NETGEAR RangeMax™ NEXT Wireless Router WNR854T User Manual
Customizing Your Network Settings 5-7
v1.1, January 2007
Connecting Automatically, as Required
Normally, this option should be selected so that an Internet connection will be made automatically
after each timeout, whenever Internet-bound traffic is detected. This feature provides connection
on demand and is potentially cost-saving in regions where Internet services charge by the minute,
as in some areas of Europe.
If this feature is disabled, you must connect manually, using the Connection Status button on the
Router Status screen. The manual connection will stay up continuously without timeouts.
Disabling the SPI Firewall
The Stateful Packet Inspection ( SPI) Firewall protects your network and computers against
attacks and intrusions. A stateful packet firewall carefully inspects incoming traffic packets,
looking for known exploits such as malformed, oversized, or out-of-sequence packets. The
firewall should only be disabled in special circumstances, such as when troubleshooting
application issues.
Setting Up a Default DMZ Server
The default DMZ server feature is helpful when using some online games and videoconferencing
applications that are incompatible with Network Address Translation (NAT). The router is
programmed to recognize some of these applications and to work properly with them, but there are
other applications that may not function well. In some cases, one local computer can run the
application properly if that computer’s IP address is entered as the default DMZ server.
Incoming traffic from the Internet is normally discarded by the router unless the traffic is a
response to one of your local computers or a service that you have configured in the Port
Forwarding/Port Triggering menu. Instead of discarding this traffic, you can have it forwarded to
one computer on your network. This computer is called the Default DMZ Server.
The WAN Setup menu lets you configure a Default DMZ Server.
To assign a computer or server to be a Default DMZ server:
1. In the main menu, under Advanced, click WAN Setup.
Warnin g: DMZ servers pose a security risk. A computer designated as the default DMZ
server loses much of the protection of the firewall, and is exposed to exploits
from the Internet. If compromised, the DMZ server computer can be used to
attack other computers on your network.