Configuring the Advanced WAN Options (If Needed)

If you haven't already, log in to the firewall at the default LAN address of http://192.168.1.1, default user name of admin, and default password of password (or whatever password and LAN address you have chosen for the firewall).

Select Network Configuration from the primary menu and WAN Settings from the sub-menu. The WAN Settings screen will display. Click Advanced to access the WAN1 Advanced Options screen.

Figure 2-8

Edit the default information you want to change.

MTU Size - The normal MTU (Maximum Transmit Unit) value for most Ethernet networks is 1500 Bytes, or 1492 Bytes for PPPoE connections. For some ISPs you may have to reduce the MTU. But this is rarely required, and should not be done unless you are sure it is necessary for your ISP connection.

Port Speed - In most cases, your router can automatically determine the connection speed of the Internet (WAN) port. If you cannot establish an Internet connection and the Internet LED blinks continuously, you may have to manually select the port speed. AutoSense is the default.

If you know that the Ethernet port on your broadband modem supports 100BaseT, select 100M; otherwise, select 10M. Use the half-duplex settings unless you are sure you need full duplex.

Router's MAC Address - Each computer or router on your network has a unique 32-bit local Ethernet address. This is also referred to as the computer's MAC (Media Access Control) address. The default is Use default address. However, if your ISP requires MAC authentication, then select either

Use this Computer's MAC address to have the router use the MAC address of the computer you are now using, or

Use This MAC Address to manually type in the MAC address that your ISP expects.

The format for the MAC address is XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX (numbers 0-9 and either uppercase or lowercase letters A-F). If you select Use This MAC Address and then type in a MAC address, your entry will be overwritten.