Routers 101

A post dedicated to my friend TPCO Clement as he counts down 38 more days to his SG return from the Philippines OSIP.

Inspiration:
Alright, first day over there you(Clement) called me on networking problems. Yup, I was totally dumb founded at that time, as I'd usually deal with Cisco routers. But! It was a good experience for me when I managed to get around with the 'Consumer' routers.

In this post, I'll deal mostly with 'Wireless Broadband Routers'

About 'Routers'
The 'routers' we use at home are usually Broadband/Wireless Routers which very often comes with inbuilt modems. So they work rather differently from Cisco routers in terms of user interface & connecting the hardware. Routers basically spend their life on forwarding packets of information to other networks/routers, humbly working in the background.

Unpacking & Pre-Set Up
-Check all contents provided against the 'Contents List' (when you first open the box)
-Put the router aside first
-Gather these hardware: Power Plug, Lan Cable(s), Wall Phone Line Splitter(usually built with DSL filter)

-Checkpoint '2 Paths'-
From here there are usually 2 possible paths to set up your router:
1-As an access point to the Internet
Or
2-As a access point to pass packets to an existing router


1-Setting up router as an access point to the Internet
1. Look for a good location to place your router, preferably:
-Near to Phone Line Jack (Critical)
-Near to Power Socket (Critical)
-Common location, such as Main Hall (to maximize coverage)
-Open-air, or in transparent display cabinet (preferable)

2. Connect these hardware:
-Ensure that the Wall Phone Line Splitter is connected to the phone line jack, and that your line-phone is connected to the 'Phone' jack of the Splitter.
-Prepare to connect the phone-line from the router's 'Phone' jack to the Splitter's 'Modem' jack (DO NOT connect the phone line yet)
-Connect the Power Plug to the router's power jack

3. Power on your computer first, then the router. (save power! don't rush all at once and end up waiting for your computer to start up while the router uses power to do nothing)

4. Establish a Local Area Connection to configure your router
-Connect a LAN cable from your computer's/laptop's LAN jack to one of the router's LAN jacks.
-Open up your Internet Browser(Mozilla is recommended, but does not affect set up)
Yup, I know, It says 'The page cannot be displayed' or 'Address not Found' etc. No Worries.

-Checkpoint 'Router Local Configuration'-
From here, you can follow the network set-up instructions provided by the manufacturer, if the general steps below do not work due to different router factory configurations
-Type '192.168.0.1' (without quotes), to access the router configuration page
Note: The connection is established in Local, remember that you have not connected your router's phone line jack yet.

-Navigate around and Configure these settings:
1*Service Set Identifier(SSID) Name
-Name your network with a unique SSID for identification
2*Wireless Security
-Enable 'Network Authentication', use WPA settings such as 'WPA-PSK' , 'WPA2-PSK' etc.
-Use TKIP/AES encryption
-Enter your Password/Pass phrase (used later when you establish a wireless connection)
-Edit other settings you're familiar with

-Checkpoint 'Establishing LAN Internet Connection'-
After you've finished with the configuring the router on Local, connect the phone-line from the router's 'Phone' jack to the Splitter's 'Modem' jack (preparations to establish Internet Connection)

I assume most users use a Home Internet Service Solution, so the following steps will deal with connecting to your Internet Service Provider(ISP)
*1. Look for 'Connection Settings' or something similar
*2. Enter your username (as provided when you signed up for your Internet plan)
*3. Enter your password (your Internet plan's password, NOT the router's password.. And- using default password? you might want to change it by logging on to your ISP's portal, or by contacting your ISP thru phone service)
*4 Select your connection type: 'PPPoE' , 'PPPoA' , 'Routed IPoA' etc. (this connection setting MUST adhere to your ISP's setting for your Internet plan, contact your ISP's help desk if you're unsure)
*5 Establish a connection (Click the 'Connect' button, or something similar)
*6 You should be able to connect on 'LAN Broadband setting'

-Checkpoint 'Establishing Wireless LAN Internet Connection'-
Rather simple to set-up actually:
*1. Boot up your laptop (or any other device that has wireless adapter)
*2. Bring up the 'Wireless Network Connection Manager' (or something similar)
*3. 'Scan for Wireless Networks in Range'
*4. Select your Network Name & follow the steps prompted by the 'Wireless Network Connection Manager' to establish the connection.
Note: Do select the correct Network Authentication(WEP, WPA) & Data Encryption(TKIP, AES) protocols.

Note
Support: Additional information will be posted should I make any new discoveries