User manual

59
2-6 Wired LAN Configurations
Before all computers using wired Ethernet connections (i.e., those
computers connect to this router’s LAN ports 1 to 4 by Ethernet
cable) can communicate with each other and access the Internet,
they each must have a valid IP address.
There are two ways to assign IP addresses to computers: static IP
address (set the IP address for every computer manually) and
dynamic IP address (IP addresses of computers will be assigned by
the router automatically). It’s recommended that most of the
computers use a dynamic IP address, as it will save a lot of time
instead of setting IP addresses for every computer, especially when
there are a lot of computers in your network; for servers and
network devices that will provide services to other computers and
users that come from the Internet, a static IP address should be
used so other computers can locate the server.
Suggestions for a IP address numbering plan:
If you have no idea how to define an IP address plan for your
network, here are some suggestions.
1. A valid IP address has 4 fields: a.b.c.d. For most home and
company users, it’s suggested to use 192.168.c.d, where c is
an integer between 0 and 254, and d is an integer between 1
and 254. This router is able to work with up to 253 clients, so
you can set the “d” field of the IP address of the router as 1 or
254 (or any number between 1 and 254), and pick a number
between 0 and 254 for field “c.”
2. In most cases, you should use 255.255.255.0 for the subnet
mask, which allows up to 253 clients (this also matches the
router’s ability to work with up to 253 clients).
3. For all servers and network devices that will provide services
to other people (like Internet service, print service and file
service), they should use a static IP address. Give each of
them a unique number between 1 and 253, and maintain a list
so everyone can locate those servers easily.
4. For computers that are not dedicated to providing specific
service to others, they should use a dynamic IP address.
If you don’t really understand the descriptions listed above, don’t
worry! We will provide recommended setup values below.