N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 User M anua l 350 East Plumeria Drive San Jose, CA 95134 USA February 2013 202-11057-01
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Support Thank you for selecting NETGEAR products. After installing your device, locate the serial number on the label of your product and use it to register your product at https://my.netgear.com. You must register your product before you can use NETGEAR telephone support. NETGEAR recommends registering your product through the NETGEAR website. For product updates and web support, visit http://support.netgear.com. Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR.
Contents Chapter 1 Hardware Setup Unpack Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Position Your Router . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Hardware Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Front Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Back Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 WAN Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Default DMZ Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Change the MTU Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 LAN Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Manage the Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Back Up Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Restore Configuration Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Erase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Set Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Changes Not Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Wireless Connectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Wireless Signal Strength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Restore the Factory Settings and Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Troubleshoot Your Network Using the Ping Utility . . . . . . . . .
1. 1 Hardware Setup G et t i n g to k now you r router The N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 provides you with an easy and secure way to set up a wireless home network with fast access to the Internet over a high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) or through a cable broadband service provider.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Unpack Your Router Open the box and remove the router, cables, and installation guide. Ethernet cable Power adapter N900 Wireless Router (with stand attached) Power cord Figure 1.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • In an elevated location such as a high shelf, keeping the number of walls and ceilings between the router and your other devices to a minimum. • Away from electrical devices that are potential sources of interference, such as ceiling fans, home security systems, microwaves, computers, or the base of a cordless phone or 2.4 GHz cordless phone. • Away from any large metal surfaces, such as a solid metal door or aluminum studs.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Table 1. Front panel LED descriptions LED Description Power • • • • • Solid amber. The unit is starting up after being powered on. Solid green. The power is on and the router is ready. Blinking amber. A firmware update is in progress. Blinking green. The firmware is corrupt. Off. Power is not supplied to the router. Internet • • • Solid amber. The IP address was not acquired. Solid green. IP address was received. The router is ready to transmit data. Off.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Back Panel The back panel has the connections and buttons shown in the following figure. USB ports LAN Ethernet ports 1–4 Internet port Reset button Power Power On/Off button Figure 3. Router, rear view For information about restoring factory settings, see Factory Settings on page 117. Label The router label shows the login information. The white label shows the unique serial number, MAC address, preset SSID, and preset WiFi password. Figure 4.
2. Getting Started with NETGEAR genie Con n e ct i n g to the router 2 This chapter explains how to use NETGEAR genie to set up your router after you complete cabling as described in the installation guide.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Prepare for Router Setup You can set up your router with the NETGEAR genie automatically, or you can use the NETGEAR genie menus and screens to set up your router manually. However, before you start the setup process, you need to have your ISP information on hand and make sure the laptops, computers, and other devices in the network have the settings described here.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 NETGEAR genie Setup NETGEAR genie runs on any device with a web browser. It is the easiest way to set up the router because it automates many of the steps and verifies that those steps have been successfully completed. It takes about 15 minutes to complete. To use NETGEAR genie to set up your router: 1. Turn the router on by pressing the On/Off button, if not done yet. 2.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Use NETGEAR genie after Installation When you first set up your router, NETGEAR genie starts automatically when you launch an Internet browser on a computer that is connected to the router. You can use NETGEAR genie again if you want to view or change settings for the router. 1. Launch your browser from a computer or wireless device that is connected to the router. 2. Type http://www.routerlogin.net or http://www.routerlogin.com. A login window displays.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Router Dashboard (Basic Home Screen) The router Basic Home screen has a dashboard that lets you see the status of your Internet connection and network at a glance. You can click any of the six sections of the dashboard to view more detailed information. The left column has the menus. At the top, the Advanced tab lets you access more menus and screens. Language Menus (Click the Advanced tab to view more) Dashboard (Click to view details) Help Figure 5.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Add Wireless Devices or Computers to Your Network Choose either the manual or the WPS method to add wireless devices and other equipment to your wireless network. For instructions for how to set up a guest network, see Guest Networks on page 29. Manual Method To connect manually: 1. Open the software that manages your wireless connections on the wireless device (laptop computer, gaming device, iPhone) that you want to connect to your router.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 NETGEAR genie App and Mobile genie App The genie app is the easy dashboard for managing, monitoring, and repairing your home network. See the NETGEAR genie Apps User Manual for details about the genie apps. Retrieve wireless password About genie Language Menu Dashboard (Click to view details) Support The genie app can help you with the following: • Automatically repair common wireless network problems.
3.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Internet Setup The Internet Setup screen, in the NETGEAR genie Basic Home screen, is where you view or change ISP information. 1. From the Basic Home screen, select Internet. The following screen displays: Scroll to view more settings The fields that display in the Internet Setup screen depend on whether your Internet connection requires a login. • Yes. Select the encapsulation method and enter the login name.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 4. Click Test to test your Internet connection. If the NETGEAR website does not display within 1 minute, see Chapter 10, Troubleshooting. Internet Setup Screen Fields The following descriptions explain all of the possible fields in the Internet Setup screen. The fields that display in this screen depend on whether an ISP login is required. Does Your ISP Require a Login? Answer either yes or no.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Use Default Address. Use the default MAC address. • Use Computer MAC Address. The router captures and uses the MAC address of the computer that you are now using. You have to use the one computer that the ISP allows. • Use This MAC Address. Enter the MAC address that you want to use. Attached Devices You can view all computers or devices that are currently connected to your network here. 1.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To set up Live Parental Controls: 1. Select Parental Controls on the Home (dashboard) screen. Live Parental Controls uses free OpenDNS accounts. If you do not have one, you can create one now. 2. Log in to manage Parental Control settings. 3. Click either the Windows Users or Mac Users button. 4. Follow the onscreen instructions to download and install the NETGEAR Live Parental Controls Management utility.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 After installation, Live Parental Controls automatically starts. 5. Click Next, read the note, and click Next again to proceed. You are prompted to log in or create a free account. 6. Select the radio button that applies to you and click Next. • If you already have an OpenDNS account, leave the Yes radio button selected. • If you do not have an OpenDNS account, select the No radio button.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 7. Select the radio button for the filtering level that you want and click Next. 8. Click the Take me to the status screen button. Parental controls are now set up for the router. The dashboard shows Parental Controls as enabled. ReadySHARE USB Storage You can view information about a USB storage device that is connected to the router’s USB port here. 1. From the Basic Home screen, select ReadySHARE: This screen displays the following: • Network/Device Name.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 your web browser. If Not Shared is shown, the default share has been deleted, and no other share for the root folder exists. To change this setting, click the link. • Read Access and Write Access. Displays the permissions and access controls on the network folder: All – no password (the default) allows all users to access the network folder. The user name (account name) for All – no password is guest.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To view or change basic wireless settings: 1. On the Basic Home screen, select Wireless. Scroll down to view the 5 GHz wireless network settings. The screen sections, settings, and procedures are explained in the following sections. 2. Make any changes that are needed, and click Apply to save your settings. 3. Set up and test your wireless devices and computers to make sure that they can connect wirelessly.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Enable Wireless Isolation. If this check box is selected, wireless clients (computers or wireless devices) that join the network can use the Internet, but cannot access each other or access Ethernet devices on the network. Enable SSID Broadcast. This feature allows the router to broadcast its SSID so wireless stations can see this wireless name (SSID) in their scanned network lists. This check box is selected by default.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Guest Networks Adding a guest network allows visitors at your home to use the Internet without giving them your wireless security key. You can add a guest network to each wireless network: 2.4 GHz b/g/n and 5.0 GHz a/n. To set up a guest network: 1. Select Basic > Guest Network: 2. For a 5 GHz network, scroll down to view that section of the Guest Network screen. 3. Select any of the following wireless settings: Enable Guest Network.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 6. Click Apply to save your settings. Guest Network Wireless Security Options A security option is the type of security protocol applied to your wireless network. The security protocol in force encrypts data transmissions and ensures that only trusted devices receive authorization to connect to your network. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) has several options including pre-shared key (PSK) encryption.
4. NETGEAR genie Advanced Home Sp ecif yi ng custom set ti ngs This chapter contains the following sections: • Setup Wizard • WPS Wizard • Setup Menu • WAN Setup • LAN Setup • Quality of Service (QoS) Setup Some selections on the Advanced Home screen are described in separate chapters: • USB Storage. See Chapter 5, USB Storage. • Security. See Chapter 7, Security. • Administration. See Chapter 8, Administration. • Advanced Setup. See Chapter 9, Advanced Settings.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Setup Wizard The NETGEAR genie installation process is launched the first time you set up the router. This screen is also displayed through the Administration menu. After setting up the router the first time, if you want to perform this task again, you can run Setup Wizard from the Advanced tab of the NETGEAR genie. 1. Select Setup Wizard. The following screen displays: 2. Select either Yes or No, I want to configure the router myself.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 The following screen displays: The Setup Wizard searches your Internet connection for servers and protocols to determine your ISP configuration. The following screen displays: WPS Wizard The WPS Wizard helps you add a WPS-capable client device (a wireless device or computer) to your network. On the client device, you need to either press its WPS button or locate its WPS PIN. To use the WPS Wizard: 1. Select Advanced > WPS Wizard. 2. Click Next.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 The following screen lets you select the method for adding the WPS client (a wireless device or computer). 3. Select either Push Button or PIN Number. • To use the push button method, either click the WPS button on this screen, or press the WPS button on the side of the router. Within 2 minutes, go to the wireless client and press its WPS button to join the network without entering a password.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Setup Menu Select Advanced > Setup to display the Setup menu. The following selections are available: • Internet Setup. Access the same Internet Setup screen that you can access from the dashboard on the Basic Home screen. See Internet Setup on page 20. • Wireless Setup. Access the same Wireless Settings screen that you can access from the dashboard on the Basic Home screen. See Basic Wireless Settings on page 26. • Guest Network.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Default DMZ Server. This feature is sometimes helpful when you are playing online games or videoconferencing. Be careful when using this feature because it makes the firewall security less effective. For more information, see the following section, Default DMZ Server. • Respond to Ping on Internet Port. If you want the router to respond to a ping from the Internet, select this check box.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To set up a default DMZ server: 1. On the WAN Setup screen, select the Default DMZ Server check box. 2. Type the IP address. 3. Click Apply. Change 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.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 until the problem goes away. The following table describes common MTU sizes and applications. Table 2. Common MTU sizes MTU Application 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.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 LAN Setup The LAN Setup screen allows configuration of LAN IP services such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP). The router is shipped preconfigured to use private IP addresses on the LAN side and to act as a DHCP server. The router’s default LAN IP configuration is: • LAN IP address. 192.168.1.1 • Subnet mask. 255.255.255.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 LAN Setup Screen Settings LAN TCP/IP Setup • IP Address. The LAN IP address of the router. • IP Subnet Mask. The LAN subnet mask of the router. Combined with the IP address, the IP subnet mask allows a device to know which other addresses are local to it, and which have to be reached through a gateway or router. • RIP Direction. Router Information Protocol (RIP) allows a router to exchange routing information with other routers.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 You can specify the pool of IP address that the router assigns by setting the starting IP address and ending IP address. These addresses should be part of the same IP address subnet as the router’s LAN IP address. Using the default addressing scheme, you should define a range between 192.168.1.2 and 192.168.1.254, although you might want to save part of the range for devices with fixed addresses.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Quality of Service (QoS) Setup QoS is an advanced feature that can be used to prioritize some types of traffic ahead of others. The router can provide QoS prioritization over the wireless link and on the Internet connection. To configure QoS, use the QoS Setup screen. Enable WMM QoS for Wireless Multimedia Applications The router supports Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of Service (WMM QoS) to prioritize wireless voice and video traffic over the wireless link.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To specify prioritization of traffic, you have to create a policy for the type of traffic and add the policy to the QoS Policy table in the QoS Setup screen. For convenience, the QoS Policy table lists many common applications and online games that can benefit from QoS handling. QoS for Applications and Online Gaming To create a QoS policy for applications and online games: 1. In the QoS Setup screen, select the Turn Internet Access QoS On check box. 2.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 6. In the Priority Category list, select either Applications or Online Gaming. A list of applications or games displays. 7. Select an existing item, or scroll and select Add a new application or Add a new game as applicable. If you add an entry, the Priority Rules screen expands as shown: 8. In the Connection Type list, select either TCP, UDP, or both (TCP/UDP), and specify the port number or range of port numbers used by the application or game. 9.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 5. From the Priority Category list, select Ethernet LAN Port, as shown in the following figure: 6. From the LAN port list, select the LAN port. 7. From the Priority list, select the priority that this port’s traffic should receive relative to other applications and traffic when accessing the Internet. The options are Low, Normal, High, and Highest. 8. Click Apply to save this rule to the QoS Policy list and return to the QoS Setup screen. 9.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 4. From the Priority Category list, select MAC Address. 5. If the device to be prioritized appears in the MAC Device List, select its radio button. The information from the MAC Device List populates the policy name, MAC Address, and Device Name fields. If the device does not appear in the MAC Device List, click Refresh. If it still does not appear, you have to complete these fields manually. 6.
5. USB Storage Ac c es s i ng a nd c on figu ri n g the USB stora ge d rive 5 This chapter describes how to access and configure a USB storage drive attached to your router. The USB port on the router can be used to connect only USB storage devices like flash drives or hard drives, or a printer. Do not connect computers, USB modems, CD drives, or DVD drives to the router USB port.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 USB Drive Requirements The router works with 1.0 and 1.1 (USB Full Speed) and 2.0 (USB High Speed) standards. The approximate USB bus speeds are shown in the following table. Actual bus speeds can vary, depending on the CPU speed, memory, speed of the network, and other variables. Table 3. USB drive speeds Bus Speed/Sec USB 1.1 12 Mbits USB 2.0 480 Mbits The router works with most USB-compliant external flash and hard drives.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Sharing multimedia with friends and family such as MP3 files, pictures, and other multimedia with local and remote users. • Sharing resources on your network. You might want to store files in a central location so that you do not need to power up a computer to perform local sharing. In addition, you can share files between Macintosh, Linux, and Windows computers by using the USB drive as a go-between across the systems.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • There are two user accounts: admin and guest. The password for admin is the same one that you use to access the router. By default, it is password. The guest user account has no password. • On the FTP site, the person receiving the files should use the guest user account and enter any password (FTP requires that you type something in the password field). • Be sure to select the FTP (via Internet) check box in the USB Storage (Advanced Settings) screen.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To access your USB device: 1. Click the network device name or the share name in your computer’s network folders list. 2. For SMB://readyshare, click Connect. Note: If you logged in to the router before you connected your USB device, you might not see your USB device in the router screens until you log out and then log back in again. Add or Edit a Network Folder 1.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • To add a folder, click Create Network Folder radio button. • To select a folder or change the share name, enter the name and click the Browse ratio button. • Change the read access or write access from All – no password to admin. The user name (account name) for All – no password is guest. The password for admin is the same one that is used to log in to the router. By default, it is password. 3. Click Apply.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Network Device Name. The default is readyshare. This is the name used to access the USB device connected to the router. • Workgroup. If you are using a Windows workgroup rather than a domain, the workgroup name is displayed here. The name works only in an operating system that supports NetBIOS, such as Microsoft Windows. • Access Method. The access methods are described here. • Network Connection.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Read Access and Write Access. Shows the permissions and access controls on the network folder: All – no password (the default) allows all users to access the network folder. The password for admin is the same one that you use to log in to the router. • Folder Name. Full path used by the network folder. • Volume Name. Volume name from the storage device (either USB drive or HDD). • Total Space and Free Space.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Specify Approved USB Devices For more security, you can set up the router to share approved USB devices only. You can access this feature from the Advanced Setup menu on the Advanced tab. To set up approved USB devices: 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > USB Settings. 2. Click the Approved Devices button. This screen shows the approved USB devices and the available USB devices. You can remove or add approved USB devices. 3.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 5. Click Apply to save your settings. If you want to work with another USB device, first, click the Safely Remove USB Device button for the currently connected USB device. Connect the other USB device, and repeat this process. Connect to the USB Drive from a Remote Computer To connect to the USB drive from remote computers with a web browser, you have to use the router’s Internet port IP address.
6. 6 ReadySHARE Printer ReadySHARE Printer is compatible with Mac and Windows computers. It lets you connect a USB printer to the router’s USB port, and access it wirelessly. This chapter contains the following sections: • ReadySHARE Printer • USB Control Center Utility For more information about ReadySHARE features, visit www.netgear.com/readyshare.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 ReadySHARE Printer You can connect a USB printer to the router’s USB port, and share it among Windows and Mac computers on the network. To set up ReadySHARE Printer: 1. Connect the USB printer to the router’s USB port with a USB printer cable. 2. Install the USB printer driver software on each computer that shares the printer. If you do not have the printer driver, contact the printer manufacturer to find and download the most recent printer driver software.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 4. Follow the instructions to install the NETGEAR USB Control Center utility. 5. Select the language.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 6. The first time you access the utility, select the printer and click the Connect button. Once the connection is established, the status changes to Manually connected by xxx. You can click the Disconnect button at any time to release the connection. The status then changes to Available. After you click the Connect button once on each computer in the network, the utility on each of them handles the printing queue and handling.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Set the value for the default time-out time by selecting Tools > Configuration. • The USB Control Center utility must be running for the computer to be able to print to the USB printer attached to the router. If you exit the utility, printing does not work. • Some firewall software, such as Comodo, blocks the ReadySHARE Print utility from accessing the USB printer.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 USB Control Center Utility The USB Control Center utility allows you to control a shared USB device from a computer that is connected to the USB port on your router. The utility allows you to control a printer, a scanner, or an audio speaker. The utility has to be installed on each computer on your network from which you want to control the device. You can download this utility for Windows and Mac computers at www.netgear.com/landing/en-us/readyshare.aspx.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Control Center Configuration Select Tools > Configuration: Automatically execute when logging on Windows. Enable this utility to start automatically when you are logged in to Windows. Timeout. Specify the time-out value for holding the USB resource when it is not in use. Language. Select the display language for this utility. USB Printer The first time you use a printer, you need to click Connect in the Netgear USB Control Center screen.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Once the printer shows Available status, it is no longer grayed out in a Paused state in the Windows Printers and Faxes window. This USB printer is ready. The utility does not need to always hold the connection of this USB printer. Once there is any print job for this printer, the USB utility connects to this USB printer automatically, then prints. After the print job is done, the printer status returns to the Paused state.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Desktop NETGEAR genie Desktop NETGEAR genie is the easy dashboard for managing, monitoring, and repairing your home network. • Automatically repair common wireless network problems. • Have easy access to router features like Live Parental Controls, guest access, broadband usage meter, speed test, and more. • Use the Network map to see all devices on your home network. To download the free NETGEAR genie, go to this page at the NETGEAR website: www.NETGEAR.
7. Security Ke epi ng u nwante d c onte nt out of you r n et work 7 This chapter explains how to use the basic firewall features of the router to prevent objectionable content from reaching the computers and other devices connected to your network.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Keyword Blocking of HTTP Traffic Use keyword blocking to prevent certain types of HTTP traffic from accessing your network. The blocking can be always or according to a schedule. To block sites: 1. Select Advanced > Security > Block Sites: 2. Select one of the keyword blocking options: • Per Schedule. Turn on keyword blocking according to the Schedule screen settings. • Always. Turn on keyword blocking all the time, independent of the Schedule screen. 3.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Block Services (Port Filtering) Services are functions performed by server computers at the request of client computers. For example, web servers serve web pages, time servers serve time and date information, and game hosts serve data about other players’ moves. When a computer on the Internet sends a request for service to a server computer, the requested service is identified by a service or port number.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 The Block Services Setup screen displays: 5. From the Service Type list, select the application or service to allow or block. The list already displays several common services, but you are not limited to these choices. To add any additional services or applications that do not already appear, select User Defined. 6. If you know that the application uses either TCP or UDP, select the appropriate protocol. If you are not sure, select Both. 7.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Schedule Blocking You can specify the days and time that you want to block Internet access. To schedule blocking: 1. Select Advanced > Security > Schedule: 2. Set up the schedule for blocking keywords and services. • Days to Block. Select days on which you want to apply blocking by selecting the appropriate check boxes, or select Every Day to select the check boxes for all days. • Time of Day to Block.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Security Event Email Notifications To receive logs and alerts by email, provide your email information in the E-mail screen, and specify which alerts you want to receive and how often. To set up email notifications: 1. Select Advanced > Security > E-mail: 2. To receive email logs and alerts from the router, select the Turn E-mail Notification On check box. 3.
8. 8 Administration M a nagi ng your net work This chapter describes the router settings for administering and maintaining your router and home network. This chapter includes the following sections: • Upgrade the Router Firmware • View Router Status • View Logs of Web Access or Attempted Web Access • Manage the Configuration File • Set Password F or information about upgrading or checking the status of your router over the Internet, see Remote Management on page 101.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Upgrade the Router Firmware The router firmware (routing software) is stored in flash memory. You can update the firmware from the Administration menu on the Advanced tab. You might see a message at the top of the NETGEAR genie screens when new firmware is available for your product. You can use the Check button on the Router Upgrade screen to check and update to the latest firmware for your product if new firmware is available.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 View Router Status To view router status and usage information, select Advanced Home or select Administration > Router Status to display the following screen: Router Information Hardware Version. The router model. Firmware Version. The version of the router firmware. It changes if you upgrade the router firmware. GUI Language Version. The version of the localized language of the user interface. LAN Port. • MAC Address.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Connection. This shows if the router is using a fixed IP address on the WAN. If the value is DHCP Client, the router obtains an IP address dynamically from the ISP. IP Subnet Mask. The IP subnet mask that the Internet (WAN) port of the router uses. Domain Name Server. The Domain Name Server addresses that the router uses. A Domain Name Server translates human-language URLs such as www.netgear.com into IP addresses.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Connection Status Button On the Router Status screen in the Internet Port pane, click the Connection Status button to view connection status information. Figure 7. View connection status information The Release button returns the status of all items to 0. The Renew button refreshes the items. The Close Window button closes the Connection Status screen. IP Address. The IP address that is assigned to the router. Subnet Mask.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Wireless Settings (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) The following settings are displayed: Name (SSID). The wireless network name (SSID) used by the router. The default names for the 5 GHz network ends in -5G to distinguish it from the 2.4 GHz network. Region. The geographic region where the router is being used. It might be illegal to use the wireless features of the router in some parts of the world. Channel. The operating channel of the wireless port being used.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Guest Network (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) The following settings are displayed: Name (SSID). The 11N wireless network name (SSID) used by the router. The default names are NETGEAR-Guest and NETGEAR-5G-Guest. Wireless AP. Indicates whether the radio feature of the router is enabled. If this feature is not enabled, the Wireless LED on the front panel is off. Broadcast Name. Indicates whether the router is broadcasting its SSID. Wireless Isolation.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 1. Select Advanced > Administration > Logs. The log screen shows the following information: • Date and time. The date and time the log entry was recorded. • Source IP. The IP address of the initiating device for this log entry. • Target address. The name or IP address of the website or news group visited or to which access was attempted. • Action. Whether the access was blocked or allowed. 2. To refresh the log screen, click the Refresh button. 3.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Manage the Configuration File The configuration settings of the router are stored within the router in a configuration (.cfg) file. You can back up (save) this file to your computer, restore it, or reset it to the factory default settings. Back Up Settings To back up the router’s configuration settings: 1. Select Advanced > Administration > Backup Settings: 2. Click Back Up to save a copy of the current settings. 3. Choose a location to store the .
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Erase Under some circumstances (for example, if you move the router to a different network or if you have forgotten the password), you might want to erase the configuration and restore the factory default settings. You can use either use the Reset button on the back of the router (see Factory Settings on page 117), or you can click the Erase button in this screen. Erase sets the user name to admin, the password to password, and the LAN IP address to 192.168.1.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 forgotten. This recovery process is supported in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome browsers, but not in the Safari browser. To set up password recovery: 1. Select the Enable Password Recovery check box. 2. Select two security questions, and provide answers to them. 3. Click Apply to save your settings. When you use your browser to access the router, the login window displays.
9. 9 Advanced Settings This chapter describes the advanced features of your router. The information is for readers with a solid understanding of networking concepts such as setting up remote access from the Internet by IP or domain name.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Advanced Wireless Settings 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Settings: Scroll to view more settings 2. Configure the following settings: • Enable Wireless Router Radio. To completely turn off the wireless portion of the wireless router, clear this check box. Select this check box again to enable the wireless portion of the router.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Wireless Repeating Function You can set the router up to be used as a wireless access point (AP). Doing this enables the router to act as a wireless repeater. A wireless repeater connects to another wireless router as a client where the network to which it connects becomes the ISP service. Wireless repeating is a type of Wireless Distribution System (WDS).
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Wireless repeater. The router sends all traffic from its local wireless or wired computers to a remote access point. To configure this mode, you have to know the MAC address of the remote parent access point. The router is always in dual-band concurrent mode, unless you turn off one radio. If you enable the wireless repeater in either radio band, the wireless base station or wireless repeater cannot be enabled in the other radio band.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Repeater IP Address. If your router is the repeater, enter the IP address of the other access point. • Disable Wireless Client Association. If your router is the repeater, selecting this check box means that wireless clients cannot associate with it. Only LAN client associations are allowed. • • • If you are setting up a point-to-point bridge, select this check box.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 2. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > Wireless Repeating Function: Scroll to view more settings 3. For the frequency you want to use, select the Enable Wireless Repeating Function check box and select the Wireless Base Station radio button. 4. Enter the MAC address for one or more repeater units. 5. Click Apply to save your settings.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 5. Verify connectivity across the LANs. A computer on that joins the network can connect to the Internet or share files and printers with computers and servers connected to the other access point. Port Forwarding and Port Triggering By default, the router blocks inbound traffic from the Internet to your computers except replies to your outbound traffic.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • The source address is replaced with your router’s public IP address. This is necessary because your computer uses a private IP address that is not globally unique and cannot be used on the Internet. • The source port number is changed to a number chosen by the router, such as 33333. This is necessary because two computers could independently be using the same session number.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 tell the router, “When you initiate a session with destination port 6667, you have to also allow incoming traffic on port 113 to reach the originating computer.” Using steps similar to those in the preceding example, the following sequence shows the effects of the port triggering rule you have defined: 1. You open an IRC client program to start a chat session on your computer. 2.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 A typical application of port forwarding can be shown by reversing the client-server relationship from the previous web server example. In this case, a remote computer’s browser needs to access a web server running on a computer in your local network. Using port forwarding, you can tell the router, “When you receive incoming traffic on port 80 (the standard port number for a web server process), forward it to the local computer at 192.168.1.123.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 • Port forwarding requires that you specify the computer’s IP address during configuration, and the IP address can never change. • Port triggering requires specific outbound traffic to open the inbound ports, and the triggered ports are closed after a period of no activity. • Port forwarding is always active and does not need to be triggered.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 If the service does not appear in the list, see Add a Custom Service on page 94. 3. In the corresponding Server IP Address field, enter the last digit of the IP address of your local computer that will provide this service. 4. Click Add. The service appears in the list in the screen.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 8. Click Apply. The service appears in the list in the Port Forwarding/Port Triggering screen. Edit or Delete a Port Forwarding Entry To edit or delete a port forwarding entry: 1. In the table, select the radio button next to the service name. 2. Click Edit Service or Delete Service.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Port forwarding creates a static mapping of a port number or range to a single local computer. Port triggering dynamically opens ports to any computer on the LAN and closes the ports when they are no longer needed.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 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 determine 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 list, select one of the following: • Any (the default) to allow any computer on the Internet to use this service.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 of service lets you register your domain to their IP address and forwards traffic directed at your domain to your frequently changing IP address. If your ISP assigns a private WAN IP address (such as 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x), the Dynamic DNS service does not work because private addresses are not routed on the Internet. Your router contains a client that can connect to the Dynamic DNS service provided by DynDNS.org. First visit their website at http://www.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Static Routes Static routes provide more routing information to your router. Under usual circumstances, the router has enough routing information after it has been configured for Internet access, and you do not need to add static routes. You need to add static routes only in unusual cases such as multiple routers or multiple IP subnets on your network.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To set up a static route: 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > Static Routes, and click Add: 2. In the Route Name field, type a name for this static route (for identification purposes only.) 3. Select the Private check box if you want to limit access to the LAN only. If Private is selected, the static route is not reported in RIP. 4. Select the Active check box to make this route effective. 5. Type the IP address of the final destination. 6.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Remote Management The remote management feature lets you upgrade or check the status of your router over the Internet. Note: Be sure to change the router’s default login password to a very secure password. The ideal password should contain no dictionary words from any language and contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. It can be up to 30 characters. To set up remote management: 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > Remote Management.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Normal web browser access uses the standard HTTP service port 80. For greater security, enter a custom port number for the remote web management interface. Choose a number from 1024 through 65535, but do not use the number of any common service port. The default is 8080, which is a common alternate for HTTP. 5. Click Apply to save your settings. 6.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 To turn on Universal Plug and Play: 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > UPnP: 2. The available settings 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. • Advertisement Period.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 IPv6 You can use this feature to set up an IPv6 Internet connection type if NETGEAR genie does not detect it automatically. To set up an IPv6 Internet connection type: 1. Select Advanced > Advanced Setup > IPv6: 2. Select the IPv6 connection type from the list. Your Internet service provider (ISP) can provide this information. • If your ISP did not provide details, you can select IPv6 Tunnel.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Traffic Meter Traffic metering allows you to monitor the volume of Internet traffic passing through your router’s Internet port. With the traffic meter utility, you can set limits for traffic volume, set a monthly limit, and get a live update of traffic usage. To monitor Internet traffic: 1. Click Advanced > Advanced Setup > Traffic Meter: Scroll to view more settings 2. Select the Enable Traffic Meter check box. 3.
10. 10 Troubleshooting This chapter provides information to help you diagnose and solve problems you might have with your router. If you do not find the solution here, visit the NETGEAR support site at http://support.netgear.com for product and contact information.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Quick Tips This section describes tips for troubleshooting some common problems. Sequence to Restart Your Network Be sure to restart your network in this sequence: 1. Turn off and unplug the modem. 2. Turn off the router and computers. 3. Plug in the modem and turn it on. Wait 2 minutes. 4. Turn on the router and wait 2 minutes. 5. Turn on the computers.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Troubleshooting with the LEDs After you turn on power to the router, the following sequence of events should occur: 1. When power is first applied, verify that the Power/Test LED is lit. 2. Verify that the Power/Test LED turns amber within a few seconds, indicating that the self-test is running. 3. After approximately 30 seconds, verify the following: • The Power/Test LED is solid green. • The Internet LED is lit.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 LEDs Never Turn Off When the router is turned on, the LEDs light for about 10 seconds and then turn off. If all the LEDs stay on, there is a fault within the router. If all LEDs are still lit 1 minute after power-up: • Cycle the power to see if the router recovers. • Press and hold the Reset button to return the router to its factory settings. For more information, see Restore the Factory Settings and Password on page 114.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Cannot Log In to the Router If you are unable to log in to the router from a computer on your local network, check the following: • If you are using an Ethernet-connected computer, check the Ethernet connection between the computer and the router as described in the previous section. • Make sure that your computer’s IP address is on the same subnet as the router.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 4. Check that an IP address is shown for the Internet port. If 0.0.0.0 is shown, your router has not obtained an IP address from your ISP. If your router cannot obtain an IP address from the ISP, you might need to force your cable or DSL modem to recognize your new router by restarting your network. For more information, see Sequence to Restart Your Network on page 107.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Troubleshoot PPPoE If you are using PPPoE, try troubleshooting your Internet connection. To troubleshoot a PPPoE connection: 1. Log in to the router. 2. Select Administration > Router Status. 3. Click Connection Status. If all of the steps are successful, your PPPoE connection is up and working. If any of the steps fail, you can attempt to reconnect by clicking Connect. The router continues to attempt to connect indefinitely.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Changes Not Saved If the router does not save the changes you make in the router interface, check the following: • When entering configuration settings, always click the Apply button before moving to another screen or tab, or your changes are lost. • Click the Refresh or Reload button in the web browser. The changes might have occurred, but the old settings might be in the web browser’s cache.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Restore the Factory Settings and Password You can erase the current configuration and restore factory defaults in two ways: • Use the Erase function of the router (see Erase on page 81). • Use the Reset button on the back of the router. See Factory Settings on page 117. If you restore the factory settings and the router fails to restart, or the green Power/Test LED continues to blink, the unit might be defective.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Check that the appropriate LEDs are lit for your network devices. If your router and computer are connected to a separate Ethernet switch, make sure that the link LEDs are lit for the switch ports that are connected to your computer and router. • Wrong network configuration Verify that the Ethernet card driver software and TCP/IP software are both installed and configured on your computer.
A. Supplemental Information A This appendix provides factory default settings and technical specifications for the router.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Factory Settings You can return the router to its factory settings. Use the end of a paper clip or some other similar object to press and hold the Reset button on the back of the router for at least 7 seconds. The router resets, and returns to the factory configuration settings shown in the following table. Table 4. Factory default settings Feature Router login Internet connection Local network (LAN) Default behavior User login URL www.routerlogin.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Table 4. Factory default settings (continued) Feature Wireless Firewall Default behavior Wireless communication Enabled SSID name See router label Security WPA2-PSK (AES) Broadcast SSID Enabled Transmission speed Auto* Country/region United States in the US; otherwise, varies by region RF channel 6 until region selected Operating mode Up to 217 Mbps for 2.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Table 5. R4500 router specifications (continued) Feature Description WAN 10BASE-T or 100BASE-Tx or 1000BASE-T, RJ-45 Wireless Maximum wireless signal rate complies with the IEEE 802.11 standard. See the footnote for the previous table. Radio data rates Auto Rate Sensing Data encoding standards IEEE 802.11n version 2.0 IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11b 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11a 5.
B. Notification of Compliance N ETGE A R D ua l B a nd - Wi reles s B Regulatory Compliance Information This section includes user requirements for operating this product in accordance with National laws for usage of radio spectrum and operation of radio devices. Failure of the end-user to comply with the applicable requirements may result in unlawful operation and adverse action against the end-user by the applicable National regulatory authority.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 FCC Caution • Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment. • This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 Interference Reduction Table The following table shows the recommended minimum distance between NETGEAR equipment and household appliances to reduce interference (in feet and meters).
Index A QoS 42 repeater unit 88 user-defined services 68 connecting wirelessly 8 country setting 32 crossover cable 109 CTS/RTS Threshold 84 custom service (port forwarding) 94 access remote 101 viewing logs 78 access points 85 accessing remote computer 89 adding custom service 94 priority rules 43 address reservation 41 advertisement period 103 alerts, emailing 71 applications, QoS for online gaming 43 approved USB devices 55 attached devices 22 authentication, required by mail server 71 automatic firmwa
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 F K factory default settings, restoring 81, 114 factory settings list of 117 resetting 11 file sharing 48 firmware version 74 firmware, upgrading 15, 73 fragmentation length 84 fragmented data packets 37 front panel 9 keywords 67 L H label, product 11 LAN port QoS for 44 settings 74 LAN setup 39 language setting 32 large files, sharing 49 lease, DHCP 76 LEDs described 10 troubleshooting and 108 local servers, port forwarding to 93 logging in 13, 15 logs em
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 P router status, viewing 74 packets, fragmented 37 Parental Controls 22 passphrases changing 28 product label 11 password recovery, admin 81 password, restoring 114 photos, sharing 49 poll interval 75 port filtering 68 port forwarding 89, 91, 92, 93 port numbers 68 port status 75 port triggering 89, 90, 92, 95 ports,listed, back panel 11 positioning the router 8 Power LED, troubleshooting and 108 PPPoE (PPP over Ethernet) 111 Preamble mode 84 preset security a
N900 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router R4500 remote computer connection 56 specifying approved devices 55 unmounting a USB drive 54 USB devices, approved 55 user-defined services 68 V viewing logs 78 router status 74 W WAN IP address, troubleshooting 110 WAN setup 35 Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) 17, 34 devices, adding 17 wireless channel 28 wireless connection, troubleshooting 113 wireless connections 8 wireless devices,adding to the network 17 Wireless Distribution System (WDS) 85, 86 Wireless LED, troub
