ZyXEL WRE2206 Manual

User’s Guide

WRE2206

Wireless N300 Range Extender

Default Login Details

Version 1.00 Edition 2, 06/2018

Web Address

http://zyxelsetup (Windows)

OR

http://zyxelsetup.local (Mac)

LAN IP Address

http://192.168.1.2

User Name

admin

Password

1234

SSID

ZyXEL

Pre-shared Key

00000000

Copyright © 2018 Zyxel Communications Corporation

IMPORTANT!

READ CAREFULLY BEFORE USE.

KEEP THIS GUIDE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE.

This is a User’s Guide for a system managing a series of products. Not all products support all features. Menushots and graphics in this book may differ slightly from what you see due to differences in release versions or your computer operating system. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate.

Related Documentation

•Quick Start Guide

The Quick Start Guide shows how to connect the managed device, such as the Nebula AP, gateway or security gateway.

•More Information

Go to support.zyxel.com to find other information on the WRE2206.

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	Contents Overview
	Contents Overview
User’s Guide ........................................................................................................................................	7
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................	8
The Web Configurator .........................................................................................................................	12
Connection Wizard ..............................................................................................................................	14
Status ......................................................................................................................................................	20
Tutorials ..................................................................................................................................................	24
Technical Reference ........................................................................................................................	34
Wireless LAN ..........................................................................................................................................	35
LAN .........................................................................................................................................................	44
System ....................................................................................................................................................	46
Tools ........................................................................................................................................................	47
Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................................................	53

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	Table of Contents
	Table of Contents
Contents Overview .............................................................................................................................		3
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................		4
Part I: User’s Guide............................................................................................		7
Chapter 1
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................		8
1.1	Overview ...........................................................................................................................................	8
1.2	Securing the WRE2206 ......................................................................................................................	9
1.3	Front Panel ........................................................................................................................................	9
1.4	The WPS Button ...............................................................................................................................	10
	1.4.1 WiFi Protected Setup ............................................................................................................	11
Chapter 2
The Web Configurator........................................................................................................................		12
2.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	12
2.2	Accessing the Web Configurator .................................................................................................	12
2.3	Resetting the WRE2206 ...................................................................................................................	13
Chapter 3
Connection Wizard ............................................................................................................................		14
3.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	14
3.2	Configuring the WRE2206 for Connection to an AP ...................................................................	14
	3.2.1 Selecting Automatically Detected AP Parameters ..........................................................	14
	3.2.2 Manually Configuring AP Parameters ................................................................................	16
3.3	Completing the Connection Wizard ............................................................................................	17
Chapter 4
Status...................................................................................................................................................		20
4.1	WRE2206 Status ...............................................................................................................................	20
4.2	Navigation Panel ............................................................................................................................	22
Chapter 5
Tutorials ...............................................................................................................................................		24
5.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	24
5.2	Connecting a Wireless Client using WPS ......................................................................................	24
	5.2.1 Push Button Configuration (PBC) ........................................................................................	24
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	Table of Contents
	5.2.2 PIN Configuration ..................................................................................................................	26
5.3 Connecting the WRE2206 to an AP ..............................................................................................		27
	5.3.1 Connecting to an AP with the WPS PBC Method .............................................................	28
	5.3.2 Connecting to an AP with the WPS PIN Method ...............................................................	29
	5.3.3 Selecting an AP from an Automatically Detected List .....................................................	30
	5.3.4 Selecting an AP by Manually Entering Security Information ............................................	32
Part II: Technical Reference...........................................................................		34
Chapter 6
Wireless LAN .......................................................................................................................................		35
6.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	35
6.2 What You Can Do ..........................................................................................................................		35
6.3 What You Should Know .................................................................................................................		35
	6.3.1 Wireless Security Overview ...................................................................................................	36
6.4	General Wireless LAN Screen .......................................................................................................	37
6.5	MAC Address List ............................................................................................................................	38
6.6	Wireless LAN Advanced Screen ...................................................................................................	39
6.7	Quality of Service (QoS) Screen ...................................................................................................	40
6.8	WPS Screen .....................................................................................................................................	40
6.9	WPS Station Screen ........................................................................................................................	41
6.10 AP Select Screen ..........................................................................................................................		42
Chapter 7
LAN ......................................................................................................................................................		44
7.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	44
7.2 What You Need To Know ..............................................................................................................		44
7.3	LAN IP Screen ..................................................................................................................................	44
Chapter 8
System.................................................................................................................................................		46
8.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	46
8.2 What You Can Do ..........................................................................................................................		46
8.3	System Password Screen ..............................................................................................................	46
Chapter 9
Tools ....................................................................................................................................................		47
9.1	Overview .........................................................................................................................................	47
9.2 What You Can Do ..........................................................................................................................		47
9.3	Firmware Upload Screen ...............................................................................................................	47
9.4	Configuration Screen .....................................................................................................................	49
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Table of Contents
9.4.1 Backup Configuration ..........................................................................................................	50
9.4.2 Restore Configuration ..........................................................................................................	50
9.4.3 Back to Factory Defaults ......................................................................................................	51
9.5 Restart Screen .................................................................................................................................	51
9.6 LED Screen .......................................................................................................................................	51
Chapter 10
Troubleshooting..................................................................................................................................	53
10.1 Power, Hardware Connections, and LEDs .................................................................................	53
10.2 WRE2206 Access and Login ........................................................................................................	54
10.3 Internet Access .............................................................................................................................	55
10.4 Resetting the WRE2206 to Its Factory Defaults ..........................................................................	56
10.5 Wireless Problems ..........................................................................................................................	57
Appendix A Customer Support .......................................................................................................	58
Appendix B Legal Information .........................................................................................................	64
Index ...................................................................................................................................................	71

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PART I

User’s Guide

7

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

1.1 Overview

The WRE2206 (N) is a universal repeater that is an access point and a wireless client at the same time. The WRE2206 (N) wirelessly relays communications from its wireless clients to the access point.

Figure 1 Universal Repeater

Your can create the following connections using the WRE2206:

•LAN. You can connect network devices via the Ethernet port of the WRE2206 (R) so that they can communicate with each other and access the Internet.

•WLAN. Wireless clients can connect to the WRE2206 (R) to access network resources.

Use a (supported) web browser to manage the WRE2206.

See Chapter 4 on page 20 for more information.

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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.2 Securing the WRE2206

Do the following things regularly to make the WRE2206 more secure and to manage the WRE2206 more effectively.

•Change the password. Use a password that’s not easy to guess and that consists of different types of characters, such as numbers and letters.

•Write down the password and put it in a safe place.

•Back up the configuration (and make sure you know how to restore it). Restoring an earlier working configuration may be useful if the device becomes unstable or even crashes. If you forget your password, you will have to reset the WRE2206 to its factory default settings. If you backed up an earlier configuration file, you would not have to totally re-configure the WRE2206. You could simply restore your last configuration.

1.3Front Panel

Figure 2 Front Panel

WPS Button

Signal Strength				Number of Clients Indicator

Ethernet Port

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Chapter 1 Introduction

The following table describes the LEDs and the WPS button.

Table 1 Front Panel LEDs and WPS Button

LED			STATUS	DESCRIPTION
Signal Strength			3 LED On	The signal strength is 50-100%.
			2 LED On	The signal strength is 25-50%.
			1 LED On	The signal strength is <25%.
				The WRE2206 is in the process of starting up.
			Off	No signal detected, disconnected or the LED is turned off in the firmware.
Number of Clients			1 LED On	The number of wireless clients connecting to the WRE2206 is greater than or
Indicator				equal to ten.
			2 LED On	The number of wireless clients connecting to the WRE2206 is greater than or
				equal to five, but less than ten.
			3 LED On	The number of wireless clients connecting to the WRE2206 is greater than or
				equal to one, but less than five.
				The WRE2206 is in the process of starting up.
			Off	The wireless LAN is not ready.
				The number of wireless clients connecting to the WRE2206 is zero.
WPS			On	This remains on for 5 minutes after a successful WPS connection has been
				established.
			Blinking	The WRE2206 is waiting for another WPS device to connect.
			Slowly	The WRE2206 is in the process of starting up, rebooting or resetting.
			Blinking	The WRE2206 fails to connect to a router or AP using WPS.
			Rapidly
			Off	There is no WPS connection established or a WPS connection has been
				established for more than five minutes, or the LED is turned off in the firmware.

1.4 The WPS Button

The WPS button can be used to begin WiFi Protected Setup (WPS), reboot the WRE2206 while keeping it’s configuration or reboot the WRE2206 to factory default configuration.

Table 2 WPS Button Functions

	ACTION	RESULT
	Hold for less than 5	The WRE2206 begins connecting to an AP via WPS. See Section 5.3 on page
	seconds	27.
	Push twice	The WRE2206 begins connecting to a wireless client via WPS. See Section 5.2
		on page 24.
	Hold for 5 to 10 seconds	The WRE2206 keeps its configuration and reboots.
	Hold for more than 10	The WRE2206 resets its configuration to factory defaults and reboots. See
	seconds	Section 2.3 on page 13.
	Push three times	Push three times to turn off the WPS LED. After turning off the LED, the
		WRE2206 disconnects the connection to a wireless client via WPS and returns
		to the normal state.
		The physical WPS button has priority over the WPS button in the Web
		Configurator.
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Chapter 1 Introduction

1.4.1 WiFi Protected Setup

Your WRE2206 supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS), which is an easy way to set up a secure wireless network. WPS is an industry standard specification, defined by the WiFi Alliance.

WPS allows you to quickly set up a wireless network with strong security, without having to configure security settings manually. Each WPS connection works between two devices. Both devices must support WPS (check each device’s documentation to make sure).

Depending on the devices you have, you can either press a button (recommended) on the device itself, or in its configuration utility or enter a PIN (a unique Personal Identification Number that allows one device to authenticate the other) in each of the two devices. When WPS is activated on a device, it has two minutes to find another device that also has WPS activated. Then, the two devices connect and set up a secure network by themselves.

For more information on using WPS, see Section 5.2 on page 24.

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CHAPTER 2

The Web Configurator

2.1 Overview

This chapter describes how to access the WRE2206 Web Configurator and provides an overview of its screens.

The Web Configurator is an HTML-based management interface that allows easy setup and management of the WRE2206 via Internet browser. Use Internet Explorer 6.0 and later versions, Mozilla Firefox 3 and later versions, or Safari 2.0 and later versions. The recommended screen resolution is 1024 by 768 pixels.

In order to use the Web Configurator you need to allow:

•Web browser pop-up windows from your device. Web pop-up blocking is enabled by default in Windows XP SP (Service Pack) 2.

•JavaScript (enabled by default).

•Java permissions (enabled by default).

Refer to Chapter 10 Troubleshooting to see how to make sure these functions are allowed in Internet Explorer.

2.2Accessing the Web Configurator

1Make sure your WRE2206 hardware is properly connected and prepare your computer or computer network to connect to the WRE2206 (refer to the Quick Start Guide).

Note: Your computer or the part of your network connected to the WRE2206 must be on the same subnet as the WRE2206.

The WRE2206’s DHCP server is enabled before the WRE2206 is associated with your AP or wireless router and disabled after association. If this is the first time you are accessing your WRE2206, you can configure your computer as a DHCP client (computer factory default) so it will get an IP address automatically from the WRE2206. After the WRE2206 is associated with your wireless router, your computer will get its IP address from the wireless router.

2Launch your web browser.

3If this is the first time you are accessing your WRE2206, type "http://192.168.1.2" as the website address in your web browser. This is the default LAN IP address. Alternatively, after the WRE2206 has successfully associated with your wireless router, type "http://zyxelsetup" (for Windows) or “http://zyxelsetup.local” (for Mac) instead of the default IP address.

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Chapter 2 The Web Configurator

4Type admin (default) as the user name and 1234 (default) as the password and click OK. Figure 3 Login Screen

2.3 Resetting the WRE2206

If you forget your password or IP address, or you cannot access the Web Configurator, press the WPS button for more than 10 seconds to reload the factory-default configuration file. This means that you will lose all configurations that you had previously saved, the username will be reset to admin and password will be reset to 1234. The IP address will be reset to “192.168.1.2”.

1Press and hold the WPS button, the WPS LED begins flashing immediately.

2Release the WPS button. The WRE2206 reloads factory defaults and begins to reboot.

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CHAPTER 3

Connection Wizard

3.1 Overview

This chapter provides information on the wizard setup screens in the Web Configurator.

The Web Configurator’s wizard setup helps you configure your device. The first time you access the WRE2206 Web Configurator, the wizard displays automatically. For subsequent access, click to start the wizardsetup.

3.2 Configuring the WRE2206 for Connection to an AP

In this step of the configuration wizard, you must configure the WRE2206 with the security parameters of the AP you want to connect to. These parameters can be configured by selecting those automatically detected by the WRE2206, or by configuring them manually. Manual configuration is useful when the AP is hidden.

3.2.1Selecting Automatically Detected AP Parameters

1Select an AP using the following screen. Figure 4 Wizard: Wireless Setup

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Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

The following table describes the labels in this screen.

Table 3 Network > Wireless LAN > AP Select

LABEL	DESCRIPTION
Select	Use the radio button to select the wireless device to which you want to connect.
SSID	This displays the Service Set IDentity of the wireless device. The SSID is a unique name that
	identifies a wireless network. All devices in a wireless network must use the same SSID.
MAC	This displays the MAC address of the wireless device.
Channel	This displays the channel number used by this wireless device.
Mode	This displays which IEEE 802.11b/g/n wireless networking standards the wireless device
	supports.
Security Mode	This displays the type of security configured on the wireless device. When no is shown, no
	security is configured and you can connect to it without a password.
Strength	This displays the strength of the wireless signal. The signal strength mainly depends on the
	antenna output power and the distance between your WRE2206 and this device.
Enter SSID	Select this to setup the AP manually.
manually
SSID	If Enter SSID manually is selected, use this field to type the SSID of the AP. This is useful when the
	AP’s SSID is hidden.
Refresh	Click this to search for available wireless devices within transmission range and update this
	table.
BACK	Click this to go back to the previous step in the wizard.
NEXT	Click this to start the next step in the AP setup process.
EXIT	Click this to exit the wizard.
Previous	Click this to see the previous page of APs.
Next	Click this to see the next page of APs.

Note: The wireless stations and WRE2206 must use the same SSID, channel ID, WPA-PSK (if WPA-PSK is enabled) or WPA2-PSK (if WPA2-PSK is enabled) for wireless communication.

2 Type a key. The number of characters accepted by the KEY field is shown in the following table.

Table 4 Maximum Key Lengths

ENCRYPTION	KEY FORMAT	KEY LENGTH
64-bit WEP	ASCII	5 characters
	Hex	10 characters
128-bit WEP	ASCII	13 characters
	Hex	26 characters
WPA pre-shared key	Passphrase	8-63 characters
	Hex	64 characters

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Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

Figure 5 Wizard: Type a Key

3.2.2 Manually Configuring AP Parameters

If the AP you want to connect to is not listed, then follow these steps to configure the security settings of the AP manually.

1Select Enter SSID manually.

2Type the SSID of the AP into the SSID field. Figure 6 Wizard: Manually Typing the SSID

3Configure the security settings. The number of characters accepted by the KEY field is shown in the following table.

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Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

Table 5 Maximum Key Lengths

ENCRYPTION	KEY FORMAT	KEY LENGTH
64-bit WEP	ASCII	5 characters
	Hex	10 characters
128-bit WEP	ASCII	13 characters
	Hex	26 characters
WPA pre-shared key	Passphrase	8-63 characters
	Hex	64 characters

Figure 7 Wizard: Manually Configuring Security Settings

3.3 Completing the Connection Wizard

1 Click Next. The key verification screen appears.

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Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

Figure 8 Wizard: Verifying the Key

The following screen appears if the key verifies successfully.

Figure 9 Wizard: Key Verification Success

The following screen appears if the key fails to verify. Click BACK and check the key.

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Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

Figure 10 Wizard: Key Verification Failed

2Click Apply to complete the wizard setup and restart the WRE2206. Figure 11 Connection Wizard Complete

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CHAPTER 4

Status

4.1 WRE2206 Status

The screen below shows the status screen.

Figure 12 Status Screen

The following table describes the icons shown in the Status screen.

Table 6 Status Screen Icon Key

ICON			DESCRIPTION
			Click this icon to open the setup wizard.
			Click this icon to view copyright and a link for related product information.
			Select a number of seconds or None from the drop-down list box to refresh all screen
			statistics automatically at the end of every time interval or to not refresh the screen
			statistics.
			Click this button to refresh the status screen statistics.

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Chapter 4 Status

The following table describes the labels shown in the Status screen.

Table 7 Web Configurator Status Screen

	LABEL	DESCRIPTION
	Device Information
	System Name	This is the System Name.
	Firmware Version	This is the current firmware version of the WRE2206.
	LAN Information
	- MAC Address	This shows the LAN Ethernet adapter MAC Address of your device.
	- IP Address	This shows the LAN port’s IP address.
	- IP Subnet Mask	This shows the LAN port’s subnet mask.
	- DHCP	This shows the LAN port’s DHCP role.
	WLAN Information
	- MAC Address	This shows the wireless adapter MAC Address of your device.
	- Status	This shows the current status of the Wireless LAN - On or Off.
	- Name (SSID)	This shows a descriptive name used to identify the WRE2206 in the wireless LAN.
	- Channel	This shows the channel number which you select manually or the WRE2206
		automatically scans and selects.
	- Operating Channel	This shows the channel number which the WRE2206 is currently using over the
		wireless LAN.
	- Security Mode	This shows the level of wireless security the WRE2206 is using.
	- 802.11 Mode	This shows the wireless standard.
	- WPS	This displays Configured when the WPS has been set up.
		This displays Unconfigured if the WPS has not been set up.
		Click the status to display Network > Wireless LAN > WPS screen.
	- To AP Connection	This shows whether the WRE2206 is connected to an AP or not.
	System Status
	System Up Time	This is the total time the WRE2206 has been on.
	Current Date/Time	This field displays your WRE2206’s present date and time.
	System Resource
	- CPU Usage	This displays what percentage of the WRE2206’s processing ability is currently used.
		When this percentage is close to 100%, the WRE2206 is running at full load, and the
		throughput is not going to improve anymore. If you want some applications to
		have more throughput, you should turn off other applications.
	- Memory Usage	This shows what percentage of the heap memory the WRE2206 is using.
	Interface Status
	Interface	This displays the WRE2206 port types. The port types are: LAN and WLAN.
	Status	For the LAN port, this field displays Down (line is down) or Up (line is up or
		connected).
		For the WLAN, it displays Up when the WLAN is enabled or Down when the WLAN is
		disabled.
	Rate	For the LAN ports, this displays the port speed and duplex setting or NA when the
		line is disconnected.
		For the WLAN, it displays the maximum transmission rate when the WLAN is enabled
		and NA when the WLAN is disabled or Auto.
	Packet Statistics
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		Chapter 4 Status
	Table 7 Web Configurator Status Screen (continued)
	LABEL	DESCRIPTION
	Port	This is the WRE2206’s port type.
	Status	For the LAN ports, this displays the port speed and duplex setting or Down when the
		line is disconnected.
		For the WLAN, it displays Up when the WLAN is enabled or Down when the WLAN is
		disabled or Auto.
	TxPkts	This is the number of transmitted packets on this port.
	RxPkts	This is the number of received packets on this port.
	Collisions	This is the number of collisions on this port.
	Tx B/s	This displays the transmission speed in bytes per second on this port.
	Rx B/s	This displays the reception speed in bytes per second on this port.
	Association List
	#	This is the index number of an associated wireless client.
	MAC Address	This field displays the MAC address of an associated wireless client.
	Association Time	This field displays the time a wireless station first associated with the WRE2206’s
		WLAN network.
	Signal

4.2 Navigation Panel

Use the menu in the navigation panel menus to configure WRE2206 features.

Figure 13 Menus

The following table describes the sub-menus.

Table 8 Menus

LINK	TAB	FUNCTION
Status		This screen shows the WRE2206’s general device, system and interface status
		information. Use this screen to access the wizard, and summary statistics
		tables.
Network

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