. Connecting and Configuring your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5. Alternate Setup Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6. Using the Web-Based Advanced User Interface . . . . . . . . . . 38

Changing LAN Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Viewing the DHCP Client List Page. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Configuring the Wireless Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Setting WPA Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Setting WEP Encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Using the Access Point Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Setting MAC Address Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Configuring the Firewall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Using Dynamic DNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Restarting the Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Updating the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

7. Manually Configuring Network Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

8. Recommended Web Browser Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

9. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

10. Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the Belkin N1 Wireless Router (the Router). Following are two short sections—the first discusses the benefits of home networking, and the other outlines best practices that maximize your wireless home network range and performance. Please be sure to read through this User Manual completely, and pay special attention to the section entitled “Placement of your N1 Wireless Router” on the next page. By following our simple setup instructions you will be able to use your Belkin Home Network to:

• Share one high -speed Int ern et connect ion with al l t he compute rs in your home

• Share re sources, suc h a s f iles and ha rd dr ives among al l t he connec ted comput ers in your ho me

• Share a single pr inter wi th the entire fami ly

• Share docum ents, musi c, video, a nd digital pi ctures

• Store, retrieve , a nd copy fil es from one comput er to anoth er

• Simult aneousl y p lay game s o nline, che ck Inter net emai l, and chat

Advant ages of a Wirele ss Ne twork

Here are so me of the adva ntages o f s etting up a Be lk in Wireless Ne twork:

• M obili ty – y ou’ll no long er need a dedi cated “com puter roo m”—no w y ou can work on a net worked lap top or desk top comput er anywhere wit hin your wi rele ss range

• E asy inst al latio n – Be lkin’s E asy Inst al latio n W izard m akes setup sim ple

• F lexib il ity – set up and a cc ess prin ters, comp uters, and ot her networ king devic es from anywhere in you r h ome

• E asy expa ns ion – the wide ra nge of Belk in network ing products le t you expan d y our netw ork to includ e d evice s s uch as printe rs and gaming co nsoles

• N o c ablin g req ui re d – yo u c an spare the exp ense and hass le of ret ro fitting Et her net cablin g t hroughout th e h ome or office

• W idesp read in dustry a cc eptan ce – c hoose from a wide ran ge of interope ra ble netw orking produ ct s

Introduction

Revolu tionary N1 Wi re less Technol og y w ith MIMO (N 1 M IMO)

Your B elkin N1 Wi rele ss Route r u ses a new smar t- anten na technol ogy called Mu ltiple I np ut Multi ple Output (M IMO). N1 MI MO complie s with the I EE E draft 802 .11n speci ficatio n. It increases sp eed, ran ge, rel iabil it y, and sp ectral effic iency for wirel ess networ king sys te ms.

The eleme nt that mak es Belkin’s N1 MIMO te chnolog y d iffe re nt fro m a convent ional radi o i s the use of mu lt iple ant ennas and two simult aneous dat a s treams to del iv er wireless t ra nsfer s a roun d y our home or office . A co nvent io nal radi o u ses one ant en na to trans mit a data stream. Be lkin’s N 1 MIMO, on the ot her hand , u ses three antenn as. This de si gn helps co mbat disto rtion an d i nterference . Belkin ’s N1 MIM O i s m ultidim ensiona l. It build s o n o ne-dime nsional smart- antenna te chnolog y b y simult aneousl y t ransmit ting two da ta streams through th e same chan nel, which in creases wirele ss capacit y.

sec tion

Anothe r e lement t ha t enhanc es Belkin’s N1 MIMO is th e u se of aggregat io n as specif ied in the dra ft 802.11n sp ecifica tion. By shorte ning the sp ac e betwee n p ackets and co mbini ng multipl e s maller packet s i nto one larger pac ket, Belki n’s N1 MI MO can transm it more data throug h a vailabl e b andwidt h.

Think of c on venti on al radio tr ansmiss ion as a two-l ane highwa y. The speed lim it gover ns the maxi mum allo wa ble flow of tr affic through that lane . C ompared with co nvent io nal radi os, one-di mension al smart antenn a s ystems h el p move traffi c t hrou gh that lan e f aster and m ore rel iably —a nalog ou s to a four-lan e roa d o n w hich traffic co nsisten tly moves at a ra te closer to t he speed limi t. Belkin’s N1 MIMO he lps traffic mov e a t t he speed li mit and opens mo re la nes—to b ec ome the superh ighway in t hi s exampl e. The rate of tr affi c f low is mult iplied by the numbe r o f lanes tha t a re op ened.

Introduction

Placement of your N1 Wireless Router

Important Factors for Placement and Setup

Your w ireless conn ection wil l b e stronger th e c loser your co mputer i s to your Ro ut er. Typical ind oor operat ing range f or wire less dev ic es is betwee n 1 00 and 200 fee t.

In the sam e w ay, your wi re less conne ction and p er forma nc e will degrad e s omewhat as the distan ce between yo ur Route r a nd connec ted device s i ncreases. Th is may or may not be noticea ble to you. As yo u m ove furthe r f ro m y our Rout er, c onnecti on speed may decreas e. Factors th at can weak en signals si mply by get ting in the way of yo ur network ’s rad io waves are metal ap pliance s o r obstru ctions, an d w alls.

If you hav e c oncer ns about yo ur network ’s perfo rmance t ha t might be related to ran ge or obstr uction fac tors, try m ov ing the com puter to a posit io n betwee n f ive and 10 fee t f ro m t he Router in o rder to se e if distan ce is the proble m. If diff icult ie s persis t e ven at clos e r ange, please co ntact Be lk in Technical Su pport.

Note: Whi le some of the it ems list ed below can affec t n etwork perfor mance, the y w ill not prohi bi t your wirele ss network from functi oning; if y ou are c on cer ned that yo ur network is no t o peratin g a t its maxim um effective ness, this ch eckli st may help.

1. Router Placement

Place you r R outer, the ce ntral co nnectio n p oint of you r

networ k, as close as po ssible to t he center of you r w ireless networ k d evices.

To ach ieve the be st wire less net work cover age for you r “ wire less

client s” (i.e., c om puter s e nabled by Bel kin Wireless No tebook Networ k C ards, Wireless De sktop Netw ork Cards, and Wirel ess USB Adapt ers):

• E nsure that your Ro uter’s networ king anten nas are paralle l to each ot he r, and are positio ned vert ic ally (to ward the ceilin g). If your Ro uter itsel f i s p ositi on ed verti cally, p oint the antenn as as much as pos sible in an up ward di re ction.

• I n m ultis to ry homes , p lace the Ro ut er on a floor t ha t is as close to t he center of the ho me as possi ble. This may me an placin g t he Route r o n a n u pper flo or.

• Try not to plac e t he Router nea r a cord less 2.4 GHz phone.

Introduction

2. Avoid Obstacles and Interference

Avo id placi ng your Route r n ear devi ces that may e mi t radio “noise ,” such as mic rowa ve ovens . D ense objec ts that can in hibit wireless co mmunica tion inclu de:

• R ef riger at ors

• Wa shers an d/or dryer s

• M et al cabin ets

• L arge aq ua riums

• M et allic -b ased, UV-ti nted win do ws

If your wi rele ss signal s ee ms weak in som e s pots, ma ke sure that

object s s uch as thes e a re no t b locking th e s ignal ’s path (be tween your comp uters an d R outer).

3. Cordless Phones

If the per fo rmanc e o f y our wireless ne twork is im pa ired after attend ing to the abo ve issues, an d y ou have a cordle ss phone:

• Try mo ving cordles s p hones aw ay from your Route r a nd your wireless -e nable d c omputer s.

• U np lug and remov e t he battery from an y c ordless phon e that oper ates on the 2. 4GHz band ( ch eck manu facturer’s inform ation). If th is fixes th e p ro blem, your ph one may be interf ering.

• I f y our phone sup ports ch an nel sele ction, cha nge the cha nn el on the pho ne to the farthe st chann el from yo ur wireless networ k. For exam pl e, chang e t he phone to ch annel 1 and move your Ro uter to cha nnel 11. Se e y our phone’s user manual fo r d etail ed instruc tions.

• I f n ecessar y, consi der switch ing to a 900MH z o r 5 GHz cordless ph one.

sec tion

4. Choose the “Quietest” Channel for your Wireless Network

I n l ocati on s where homes or offi ce s are close toge ther, such as apartm ent buildi ngs or office co mp lexes , t here ma y be wireless networ ks nearby t ha t can confl ict with yo ur s.

U se the Site Su rvey capab ilities fo und in the Wirel ess Utilit y o f

your wirele ss adapter to lo cate any ot her wireless ne tworks tha t are availab le (see your w irel ess adapte r’s us er manual) , a nd move your Rout er and comp uters to a cha nn el as far away from ot her networ ks as possi bl e.

Introduction

• Experiment with more than one o f the availabl e channe ls, in order to find the clearest conn ection and avo id inter ference from neighboring cordless ph ones or other wireless d evices.

• For B elkin wi reless networking products, use the det ailed Si te Sur vey and wireless c hannel information included with your wireless network card. See your network card’s user guide f or more information.

These guid elines sho uld allo w y ou to cover th e m aximum

possib le area with your R ou ter. Shoul d y ou need to cov er an even wide r a re a, we sugge st the Belkin Wi re less Range Extend er/Acce ss Point.

5. Secure Connections, VPNs, and AOL

Secure conn ections ty pically requ ire a us er name and passwo rd , a nd are u sed where secur ity is import ant. Sec ure connec tions incl ude:

• Virtu al Private Ne twork (V PN) connec tions, oft en used to connec t rem otely to an office ne twork

• T he “Bring Your Own Ac ce ss” program f rom A me rica Onl ine (AOL), wh ich lets yo u u se AOL through broad band provide d b y anothe r c able or DSL se rvice

• M os t online ba nking webs ites

• M an y commercial we bsite s t hat req uire a u ser name an d passwo rd to ac cess your a cc ount

Secure conn ections ca n b e i nterr up ted by a compu ter’s

power man agement se tting , w hich cause s i t t o “go to sleep .” The simpl est solu ti on to avoid th is is to simpl y rec onnect by rer unnin g t he VPN or AOL sof tware, or by re -logg in g into the secure webs ite.

A second a lt ern ative is to ch an ge your com puter’s power

manage ment setti ngs so it does no t g o to sleep; ho wever, thi s may not be ap prop riate fo r p ortable co mputers . To cha ng e your power man agement se tting un der Window s, see the “Po wer Option s” item in the Co ntro l Panel.

If you con ti nue to have di ff iculty wit h S ecure Connec tions, VPN s,

and AOL, p le ase review th e s teps above to be sure yo u have addresse d t hese issue s.

Introduction

For more information regarding our networking products, visit our website at www.b elkin.c om/netw orking or call Belkin Technical Support at:

US: 877-736-5771 310-898-1100 ext. 2263

UK: 0845 607 77 87 Australia: 1800 235 546 New Zealand: 0800 235 546 Singapore: 800 616 1790 Europe: www.belkin.com/support

sec tion

Product Overview

Product Features

In minute s y ou will be abl e t o share your Int ernet co nnectio n a nd networ k y our comp ut ers. The fo llowing is a l ist of features th at make your new B el kin N1 Wirele ss Router an ide al solut io n for your hom e o r small offic e n etwork.

Works with Both PCs and Mac® Computers

The Route r s uppor ts a v ariety of n et worki ng environment s i nclud in g Mac OS® 8 .x, 9.x, X v10 .x, Linux®, Windows® 9 8, Me, NT®, 2000, XP, Vis ta™, and othe rs . All that is n ee ded is an Inte rne t b rows er and a network ad apter th at support s T CP/IP (t he standard lan gu age of the Inter net ).

Patent-Pending Network Status Display

Lighte d L EDs on the front of th e R outer in di cate whi ch functio ns are in operati on. You’ll know at -a-glan ce whether yo ur Route r i s connec ted to the Int ernet . T his feat ure e li minat es the need for advanc ed software and st atus-mo nitorin g p ro cedures.

Web-Based Advanced User Interface

You ca n s et up the Rout er’s a dv anced fu nctions ea sily through yo ur web browser, w ithout hav ing to instal l a dditi on al softw are o nto the comput er. There are n o disks to ins tall or kee p t rack of and, b es t of all, yo u c an make chang es and perf orm setup fun ctions from any comput er on the netw ork quickl y a nd easil y.

NAT IP Address Sharing

Your R outer em pl oys Netw ork Address Tra ns latio n ( NAT) to share the single IP ad dress assign ed to you by your In ter net Servic e P ro vider while sav ing the cos t o f a dding ad di tiona l I P a ddre sses to you r Internet ser vice accou nt.

SPI Firewall

Your R outer is eq uipped wit h a fi re wall that w il l pro tect you r n etwork fro m a wide array of common hac ker attack s i nclud in g IP Spoofi ng, Land Atta ck, Ping of De ath (PoD), De nial of Ser vice (DoS) , I P w ith zero length , S murf Attac k, TCP Null Sc an, SYN flo od , UDP flood ing, Tear D ro p A ttack, ICM P d efect , R IP defect, an d f ragme nt floodin g.

Product Overview

Integrated 10/100 4-Port Switch

The Route r h as a built- in, four-po rt network sw itch to all ow your wired compu ters to share prin ters, data an d MP3 files , d igital p ho tos, and much m ore. Th e s witch fe atures autom at ic detec tion so it wil l adjust to th e speed of con nected d ev ices. Th e s witch will tr ansfer data betw een comp ut ers and the In ter ne t simult aneousl y w ithout interr upting or c on sumin g resou rc es.

Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)

UPnP is a tec hnology th at offers seaml ess operat ion of voic e messag ing, video me ssagi ng , games, an d o ther app li catio ns that are UPnP-co mpliant .

Support for VPN Pass-Through

If you con ne ct to your offic e n etwork from hom e u sing a VPN connec tion, your Ro uter wil l a llow your V PN -equi pp ed compu ter to pass throug h t he Router a nd to your office net work.

Built-In Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

Built- In Dynamic Ho st Confi guratio n P ro to col (DHC P) on-board mak es for the ea si est poss ible conne ction of a net work. The DHC P s erver will assi gn IP addresses to each compu ter automa tically so there i s no need fo r a co mplicat ed network ing setu p.

Setup Assistant

The Setup As sista nt , second ge neratio n o f B elkin ’s re nowned E as y Instal l W izard, takes th e g uessw or k out of setti ng up your Rou ter. This auto matic so ft ware determi nes your ne twork sett ings for yo u and sets u p t he Router for co nnect io n to your Inte rne t S ervice Pro vider (I SP). In a matt er of minutes , y our Rout er will be up and runnin g o n t he Inter net.

sec tion

Note: Setu p A ssistan t s oftware is comp atible w it h Window s 2 000 and XP. If you are using an other op erating sy stem, the Rou ter can be set up using t he Alter nate Setup Me thod des cribed in thi s U ser Manu al (see page 23 ).

+ 28 hidden pages