© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 1 Install, configure, and deploy a SOHO wireless/wired router using appropriate settings. Objective – 3%

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 2 Physical Installation  If installing a wireless Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) router, positioning determines signal quality.  Place it in a high, central location for best results.  Connect the AC adapter to provide power.  Allow about 60 seconds for it to boot up.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 3 Physical Installation  Connect nearby devices with straight-through network cables.  Even if devices should use a crossover cable, most SOHO routers have Automatic Media Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto MDI-X) functionality on their 4 port switches.  This means that if you use the wrong cable type the switch fixes it for you!

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 4 Configuration: Firmware  Firmware is the software that controls the router’s hardware.  Upgrade firmware if available to provide fixes to possible problems.  Do this first because all settings get erased when firmware is upgraded.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 5 Configuration: Firmware  New firmware is found on the router manufacturer’s support website.  Download it to an easy to remember location.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 6 Set Password  Set a strong password.  Leaving the default means that anyone on your network can change your router and lock you out!

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 7 Set the Basics  These are very helpful for large networks with many of the same router models. Not a big deal in SOHO.  Set the time.  Set the hostname and device name.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 8 IPv4 vs. IPv6  Setup is a bit different for IPv6.  Focus on IPv4 for today’s networks.  We can estimate that IPv6 will be needed in the SOHO setup within 5 years.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 9 Configure LAN Subnet  Leaving it default at or is not recommended.  The more things that are left at the default settings the easier it will be for a would-be attacker.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 10 Configure DHCP  Start address  Address range  Lease time  DNS servers  Google’s are:  

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 11 Configure Wireless Settings  Choose the Network Mode: usually Mixed.  Choose an SSID and set it to Broadcast.  Choose the least populated channel (Wifi Analyzer for Android is a great tool for this step).

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 12 Configure Wireless Security  WPA2 Personal with AES is recommended.  Choose a good passphrase.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 13 Set Up Filters, If Necessary  Block usage by multiple means:  Time of day  URL  Keyword  Port

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 14 Port Forwarding  Sometimes you may need to set up access to one of your private devices so that it is available from the Internet.  Port forwarding is built just for this task.  It allows a user to set up a server on the private network and allow port specific traffic to contact it from the Internet.  Common ports/servers may already be available in a drop down menu.  Examples: FTP, SSH, HTTP, Game servers (Minecraft).

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 15 Port Forwarding

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 16 Port Triggering  Port triggering is much like port forwarding except that the ports are not always open to the Internet.  Forwarding ports only open to the Internet when something from the private network (a server program) triggers them to open on a specific port or ports.  Configuration is very similar to port forwarding except that ports are usually triggered in groups called “ranges”.  This is commonly used for private game servers and voice servers.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 17 Port Triggering

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 18 Administration  SOHO routers are usually administered from a web browser.  HTTP and HTTPS are allowed, HTTPS is preferred.  Remote administration from the Internet is also possible, but this provides one more method for attackers to access your network.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 19 Quality of Service (QoS)  QoS allows a user to choose which traffic has higher priority.  If a child is gaming, but a parent needs to have an online video conference then the video conference traffic is much more important.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 20 Backup and Deployment  Backup your setup in the Administration section of the router.  Do this before you make changes, so you can restore settings if the new ones fail.  Another use of the backup/restore is to deploy the same configuration to multiple routers.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 21 Resetting  Almost all SOHO routers have both software and hardware versions of a reset button.

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 22 Bonus! System Monitoring  You can keep track of many statistics on the router via the Status page  WAN  LAN  WLAN

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 23 Bonus! System Monitoring

© ExplorNet’s Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning 24 Bonus! System Monitoring