Gigabyte 802.11g VPN Wireless Router
by Brian Ng on August 21, 2004 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Networking
Advanced Setup
Configuring the BR404W for wireless connectivity was simple as well. If you have an 802.11b/g capable card, the default settings are enough to get you started. The standard wireless configuration options are all present in the BR404W.
Click to enlarge.
In addition to the basic open and share WEP key authentication types, the BR404W also supports WPA, WPA Pre-shared key, and 802.1x. For those who want to replace all their wired connections with wireless, the BR404W also supports WDS.
There are default two wireless options that should be changed from the defaults: SSID and the authentication type. Changing the SSID to some random alphanumeric string and enabling 128 bit WEP should keep the casual wireless user from detecting and hacking the network. If additional security is required, limit communication to the AP by enabling MAC address access control.
The BR404W also has additional features for those who need special configurations. The following options available are Routing Table, Virtual Server, Firewall Rule, DNS Configuration, URL Blocking, and VPN Configuration. We'll briefly touch upon some of the options and sub-options available.
The Routing Table option allows for the configuration of RIP (routing information protocol). RIP is a dynamic protocol that will automatically discover routing tables. However, under certain situations, some of the subnet does not go through the default gateway and manual routes are needed. Up to four manual routes can be added.
The Virtual Server option allows for a creation of a DMZ (demilitarized zone) if certain applications or games fail to run properly behind the router. The PPoE/DHCP/Static Type allows for the creation of virtual servers. The virtual servers allow a PC connecting from the WAN end to connect to the internal LAN's services such as FTP.
The Firewall Rule's Security Configuration page contains a list of check boxes to enable certain firewall settings easily such as stealth mode, computer access detection, and remote file sharing. For additional fine tuning, the BR404W supports up to 64 static firewall rules, with rule 1 having the highest priority and rule 64 having the lowest.
DNS replay, dynamic DNS, and URL blocking round out the advanced features of the BR404W. The VPN capabilities will be covered in a later section.
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Wesleyrpg - Sunday, August 22, 2004 - link
kris, i sent the email to brian, but for some reason it bounced on your email address? is it still kris@anandtech.com? if it is different could you please update your contact info on the 'contact us' part of the website.thanks heaps
Adam
KristopherKubicki - Saturday, August 21, 2004 - link
Wesleyrpg, send an email to brian and CC me, i will make sure ASUS sends us one.Kristopher
Wesleyrpg - Saturday, August 21, 2004 - link
great review and a nice router, however i currently have my eye on the Asus WL-500g, which looks kinda interesting because it has a usb port on the back on the router which can be used with webcams and USB harddrives and then can be used as a server.Do you guys at anandtech have any plans on reviewing the WL-500g, as i respect your opinions on all things hardware and would love to know what you guys think of it.
Wesleyrpg - Saturday, August 21, 2004 - link
schmoe - Saturday, August 21, 2004 - link
I believe its a router from the configuration screens and the title of the article. The wireless clients will have their own subnet with their own range of IP addresses which can be connected to your current (I'm assuming) wired router. For example the clients on the wireless router may be assigned IP addresses in the range of 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255 and the current wired router may assign IP addresses 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.255.The wireless router may then be connected to your wired router with the wireless router's uplink port. Then all traffic to external IP addresses will be routed over that port, which will then be routed to the wired router's uplink port (since its an external IP address).
So yes you can have the wireless clients communicate to the Internet. You will have some issues with communicating from the clients connected to your current router to the wireless router. These issues may be solved by configuring the wireless router to accept file sharing traffic, relaxing the firewall rules for clients in the IP range of the wired router. Also you may configure the wireless clients to be part of the DMZ. Each router has its own settings, so results may vary.
Vincent - Saturday, August 21, 2004 - link
Does this device work as an access point only? If I already have a router on my network, can I use this device to share my internet connection to wireless clients?tauseeefgt - Tuesday, February 24, 2015 - link
yes the purpose of vpn to function as remote users from home or office can be done by all kind of vpn tools now its all upto users which tool they choose for access. vpnranks offering many vpn providers details that users can find here.HannahParker - Thursday, June 25, 2020 - link
The Internet can be a great place to study, shop, play computer games and chat with friends. Unfortunately, there are also cybercriminals, identity theft and others who may try to harm you online. In order to be safe on the Internet, it is important https://topspyingapps.com/spyzie-review/ that you and your children are aware of the dangers.Sara adams - Thursday, February 18, 2021 - link
Thanks for this info. It was almost everything I was wondering. Esp. like the option to purchase one already setup. My question is: if the source of my internet is a cellular system, as a hotspot with an ethernet out option, can I still do this? Can I have my Netgear nighthawk mobile access point then use an ethernet cable to the router that is set up w/ VPN, then all my devices access the router for the internet? The main reason is to simulate a specific location for the traffic. I have got some nice information about hiding your IP from this article https://macinfo.us/3-ways-hide-ip-using-macbook-ip... Thanks