Last week we talked about what to look for whenever you purchase a router to share your home broadband connection across multiple devices. Now let’s have a look at the way to set things up so everything will work correctly.
One option is to make use of the disk that came using the router. Most vendors ship a CD in the packaging that contains a program which will locate the router and set things up instantly for you. I recommend you use it should you do not understand significantly about networking as it’ll really simplify everything and provide you with exact guidelines on what to do for your make and model of router.
If this isn’t an option you’ll most likely need to log in for your router via your browser. There will be an instruction booklet showing you how to plug your personal computer and modem into the router. The modem’s network cable will plug to the socket labeled “WAN.” Your computer will plug into one of the numbered sockets. I like to physically connect the computer and router for this component simply because it is easier to make use of wires for this setup than attempt to connect by way of wireless.
As soon as everything is plugged in, look in your routers guide for that default setting. There is going to be a default user name and password listed, too being a default IP address. The address is usually 192.168.1.1. You’ll enter this into your Web browser with the http:// in front, and you should be prompted for a user name and password. Enter these and it will consider you to the administration screen.
The very first point you’ll wish to do is set a new router password. This is the password that lets you into the router administration panel. It isn’t associated to wireless or network configurations. There ought to be a hyperlink to set a password either within the menu, or possibly as component of the basic settings page. As each brand of router has slightly various menus, you may have to hunt a small bit for these configurations. When in doubt, examine the instruction guide or refer to the documentation hyperlink in the administration page.
In the fundamental settings menu you’ll find many different options. For most of these settings, you’ll want to make use of the default configurations. The exception is if you use DSL and need to key in a login and password to allow your Web connection. You’ll want to enter that information.
I would also recommend that you simply leave any of the IP tackle configurations as default. You will find certain IP address subnets that are blocked off for private network use. These include the 192.168.x.x addresses, too as 10.x.x.x addresses. You will most likely see the 192.168.1.1 listed here as a gateway tackle. You’ll most likely also see a subnet mask field. In case your gateway IP is 192.168.1.1, your subnet mask ought to be defaulted to 255.255.255.0. A subnet mask is basically utilized to determine which network a device belongs to.
Additionally, you will also want to make sure that the router is acting being a DHCP server. What this signifies is that it’ll be assigning IP addresses instantly to any unit that you make an effort to connect towards the network. Usually there will be fields to key in the starting tackle for the DHCP. If your gateway is 192.168.1.1, your beginning address will likely be 192.168.1.2.
Following week we’ll consider a look at the wireless settings which are provided and discuss why you ought to allow security on your wireless connection.
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